Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
This time last year, it felt like we couldn’t stop talking about Amy Schumer. Each week was filled with think pieces either praising or rebuking Schumer’s work, and the rise of onscreen feminism was discussed often. Now, we’re almost finished with Season Four of the series, and buzz about Inside Amy Schumer has been borderline nonexistent. So what happened? Why did we stop caring this year?
Don’t misunderstand me. Season Four of Amy Schumer is still fun to watch, but this whole season has felt a little off. There are probably a lot of factors at play when it comes to this season’s lack of viral success when compared to last year. Though you can speculate, it’s difficult to predict what will take off, both on the internet and in the media. This is especially true with comedy, which leaves little room between success and failure. And as happy as I am to see Schumer involved in more projects, I’m sure Schumer’s very busy schedule made the already difficult process of creating a sketch show even harder. However, I think there are mainly two reasons why we’ve been ignoring Inside Amy Schumer this season: the comedy has started to become a bit too self reflective and the show isn’t as shareable as it used to be.
There have been several sketches this season that have assured us that, yes, even though she’s famous, Amy Schumer is still relatable. Most of these sketches have the same punchline. Schumer assures us she gets our everyday problems by contextualizing everything through her celebrity non-problems. It’s a funny bit that’s been used a lot in comedy, most successfully in Key & Peele’s sketch about Jaden Smith. However, in the show’s 10 episode season, we’ve already seen sketches like this one four times. On four different occasions, Schumer has mocked her own fame, often pitting herself against other highly popular figures and topics like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Game of Thrones, or Selena Gomez (as seen in the sketch above). As fun as it was the first time, the joke gets stale fast.
Also, this season has felt less random than in seasons fast. Part of what I love about Schumer’s sketches is how they so often descend into weirdly understandable chaos. Take one of Inside Amy Schumer’s earliest sketches, “Compliments.” When a woman is finally able to accept a compliment at face value, all of her friends immediately start committing suicide. It’s an insane ending that smartly underscores the ridiculousness of the situation. However, several sketches this season have gone out with a fizzle rather than an explosion.
But I think the biggest thing that’s been hurting Amy Schumer in Season Four is the fact it’s not easy to share. So far, only six of this season’s sketches have been added to YouTube, which seems surprising. Based only on how my friends and I consume sketch comedy, YouTube is a pretty big platform for the entertainment brand. I can understand why Comedy Central would want to hold back. They know that they have something viewers want, and as nice as 2 million YouTube views are, wouldn’t a higher Nielsen rating be better? Sadly, their gamble is working against the blessing and curse that is the Golden Age of TV. If you make content difficult to watch, there’s a chance you’re going to lose viewers to their second or third favorite show. It should be noted that more sketches as well as full episodes of Amy Schumer are available on Comedy Central’s site, which is nice but I don’t think casual fans would think to look there.
All of this being said, there have been shining moments this season. “Size 12,” where Amy is fat shamed as she sorts through increasingly smaller shirts while shopping, and “Sitcom,” where Amy plays a funny female sitcom character everyone hates, are among two of my favorite sketches of 2016. Also, Claudia O’Doherty has been killing it this season. Every time she appears on screen, she steals the scene, especially in “Girl Vision.” Likewise, Schumer’s interviews have been more honest and entertaining than ever before. The anonymous woman in “Fame” was an especially interesting interview. Amy Schumer still has time for an internet-breaking hit like “Football Town Nights,” but the clock is ticking.
Watch new episodes of Inside Amy Schumer Thursdays on Comedy Central at 10 p.m. ET.
