Strangers with Candy

Strangers with Candy
Genre
Created byStephen Colbert
Paul Dinello
Amy Sedaris
Mitch Rouse
StarringAmy Sedaris
Stephen Colbert
Paul Dinello
Greg Hollimon
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes30 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time23 minutes
Production companyComedy Partners
Original release
NetworkComedy Central
ReleaseApril 7, 1999 (1999-04-07) –
October 2, 2000 (2000-10-02)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Strangers with Candy is an American television sitcom created by Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Amy Sedaris, and Mitch Rouse that originally aired on Comedy Central from April 7, 1999, to October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10:00 p.m. (ET). The series, inspired by after school specials, follows Jerri Blank (Sedaris) a 46-year-old woman, who after living as a prostitute and drug addict, decides to go back to high school and start doing things the right way. The series was produced by Comedy Partners, with Kent Alterman serving as executive producer and Colbert as co-producer.[1][2]

Strangers with Candy episodes were produced in a single-camera setup and were filmed between upstate New York and New Jersey. The pilot episode premiered on April 7, 1999, and three seasons followed. The series stars Sedaris, Colbert, Dinello and Greg Hollimon with a supporting cast that includes Roberto Gari, Deborah Rush, Larc Spies, Maria Thayer, Orlando Patoboy, Sarah Thyre and David Pasquesi.

Tonally, Strangers with Candy uses surreal humor to satirize after school specials and the sanitized, saccharine advice those shows would give to kids. The show altered the lessons so the principal character would always do the wrong thing. It was Comedy Central's first ever live-action narrative series. The show struggled with low ratings during its initial broadcast run. Despite the lack of audience, it is now known as a cult classic, having influenced numerous contemporary comedians and screenwriters. A prequel film of the same name was released in 2006.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Paley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Weiner, Jonah (November 28, 2014). "The Man Who Saved Comedy Central". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 27, 2023.