MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

Comedy Central cancels 'Drunk History', fans say show taught more 'Black, Latino, queer history than school did'

The show has earned 17 Emmy nominations and has won one and they have even been nominated for three Emmys this year, which includes best variety sketch series

We apologize to be the bearer of bad news, but the sixth season of Comedy Central's 'Drunk History' will be its last. As confirmed by Variety, the show was renewed for a seventh season and was in pre-production. However, it stopped due to the global pandemic. The report states that Comedy Central has decided to move away from live-action scripted shows and focus on adult animation. The show has earned 17 Emmy nominations and has won one. In fact, they have been nominated for three Emmys this year, which includes the best variety sketch series.

The process

According to a story in Deadline, creators Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner usually approach a season by finding the best unknown stories. Speaking about their approach during Deadline’s Contenders Television virtual event, Waters said that they tell their researchers "to find us the best stories we weren’t told in school, or pitch us a story about someone we know so much about, and it’s a story that we never heard. Of the stories we like the most, we find theme out of that."

The show had begun as a web series on Waters' YouTube page before moving over to Funny or Die. The concept was: an intoxicated narrator, mostly a comedian or sketch artist, who tells an obscure historical tale which is then re-enacted by famous stars. The stories are mostly switched between the narrator and live-action re-enactments with a recurring cast of actors.

Explaining the process further to The Wrap, Waters had said, "Most of the people who do it have some sort of idea of the story prior — or the world that it’s gonna be discussing. But then we send them a research packet so that they have one to two weeks of studying it over and over again." These packets contain a three-page summary plus a couple of books and links to relevant documentaries. When asked about who decided about the alcohol, Waters says, "I tell them to get booze that they’ve never had a bad experience with. I make sure they have the whole next day free, because I know that they’ll perform differently if they’re like, 'I have to be up early'. It’s a two-day commitment."

Some of the guest stars included Tiffany Haddish, Winona Ryder, Maya Rudolph, Seth Rogen, Kirsten Dunst, Will Ferrell, Tessa Thompson, Vanessa Hudgens, Colin Hanks, Quest Love and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Progressive approach

In 2016, they were praised for their episode titled 'Bar Fights'. It featured comedian Crissle West to narrate a monologue about the Stonewall Riots and transgender activist Marsha P Johnson. For Johnson's part, they had cast transgender actress Alexandra Grey. The Vox stated that transgender characters — whether they’re fictional or based on real-life figures — have rarely been played by transgender actors and many cast cisgender men as transgender women without checking or looking for other trans talent. The report stated that it was a positive step towards the LGBTQ+ community and also an example for others to follow.

Twitter isn’t happy

Fans were quite disappointed at the show being canceled and they expressed it on Twitter. One fan said, "Drunk History taught me more about Black, Latino, Queer and Women’s history than school EVER did."

Another stated, "Hey just a reminder Drunk History centered the story of Stonewall around the trans women involved and hired trans actresses to play them."

Another said, "'Drunk History' legitimately centered queer history, particularly trans and non-binary folks, in a way that was authentic, hilarious, and accessible. The show should have been continued. This really sucks."

One appealed, "Hello @ComedyCentral very politely and respectfully. in regards to the one 'Drunk History'...... UNCANCEL THE DAMN SHOW please."

A fan thanked the show and said, "Thank you Drunk History for always making me laugh while either learning something new, or hearing a drunk take of an old favorite. Now I'm going to nurse this beer and kill that personal dream of mine of one day being on the show."