StarringAmy SedarisandStephen Colbert,Comedy Central’s satirical after-school-special style seriesStrangers With Candystarted as something only serious comedians and self-proclaimed weirdos would give a second thought. Thoughunpopular during its two-year run of three seasons,Strangers With Candycatalyzed Comedy Central’slive-action sitcom repertoire. The show’s dark, surreal comedy was ahead of its time, but through portable video formats across the decades,the series rose to become a cult favorite. Beyond finding its niche,Strangers With Candyput Sedaris, Colbert, and a whirlwind of other comedy talents on the map.
‘Strangers With Candy’ Was Comedy Central’s First Original Live-Action Sitcom
BeforeStrangers With Candy,Comedy Central was a string of old comedy movies, variety/talk shows, clip shows,sketch comedy, and sitcom reruns. Fresh off of their Comedy Central sketch showExit 57, improv-based actors Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, andPaul Dinellobroke ground in a landfill of cable reruns and created something –not without its hitches and rewrites– that would open a new realm of content for the network. WhenStrangers With Candycame out in 1999, the network finally had its very own original narrative series, a serious comedy for comedians with a taste for something a little less mainstream.
Strangers With Candycentered on Amy Sedaris’ Jerri Blank, a 46-year-old high school freshman who returned from jail after having been, in her words, “a boozer, user, and a loser.”Jerri spends the series learning all the wrong lessonsand navigating the throes of being a teenager all over again, famously claiming that “though the faces may have changed, the hassles are just the same.” Alongside Sedaris were Colbert and Dinello as Chuck Noblet and Geoffrey (pronounced “Joffrey”) Jellineck, respectively, two romantically involved but closeted teachers at Jerri’s school, andGreg Hollimonas the principal of Flatpoint High School, Onyx Blackman. The first episode ofStrangerssees Jerri throwing a party, hoping to become more popular. But when she finds out that no one is interested, she reaches not-so-far back into her immoral past to attract party-goers with her knowledge of drugs. Her concoction accidentally proves fatal for the most popular girl in school, and Jerri (sort of) learns her lesson.
The 10 Most Unique TV Protagonists, According to Reddit
The leads that standout the most on TV!
What Made ‘Strangers With Candy’ So Special?
With her unavoidable overbite, distinctive twang, and oddly endearing sense of innocence,Sedaris’ severely unorthodox and unsettling heroineis a large part of the appeal for followers ofStrangers With Candy. But as for the rest of the show, you just have to get it. Namely inspired by the 1970 PSA documentaryThe Trip Backwith Florrie Fisher,Strangersmocked the polished and ribbon-wrapped values of the average 1970s/80s after-school specialand flipped the obvious moral of the story on its head with each episode. Its format was thinly scripted, as Comedy Central gave the improv-trained creators of the show acres of creative liberty, sothe show thrived on Jerri’s profane imagery and taboo language. Because of its esoteric and absurdist comedy,Strangers With Candywasn’t actually popular with audiences during its run(and even its post-South Parktime slot couldn’t solve the issue). Critically,the show never won any accolades, and most of the reviews it managed to receive had an “I don’t get it” kind of tone. Most viewers were just too put off by the show’s aggressively offensive humor.
AlthoughStrangers With Candywasn’t directly intended as a revolutionary or groundbreaking type of series,it inspired countless fans of comedy and aspiring comedy performers. Remnants ofthe series’ unapologetic satireripple throughout modern comedy from the likes ofJohn Early,Kate Berlant,Ilana Glazer, andCole Escola.Sedaris explained to theLos Angeles Times, “A lot of people come up and say that it changed everything, that it changed the rulebook. I think we broke the rules because we didn’t really know what the rules were.” Though only possessing a TV-14 rating,Strangerswould be virtually impossible to sell in the modern social climate.
Strangers With Candyholds fast to its cult following 25 years later. It continues to be name-dropped and referenced as an influence by several stand-ups, comedy writers, and comedy actors. A plethora of then-rising comedy stars made cameo appearances on the show, includingWill Ferrell,Winona Ryder,Paul Rudd,Tim Meadows,David Cross,Alan Tudyk, andAndy Richter. It took a group of players wacky enough to believe in the show for it to (eventually) blossom as it does today. Though the world didn’t seem to want to notice,Strangers With Candywas raucously making TV history.
Strangers With Candyis available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Strangers With Candy
A 46-year-old ex-drug addict returns to high school as a freshman.
WATCH ON PARAMOUNT+
