Did Izak’s tattoo get us a show on Comedy Central? It didn’t hurt (much)!
Our new digital series for Comedy Central, Gnarnia went up on Youtube last week. It’s about 4 guys in a heavy metal band who live together behind a used record store in Los Angeles, who’ll do just about anything to avoid growing up.
We took it to several networks last year. The pitch included a very funny sizzle reel (a 4 minute demo of the project) and an explanation of our plans for the show. The quick pitch was “stoner Monkees”, which caused everyone in the room under 45 to go “Like, actual chimps?” (If you don’t know the Monkees, you can enjoy them here.) Once we explained it as “a lot like Workaholics, except they’re stoned and in a band” everyone nodded.
The series looks kind of like a reality show, but it’s actually an improvised comedy– think Curb Your Enthusiasm, with stoner 28 year-olds. (Once you start pitching “It’s like…” other shows, you can do it all day.) The show has a loose, Dazed and Confused documentary feel (another one!) And not all the networks quite got it.
Our dream network was Comedy Central, but we knew that while the show is really funny (good) it’s also pretty loose. Most Comedy Central shows are super tight, with a lot of rapid fire laughs. After our pitch meeting with the network it was clear that they liked it– but not clear they were ready to buy.
On the way out of the meeting we called the Gnar guys and asked them to think of something they could do fast that would make an even bigger impression. They over-delivered. Not only did they wrote an incredibly catchy song, Comedy Central, Please Buy our TV Show, that they edited into a video, they also tattooed the Network logo on their arms on screen. For real. As icing on the commitment cake, they silkscreened a couple of customized t-shirts and sent them over to the network execs.
Did the tattoos put the show over the top? It’s hard to say. Commitment works to help launch any entertainment project. Your passion– for the project, the talent, and the outlet– is a huge motivator in getting someone else to believe in what you’re doing. Tattoos may not always be the way to show that commitment, of course. But in the case of this show, as you’ll see, they’re perfect. And luckily Izak and Rikky will have a great story for their grandchildren about their wrinkly Comedy Central tattoos.
Check the series out! If you’re a fan of dumb humor, bad language and nudity (and who isn’t?), you’ll enjoy all three episodes. And if you could watch each one, say, 250,000 times, that would be a huge help.
WARNING: The theme song is an insane ear worm. I’ve been humming it for months. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
The Youtube version is censored. For the less sensitive, here’s a Facebook Watch uncensored look at the show:
Day 3: White Fang’s Big Gig – Gnarnia – Uncensored
The Gnar Tapes crew tries to raise money with a gig at a bar mitzvah.
Posted by Comedy Central Originals on Friday, 13 July 2018
Will there be more than 3 episodes ?
Really loving the series
One can only hope! Part of working with a network, of course, is that they get to decide that based on their own internal needs. That said, if you wanted to camp out in front of Comedy Central with a sign saying “More Gnarnia Episodes Now!” how could we stop you?
I do appreciate your shots of the episode..and YOU Steve are the Voice of Reason(of what I could tell)! Times zips bye-Congrats!