Kroll Show

My expectations for "Kroll Show" was not too high to begin with, as Comedy Central tries many sketch comedy shows that simply just don't make it. The great sketch comedy shows always leave you coming away from the show with that awesome sketch you talk about for a week until you see the next. Chappelle's Show, Key and Peele, and Who's Line is it Anyway, are perfect examples of classic sketch comedies. Kroll Show does not have the lasting factor these shows did, as a couple cheap laughs from the same guy and mostly unknown supporting characters does not make the show watchable on a weekly basis. While the show has it's moments of laughs, most of the time it fails to leave a lasting impression on it's viewers. A majority of the viewers will simply be watching due to the fact it is on after Workaholics, but take away that time slot and this show will have ratings more realistic to the show's quality.

4/10

Think the other reviewers missed the point on this show (especially the guy that said 'It's awful!' then proceeded to spend a paragraph talking about Futurama) and would hate to see people miss this gem on the basis the three negative reviews already here. That said, some episodes and/sketches are stronger than others are but that makes the show no different from any other program of its type (even Monty Python did sketches that weren't really funny {their words, not mine}). Thing is, most of the sketches on Kroll are parodies of reality programs or outrageous personalities so, by nature, they're going to be kinda irritating but unfunny? Not to me. Check out 'Rich Dicks', 'Liz & Liz', 'Ghost Bouncers', 'Oh Hello' or any of the 'Armond about the House' sketches and decide for yourself if this isn't one of the most hilarious, well-done sketch programs put out in years. The chameleonesque skills of Kroll and Cast in portraying their array of characters are truly awe inspiring in their nuance and ability to mix familiarity with caricature (who hasn't met a Liz B or Bobby Bottlefiller?). Even the intro sequence and theme music stand out for being impactful, evocative and stylish. Along with Key & Peele, I feel this is one of the best written, designed and executed comedies currently being made but the only way to know is to check it out and see for yourself. 9/10

I really like this show. But I'm not shocked that many people dislike it. The sketches don't all stand up well by themselves, lacking the clearly-defined, singular premise that is the hallmark of traditional sketch comedy (e.g., SNL, Mad TV, Chappelle Show, Whitest Kids U Know), where a humorous situation is set up and then played out to further and further extremes. There is not much here aimed towards water-cooler recaps. Nor is the satire offbeat enough for the show to achieve that surreal, absurdist quality that you get from Mr. Show, Portlandia, Comedy Bang Bang, or even Monty Python. Kroll does not venture too far from reality show parodies. But where Kroll Show may shrug off mainstream expectations as sketch comedy, it nails its target as social commentary: a kind of stream-of-consciousness symphonic poem aware only of the circular, ephemeral landscape of trashy television and internet memes that exists in front of its own eyes. At its best, the show is to Bravo and E! what The Onion is to bad journalism, the joke not so much on the idiots that it caricatures but rather on all of us for letting them happen. If you don't feel a little ashamed of yourself by how recognizable all of this is then yes, you are probably missing the point.

I honestly don't get how so many people can find this show so unappealing.

It's a fantastic satire of modern celebrity and reality TV that sadly no one on the internet gets outside of a few niches. It's a parody of the downfall of society.

It's something more people should get, but I guess Kroll coming from a show about fantasy football will give you an audience more predisposed to ESPN and firmly against Bravo therefore unlikely to get a lot of the humor. It's a satire and at this point in the second season it has blossomed into one of Comedy Central's best shows.

Of course not everything fires as funny as we'd like, nothing does, but in all honesty, it's still one of the best shows out there right now. Nick Kroll's take on reality TV is so good, I will NEVER watch reality TV as long as I can help it. I've seen an episode of that stuff here and there and rely heavily on 'The Soup' to know what's going on in the world of Garbage TV to ever need to sit through it for real. Kroll Show has nailed the insipid trash that many seem to flock to and made it funny.

OK, I know much of the real reality TV is funny in it's attempt to be good, but I can't sit through it. Nick Kroll and his insane little ensemble skewer it as well as some of the other 'stuff' on TV and does it masterfully yet not 'in your face'. They don't try too hard and that's one of the reasons it's so damn funny. Some comedy tries to be funny to the point that it just becomes stupid. Nick doesn't. It's low key but very believable. I rarely give anyone a 10 because I can always find some flaw but in an effort to balance a few of the negative reviews, I'm going all out. This show deserves it.