Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Sketch comedy fans are pouring one out today for Kroll Show, the Comedy Central series that’s premiering its third (and final) season tonight at 10:30 p.m. Key & Peele and Inside Amy Schumer might get all the press, but those in the know will testify that Nick Kroll’s brainchild matches up against these two powerhouses pound for pound, laugh for laugh.
Kroll Show is a show that you can pickup with no prior knowledge and still laugh along like a maniac—particularly if you have an appreciation for the tropes of the reality television genre—but at the same time, it most certainly rewards viewers who get invested in the set of recurring characters that populate the show. Below, we’ve got a quick primer for you on the gang of crazies that populate Nick Kroll’s bizarre universe, and how their storylines have intersected thus far.
(Before we get into this, we should note that both seasons of Kroll Show are available to watch on Amazon Prime or on ComedyCentral.com. Now, with that out of the way…)
"PubLizIty"
“Pretty” Liz B. (Jenny Slate) and “Beefy” Liz G. (Kroll) run a publicity firm called PubLIZity (it’s based off their names). These two catty, self-involved publicists are constantly at each other’s throats, kind of like Whitney Port and Olivia Palermo on The City were—but these two are also BFFs. PubLIZity is also the lynchpin of the Kroll universe; all things revolve around them.
ALSO INTERSECTS WITH: C-Czar, “Rich Dicks,” Dr. Armond
Dr. Armond
Dr. Armond, the plastic surgeon for dogs, is the lynchpin of the entire Kroll Show universe.
Bobby Bottleservice
Here Kroll portrays Bobby Bottleservice, a triple threat character (TV personality! Director! Gigolo!) clearly modeled off of the lunkheads who used to populate Jersey Shore. He’s a meathead mook, sure, but he also has, like, emotions, too. Over the course of the show’s first two seasons, he’s been involved in a number of other pursuits—wedding planner, paranormal investigator, reality TV host—but he’s currently shacked up at Gigolo House.
ALSO INTERSECTS WITH: Dr. Armond
C-Czar
C-Czar is a self-proclaimed “toilet baby,” a lispy, ADD-addled millenial who hails from Alhambra. He’s the star of a VH1-spoof called Dad Academy, but here, he’s shown going on a date with Pretty Liz from PubLIZity. (Spoiler Alert: Their relationship develops in unexpected ways over the course of the show’s two seasons.) LET THEM EAT CAKE!
ALSO INTERSECTS WITH: Dr. Armond, PubLIZity, Rich Dicks
"Rich Dicks"
Wendall Shawn IV and Aspen Bruckenheimer are two wealthy and wholly disreputable party animals, constantly shneefed out of their mind and on the hunt for more drugs.
ALSO INTERSECTS WITH: PubLIZity
Gil Faizon ("Oh, Hello")
Kroll and his longtime comedy partner John Mulaney play Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland, respectively, the bespectacled, elderly hosts of a public access show called Oh, Hello. As far as themes are concerned, this one is pretty bold: Most of the time, it involves the two eating a restaurant, then ordering a sandwich that arrives at the table with too much tuna. Hence, the catchphrase “Too Much Tuna,” which is utterly brilliant in its simplicity.
Other Recurring Faves
There are a few other staples in your Kroll Show diet who may end up playing a more central role in the third and final season of the show:
- Ref Jeff – Sort of a Tim Donaghy type, Ref Jeff has bounced around from NBA referee to reality show contestant to women’s basketball ref.
- Pawnsylvania – Do you appreciate spot-on Pittsburgh and Philadelphian accents? Then this sketch is for you.
- Fabrice Fabrice – This craft service coordinator’s name is so nice that you have to say it … again.
- Bryan LaCroix – The Bieber-esque star of Wheels Ontario, a DeGrassi type show within the show.
- Nash Rickey – Bret Michaels, eat your heart out. Here’s the biggest (only?) song that his Sunset Strip hair metal band, Sloppy Secondz, ever released.
