Comedy Bang! Bang! Shows IFC’s Passion for Weird Comedy

IFC has made a reputation for itself as a hip network, giving a home to some niche comedies with high nerd-cred while airing reruns of beloved cult shows. At any given time on IFC, you’ll probably see a re-run of Arrested Development or Freaks and Geeks. IFC’s programming is tailor-made for younger demographics, college students likely being a large part of that audience.

Before this starts to sound like a network pandering to the nostalgia-fueled population of young internet users, IFC isn’t afraid to take chances on some really out-there projects. Among them is the superb Comedy Bang! Bang!. CBB is a television adaptation of comedian Scott Aukerman’s uber popular podcast of the same name. Comedy Bang! Bang!, the podcast, is a wonderful free-form comedy podcast that always features amazing guests to bounce off of Aukerman’s persona.

Told you this show was weird | Promotional Photo Courtesy of IFC
Told you this show was weird | Promotional photo courtesy of IFC

The TV Comedy Bang! Bang! takes the comedic style of its podcast predecessor and inserts it into a structure. This half-hour comedy is a full-on meta talk show, sending up every aspect of the traditional live variety show. Aukerman is a bizarro Carson, every joke coming from a tongue-in-cheek tone. Alongside Aukerman is one of the best comedians working today, Reggie Watts. A frequent guest on the CBB podcast, Watts is one of the most versatile talents out there, combining music, improvisation, and comedy into something singularly hilarious. Reggie is the one-man band and partner in crime to Aukerman. He’s totally absurd and insanely talented—it works like gangbusters for the wacky tone of CBB.

Comedy Bang! Bang! is some really out-there comedy; it’s about as far as you can get from a network show and still be on television. At every turn, Scott Aukerman and Reggie Watts are trying to undercut every convention of a TV show they can. When it works, it makes for some really great alternative comedy on par with any cult show on TV.

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