Comedy Central is billing its new series “Stella,” which premiered last night, as a series that is not a sitcom, not standup and not a sketch show.
One would think that isn’t possible, but somehow cast members Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and David Wain make it happen in one of the most strangely amusing shows to hit cable since “The Upright Citizens Brigade.”
The brand of comedy in “Stella” is similar to that of the cult hit, camp movie spoof “Wet Hot American Summer.” That makes sense because all three cast members worked on the 2001 film (Wain directed and Black and Showalter acted). The show has moments as smart yet zany as the seminal “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” and as dumb and scoffable (but in that strangely amusing way) as “Mad TV” and it all comes together to create an entertaining, if at times a bit too silly, extravaganza of a show.
“Stella” takes place in the real world with actors playing quirky, overdressed versions of themselves and going by their real names. However, that is where the realism ends. The show begins with the trio arguing in the car over whether they should listen to funk, rock, funk rock or funk rock when they arrive home and wind up crashing their car on purpose in anger and continuing the deliberation as they emerge from the wreckage. It’s strange, but one can’t help but watch on to see what happens next.
There is really no predicting what will happen next either. At one point in the premiere, Edward Norton makes an out-of-the-blue cameo playing himself, doing absolutely nothing significant other than surprising viewers. “Do you know my husband Edward Norton?” his wife says. “Not on a personal level, but I am a big fan,” Wain coolly replies. When Norton invites him in his house, Wain politely declines, saying “No, I’ve got some heart surgery to perform.” This is the kind of humor that can be expected from “Stella.”
The show may fail because it is somewhat of an “alternative comedy,” and may initially appeal only to a choice niche of fans, but given time it could earn the status alongside “South Park” and “Chapelle’s Show” as one of the network’s staples. In fact, Comedy Central has enough high hopes to be suggesting one lofty comparison to none other than the Marx Bros.
Acknowledging associations abound, there is no real spot-on comparison to another comedy show that can be made. However, fans of “Kids in the Hall” and “Reno 911!” should be pleased. Even though it’s not a sketch comedy, some of the scenes have the ability to stand alone and are tied together in the Monty Python “and now for something completely different” method, as the cast will break out into dance parties with little warning. While often funny, there are some bits that are a little too over the top and many will find the show dumb or pointless. Yet “Stella” embraces that idiotic humor stipulation with the show’s slogan “dumb comedy dressed up in a suit.” It’s high-brow low-brow comedy.
The history of “Stella” goes further back than “Wet Hot American Summer,” to when the three met at New York University and helped form another, larger comedy group called “The State,” which had a show air on MTV in the early ’90s. The show actually tried to make a switch to CBS in 1995, but a Halloween special on the network didn’t receive anticipated ratings and the prospect of an ongoing series was axed shortly thereafter, according to www.imdb.com.
Since then the “Stella” trio went on to do various other projects, most notably when Black starred as Phil Stubbs in the NBC sitcom/drama “Ed” and Showalter and Wain acted as correspondents for “The Daily Show” in 1996, when the show was created with Craig Kilborn hosting. A year later, the three got together and created “Stella” as a weekly nightclub show, eventually touring the country as a cohesive comedy act with loyal fans. In 2002 the group released “Stella Shorts” on video with appearances from Julie Bowen (“Ed” co-star; “Happy Gilmore”) and Paul Rudd (“Wet Hot American Summer” co-star; regular guest on “Friends”). “Stella Shorts” contains episodic nonsense shot over a four-year period and can be considered a certain precursor to the new Comedy Central series.
In addition to “Ed,” Black also had the privilege of playing the wacky Pets.com sock puppet, which appeared in a lengthy ad campaign in the late ’90s. He has also made regular appearances on “Celebrity Poker Showdown” on Bravo and the “I Love the ’70s/’80s/’90s” series, along with less frequent appearances from Showalter and Wain, on VH1.
For those who missed the premiere, www.comedycentral.com has clips of “Stella” available online and the show will continue to air Tuesday nights at 10:30 on the network.
