''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'' is an American

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and ...

series created by and starring

Tim Heidecker Timothy Richard Heidecker (; born February 3, 1976) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric. He has also appeared in films, including '' Bridesmai ...

and

Eric Wareheim Eric Alexander Wareheim (; born April 7, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, musician, and winemaker. He is best known as one half of the comedy duo Tim & Eric, alongside Tim Heidecker. He also had a recurring role on the Netf ...

, which premiered February 11, 2007 on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

and ran until May 2010. The show features surreal and often satirical humor (at points

anti-humor Anti-humor is a type of indirect and alternative humor that involves the joke-teller's delivering something that is intentionally not funny, or lacking in intrinsic meaning. The practice relies on the expectation on the part of the audience of so ...

and

cringe comedy Cringe comedy is a subgenre of comedy that derives humor from social awkwardness, guilty pleasure, self-deprecation, idiosyncratic humor and personal distress. A type of a cringe comedy are pseudo-reality TV shows, sometimes with an air of a moc ...

public-access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

-style musical acts, bizarre faux-commercials with a unique editing and special effects style by Doug Lussenhop to make the show appear off-kilter. The program featured a wide range of performers, including regular guests

Zach Galifianakis Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He appeared in ''Comedy Central Presents'' special and presented his show ''Late World with Zach'' on VH1. Galifianakis has starred in films including ''Th ...

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in '' Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in '' Days of Thunder'' (1990), '' ...

Ray Wise Raymond Herbert Wise (born August 20, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Leland Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and its prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), Vice President Hal Gardner i ...

Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off '' Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has ...

Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Forte is known for being a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (2002–2010), a recurring character on the show leading to a feature film ada ...

Maria Bamford Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Her work has drawn critical acclaim and controversy because her humor often uses self-deprecating and dark topics, including her dysfunctional family, depressio ...

, Jeff Goldblum, and

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specific ...

, as well as an ensemble of alternative performers like

Neil Hamburger Neil Hamburger is a fictional standup comedian and singer created by Australian-American entertainer Gregg Turkington. Distinguished for his misanthropic jokes and anti-comedy style, Turkington has released a number of albums as Hamburger and ...

Tommy Wiseau Thomas P. Wiseau ( or ) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for writing, producing, directing, and starring in the 2003 film '' The Room'', which has been described by many critics as one of the worst films ever made and has gaine ...

, and David Liebe Hart, once popular stars like Karen Black,

Frank Stallone Francesco Stallone Jr. (born July 30, 1950) is an American actor and musician. He is the younger brother of actor Sylvester Stallone and has written music for Sylvester's movies. His song " Far from Over" appeared in the 1983 film '' Staying Al ...

, and

Alan Thicke Alan Thicke (born Alan Willis Jeffrey; March 1, 1947December 13, 2016) was a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is the father of singer Robin Thicke. In 2013, Thicke was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. Thicke was b ...

, porn stars, celebrity look-alikes,

impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

, and amateur actors found through

Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Craig Newmark began the ...

. The show also attracted a wide range of popular Hollywood talent for brief appearances, including

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...

Elisha Cuthbert Elisha Ann Cuthbert Phaneuf (; born 30 November 1982) is a Canadian actress and model. As a child actress, she made her first televised appearance as an extra in the Canadian horror-themed series for children '' Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' and ...

Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' from 200 ...

Jonah Hill Jonah Hill Feldstein (born December 20, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his comedic roles in films including '' Superbad'' (2007), ''Knocked Up'' (2007), '' 21 Jump Street'' (2012), '' This Is the End'' (201 ...

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known ...

Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...

Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. ...

, and

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

, among others. The creators of the show have described it as "the nightmare version of television". On August 27, 2017, Adult Swim broadcast a ten-year anniversary special, known as ''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Awesome 10 Year Anniversary Version, Great Job?'', including new sketches as well as a best-of from older broadcasts.

Synopsis

The show, which expands the genre of the live-action material featured in Heidecker and Wareheim's previous show, ''

Tom Goes to the Mayor ''Tom Goes to the Mayor'' is an American adult animated series created by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim for Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. It premiered on November 14, 2004 and ended on September 25, 2006 with a t ...

'', consists of sketches, songs, and commercials. It features several characters and segments seen in ''Tom Goes to the Mayor'', such as Gibbons, the "Channel 5 Married News Team," and the Cinco Corporation with its variety of inefficient and tasteless products. New recurring characters and sketches include "Uncle Muscles Hour," a

variety program Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compère ...

hosted by a gravelly-voiced

and Channel 5 News Correspondent Dr. Steve Brule, played by

. The show featured a variety of celebrity cameos from actors, comedians, and musicians. The editing style takes its influence from such elements as infomercials, corporate training videos, and TV shopping channels, which are all satirized. The show gets darker in season 5, or "Season Cinco", which has a

TV MA The TV Parental Guidelines are a television content rating system in the United States that was first proposed on December 19, 1996, by the United States Congress, the television industry and the Federal Communications Commission, federal commun ...

rating.

Episodes

International broadcast

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, ''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'' previously aired on

CTV Comedy Channel CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy and formerly known as The Comedy Network) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming. The channel first launched on Octobe ...

(formerly The Comedy Network) and later G4's

Adult Digital Distraction Adult Digital Distraction (ADd) is a block airing on G4 Canada. Similar to Adult Swim and Teletoon at Night, Adult Digital Distraction airs mature comedies. It parallels the American counterpart's ''Midnight Spank'' block. Its programming consist ...

block. The series currently airs on the Canadian version of Adult Swim.

Production

Halfway through the broadcasting of the first season,

picked up ''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'' for another season ordering as many as 30 new episodes. The second season began airing on November 18, 2007. Season one was released on DVD in April, 2008. The third season began on July 27, 2008, and ended on September 28, 2008. Eric posted a MySpace bulletin Oct 1, 2008, announcing that as a "holiday surprise" season four would be airing in January 2009. The show was later renewed for a fifth season. Speaking with ''

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

'' in July 2009, Wareheim said that season five (or "Season Cinco") would represent "a very dark side of the ''Awesome Show'' series. I think people are going to be very scared and very disturbed by it."''

'' article:
Q&A: Tim and Eric on Child Abuse, Diarrhea, and Yerba-Mate Tea
". He also noted that the pair draw equal humor from the awkwardness of ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original ser ...

'' as they do from the awkwardness of

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

's films. The duo went on to state that they had begun an unconscious tradition by starting the first episode of seasons two, three, and four each with fecal-related fake commercials; they plan to "outdo" themselves on season five with a "

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin w ...

disease"-based commercial. The fifth season premiered on February 28, 2010. The series finale aired on May 2, 2010. On May 16, 2010, the spin-off ''Check it Out!'' premiered. Tim and Eric acquired funding to shoot and air a one-hour special that aired on December 5, 2010, called ''The Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job Chrimbus Special''. Simultaneous to this announcement, the duo also released a list of dates and cities for their upcoming 2010 tour. Tim and Eric also announced plans for a movie, entitled ''

Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie ''Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie'' is a 2012 American absurdist comedy film starring, written, directed, and produced by the comedy duo Tim & Eric (Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim) in their feature directorial debuts. The plot follows Heide ...

''; in the film, released online and on pay-per-view on January 27, 2012, the pair try to revitalize a run-down mall in order to pay a billion-dollar debt. The duo's Abso Lutely Productions signoff bumper features a video clip of Heidecker's father during a family vacation in 1991; when asked to sum the trip up in two words, he responded "Abso-lutely". The full clip can be found on their website, DVD, and also on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Music

The series' theme music was composed by Davin Wood, who had also composed the theme music for the earlier ''Tom Goes to the Mayor'', and for related series '' Derek & Simon'', ''American Misfits'', ''Stupidface'', and ''

Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule ''Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule'' is an American comedy television series starring John C. Reilly as Dr. Steve Brule. The show is a spin-off of ''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'', originating in a segment called ''Brule's Rules''. Th ...

''. On May 6, 2008, Williams Street Records released ''

Awesome Record, Great Songs! Volume One ''Awesome Record, Great Songs! Volume One'' is a 2008 comedy album by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, collectively known as Tim & Eric, released on Williams Street Records. The album features many songs from the first and second seasons of their ...

'', a compilation of songs from the first two seasons, and some covers and remixes by other artists. Williams Street also released ''Uncle Muscles Presents Casey and His Brother'' in July of that year, an EP featuring 11 songs sung by Heidecker in character as Casey Tatum.

Touring

One of Tim and Eric's first live performances incorporating characters from ''Awesome Show'' was ''Muscles for Bones'', a spoof

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...

seeking bones for Richard Dunn. This was performed at Troubadour nightclub in

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages in ...

. Major portions of this live performance were incorporated into season 3, episode 8 "Muscles for Bones". An extended version of this show can be found as an extra on the Season 3 DVD. The extended version features performances not seen on the original TV episode, from performers such as Pierre and Michael Q. Schmidt. Prior to the beginning of seasons two and three, Tim and Eric combined "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" Live in Vegas (2007). The second of these, listed as season 3 episode 0, shared their 2008 cross-country tour and was titled ''Awesome Tour Live 2008''.

Reception

''Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!'' has had a wide range of reviews with many differing in opinion. Columnist for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Dave Itzkoff writes, Awesome Show' revels in an aesthetic of awkwardness." And also adds, "To populate their twisted universe they frequently cast average-looking actors (and nonactors) recruited from Web sites like

, who bring an additional layer of deliberate amateurishness to their skits." James Norton from ''

Flak Magazine ''Flak Magazine'' was an early American online magazine, founded in 1998 by James Norton, Benjamin Fowler, Justin Knoll, Nicholas Coleman and others, mostly alumni and students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The chief editor was James Nor ...

'' says, "If Adult Swim is the bleeding edge of TV comedy, ''Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job!'' is the bleeding edge of the bleeding edge." He adds, "The program has been much hated-upon by the Adult Swim fan base ... But the program also represents a foray into one of the most dangerous and exciting realms of the comedy world: sheer individualistic creativity." A reappraisal of the show in a 2020 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' column dubbed the show "sketch comedy at its most abrasive, bizarre and, for some reason, endearing."

Spin-offs

While doing press for the first season of the program, Heidecker and Wareheim told an interviewer that they had aspirations to create a spinoff featuring ''Awesome Show'' regular Richard Dunn: "It's just him interviewing people like ''

The Charlie Rose Show ''Charlie Rose'' (also known as ''The Charlie Rose Show'') is an American television interview and talk show, with Charlie Rose as executive producer, executive editor, and host. The show was syndicated on PBS from 1991 until 2017 and is owned ...

''. We would love to produce that. No one would ever watch it." Using characters and skits from ''Awesome Show'', Heidecker and Wareheim (via their Absolutely production company) created an online-only show called ''

Tim and Eric Nite Live! ''Tim and Eric Nite Live!'' is an American web series, which premiered November 8, 2007 on SuperDeluxe. The talk show stars Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, creators of '' Tom Goes to the Mayor'' and '' Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'', and ...

'', originally broadcast in 2007 on the website

SuperDeluxe Super Deluxe was an entertainment company owned by Turner Broadcasting. The company's main output was in online video, television series, and documentaries. History Turner Broadcasting System announced the launch of Super Deluxe, a digital com ...

. In July 2008, the ''

'' reported that an ''Awesome Show'' spin-off, '' Check It Out!, with Steve Brule'', would air on Adult Swim beginning sometime in 2009.''

'' article:
The Bizarre Brains of Nightmare TV
. The show parodies local newscasts, and as Heidecker briefly described it: "It's like his half-hour to go around town and interview the local beer-maker or whatever." The show will have an episode run time of approximately 11 minutes, and it will feature John C. Reilly reprising his role as Dr. Steve Brule. According to Heidecker, Reilly had the original idea of giving the Dr. Steve character an entire show. ''Vanity Fair'' reported that the program would begin airing on August 23, 2009; however, the program did not air on that date, and ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose par ...

'' reported in September 2009 that ''Check It Out!'' was "forthcoming."''

'' article
Are Tim and Eric Getting Political?
". The first episode aired May 16, 2010,Teaser posted by ''Eric Wareheim.'' vide

and the last on June 20, 2010, with a total of six episodes. The show returned with six more episodes, the first airing March 18, 2012, and the last on April 12, 2012. The show has managed two more seasons also consisting of six episodes, which aired in 2014 and 2016. In the same July 2008 ''New York Times'' article, it was reported that the duo was in the process of developing a surreal

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

series starring

, titled ''The New Big Ball with Neil Hamburger''. Wareheim described it as a mix between " bizarre Japanese game shows and ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

''." In late July 2009, Neil Hamburger posted a blog on Myspace stating that a pilot had been filmed, but that Adult Swim was not satisfied and had "pulled the plug on the project." As of November 8, 2013, the pilot has been uploaded to the official Adult Swim website.

Home media

All five seasons and the Chrimbus Special have been released on DVD in

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

1 and 4 with distribution for the latter being handled by

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatr ...

. The Chrimbus Special was released as a standalone DVD, and like seasons four and five, have become a rarity due to them no longer being in print. Only the first and second seasons have been released on DVD in Region 2. The series is also available on

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

since September 1, 2020.

References

External links

* *
''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!''
on Adultswim.com (UK)
Tim and Eric.com
{{Williams Street 2007 American television series debuts 2010 American television series endings 2000s American black comedy television series 2000s American satirical television series 2000s American sketch comedy television series 2010s American black comedy television series 2010s American satirical television series 2010s American sketch comedy television series Adult Swim original programming English-language television shows Television series by Abso Lutely Productions Tim & Eric Television series by Williams Street 2000s American surreal comedy television series 2010s American surreal comedy television series