Derrick Beckles is a Canadian writer, director, actor, and comedian from Scarborough, Ontario. He is the creator and host of the Adult Swim television show Hot Package , [1] creator of the "TV Carnage" compilations, [2] and helped found Vice TV. He also hosted the Adult Swim show Mostly 4 Millennials .
Beckles recognized the appeal of poor programming in 1994 when he began releasing VHS mashups of spray-on hair infomercials, squirrel cooking shows, and public access freaks performing like no one’s watching. [3] These compilations led to the creation of TV Carnage, a bootleg home-video series in which Beckles distills all the strangest clips from late-night infomercials, local-access programs and found videos, into hour-long DVDs. [4]
While Beckles had been editing together Tex Avery cartoons with The Stooges songs to entertain his friends while in high school, the TV Carnage format didn't evolve into its current form until 1996. While bedridden and doped up on painkillers, Beckles began to assemble mashups with themes. [4] In these mashups, Beckles treats well-known and unknown footage alike, sewing the scenes and moments together to create an absurd alternate entertainment universe. [5]
A self-described, "slutty distributor of heavenly crap", Beckles calls the creation of TV Carnage his "way of screaming at the world". [6] Though the compilations' original format was VHS, Beckles soon began producing DVDs. The format allowed for a wider audience and soon TV Carnage began to gain a cult following. [7] Michael Cera has claimed, "TV Carnage is some of the most brilliant stuff out there right now." [8]
TV Carnage DVDs include:
Beckles hosted many of the premieres for the TV Carnage DVDs at porn theatres in Toronto.
After being a writer for Canadian publication Vice , Beckles worked with Johnny Knoxville and David Cross to develop Vice TV. [15]
Beckles developed a pilot in 2009 for Adult Swim called Totally for Teens with Sabrina Saccoccio. The program was designed to be a "mock teen show directly inspired by TRL , Christian programming and the Reagan-era 'Just Say No' campaign PSAs." [6] On the show, the audience is taught "questionable life lessons from its morally bankrupt host." [16] The pilot was never picked up but eventually aired on Adult Swim's DVR Theater on January 19, 2011.[ citation needed ]
Beckles has directed music videos for various recording artists that include Melissa Auf der Maur, Crystal Castles, Electric Six, and Islands. [17] The video for Islands' song "No You Don't" stars Michael Cera. [8]
The list of videos include:
Aqua Teen Hunger Force, sometimes abbreviated as ATHF, Aqua Teen or Aqua Teen Hunger on YouTube, is an American adult animated television series created by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. It is about the surreal adventures and antics of three anthropomorphic fast food items: Master Shake, Meatwad, and Frylock, who live together as roommates and frequently interact with their human next-door neighbor, Carl Brutananadilewski.
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of direct response television (DRTV), they are often program-length commercials, and are typically 28:30 or 58:30 minutes in length. Infomercials are also known as paid programming. This phenomenon started in the United States, where infomercials were typically shown overnight and early morning, outside peak prime time hours for commercial broadcasters. Some television stations chose to air infomercials as an alternative to the former practice of signing off, while other channels air infomercials 24 hours a day. Some stations also choose to air infomercials during the daytime hours, mostly on weekends, to fill in for unscheduled network or syndicated programming. By 2009, most infomercial spending in the U.S. occurred outside of the traditional overnight hours. Stations in most countries around the world have instituted similar media structures. The infomercial industry is worth over $200 billion.
Korgoth of Barbaria is an American adult animated television pilot created by Aaron Springer, a storyboard artist, writer and director for Dexter's Laboratory, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Samurai Jack, and SpongeBob SquarePants, who previously created another failed pilot at Cartoon Network Studios called Periwinkle Around the World. He would later go on to produce Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer for Disney XD. Genndy Tartakovsky, creator of Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack, directed the animation for the pilot. This was not the only time he worked on a pilot created by Springer, as Tartakovsky also produced and directed Periwinkle Around the World. It is the first Cartoon Network Studios production to be co-produced by Williams Street.
Tim & Eric are an American comedy duo consisting of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. They are the creators and stars of the Adult Swim television series Tom Goes to the Mayor, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories, and Beef House.
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! is an American sketch comedy television series created by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. It premiered on February 11, 2007 and originally ran until May 2, 2010. The show features surreal, dark and often satirical humor, public-access television-style musical acts, bizarre faux-commercials with a unique editing and special effects style by Doug Lussenhop to make the show appear off-kilter.
Twixters is an International Multiplatform Comedy Series inspired by the TIME Magazine. The series was created in 2007 by satirist/filmmaker Dan Speerin of the sketch comedy group Cynically Tested to satirize life as a Millennial and to mock the false perceptions of Generation Y. The series was co-produced by fellow Cynically Tested members Alan So and Aravinth Vince Kesavamoorthy. Twixters aired on Bite TV in Canada and Propeller TV in UK. The series also aired on Triangle Stratos in New Zealand. Twixters' success and the stance of its creator on Millennial Life was featured in the Toronto Star. Other media coverage for the series included Sun TV's Canoe Live, G4 Tech TV, and The Eye Weekly Magazine. The show's indie success is mainly due to its utilization of interactive social platforms as YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and Blogs. Part of their success is based on their rebuttal on YouTube to the piece on Millennials by 60 Minutes on CBS titled Twixters vs 60 Minutes Millennials, and Millennials Fight Back!. The latter video was covered by CBS Interactive’s BNET evoking greater discussion about the fairness of the coverage of the millennial generation by 60 Minutes.
Totally for Teens is an American failed television pilot created by Derrick Beckles and Sabrina Saccoccio for Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim. It eventually aired on Adult Swim's "DVR theater" on January 19, 2011.
Everything Is Terrible! is an artist collective based in Los Angeles that finds and edits dated, campy clips from VHS tapes. The collective was founded in 2007 by a group of friends who met while attending Ohio University.
Off the Air is an American psychedelic anthology television series created by Dave Hughes for Adult Swim. The series is presented without explanation or narration as a showcase of surreal footage arranged around a single loose theme and blended without pause into a single continuous presentation. The series premiered on Adult Swim on January 1, 2011, 4:00 am New Year's Day.
Adult Swim was an Australian adult-oriented free-to-air television block that was last aired from Saturday and Sunday nights on 9Go!. It was originally a separate network that shared channel space with Cartoon Network, starting in 2003 until 31 December 2007.
Adult Swim is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Showcase Television, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily airs animated and live-action comedies targeting a teenage and young adult audience. Its branding is licensed from the Adult Swim programming block broadcast by Warner Bros. Discovery's Cartoon Network; it is the first full-time television channel to use the "Adult Swim" brand.
Hot Package is an Adult Swim entertainment variety show, created by Derrick Beckles. The show parodies network entertainment shows such as Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood. Instead of sourcing its news from real celebrities, TV shows, and films, all of Hot Package's "entertainment" news comes from found footage, including clips from forgotten B films and bizarre TV shows. The show is hosted by Derrick Beckles, Pat O'Brien, Anastasia Roark, and Mark McGrath, and features colorful guests, makeovers, and interview segments. Hot Package, produced by Abso Lutely Productions, Abominable Pictures, TV Carnage, and Williams Street, premiered on October 4, 2013, and has currently aired eleven episodes. On May 9, 2014, Adult Swim confirmed that Hot Package would be returning for a second season.
You're Whole is an American satirical television series created by Michael Ian Black for Adult Swim. The show parodies self-help infomercials and stars Black as the host, Randall Tyree Mandersohn. In it, Mandersohn advertises his systems of objects and actions designed to help people with their issues. It was the production of Abominable Pictures, with which Black originally consulted with the premise of the show in mind. Meanwhile, Michael Showalter, longtime collaborator of Black, served as the director.
Live Forever as You Are Now with Alan Resnick is a television special written, created and directed by Alan Resnick and Ben O'Brien for Adult Swim, as part of the Infomercials series. The special is presented as a parody of self-help infomercials, advertising a four-step program for creating a digital avatar that acts as a backup of its host. The special is hosted by Alan Resnick as himself, and is presented by Dan Deacon. Both, along with O'Brien, are members of the Baltimore-based art collective Wham City, who co-produced the episode under their video production division, AB Video Solutions.
For-Profit Online University is a television special written and directed by Sam West for Adult Swim. The special is presented as an infomercial parodying for-profit universities. The special is created by Wild, Aggressive Dog, a conglomerate of former Onion writers, consisting of Geoff Haggerty, Dan E. Klein, Matthew Klinman, Michael Pielocik, Chris Sartinsky and Sam West.
Alan Resnick is an American comedian, visual artist, and filmmaker. He is a member of the Wham City arts collective and founding member of Wham City Comedy.
Infomercials is an umbrella title for independent, quarter-hour television comedy specials airing on Adult Swim. Unlike actual paid programming, all of the programs are fictitious, and for the most part maintain no continuity with each other.
John Basedow is an American television personality, model, author, and motivational speaker. He produces the Fitness Made Simple video series and the Internet series New Media Stew.
Mostly 4 Millennials is an American comedy television series on Adult Swim. The series, a satirical look at the Millennial generation, was created and directed by comedian Derrick Beckles and is written and executive produced by Beckles and Eric André. Beckles formerly created the pilot Totally for Teens for Adult Swim in 2009 and the series Hot Package, which aired from 2013 to 2015. Mostly 4 Millennials premiered on July 2, 2018. The show is produced by Factual Productions, Inc.