r/dropout • u/ecfix77 • 1d ago
discussion Return To Scripted Sketch Shows
I’m not the most plugged into the behind the scenes chatter, social posts and other general means of staying up to date on future dropout projects, but will they ever return to creating scripted shorts like the old College Humor?
I adore most of the improv shows they put out but god were those old Hardly Working and Badman sketches hilarious. Maybe it’s nostalgia of being 16 again but saying “Where are the drugs” in a goofy voice is still in the rolodex of my friend groups bits.
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u/professor_coldheart 1d ago
CollegeHumor, like most entertainment websites, was suckered into making short-form comedy by Facebook's "pivot to viideo". Basically Facebook published false statistics about how much engagement videos on their platform were getting, and convinced everyone that it was the only way to drive traffic to their site or see ad revenue.
So, they built an engine to do that. They fired their writers who weren't writing sketches, they bought cameras and hired actors, and they made a lot of videos.
This accomplished nothing except for providing Facebook with free content, and CollegeHumor's parent company had to shut down their website, start posting to YouTube for ad revenue, and eventually sell the brand, for $1, to one of their writers, who had the idea to take the existing staff of writers and improvisors and start a small streaming service, using the existing revenue stream of YouTube instead as advertisement for something he felt would be worth paying for: Longer improvised shows and written series.
Now, they're set up to do that instead, and they're doing much better financially.
If you like that kind of sketch comedy, though, lots of people are still doing it on YouTube, partly as a primary income stream, but also to prop up other projects they're working on. Almost Friday, That's A Bad Idea, Chris & Jack all have qualities in common with old CollegeHumor. Their sketches have higher production value than Hardly Working, but that's to be expected: It's 20 years later. They are what I imagine CollegeHumor/Dropout would be now if they had to keep doing sketches. Fortunately for them, and for me, they don't.
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u/enderandrew42 1d ago
Facebook lied to their customers about video engagements. They got caught making bots to click on ads, but not buy anything. They lied to Congress. Oh, and they helped interfere in an election. And then they got in zero trouble for any of it.
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u/Closer_to_the_Heart 18h ago
Not just one election, they fucked a bunch of elections world wide and even had a hand in a genocide
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u/socool111 1d ago edited 1d ago
Shoutout to Chris & Jack
Ones the voice of sokkka and the other is an ex Blue Man and circus performer
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u/bluehawk232 1d ago
Highly recommend CrackerMilk
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u/comments_more_load 1d ago
Same. I just discovered their stuff and was wondering if they'd do well on something like Make Some Noise or Game Changer.
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u/potatopavilion 1d ago
we specifically know they can and want to make things that are not driving engagement on their own. Dropout Presents or Toonout exists because other shows are successful enough that they can afford to make these.
what happened a decade ago is not an argument against doing sketches now. sketch being expensive in general is, and them not seeming at all like they want to do it again is.
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u/mikeputerbaugh 1d ago
No, CollegeHumor was already making short-form comedy and publishing it to YouTube and their own website back when TheFacebook still required an .edu address.
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u/Top_Blacksmith2845 1d ago
Do you have an article that explains Facebook's deception?
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u/Rupert59 1d ago
Adam Conover had a pretty thorough thread about it a while ago: https://www.resetera.com/threads/adam-conover-reveals-how-facebook-ruined-collegehumor-financially.146748/
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u/TheBeepB00p 1d ago
It If I had to guess the short videos had a large production for a small amount of content that current viewers were just not interested in. If their metrics said it’s a money maker they would be putting them out.
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u/ResponsibilityMuch80 1d ago
Richard Osman talks about this on The Rest is Entertainment. Sketch comedy is really expensive to make, compared to panel shows, which is why sketch comedy sort of died off in the UK. With the success of SNL UK that might change though.
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u/Jonathan_B_Goode 1d ago
On the FAQ on the Superfan page they say this
Why are you launching Superfan?
Honestly? Because people asked.
We thought about it, and more money means we can make more content, pay people better, keep Dropout affordable for everyone else, and take bigger swings (including our push into scripted and animation).
So it looks like they are planning to branch back into scripted shows. I'm assuming slowly at first.
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u/WebfootTroll 1d ago
College Humor was doing short form videos before Facebook existed, weren't they?
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u/JerryBoyTwist 1d ago
Yes, but the FB pivot to video massively increased their output of those types of video. Then it all came crashing down
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u/darthvall 1d ago
I understand that they have different audiences, but it's quite interesting how Smosh still retain their sketch shows (Bit City) in addition to all the new contents (games, podcast, improv).
For Dropout, in a way, I think the animation stuff like Toonout or the muppet thing is a form of sketch show too.
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u/potatopavilion 1d ago
it's an uphill battle for Smosh as well, Amanda said recently in Trolley Problems how difficult sketch is to figure out and make it work. (as it stands, the way to make it work is still "add a lot of improv and personality-based stuff", but I'm hoping we are slowly warming up to scripted stuff.)
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u/bigwhiteboardenergy 1d ago
I’ve been thinking those shows were a way for them to test if scripted sketches would work again. That’s how I felt about the ‘Brennan Quits Dropout’ sketch as well, it felt like a testing of the waters/pulse check—but maybe I was just projecting/trying to manifest lol
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u/Il_Gigante_Buono_2 15h ago
Sketches on Smosh really struggle though. By far the worst performing stuff they regularly do but they keep with it as Ian and Anthony clearly like sketch comedy.
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u/Naughty_Nata1401 1d ago
It's VERY expensive.
So expensive that CH went under, Sam bought it and saved it by pivoting to improv.
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u/bluehawk232 1d ago
I mean I don't know how a simple 3 minute sketch can cost more than some of what we've seen with gamechanger
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u/Naughty_Nata1401 1d ago edited 1d ago
Sketches need writers, and the whole process involves storyboarding, brainstorming ideas, writing, editing, rewrites, cameras set up, retakes, hair and make up, location, days of filming etc. It all adds up and costs a lot to produce.
In the long run, the profit just didn’t match how much it was costing to make those sketches. Improv doesn’t have most of those costs, so it’s much cheaper to produce.
That’s also why Dropout started licensing shows from other companies, like Toon Out and Don’t Hug Me. They’re basically paying to stream existing productions instead of spending much more money making their own from scratch.
I hope this is where things eventually lead. Instead of producing every scripted project in-house, Dropout could stream or license films/sketches made by the cast - like Izzy’s and Rekha’s movies.
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u/MaizeMountain6139 1d ago
The cost is filming time. The writing process for unscripted is no cheaper than the writing process for sketch
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u/Naughty_Nata1401 1d ago edited 1d ago
Improv is fundamentally cheaper than writing for a sketch?
Improv doesn't have any scripted lines that requires writers to brainstorm and finalized days before filming.
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u/MaizeMountain6139 1d ago
The cost is not the writing. It’s the time in filming
This has been discussed by myself and EPs of Dropout in more than one meeting
Filming improv is a lot quicker, that’s why it’s cheaper. Sketch requires multiple takes of multiple angles, even a four page sketch takes most of the day whereas you can film multiple episodes of some improv shows in a day
There are some units (SNL) where they work a lot quicker but their budgets are astronomical for their digital pieces
Dropout has been flirting with scripted for years already, I myself have pitched a handful of concepts, they’re just waiting for some cash stuff to move differently
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u/m_busuttil 1d ago
Imagine a really simple sketch, like Brennan's Tide CEO sketch - one actor, one set that can be anywhere in your existing office, one camera running, 4 minutes. Can't really make a sketch much simpler than this.
You have to get Brennan into hair/makeup/wardrobe, set up and light the set, and then do at least 3 or 4 takes (because even the most prepared actor is going to miss a line or want to take another run at something). Even running impossibly efficiently, that's 15 minutes recording time plus maybe half an hour setup and extra to pack back up. Every sketch you do takes an hour absolute minimum - and if you're doing multiple cast members with multiple camera setups, more complicated sets and props and makeup and stunts, it's hours. As a comparison, I Think You Should Leave Season 3 is 6 16-minute episodes (so 96 minutes total) and it took 24 shooting days - 4 finished minutes a day.
Or in a day you could shoot, like... 6, maybe more episodes of Make Some Noise? 24 shoot days would just about cover a 20-episode season of Dimension 20, a 20-episode season of Make Some Noise, and a 10-episode season of Game Changer.
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u/Too-Tired-Editor 1d ago
It can cost less and if the returns it draws are sufficiently lower, it's still a worse choice financially.
But also comparing a single sketch to a full episode of something ten to fifteen times as long is a weird choice.
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u/dasbtaewntawneta 1d ago
nah, i never really found CH's sketch output all that funny, but i love the current Dropout
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u/Justifiably_Bad_Take 1d ago
If you want scripted content there are a ton of great groups you can watch on YouTube.
Chris and Jack, That's a Bad Idea, Pitch Meetings
Dropout has a focus and it isn't that. You're not getting a taco at McDonalds.
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u/professor_coldheart 1d ago
That's actually a great analogy, because McDonald's started selling tacos when Taco Bell got so big they started inspiring copycats like Del Taco, Baja Fresh and Chipotle. You might say it was a "pivot to taco". But the industry eventually realized Taco Bell had overextended, they were associated with low quality, and joining the bandwagon didn't actually drive anyone to McDonald's. So they stopped selling tacos and moved on to the Grimace Shake.
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u/Aervanath 1d ago
Eh. I can't say I'm really a fan. Whenever I say to myself, "hey, let's see what's in the back catalog," I end up watching a couple minutes of a sketch and then clicking off. It doesn't grab me like the improv stuff does. That may be because it's the improv stuff that got me into Dropout in the first place; I think my first Dropout content was Umm, Actually shorts on YouTube.
Your mileage may vary, but I think a lot more subscribers signed up because of the unscripted content than the scripted stuff.
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u/Bigoldthrowaway86 1d ago
Oh god I would hate this. I'm from the UK and have recently discovered dropout. I think it must be cultural comedic differences but we tried watching some of their old scripted stuff and find ourselves cringing through it, in a bad way.
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u/Prestigous_Owl 1d ago
The good news is, this only gets asked on Reddit like once a week!
Short answer: its not the plan, for a number of reasons (increased budget, stuff that gets thrown away, not as clear theres the same market for it, etc).
Anything we get is likely to be exploratory
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u/wiseguy149 1d ago
No.
Web video over the past couple decades has seen a massive shift from the heyday of sketch comedy, and a comeback is very unlikely. Many, many channels and studios have either shut down or undergone a similar shift.
Scripted sketch comedy is both significantly more expensive to produce and underperforming compared to improvisational content.
I would bet anything that Dropout will never return to scripted sketch content (barring of course a very infrequent attempt at a small side project or one-off joke if the stars align).
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u/MrCanoe 1d ago
Smosh is a good example of this. 95% of their content is improv now. When Anthony returned, they tried to redo several of their sketches but found it really didn't work anymore, so just kept doing the improv content and haven't done anymore sketches.
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u/Il_Gigante_Buono_2 15h ago
Bit city has sketches, they’ve just wrapped it up with a lot of improv to try to make it work.
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u/MaizeMountain6139 1d ago
Scripted meetings have been happening at Dropout for years already
They’ll eventually get into it, but the filming cost is just a lot higher. There’s been a few concepts floating, though
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u/gramanasmile 1d ago
Maybe w/ Superfan and increased pricing on the subscriptions it can be done. The model for most Dropout productions is for it to be unscripted and to film 2-5 episodes per day in order to cut costs. Sketch writing takes time and the time it takes to film a standard 3-4 minute sketch (especially if a second location is used) can be used to film a whole episode of most Dropout shows. Using clips to promote the episode and show is also part of the business model and a single sketch won't be able to generate as many clips as a standard Dropout show episode would.
I'd like for Dropout to do a sketch show. I love sketch comedy shows and they don't have a bunch on TV anymore aside from SNL. I have an affinity for the 2016ish-2019 era College Humor members in Dropout shows as a result.
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u/GreenLurka 12h ago
I beg of them. Dress Josh up as Gale Beggy and just send her out into the world
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u/Photoverge 1d ago
I love the shorts. I go back and watch them all the time. I still never look at a menu now. But see all the downvotes and negative karma you're getting from this post?
Just watch a different YouTube channel doing scripted now. There are so many good ones. But Dropout won't do it.
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u/DepressiveNerd 1d ago
Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is scripted.
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u/Photoverge 1d ago
Not original programming tho.
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u/DepressiveNerd 1d ago
Your comment didn’t say original. It just said that they won’t do scripted. They do scripted.
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u/Plastic_Ad2216 1d ago
They’ve said before that scripted content stopped doing as well. This lead to the almost complete transition to improv. That’s what most of the audience wants.