Derrick Comedy

Derrick Comedy was an Internet sketch comedy group from New York University. The group has a large YouTube following and was mentioned in Rolling Stone in July 2007.[1] Their 2006 video Bro Rape has garnered over 10 million views.[2] They have released videos online, performed sold-out shows at venues such as New York's Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, produced the 2009 film Mystery Team, and have appeared on national television.

Members

Derrick Comedy consisted of actors Dominic Dierkes, DC Pierson, and Donald Glover, who also writes original music as Childish Gambino.[3] Derrick's director was Dan Eckman,[4] and their producer was Meggie McFadden.[5][6][7]

History

The members of Derrick Comedy met at New York University while performing for the sketch comedy group Hammerkatz NYU[6] and directing Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz[8][9]

They chose 'Derrick' because it was another name that started with 'D' other than Donald, Dominic or Dan.[7]

Video sketches

Even though they are all experienced improvisers trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, all of Derrick's videos are tightly scripted. Some of their videos include "New Bike," in which a boy threatens to kill his parents if they do not get him a new bicycle; "Opposite Day," in which an office changes Fridays from "Casual Friday" to "Opposite Day," likely in response to the boss's wife's infidelity; "Girls are not to be trusted", in which a film student makes a series of movies chewing out his girlfriend; and "National Spelling Bee", in which every contestant in a spelling bee was told to spell the word "nigger-faggot".

Individual work

Donald Glover used to be on the writing staff for 30 Rock. He also played Troy Barnes on the NBC sitcom Community from 2009 to 2014.[10] He was discovered and offered the part of Troy after series creator Dan Harmon attended a showing of Mystery Team.[11][12] The entire troupe (with the exception of Glover) appears in the episode Romantic Expressionism as Pierce's joke writers. Glover now has a rapping career under the stage name Childish Gambino, having made two albums: Camp and Because the Internet, with a third album "Awaken, My Love!" scheduled to be released on December 2, 2016.[13]

Dominic Dierkes has made a cameo appearance on a video released by The Onion on a fictional World of Warcraft expansion titled The World of World of Warcraft, where he praises the game's "realism" such as calling an in-game internet service provider. In the video, his name is Kyle Dierkes. He and fellow Derrick member DC Pierson also appeared in the CH: LIVE video series for Collegehumor.[14][15] Dierkes was a staff writer for the animated show Allen Gregory created by and starring Jonah Hill.

DC Pierson has published a novel entitled The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To.[16] He hosted New York University's Ultra Violet Live Talent Competition in 2010[17] Pierson also appeared in a 2012 Allstate Insurance commercial. Both Dierkes and Pierson also appeared in the Showtime series Weeds.

Bobby Moynihan, who appeared in several sketches as well as Mystery Team, went on to Saturday Night Live where he has been a cast member since 2008.

A then-unknown Ellie Kemper, a friend of the group, appeared in the 2007 video Blowjob Girl with Pierson. In a 2010 interview by The A.V. Club, Kemper stated she did not like the video when it went viral. The video no longer appears on CollegeHumor or the group's YouTube channel. She is currently the lead role of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"

Mystery Team

In January 2008, the group announced that they are taking a break from making internet videos while they work on their first full-length feature film entitled Mystery Team, a comedy involving a childish trio of senior high school students solving a serious crime. Mystery Team premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the fall of 2009 by Roadside Attractions. Mystery Team was released on DVD on May 25, 2010. Rotten Tomatoes rates it as a 5.2/10.[18] They also released a Mystery Team EP featuring songs such as, "I'm So Official" "The Stand" and "Get Like Me."

References

  1. ↑ "40th Anniversary Summer of Love". Rolling Stone (1030/1031). July 2007.
  2. ↑ YouTube. "Source 1", 12 March 2010.
  3. ↑ Elliot, Farley. "Review: Childish Gambino Pointdexter", Los Angeles, 14 September 2009.
  4. ↑ http://www.derrickcomedy.com/people/dan/
  5. ↑ http://www.derrickcomedy.com/people/meggie/
  6. 1 2 "BA #076: Dominic Dierkes". the Box Angeles podcast.
  7. 1 2 "BA #077: DC Pierson". the Box Angeles podcast.
  8. ↑ SideReel "More Information", 2008
  9. ↑ Klocksien, Jake. "Interview: Derrick Comedy", 30 March 2007.
  10. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1439629/
  11. ↑ Angelo, Megan (March 14, 2010). "His Day Job Subsidizes All That Other Stuff". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ Pietzman, Louis. "Chevy Chase Is, And Always Will Be, Funnier Than You", tv.com, 04 March 2010.
  13. ↑ Strauss, Matthew (November 10, 2016). "Donald Glover Details New Childish Gambino Album Awaken, My Love!". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  14. ↑ http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1902702
  15. ↑ http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1891586
  16. ↑ http://www.dcpierson.com/
  17. ↑ Anandpara, Shradda. "Unique Performances Showcased at Ultra Violet Live 2010", Washington Square News, 28 February 2010.
  18. ↑ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1210128-mystery_team/
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