Recently, Comedy Central has added television shows that focus on vulgar and offensive humor to their lineup. The shows range from sketch comedies to topical comedies— shows that take funny or interesting stories each week and add their own humorous take on these stories. One topical show that has become quite popular is The Jeselnik Offensive with comedian Anthony Jeselnik as the host of the show. The program focuses on anything from taboo topics for jokes—like racial stereotypes, as Jeselnik once played a game where contestants had to spell African Americans names like Quvenzhané, Yassenneh, and Dont’a—to cancer when Jeselnik went to a hospital and performed cancer jokes in front of cancer patients. The other series added to the channel is Inside Amy Schumer, a sketch comedy show that is full of crass humor.
The Jeselnik Offensive is set up in two segments: the opening monologue (where Jeselnik adds his own dark twist to tragic news) and panel (where Jeselnik and two other comedians comment on funny events that happened in the week). The monologue is reminiscent of Tosh.o, yet the segment struggles to be as funny as Tosh.o in the monologue, as the jokes come off as forced at times. Also, Daniel Tosh has a self-deprecating humor and has no restraint on his jokes (whether they are about himself or focused more on others), which is lacking in Jeselnik’s performance. It is not until the panel section of the show that Jeselnik seems more relaxed and is able to really make funny jokes back and forth with the other comedians. In general, the show is very funny at times; however, it leaves something to be desired, as it seems to be missing elements that would put it on the level of Tosh.o. This slight disappointment might show how spoiled viewers have become with a show like Tosh.o— a series that is outrageously offensive, yet able to continue to make funny jokes and barely ever miss on one-liners.
“Inside Amy Schumer” is set up in three alternating segments with sketches, snippets of Schumer doing stand-up in front of a crowd, and interviews with people on the street. The show is as vulgar as “Tosh.o” (and Schumer is as self-deprecating), yet just like Jeselnik’s show, the jokes are mainly hit-or-miss with vulgarity sometimes taking over for quality jokes. Furthermore, the stand-up and the interviews are considerably less funny than the sketches.
Overall, both The Jeselnik Offensive and Inside Amy Schumer are funny shows, yet they lack Tosh.0’s consistency of jokes that hit with audiences. While both shows have strong segments that will leave viewers laughing hysterically, they have just as many segments that leave viewers looking for more.
