Hi, CBS: Please Release The Weird, Wonderful Adam Pally/Ben Schwartz ‘Late Late Show’ Episode

When I hear the term “alternative comedy,” images of The State’s “Taco Mailman” sketch, Mr. Show’s “The Story of Everest,” and places like Adult Swim and Earwolf spring to mind. CBS, the network that was once home to traditional sitcoms like The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, doesn’t usually enter the equation. CBS is known for Chuck Lorre sitcoms and hour-long shows that are seemingly contractually obligated to take place near a large body of water (Survivor, SEAL Team, Hawaii Five-0, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans), which is why it’s kinda bizarre that the network is responsible for one of the strangest hours of TV in recent memory.

I’m of course referring to the Season 4 premiere of the hit Michael Weatherly legal drama Bull.

Kidding, although that is a real series that’s produced over 80 episodes of television. I’m not sure how many of them take place near an ocean, lake, haunted waterpark, or suspicious tributary, but I’m willing to bet that it’s in the double digits. I’m talking about Adam Pally and Ben Schwartz’s now legendary episode of CBS’ Late Late Show.

January 30, 2015 was a simpler time. Barack Obama was president; Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” was a chart-topper; Pogs still hadn’t rebounded from their brief surge of ’90s popularity; and James Corden was about to replace Craig Ferguson as host of The Late Late Show. Before Corden’s March of 2015 debut, CBS utilized a variety of fill-in hosts, including Regis Philbin, Wayne Brady, Whitney Cummings, Judd Apatow, Lauren Graham, and former Happy Endings standout Adam Pally.

With his long-time comedy collaborator Ben Schwartz acting as his co-host, Pally’s Late Late Show was a delightfully insane trainwreck of comedy. Both Pally and Schwartz recently discussed the episode during separate appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, with Pally noting that it “went horribly” and his trusty co-host echoing that assessment.

“We did it in Charlie Rose’s studio with zero audience and it was during a blizzard, so a lot of the guests had to cancel,” Schwartz told Meyers. “And it was just a mess.”

Pally and Schwartz’s Late Late Show wasn’t actually bad, far from it. The laissez-faire nature of the show and crackling comedic chemistry between Ben and Adam have earned the memorable episode a cult following. This lost oasis of comedy would be even more beloved if it were readily available to stream. As Schwartz mentioned on Late Night, the episode is notoriously difficult to track down. As of this morning, if you go through the daily motion of searching “Late Late Show host Adam Pally,” you’ll find a bootleg stream of the episode, but CBS has been known to play whac-a-mole with this late-night artifact. Why exactly would a multi-billion dollar network that employs both Tom Selleck and Chris O’Donnell care about a bunch of comedy nerds watching this glorious snapshot of comedic delirium? Perhaps they’re just really concerned about copyright law. Or maybe, just maybe, they weren’t exactly walking on sunshine over Pally’s comments regarding CBS.

“I’ve never been on CBS before,” Pally said during his Late Late Show episode. “I don’t even really watch CBS, but I do have two living Jewish grandmothers and a father-in-law all over sixty, so someone related to me is always watching this network.” During the show, Adam also remarked that “CBS could not give a fart” about what he was doing and revealed that the network made him fly coach to New York.

Or, you know, it could be the whole copyright law thing. The world is a strange and mysterious place full of magic and wonder.

I understand why CBS wouldn’t want to promote this episode, but uploading the Adam Pally/Ben Schwartz Late Late Show to YouTube would create an abundance of goodwill, which the network could then use to attract a younger demographic. And you know what they say: goodwill today, a Young Sheldon fan tomorrow. If you wanna go the extra mile, and I imagine the network responsible for all six seasons of Madam Secretary is more overachiever than slacker, you could even have Pally and Schwartz record an audio commentary. The sky truly is the limit.

Let the comedy community relive the awkward Martellus Bennett interview! The great Eric Andre spinning around in his chair saga! And last but not least: The most important dissertation of Nicolas Cage’s 2008 crime thriller Bangkok Dangerous in late-night talk show history.

Give the people want they want, CBS. Release the legendary Adam Pally/Ben Schwartz Late Late Show episode.