A soap opera, or soap for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by “Horse opera”.
Heat Vision and Jack is a 1999 American comedy science fiction television pilot created and written by Rob Schrab and Dan Harmon, directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Ron Silver. The pilot was originally ordered by Fox, which ultimately did not order it to series. While the show was not picked up, the pilot became a cult classic and gained an online following.
Sockbaby is a four-part martial arts / comedy short film co-directed by Doug TenNapel and John Soares. Sockbaby originally premiered on Channel 101 on January 25, 2004.
Channel 101 is a non-profit monthly short film festival in Los Angeles, which also has a sister festival in New York City, Channel 101 NY. Channel 101 is a creation of Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab in which participants submit a short film in the format of a pilot under five minutes in length. The event is structured such that a panel of previously successful submitters choose what pilots are shown, and a live audience at The Downtown Independent decides which pilots continue as a series for the next screening in much the same way TV programs are rated and managed. According to the Channel 101 website, "Channel 101 is a chance to sit in the worn-out chair of the fat network exec, drunk on the blood of lowly artists whose right to exist is given in exchange for their ability to nourish...You run the network. You pick the programming."
Robby Christopher Schrab is an American comic book creator, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is the creator of the comic book Scud: The Disposable Assassin, co-writer of the feature film Monster House, co-creator of the competitive film festival Channel 101, and the co-creator of Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program. He has directed three seasons of The Sarah Silverman Program and episodes of Childrens Hospital, Blue Mountain State, Community, Parks and Recreation, The Mindy Project, Workaholics, Creepshow, and the second season of the Netflix reboot of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
House of Cosbys is an American animated sitcom created by Justin Roiland for the film festival Channel 101. The series centers on Mitchell Reynolds, who builds a cloning machine to make duplicates of his favorite comedian, Bill Cosby. The show stars Davis, Roiland, and a rotating cast of performers, many of whom were participants at Channel 101. The series premiered January 30, 2005, and was the number one-rated program on the site for three months. Four episodes of the series were created, which debuted at Channel 101 screenings and were posted online thereafter. The series concluded on June 26, 2005 with an "unofficial" fifth installment.
The Dead Alewives was an improvisational comedy troupe during the 1980s and 1990s from Milwaukee. Some of the group's individual members went on to become noteworthy after the group's breakup.
Daniel James Harmon is an American writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC/Yahoo! Screen sitcom Community (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast Harmontown (2012–2019), co-creator of the Adult Swim animated sitcom Rick and Morty (2013–present) and its subsequent franchise along with Justin Roiland, and co-founder of the alternative television network and website Channel 101 along with Rob Schrab.
Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills is an American sitcom starring Harvey Korman, Valerie Perrine and Sue Ball that was broadcast from April 25 to June 6, 1986 on Friday nights at 8:30 p.m ET on CBS.
Human Giant is a sketch comedy show, starring writer/performers Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer, and directed primarily by Jason Woliner. The show ran for two seasons on MTV. In interviews, the group has mentioned that they were offered a third season by MTV but were unable to complete it due to Ansari's commitments to the hit NBC show Parks and Recreation, while Ansari mentioned on Howard Stern that the show's end was more because it is hard to keep a sketch show consistently funny over several seasons. The group has stated that MTV has left the door open for the group to complete a third season at a later date or to produce a special for the network. In 2010, Ansari, Huebel and Scheer reunited to do a skit for the 2010 MTV Movie Awards.
Acceptable.TV is a television program created by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab that aired on VH1 from March 23 to May 11, 2007. Each show was composed of several mini-episodes created by the Acceptable.TV staff, with one mini-episode that was submitted by a viewer. After each episode viewers would be able to vote online for their two favorites. The two that received the most votes will be continued in the following episode, and the remaining three would be cancelled and replaced by new mini-shows. The show was adapted from Harmon and Schrab's Channel 101 screenings, and the cast was composed of various Channel 101 contributors.
Fat Guy Stuck in Internet is an American science-fiction comedy television series created by John Gemberling and Curtis Gwinn for Cartoon Network's late-night adult-oriented programming block Adult Swim; and ended with a total of ten episodes.
Community is an American television sitcom created by Dan Harmon. The series ran for 110 episodes over six seasons, with its first five seasons airing on NBC from September 17, 2009, to April 17, 2014, and its final season airing on Yahoo! Screen from March 17 to June 2, 2015. Set at a community college in the fictional Colorado town of Greendale, the series stars an ensemble cast consisting of Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong, Chevy Chase, and Jim Rash. It makes heavy use of meta-humor and pop culture references, often paying homage to film and television clichés and tropes.
Mark Justin Roiland is an American voice actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known as the co-creator of Adult Swim's Rick and Morty and its subsequent franchise. He voices the show's title characters Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith. Roiland is the co-creator of Hulu's Solar Opposites, in which he voices the main character, Korvo. He has also played Earl of Lemongrab on Adventure Time, Blendin Blandin on Gravity Falls, and Oscar on Fish Hooks. He founded the animation studio Justin Roiland's Solo Vanity Card Productions! and the video game studio Squanch Games.
A marathon is an event in which viewers or readers engage many hours' worth of media in a condensed time period. This phrase represents a two-fold shift from binge-watch in that it incorporates other media and it reduces the negative connotations associated with bingeing. In the 2014 book Media Marathoning: Immersions in Morality, Lisa Perks describes media marathoning as a "comprehensive and complimentary phrase" that "connotes a conjoined triumph of commitment and stamina. This phrase also captures viewers' or readers' engrossment, effort, and sense of accomplishment surrounding their media interaction." Netflix executive Todd Yellin is quoted as saying "I don't like the term 'binge,' because it sounds almost pathological. 'Marathon' sounds more celebratory."
Rick and Morty is an American adult animated science-fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The series follows the misadventures of cynical mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his good-hearted but fretful grandson Morty Smith, who split their time between domestic life and interdimensional adventures.
Harmontown is a comedy podcast that aired live weekly from June 16, 2012 to December 3, 2019. It was hosted by writer Dan Harmon, best known as the creator of the television series Community and the co-creator of Rick and Morty, along with actor Jeff B. Davis, best known for his work on the improvisational comedy series Whose Line Is It Anyway?Harmontown began as a monthly live comedy show in Los Angeles, California, at the NerdMelt Showroom on May 23, 2011, but the show became weekly after Harmon was fired from Community. Since mid-2012, each episode of Harmontown had been recorded and released as a podcast, first by Feral Audio through 2017, then Starburns Audio starting in 2018.
Angie Tribeca is an American comedy television series created by Steve and Nancy Carell, which aired on TBS. The series, a parody of the police procedural genre, stars Rashida Jones as police detective Angie Tribeca. It also stars Hayes MacArthur, Jere Burns, Deon Cole and Andrée Vermeulen in supporting roles.
Wayne is an American action comedy streaming television series created by Shawn Simmons that premiered on January 16, 2019, on YouTube Premium. The series stars Mark McKenna, Ciara Bravo, and Joshua J. Williams and it follows a teenage boy who sets out to retrieve his late father's stolen car with the help of a girl he has a crush on.
The fifth season of the animated television series Rick and Morty consisted of 10 episodes, part of the 70 episodes ordered by Adult Swim after they renewed the series in 2018. The series stars Justin Roiland as both titular characters. The season premiered on June 20, 2021 and concluded on September 5, 2021.
