The Earliest Show

Last updated
The Earliest Show
The Earliest Show official poster.jpg
Official promotional poster
Genre Improvisational comedy [1]
parody [2]
Directed by Ben Schwartz
StarringBen Schwartz
Lauren Lapkus
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Running time11-13 minutes [2]
Production company Funny or Die
Original release
ReleaseOctober 27 (2016-10-27) –
December 6, 2016 (2016-12-06)

The Earliest Show is an American comedy web series starring Ben Schwartz and Lauren Lapkus. Produced by Funny or Die, the series was sponsored by Cap'n Crunch cereal as a form of branded content. It follows morning show co-hosts Josh Bath and Sam Newman who must deal with the aftermath of Josh's failed on-air wedding proposal. The show is largely improvised. The Earliest Show premiered on October 27, 2016 and consisted of six episodes. [1] [3]

Contents

Synopsis

Josh Bath (Ben Schwartz) and Sam Newman (Lauren Lapkus) are co-hosts of The Earliest Show, which broadcasts at 3:00AM. [2] Josh surprises his girlfriend (Jessica Meraz) with an on-air proposal and begins to unravel emotionally after she rejects him. Each episode follows Josh going through a different stage of grief on-air. [4]

Cast

Guest starring

Production

Development

Cap'n Crunch had previously worked with Funny or Die and approached Schwartz with an idea for a series meant to target a young demographic. [1] [2] He pitched a parody of a morning show based around a co-host whose rejection proposal causes him to spiral. Schwartz also served as the series' director and recruited former Asssscat improv team member Lapkus as his co-host. [7] [6] Schwartz studied Today and Live with Kelly to get a sense of morning talk show format, camera work, and set design. [7] Each episode consisted largely of improvisation. Schwartz said his favorite part of this series were the interviews because they got people who don’t normally improvise to try improv. [8] An additional episode of over an hour of improvised bloopers was released as episode seven of the series. [2]

Release

The Earliest Show premiered on Funny Or Die on October 27, 2016, and one episode was released each Tuesday thereafter. [2] The episodes were also released on YouTube. Each episode runs for 11 to 13 minutes. Two additional episodes, one of bloopers and one with extended interviews, were also released. [2]

Accolades

Schwartz and Lapkus received 2017 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards nominations for acting in the Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category. [9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hamedy, Saba (27 October 2016). "Funny or Die launches series with Ben Schwartz, Cap'n Crunch". Mashable. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Grobar, Matt (2017-06-26). "'The Earliest Show's Ben Schwartz Discusses His Short-Form Roots & Finding Guests For A Fake Talk Show". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  3. 1 2 3 "Cap'n Crunch Just Created a Fake Morning Show That Airs in the Middle of the Night". www.adweek.com. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  4. ↑ "Afternoon Delight: Let the 'The Earliest Show' Entertain You at the Latest Hour". Decider. 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  5. ↑ "Rejected Jokes - Episode six of The Earliest Show is up on Funny or..." Rejected Jokes. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  6. 1 2 3 Greene, Steve (2017-08-17). "Ben Schwartz and Lauren Lapkus Made Up the Internet's Funniest Emmy Nominee As They Went Along". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  7. 1 2 Mallenbaum, Carly. "Miss 'Between Two Ferns'? Watch Funny or Die's new talk show parody". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  8. ↑ "Videos". FOX 13 Seattle. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  9. ↑ "Emmys 2017: Full List of Nominations". Variety. 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
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