Why Is ‘Mr. Show’ A No-Show On HBO Go?

Ready for the new Netflix series, W/ Bob & David, to bring joy into your hearts and minds? Set to catch up on all four seasons of the classic sketches from HBO’s beloved Mr. Show with Bob and David to celebrate this longed-for reunion of Bob Odenkirk, David Cross and their funny friends?

That latter one is a no go. Sorry, comedy fans, there’s no Mr. Show on HBO Go*. Or, for that matter, on HBO Now. At least, not now.

What gives?

It depends upon whom you ask.

HBO spokespeople told Decider that the network “doesn’t own the streaming rights to Mr. Show,” and that’s as simple as it gets.

But sources involved in the making of W/ Bob & David told us HBO does control the “distribution rights” to Mr. Show, and that they would love nothing more than to see all four seasons of Mr. Show on HBO GO or anywhere where fans can find it legally.

The semantics here are important, as well as the timing.

You see, Odenkirk and Cross made Mr. Show in the 1990s, back when streaming wasn’t a thing. Certainly not a thing to include in contracts. The 2007 Writers Guild Association strike and subsequent negotiations with SAG-AFTRA have more and more focused on figuring out residuals for writers and performers in a world of online, mobile viewing.

Sources close to Odenkirk and Cross note that Mr. Show still falls under the older AFTRA deal that would cost HBO more than perhaps it wants to pay in residuals.

Which, perhaps not so coincidentally, is why you cannot find so many other pre-2007 HBO comedies on HBO GO or HBO Now, shows such as Tracy Takes On, The Larry Sanders Show, or even Arli$$ (that last one is probably a blessing in disguise, truth be told). You may find some of those episodes in sanitized-for-broadcast editions elsewhere in basic cable rerun land. But otherwise? Dream On.

(Nope. Sorry. That’s not streaming online right now, either.)

For the time being, you’ll have to scour YouTube for unauthorized copies of Mr. Show, or treat yourself to this sneak peek from Netflix: “Know Your Rights,” a sketch in which motorist Gilvin Daughtry (Cross) tries to show us how to handle the cops when we’re pulled over (with Keegan-Michael Key and Jay Johnston as the police officers).

[W/ Bob & David debuts all four episodes and Making-Of hour special Nov. 13 on Netflix]

*Come to think of it, we probably should have apologized to people who hate rhymes and puns, too.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic’s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news.
He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.