The Stage is probably the biggest publication they've got a review in so far!
It's a pretty fair review I think. At least this one doesn't mention the fans screaming for half the review and actually focuses on the musical and the story.
Tuesday's TNTL wasn't a normal TNTL or wasn't like the other stand up TNTLs they've done. It was an intentional parody (and very accurate portrayal) of what a mid week open mic night is like.
I obviously understand why so many people disliked it. But as a person who does stand up the whole thing gave me war flashbacks. I've been in that room many many times. The sparse laughs and applause, the awkward intros of the comedians, the mild heckling, comics who alternate between supporting each other when they're bombing and laughing at each other when they're bombing. It was all there.
There's obviously a big "iykyk" surrounding the entire episode and if you've never been in that world it's hard to relate or find it funny. On top of that, the entire thing is supposed to be cringe and awkward comedy which is not everybody's cup of tea.
I found it hilarious because I recognized every archetype as comedians I've encountered in real life in open mics:
Tommy: The one guy who actually has chops trying out (reading) some stream of consciousness thing he wrote while high the night before, halfassing it because it's a mid week open mic and he's getting ready for the weekend.
Damien: The alternative comedian who's trying out some high concept bit designed for a niche audience of nerds and theater kids.
Angela: The comedian who's dared by her friends to go up and read jokes they wrote. Most of them are inside jokes that only her friends get.
Chanse: The newbie comedian who's a few months into doing stand up and is still discovering his voice imitating what he's seen other stand ups do, the type of jokes and the cadence because he's still learning the basics.
Ian: Every open mic needs to have an Ian. I've seen so many Ians. People you root and suffer for.
I saw it through that lens and that's why I found it very funny.
Did anyone who does or has ever done stand up get war flashbacks from today's TNTL? It felt like an actual Tuesday night open mic.
I've seen and suffered for so many Ians.
T: "Hey! Excuse me! Excuse me!"
L: "Should we get started?"
T: "Huh! Really?"
L: "Can I say that? Is that fair to say?"
T: "That's the rule. That's the goal now"
(A silence falls over the room as the two men look at each other)
T: "Am I supposed to be attracted to that?"
L: "Are you finding this awkward?"
T: "What are we doing? What's going on?"
L: "Have you backtracked already?"
T: "No. We don't do that anymore"
T: *maniacal laughter*
(The two men kiss)
Stage musicals
Fancyland: The most tragic and serious musical Starkid has done. It tells the story of Jack Fancy who is a larger than life entrepreneur inspired by Walt Disney and the family that surrounds him. It spans 25 years of the Fancy family. They played 3 demo songs: >!Everlasting, Taking Flight and Jack's Brother.!< Eric and Matt started writing it before Tomb Quest. When they were finishing it is when they started the development of Tomb Quest to write something that was the polar opposite of Fancyland. It was described as the most straightforward musical they've done if you consider the rest of Starkid shows as more of anti-musicals.
Glam and the Pentagrams: The next musical in the Hatchetfield series. As every other Hatchetfield musical it works as a standalone and you don't need to watch Nightmare Time before. Set in 1987, it tells the story of Ms. Holloway in her previous life as a popstar. She meets a girl band called The Pentagrams who took something from their hometown that they shouldn't have in order to become famous. The Langs started to write it around the time of Black Friday which allowed them to leave some Easter eggs in some NMT episodes (The Witch and The Web mainly) referencing the story of the musical. No music has been developed yet for this show.
The Pirate musical: Even though they played some demos last year, the pirate musical is a bit stuck in development. Nick Lang mentioned it was originally going to be an animated series and they had written a lot for it. They even reached out to Meg Lloyd who made this awesome NPMD animatic but it didn't work out. The Langs are trying to scale it down to the basics in order to create the story for the musical and they want to get it right so they're going to take longer than expected. They're also facing the challenge of staging an actual realistic swordfight on stage (They referenced the swordfight in Cinderella's Castle but said that it was played for laughs and they wanted this swordfight to actually work dramatically).
The Castle series (The Lands That Are): It's completely halted because of various issues: How taxing the creation of the puppets is and creating a compelling retelling of the fairytales is challenging. It might potentially pivot to a different format depending on the experience of Ms. Holloway (see below)
Nightmare Time updates
Ms. Holloween (coming Halloween 2026): A Nightmare Time special episode. It tells the love story between Duke and Ms. Holloway. Brenda (the cheerleader character from NPMD played by Bryce) will be a prominent character in the episode. It's being directed by Curt who will also produce it with Kim. It's going to be shot as an upgrade from the Zoom format. It will be shot in a studio in the style of black box theater and they'll be mixed media inspired by what they learned making Space Baby. It will still be guided by Nick Lang's narration. Two demos were played: >!Single; Dancin' With a Werewolf, Livin' With A Vampire!<
Nightmare Time 3: It hinges on the experience of making Ms. Holloway and how it turns out. They talked about Orb Weaver again as the potential first episode. It is the sequel to Yellow Jacket and they've had to rewrite it to include a time jump that accounts for the real life years that have passed since NMT2.
That's all I can recall from memory right now. If there's something I missed or misunderstood leave it in the comments and I'll edit.
Now that Erin has announced she's leaving Smosh :( it's a good time to look back at all the different people that've been at the helm of the Smosh Main Channel, the different voices they brought to the table and what notable series were created during their tenure:
Ian and Anthony (2005-2012): Origins of Smosh. Sketches, Songs, Food Battle, If Blank Were Real
Ryan Finnerty (2013-2019): Every Blank Ever, Ghostmates, Part Timers, One Letter Off, What If, You Posted That, Versus
- With Joe Beretta as Creative Director (2015-2018)
- With Luke Barats as Creative Director (2018)
Monica Vasandani (2019-2021): Smoffice, Quarantine sketches, Smosh Hosts The News, Smoshcast Audiodrama
Patrick McDonald and Jeremy Elder (2021-2023): Pivot away from sketches towards improv. POV and Pharaoh High (Last sketch series). Interviews with Exes, Leaked/Exposed, Funeral Roasts, AITA Reenactments, Idiots Present, Dead Table Talks, Reunions, Let's Do This.
Erin Dougal (2023-2026): Pivot from improv to long formats with a sketch/improv/semi-scripted mix. Bit City, Spud Hut, Grip Guys, Smoscars, Wheel You Be Mine.
- With Ian and Anthony (2023-2024): Return to sketches. Flashback, YouTuber interviews. Erin started out as AP and slowly became headwriter and director of Smosh Main.
It's worth noting that these are the Headwriters and that other writers passed through the channel too. Monica started in 2016 and she basically wrote in every sketch before Ryan decided to make her Headwriter. As far as I know, she's been the only person listed in the credits explicitly as Headwriter.
Cole Hersch (2017-2019) wrote under Ryan.
Kurt Maloney (2016-2021) wrote under Ryan and Monica.
Patrick and Jeremy wrote a little under Monica before becoming head writers.
Syd and Olivia and Kylie Brakeman were part of the writers team for a while under Monica and under Patrick and Jeremy.
Jeremy Culhane guest wrote three sketches under Patrick and Jeremy.
Headwriters for the Lives:
Smosh Live (2016): Luke Barats
Under The Influence (2022), Mistletoe (2022), Sleepover (2023): n/a
Anthony's Funeral (2023): Emily Rose
Smosh The Sitcom (2024): Syd And Olivia
Smosh Hospital (2026): George Primavera and Jeremy Elder.
Each era of Head Writers marked a unique shift in the Smosh Main channel's content and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
Ethan says this phrase just before he dies in Black Friday and I've always felt it was a reference to an old movie, but I can't put my finger on it... I thought it was from The Outsiders for some reason