It’s one of the most highly regarded sketch comedy shows in television history, but few people have seen The State, which ran on MTV from 1993 to 1995 and featured talented comedians who would go on to such successes as Reno 911, Stella, and Role Models. Fans of the show have a reason to rejoice (as well as the friends-of-fans, who’ve been listening to us yammer on about the greatness of The State for years) because the entire series will finally be available on DVD on July 14, 2009. In honor of this momentous event, let’s take a look at where the cast has been hiding for all this time.
1. Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant
Lennon and Garant appeared together as the Inbred Brothers on The State, and have stayed connected at the waist throughout their careers. Together, they created Reno 911, where they appear mustachioed as Lt. Jim Dangle and Deputy Travis Junior. They penned a few flops (Jimmy Fallon’s Taxi, The Pacifier, and Herbie Fully Loaded) before striking gold with Night at the Museum and its subsequent sequel. Thomas Lennon has also lent his deadpan face to films like Memento, I Love You Man, and 17 Again.
2. David Wain
David Wain played a lot of smaller roles on The State (for example, The Jew in “The Jew, the Italian, and the Redhead Gay”), but he was more often found behind the camera. That hobby paid off, because he’s currently living the life of success with his films Role Models, Wet Hot American Summer, and The Ten. He also appeared alongside Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black in the short-lived sitcom Stella on Comedy Central, and he recently won a Webby Award for his webshow Wainy Days, which is currently in its fourth season on MyDamnChannel.com.
3. Michael Showalter
After his character “Doug” was “outta heeere,” Showalter stayed in the limelight as 1/3 of Stella (with David Wain and Michael Ian Black). He also wrote and starred in Wet Hot American Summer. His directorial debut, The Baxter, is quite possibly the best movie you’ve never seen. He is also the host of the most aptly named web show, The Michael Showalter Showalter, which airs on Collegehumor.com. His stand-up album, Sandwiches & Cats, hit shelves in 2007, and his comedic memoir, tentatively titled Mr. Funny Pants, is due in stores by the winter of 2009. This July, you can see him alongside Michael Ian Black in Michael & Michael Have Issues on Comedy Central. (I recently attended a taping of the show. Set your TiVo.)
4. Kerri Kenney
The State’s only female cast member starred on Comedy Central’s Viva Variety, a faux-European variety show along with Thomas Lennon and Michael Ian Black (co-created by Ben Garant). After the show’s premature demise, Kenney fronted the all-female indie rock band Cake Like, and tried her hand at voice acting (her father, Larry Kenney, is a veteran voice actor, most famous for his role as Lion-O on ThunderCats), appearing on shows such as Invader Zim, Kim Possible, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Nowadays, she stars on Reno 911 as Deputy Trudy Weigel.
5. Ken Marino
“And now, Louie! The guy who comes in and says his catchphrase over and over again!” Soon after The State, Ken Marino sought out a career in acting, appearing on shows like Will and Grace, Angel, and Men Behaving Badly (no, not the good one). He landed a few recurring appearances on shows such as Dawson’s Creek, Veronica Mars, and Reaper (along with The State co-star Michael Ian Black), and recently wrote his first screenplay for the film Diggers, starring the “honorary” State cast member Paul Rudd. (And, as several readers have pointed out, he’s also starring in Party Down, an original series on Starz.)
6. Michael Ian Black
The most visible alum of The State, Michael Ian Black has had recurring roles on Viva Variety, Ed, Stella, Reaper, and VH1’s I Love The… series. In 2005, he directed his first film, Wedding Daze, starring Jason Biggs, and then wrote the screenplay for Run Fatboy Run. He’s got a stand-up album (I Am a Wonderful Man), a book of comedic essays (My Custom Van), and a children’s book (Chicken Cheeks). And as I mentioned, his new TV show Michael & Michael Have Issues premieres in July on Comedy Central. That’s a lot of work for a guy who got his start by dry humping $240 worth of pudding.
7. Kevin Allison
After The State ended its run, Kevin Allison took a break from performing to focus on writing, and he only returned to the stage a few years ago. He spends most of his time these days as the Artistic Director at the People’s Improv Theater in New York City where he teaches and performs. He also had a one-man show called F*** Up, which I regret having missed.
8. Joe Lo Truglio
Joe Lo Truglio has become one of “those guys” who you see in small parts in a lot of movies but can’t quite place. He’s appeared in Superbad, The Station Agent, Pineapple Express, Role Models, Wet Hot American Summer, I Love You Man, plus a few more you might’ve seen. More recently, he grew a mustache and joined his fellow State alumni as the newest cast member on Reno 911. If that wasn’t enough, he wrote the brand new web series Hot Sluts, which you can view on Atom.com (and if you’re anything like me, you’ll click on anything with a name like that).
9. Michael Patrick Jann
Like David Wain, Michael Patrick Jann preferred to sit behind the camera rather than on stage. He was responsible for the brilliant film Drop Dead Gorgeous, as well as the majority of Reno 911’s episodes. Since then, he’s directed episodes of Flight of the Conchords, Little Britain USA, and the doomed Emily’s Reasons Why Not.
10. Todd Holoubek
After The State’s cancellation from MTV (but before their subsequent CBS special), Todd Holoubek left the troupe and took a slightly different route by teaching web design and designing furniture. Thankfully for the die-hard fans, he rejoined the cast for their reunions in The Ten, Reno 911: Miami, and their recent live show in Los Angeles.
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An unfortunate oversight on Ken Marino… He is currently on a show called Party Down which is an original series from Starz (of all places). He is a principal player in this really solid and funny show (with plenty of Veronica Mars cameras (Rob Thomas is involved). Also there is a Joe Lo Truglio cameo, and Paul Rudd a writer as well. Another fun fact is it’s directed by Fred Savage.
Just sayin’ is all…I’m sure there are tons of other things happening for everybody, but this one is super current (first season just finished up).
/nerdery
posted by cary on 6-15-2009 at 2:14 pm
The State was my favorite show for those few years it was on. Only a small contingent of my friends even know about it (and the few of us that there are still love it), so I’m thrilled to see it getting attention on MF!
I know Season 1 (or a version thereof) is available on iTunes, and is a newer media than my Skits and Stickers VHS tape, but the whole series DVD will be the bomb!
Oh, and you can follow the twitter activity of Michaels Showalter and Ian Black.
posted by Stephanie on 6-15-2009 at 2:41 pm
To add to Stephanie – ThomLennon and David Wain are also on Twitter!
MIB also shared a site on his twitter a while back (maybe a month ago?) that had the State’s unreleased comedy album for download. Great stuff.
I was addicted to this show when it was on and am extremely excited for the DVD release. It’s about time!
posted by Andrea on 6-15-2009 at 3:26 pm
With all the success that the crew has had, I can’t imagine how good The State would have continued to be if it had now been cancelled.
“What is art?”
“Like, paintings and stuff?”
“Correct.”
posted by Stephen on 6-15-2009 at 3:50 pm
I love The State. Brilliant show.
However, I must take issue with some of your phrasing: Can you “dry” hump pudding?
posted by 8rustystaples on 6-15-2009 at 4:35 pm
No one gets it when I say “$240 worth of pudding” or “I wanna dip my balls in it” or “Any one of you touches a meatball, I make a call, I have you all killed.”
posted by Mary on 6-15-2009 at 5:37 pm
Thanks for posting this!
The first thing I thought of when I saw the picture of the cast in my head was the tune to “You’ll Always Give Me a Boner”
I’m excited to get the DVD! I wonder if they edited out all the music because I remember that the shows played snippets of a lot of different songs. It would probably cost them a fortune to license all the music.
posted by holly on 6-15-2009 at 8:36 pm
If you haven’t seen the Baxter (Michael Showalter’s movie – star and director), do yourself a favor and see it immediately. Its an excellent little indie flick with some very good actors and acting. MS is great, but Michelle Williams and Elizabeth Banks really steal the show.
posted by Ian on 6-16-2009 at 8:40 am
I’m so excited for the DVD release. How perfect is it that it’s released on my birthday? I was never able to see the show when it was on, and I’ve only seen YouTube clips, but I started following all the State fellas when I became an obsessed Stella fan.
posted by Andy on 6-16-2009 at 8:45 am
I have been waiting for years for the whole series to come out – the second Amazon.com notified me of it’s impending release I preordered it. Few people I know have every witnessed the glory that is the Louie/Jesus sketch, but that has to be one of the funniest skits ever played on TV. I got all of my friends into Wet Hot, and now I can force them to watch hours upon hours of The State!!!!
I was 10 when the series first aired, so really, my twisted sense of humor was developed from this show. If I had seen Tom and Ben at Comic Con last year, I would have gone all fan-girl and just about died.
Check out funnyordie.com for their “homeland security” skit.
posted by Leah on 6-16-2009 at 11:21 am
Love The State! Sid and Nancy on The $100,000 Pyramid! The “Sleep with The State” contest/”concept”! “You’re pretty like my mom”! Pants! Eating Muppets! Can’t wait for the DVD, can you tell?
posted by loripop on 6-16-2009 at 11:31 am
I totally agree with Leah here… this helped form my sense of humor. Everyone I know has seen Porcupine Racetrack because of me, whether they wanted to or not.
I know for sure that they’ve changed some of the music. The one example I can think of is when Barry and Levon are on, the go-to song is “Let’s Get It On”… but it’s changed to generic bow-chicka music…
Looking for the link to download the comedy CD, though…
July 14 can’t come soon enough.
Josh
posted by Josh on 6-16-2009 at 12:31 pm
I am so very excited for July 14th. Like others, my adolescence was shaped by shows like The State, which accounts for my frequently offensive sense of humor.
David Wain does voice acting for this incredibly bizarre cartoon called “Superjail!” that is on adult swim. I see now that it is a couple years old, but I only just caught it about a month ago and recognized his voice immediately.
Years ago it was such a treat to see any of them in bit parts, but it seems like they have all found great success and have been able to stay relevant when so many others haven’t.
posted by Jess on 6-16-2009 at 12:53 pm
They also put out a book called “State by State with the State” which was them supposedly on a road trip. I remember there was one part in the book where there was an event called the Free Cocaine and Supermodels Party, but they skipped it because Porky’s was playing at the $2 theater.
posted by Emily on 6-16-2009 at 1:48 pm
I have signed every petition under the sun to get the series released on DVD. I can’t wait!!!
“You fold brightly colored paper into the shape of animals…that’s so lame!”
“It’s not lame, it’s hor-i-gam-i! I want you to know its secrets….I want you to know my secrets.”
posted by Jen Peel on 6-16-2009 at 5:12 pm
Oh man! I can not wait to see Porcupine Racetrack again!!!!
You made my Tuesday!!
posted by Amauriel on 6-16-2009 at 9:52 pm
So weird. MTV2 just played a 15 minute bit from “the State” just the other day. I immediately told my brother to turn it to it. Wonder if they’l be doing more of that……
posted by Billy on 6-17-2009 at 1:59 am