The 15 Most Hilarious Sketches Of 2015 (That Weren’t On ‘SNL’)

A new play about The Temptations is coming to Broadway. There’s only one problem: The production company only bought the rights to one song, “Just My Imagination.” This sketch works exactly the way one-note jokes are supposed to. It’s mildy funny at the beginning, all right in the middle, and hilarious by the end. This is an especially funny one if you roll your eyes at all the band-based musicals flooding the Broadway scene.

Jordan Peele is going in for a job interview, but as he’s waiting, he witnesses the amazing interview of the candidate before him, Keegan-Michael Key. Just when it becomes clear that Peele will never get this job, Key raises the stakes even further, making insane promises and sharing secrets with the man who is definitely going to hire him. Anyone who has ever flubbed an interview can relate to this one.

Every once and a while, Amy Schumer will come out with a sketch or a bit that is incredibly insightful while making it clear that she has no boundaries. “Milk Milk Lemonade” falls into that category. This faux music video wants to remind you of one thing: the big, sexy butts we glorify also poop. Amber Rose is also featured in the music video, which watches like a direct response to Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” video. With all of this going on, it’s still incredibly funny.

Now that Bob Odenkirk and David Cross and creating together again, things feel right in the world. In this critique of white paranoia, Cross plays Gilvin Daughtry, a blogger who wants to make sure people know their rights when it comes to dealing with the cops. However, when said cop, played by Keegan-Michael Key, lets Cross peacefully pass, Cross becomes committed to showing police abuse on camera — regardless if it’s earned. I promise you know someone like this in your life.

They’re not sleeping. They’re not fake. There are just dead pets in this darkly bizarre fake taxidermy commercial. This sketch hits on all of the oddities that make Portlandia the comedy orchid it is. There are over-the-top music cues, Fred Armisen messes something up at an inopportune time, and Carrie Brownstein is forced to keep her composure. However, the combination of the bright colors, happy music, and dead pets make this sketch work. Also, the episode which this sketch was part of was nominated for an Emmy.

Who knew the phase “It’s a concept album” could be so funny? Key plays a cop trying to make his rapper suspect, Peele, confess to the murder he clearly committed. His proof? Peele’s incredibly detailed concept album that chronicles the murder, his motives, and even what lies he plans on telling the cops. It’ll make you think twice about whether what you’re listening to is permissible in court.

Any woman who has scoffed when they’re told they look better without makeup needs to watch this. In a boy band parody video that is clearly mocking One Direction, Amy is told that she’s more beautiful without makeup. This prompts her to remove all her makeup, even the natural looking stuff, and that’s when the lyrics drastically change.

Though the previously mentioned W/ Bob and David was funny, this is the one that is quintessentially Odenkirk and Cross. The duo sit around with some friends as they all discuss their New Year’s resolutions. These resolutions don’t start as somewhat normal and progressively get zanier; they nosedive straight into insanity. In typical Bob and David style, the straight man is present, but barely so, allowing the sketch to become optimum weird.

Have you ever wanted to see Bill Nye the Science Guy drop the f-bomb? There’s only one acceptable answer to that question: Yes. The sketch explains that the universe is actually a guiding force for white women in their 20s, not, you know, the universe. After about two minutes of dealing with these women (which include Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer), Bill Nye finally snaps, and it’s great. Thank you, universe.

Portlandia shines when it takes an incredibly niche topic and plays it to its absolute ridiculous limit. That’s what the “Microhouse” sketch is. As Fred and Carrie show off the benefits of compact living, the sketch feels progressively more cramped and uncomfortable, just like the house itself. However, it’s the ending couple sprawled out in their spacious living room that really steals the show.

This is one of my personal favorites, and it shows off just how out there Key and Peele can go. The comedy duo are sitting in their living room when Peele gets an idea to create an app. From there, things take a turn for the incredibly bizarre. But no mater how insane Peele gets, it’s Key’s reactions as the straight man that make both of their performances shine. You just have to watch it.

Amy stumbles upon Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Patricia Arquette, and Tina Fey celebrating Julia’s last f-able day. The sketch smartly satirizes the higher (and younger) beauty expectations Hollywood has for women and not men all over a picnicked lunch. Julia’s appreciation for her prolonged f-ability may be the best part of this incredible sketch.

A young boy goes onto a morning talk show with his parents to talk about what he saw in heaven when he was clinically dead for five days. At first, everything is predictably peachy and sweet, until the kid mentions who he saw in heaven: Adolf Hitler. From there, things quickly spiral out of control, and the results are hilarious. This sketch shows off how dark and twisted the comedy pair can successfully be and will even have your mom laughing at its smart observation of people.

Though Key & Peele had a stellar final season, this may be their best sketch of the year. It’s all fun and games for Peele and his group of seven white guys until Key shows up. That’s when it gets real. There’s so much to love about this sketch between the darkened lighting, how painfully white those seven guys are, and how aggressively Key and Peele talk to one another. It’s time to stop black on black violence, people.

This controversial sketch about rape culture got Amy into some critical trouble earlier this year, but it’s too smart and well done to be anywhere but the top of this list. A high school football team has to learn how to cope with it’s coach’s new rule: no raping. As Amy watches from the sidelines with her progressively larger glass of wine, this new rule threatens to tear the team and their town apart. It’s razor sharp and shows just how biting and crucial comedy should be.

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