The Stars of Comedy Central Talk Orgies, Explosions, and 'Good Burger' at PaleyFest
PaleyFest LA hosted ”A Salute to Comedy Central” Saturday in Hollywood, featuring the stars of the network’s biggest shows: Key & Peele, Workaholics, Broad City, Kroll Show, and Review. They talked about their series — all of which, except for Kroll Show, are still producing episodes — and took questions from the audience. Here are the participants, and their responses when asked who their comedic influences are:
Kyle Newacheck (Workaholics): Daniel Stern in Home Alone
Anders Holm (Workaholics): Rick Moranis
Blake Anderson (Workaholics): Jim Carrey
Adam DeVine (Workaholics): Chris Farley and Eddie Murphy
Abbi Jacobson (Broad City): Gilda Radner
Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele): Peter Sellers and Richard Pryor
Jordan Peele (Key & Peele): Phil Hartman and Martin Lawrence
Nick Kroll (Kroll Show): Mel Brooks
Andy Daly (Review): Martin Short and Charles Grodin, “but not a fan of Clifford!”
The Weirdest Note Key & Peele Ever Got
“One time,” said Peele, “We got, ‘Is Star Wars a thing?’” which caused a bit of a stir on stage. The Workaholics guys, however, said that they have a No Star Wars Policy. “I didn’t grow up with Star Wars being a whole, hallowed thing,” said Holm in his defense. “Well, it’s no Good Burger!” jumped in Daly — one of several running jokes that continued through the panel.
The Future of Workaholics
How old can these guys get before it’s really weird that they still live and work together? Anderson said, “I think our show is only going to get funnier the older and older and older and more pathetic we get.” DeVine took it one step further, “We have said that we want to maybe do a few more seasons, then call it quits for like, fifteen years, then come back when we’re nearing fifty and we’re the exact same guys. Nothing’s changed.” Are you ready for Workaholics 2035?
Related: The ‘Workaholics’ Guys Give Us Plenty of Weird From the Set
The Most Gratifying Moment on Kroll Show
The audience at the Dolby Theater got a sneak peek at a scene from later in this final season featuring Dr. Armond, California’s premier animal plastic surgeon. What began as a cast-off part of a “PubLIZity” segment in the pilot has taken on a life of its own, Kroll said, spinning off into multiple worlds on the show. “It was a really gratifying thing to watch the progression of a ridiculous character who doesn’t move his face that we spent so much real estate on.”
Even better than that, though, was having notoriously pale stand-up comedian Bill Burr guest in that segment: “Anytime I can get Bill Burr in the sun with no shade, fry him up like a piece of Boston bacon, I’m going to do it.” The pronouncement sent gales of laughter across the stage; Key very nearly fell out of his chair because “that’s a very specific bacon!”
The Most Dangerous Moment on Review
Key & Peele often use firearms, and once had Key having to stand very close to an actual exploding car. Daly, though, said he faced a different kind of peril: “I feel our orgy scene was emotionally dangerous. Because it was a lot of extras in skin-tight, flesh-colored underwear. None of those people will ever be the same.”
When Broad City Knew They Had Nailed It
The crowd favorite today was Broad City, and the absence of co-star/co-creator Ilana Glazer was keenly felt. There were raucous cheers as Jacobson talked about the care they took in the writers’ room over the recent episode in which her character engages in “pegging.” (If you don’t know what that means, you’re on your own.)
They wanted to make sure that the activity wasn’t the joke; rather, it was about the awkwardness and intricacy of the relationship between Abbi and her long-time crush Jeremy. “I was really proud of the episode,” Jacobson said. “We got it. We figured it out. All it takes is a strap-on sometimes.”
Workaholics airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m., Broad City airs Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m., and Kroll Show airs Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m., all on Comedy Central. Key & Peele and Review return later this year on Comedy Central.
