Historical Roasts

What a wasted concept. So many talented comedians and this slow paced, sorry excuse for comedy was the best you all could do? Turn in your comic cards and get day jobs.

If you're offended by anything AT ALL, this show is definitely not for you. If you have the historical knowledge of the average American, this show is not for you. If you don't know much about pop culture, this show is probably not for you. If you're a Trump supporter, this show is obviously not for you. I can't believe some still don't get that the vast majority of comedy (or any art) is produced by liberals, and that their world view is reflected. Get over it, please. Yes, some of the jokes are silly or lame, but most are fine, and many are downright good. This show is not as good as some of the roasts of living celebrities, but still worth watching.

I get that some people won't dig it. Much of the jokes are written in an old school vaudeville style and it won't land for most modern audiences. There's nothing wrong with that. Not everything is for everybody.

But I love this, my wife loves it and my kids do, too.

Everything from historical rumors and less publicized facts are brought out and laid out in a way that sticks. Kudos to the staff on making this and Netflix for having the guts to distribute. I hope they make more.

Lots of bad reviews on this one. I have to 100% disagree with all the 1s and 2s. This was a wonderful idea and it was executed pretty well. I found the shots of audience members being unamused as part of the humor - you know cause humor is different for everyone and all that.... but yes there are episodes that are better than others.

The idea of doing a friars club style roast of famous historical figures AS other famous historical figures is actually a really fun idea. Getting a bunch of comedians, or comedian-adjacent-people, to put on an exaggerated character for half an hour can lead to a fun time and create some weird images. I would suggest that most people got interested in this by the trailer with a clip of Gilbert Gottfried as Adolf Hitler, it has the potential for great stunt casting and when it hits that potential it does something special. Seth Green as David Bowie or John Stamos as John Wilkes Booth are actual comedic highlights... everything else, no.

There are two big problems with this show, and one of them is Jeff Ross. I'm sorry, Jeff Ross isn't that good a comic. he has 5 jokes and edits them slightly for every roast and he is a horrible piece of casting. Its name brand recognition using a person with no brand recognition outside of this niche market of roasts and the fact that he walks out every episode and isn't a character just makes it a tonal mess.

The scripts were clearly written in an afternoon by two people who threw it together using set dressing and costumes that they borrows from a nearby community theatre. This is dumb but with some actual love, care and production values this could be something special. Instead it's just... mostly painful with sparks of brilliance that is begging to be let out. If they keep doing this, they need to put Jeff behind the camera, up the production values and work harder on the scripts... or, don't? Just, just don't make more of this.