The Earliest Show

The Earliest Show is an American comedy web series starring Ben Schwartz and Lauren Lapkus. Produced by Funny or Die, the series was sponsored by Cap'n Crunch cereal as a form of branded content. It follows morning show co-hosts Josh Bath and Sam Newman who must deal with the aftermath of Josh's failed on-air wedding proposal. The show is largely improvised. The Earliest Show premiered on October 27, 2016 and consisted of six episodes.[1][3]

The Earliest Show
Official promotional poster
GenreImprovisational comedy[1]
parody[2]
Directed byBen Schwartz
StarringBen Schwartz
Lauren Lapkus
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Running time11-13 minutes[2]
Production companyFunny or Die
Release
Original releaseOctober 27 (2016-10-27) –
December 6, 2016 (2016-12-06)

Synopsis

Josh Bath (Ben Schwartz) and Sam Newman (Lauren Lapkus) are co-hosts of The Earliest Show, which broadcasts at 3:00AM.[2] Josh surprises his girlfriend (Jessica Meraz) with an on-air proposal and begins to unravel emotionally after she rejects him. Each episode follows Josh going through a different stage of grief on-air.[4]

Cast

Guest starring

Production

Development

Cap'n Crunch had previously worked with Funny or Die and approached Schwartz with an idea for a series meant to target a young demographic.[1][2] He pitched a parody of a morning show based around a co-host whose rejection proposal causes him to spiral. Schwartz also served as the series' director and recruited former Asssscat improv team member Lapkus as his co-host.[7][6] Schwartz studied Today and Live with Kelly to get a sense of morning talk show format, camera work, and set design.[7] Each episode consisted largely of improvisation. An additional episode of over an hour of improvised bloopers was released as episode seven of the series.[2]

Release

The Earliest Show premiered on Funny Or Die on October 27, 2016, and one episode was released each Tuesday thereafter.[2] The episodes were also released on YouTube. Each episode runs for 11 to 13 minutes. Two additional episodes, one of bloopers and one with extended interviews, were also released.[2]

Accolades

Schwartz and Lapkus received 2017 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards nominations for acting in the Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category.[8]

References
  1. Hamedy, Saba (27 October 2016). "Funny or Die launches series with Ben Schwartz, Cap'n Crunch". Mashable. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  2. Grobar, Matt (2017-06-26). "'The Earliest Show's Ben Schwartz Discusses His Short-Form Roots & Finding Guests For A Fake Talk Show". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  3. "Cap'n Crunch Just Created a Fake Morning Show That Airs in the Middle of the Night". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  4. "Afternoon Delight: Let the 'The Earliest Show' Entertain You at the Latest Hour". Decider. 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  5. "Rejected Jokes - Episode six of The Earliest Show is up on Funny or..." Rejected Jokes. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  6. Greene, Steve (2017-08-17). "Ben Schwartz and Lauren Lapkus Made Up the Internet's Funniest Emmy Nominee As They Went Along". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  7. Mallenbaum, Carly. "Miss 'Between Two Ferns'? Watch Funny or Die's new talk show parody". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  8. "Emmys 2017: Full List of Nominations". Variety. 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
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