I haven’t seen Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz in person and have no idea how these sets stack up to their usual act. Whether you find the improv funny (or even good) is subjective. ( Whose Line Is It Anyway? still comes up, but it’s been off the air for a long time and becoming harder to find every year.) Long-form improv is almost non-existent on film or TV, so the release of the Middleditch & Schwartz comedy specials on Netflix gives us an exciting opportunity. It’s much harder to write for a larger audience because there aren’t many common sources to refer to. When practicing improv skills, we usually have only our own scenes to talk about. For best results, you should watch the Middleditch & Schwartz comedy specials on Netflix before reading this article. It's a reminder that, wow, they are actually somehow keeping all of this insanity straight for 99% of the show and they're so talented that even their fumbles are comedic gold.As we all know, describing improv out of context is hard to understand. Some of the best moments are the fourth-wall-breaking acknowledgements of what exactly they're doing, whether it's a laugh or a gaffe or just someone forgetting which character is which for a second. While it's impressive that they manage to make coherent storylines on the fly, it's more about watching these two feed off each other and dig into the strange recesses of each other's brains. And the strangest episode of all starts with the idea of a guy who is waiting to hear back about a job interview and turns into a hilariously confusing melding of minds and bodies in a public bathroom.Īt the end of each special, there's a feeling that it's not really about the scenes these two set. In another, they envision a law school classroom that begins pretty normally but devolves into a bizarre scene of child abandonment. In one episode, the two play multiple roles in a wedding beset with drunk parents, tales of long-ago loves, and a ghost. Middleditch and Schwartz improvising a scene about the strangest law school class you could ever imagine. But when you witness these two in their three Netflix specials, it's clear how they managed to see this meteoric rise as perhaps the strongest comedy duo of the new decade. They've been doing improv together on tours billed as Middleditch and Schwartz over the past couple of years, performing all around the country in venues as illustrious Carnegie Hall, which is not somewhere you expect to see improv comedy. Schwartz's role in Funny or Die's improvised morning news show called The Earliest Show is an underrated gem, while Middleditch has been doing incomprehensibly impressive Shakespearean improv with a company since 2005. The two have cut their teeth in improv over the years in some truly incredible fashions. But their chops go much deeper, with roles in tons of projects, from multiple appearances of both on Comedy Bang! Bang! to Middleditch's role as Tony Babcock, a character he invented and used to literally cast an LA Kings hockey game.
#Middleditch and schwartz tv#
These are two incredible improv comedians at what may be the peak of their talents, and it's a pleasure to watch them work.īoth of these guys have made names for themselves with iconic comedy roles on TV - Schwartz is mostly recognized for playing Jean-Ralphio on Parks and Recreation and Middleditch for his role as Richard Hendricks on HBO's Silicon Valley. The chemistry that sizzles between them and the way they build off of each other is a rare thing to see. Using nothing but their own bodies, voices, and a couple of chairs, Middleditch and Schwartz sweep up the audience in an entrancing, electric kind of energy. The three hour-long episodes, filmed at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, go in strange directions that surprise even their two guides, while still being some of the most hilarious comedy you can get your hands on right now.
#Middleditch and schwartz series#
The Netflix series (opens in a new tab) is a rare televised look at live improv comedy, featuring two of the best improv comedians working right now. But after a few minutes, when Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz get rolling, it's apparent that this is not your standard display of improv. Like so many improvisational comedy shows, Middleditch & Schwartz begins with a simple question to the audience to help establish a scene.
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