• Go back to current SWC News: February 2005 - Present
• Go to the April - December 2003 SWC News Archive
• Go to the April 2002 - March 2003 SWC News Archive
• Go to the March 2000 - March 2002 SWC News Archive
• Read some of the "Strangers With Candy" Reviews

  • [On Stage] 1/12-1/29/05 — Maria Thayer (Tammi Littlenut) and Kelly Hutchinson (Sylvia) will appear in Michael Barakiva's new sexy, sassy adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, staged by the Roundtable Ensemble at the Blue Heron Arts Center, 123 East 24th Street, New York, NY.  Show times are Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm (no matinee Saturday, January 29). Tickets are $15. For reservations, please call 212.818.9431, and for more information, visit www.roundtableensemble.org

  • [On The Tube]

  • Christmas Season 2004 - For all of you Amy Sedaris fans in the New York area, here's a message for those of you jonesing for her homemade treats: "I am selling my li'l smoky cheese balls at Gourmet Garage at 7th Avenue & 10th Street. It's just seasonal and exclusive. Happy Holidaze."   map

  • 12/7/04 - Congratulations to Stephen Colbert and Amy Sedaris's brother David for their Grammy nominations. The ceremony will air on February 13, 2005 at 8:00pm on CBS.
    Best Spoken Word Album:
    • Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim - David Sedaris
    • Live & Kickin' At The National Storytelling Festival - David Holt & Zeb Holt
    • My Life - Bill Clinton
    • The Pleasure Of My Company - Steve Martin
    • The World According To Mr. Rogers (Fred Rogers) - Tyne Daly, John Lithgow, Lily Tomlin, André Watts

    Best Comedy Album:

    • Come Poop With Me - Triumph The Insult Comic Dog
    • The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Presents...America: A Citizen's Guide To Democracy Inaction - Jon Stewart And The Cast Of The Daily Show (including Stephen Colbert)
    • The Funny Thing Is... - Ellen DeGeneres
    • Live At Carnegie Hall - David Sedaris
    • The O'Franken Factor Factor: The Very Best Of The O'Franken Factor - Al Franken

  • 12/5/04 - Publishers Weekly named Jon Stewart's best-selling political satire, America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, the Book of the Year. Stephen Colbert contributed a few hilarious features to the book.

  • 11/30/04 - Amy Sedaris just notified me that the Strangers With Candy movie will be shown at the next Sundance Film Festival (January 20-30, 2005) and she just did another ad for peta, again in character as Jerri Blank.

  • Troy Metcalf in ''Everyone's Depressed''
    Troy Metcalf as Joe in
    Everyone's Depressed
    [On the Big Screen] 11/27/04 - Troy Metcalf (the "scab" guy) appears in the film Everyone's Depressed, which is being screened at the Two Boots-Pioneer Theatre, 46 Avenue A at East 3rd St., New York, at 7:00pm. The film, about a depressed 30-something woman who finds salvation in the unlikeliest place, was written by Jan Balakian and was directed and co-produced by Yanna Kroyt Brandt.

  • [On The Tube]
    • Thanksgiving Weekend 2004 - Stephen Colbert hosts Comedy Central's Laugh For Life Telethon.

    • 11/19/04 - Larc Spies (Derrick Blank) appears as a Vulcan named Stel on the current Star Trek series "Enterprise" in an episode entitled "The Forge". I was hoping to hear him say something like, "That would not be logical, plug."



    Larc Spies and Jolene Blalock

    If Jerri had also been there on the Vulcan
    homeworld she might have been heard
    uttering, "I like T'Pol and the hole."

  • Amy Sedaris photographed for Built By WendyFall 2004 - Amy Sedaris models apparel for Built By Wendy at their website. You can view all the shots by going to their main page and clicking on the News link at the top. The fashion team for the photo shoot consisted of Sameena Ahmad, Amy Sedaris, Mark Ibold (Mark, The Virgin Jerri), Vicki Farrell ("Strangers With Candy" Costume Designer), and Wendy Mullin.

  • [Check Your Local Newsstand]
    • 11/26/04 - "Strangers With Candy" made Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best TV Shows on DVD, sharing the Cult category with Chappelle's Show, Freaks and Geeks, My So-Called Life, Sports Nite, Pee-wee's Playhouse, and Popular.
      Strangers With Candy
      Seasons 1-3
      Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello
      Unrated, 12 hrs., 43 mins., 1999-2000 (Comedy Central)
      Throughout three twisted seasons, fortysomething ex-junkie/resumed high school student Jerri Blank (Sedaris) and her horny teachers Noblet (Colbert) and Jellineck (Dinello) proudly imparted morals. The wrong morals. They hit their comedy high and human low in the final 10 episode—and not just when Jerri confirmed her Native American heritage by scalping a classmate. She also faced a breakup ("I've recently learned something about self-respect: I have none"); a bully ("Violence really isn't the only way to resolve a conflict, but it's the only way to win it"); and sexual harassment ("Turn yourself into a victim, and you'll be too pathetic for anyone to consider you sexual").  EXTRAS  Seasons 1 and 2 offer commentary from the three stars, while season 3 honors Candy's entire run with a 25-minute blooper reel and a montage of the series' signature episode-ending dance sequences—Mandi Bierly
      Plus you can find a new Skechers ad featuring Roberto Gari (Guy Blank) in the same issue, and it appears that his character has now lost about one-third of his face. See it here and Gari's close-ups here.

    • Amy Sedaris appears on the cover and interviews herself for the November/December 2004 issue of Index.

    • The November/December 2004 issue of the Utne Reader has an article about Amy Sedaris and her imaginary boyfriend "Ricky".

    • October 2004 - An interview with Amy Sedaris appears in the latest issue of PAPER magazine.

  • [On Stage]
    • 11/5/04 - Matt Lappin (SWC Writer) and his crew put on another yukfest at Jack Rabbit Slims, 266 E. 10th St (1st Ave. & Ave. A) in New York. Find more info at like2laugh.com. I wonder if a certain recent election will be mentioned...?

    • Amy Sedaris in ''Waitress''


      Amy performing in "Waitress"

      10/29/04 - Amy Sedaris participates in "an evening of conversation" with New Yorker humor writer Andy Borowitz as part of the New Yorker College Tour. The event takes place at 8:00pm in The Ark, 316 South Main Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Tickets go on sale 10/7 and are $20, or $10 with the student discount.  Thanks to Jennifer Stone for the info.

    • 10/8/04 - Matt Lappin (SWC Writer) presents another night of laughs at Jack Rabbit Slims, 266 E. 10th St (1st Ave. & Ave. A) in New York. Find more info at like2laugh.com.

    • 10/5/04 - Amy Sedaris and Paul Rudd will participate in a reading of director and screenwriter Adrienne Shelley's new play, Waitress, at 6:30pm at the East 13th Street Theater (136 East 13th St. (between 3rd and 4th Avenues). Admission is free, and a party will follow at Duke & Duchess (65 4th Ave. (between 9th and 10th Streets). The reading is being staged by WET (Women's Expressive Theater) and also stars Michael Cerveris, Gretchen Mol, Sasha Eden, Nathan Dean, James McCaffrey, Chuck Montgomery, Merritt Wever, and Lisa Zambetti.  Thanks to David McDonald for the info.

  • [Season Three DVD] 9/28/04 - Release of the Strangers With Candy Season Three DVD. The apparent reason for the delay is a behind-the-scenes corporate shuffle. Paramount has taken over the production of DVD's for Comedy Central, so there may be changes in store on the third season discs.  Thanks to quyliqura for pointing me to The Digital Bits rumor mill, and to Sraeps2 for the exact release date.

  • [On Stage]

  • [On The Big Screen] 9/24/04 - Release of the John Waters film A Dirty Shame, which features Jackie Hoffman (Miss Plog, A Price Too High For Riches).

  • [On The Tube] 9/19/04 - Many Strangers faces were seen onstage accepting awards at the 56th Annual Emmy ceremony: Sarah Jessica Parker (Peggy Callas, SWC: the movie) won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series ("Sex and the City"), Allison Janney (Alice, SWC: the movie) won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series ("The West Wing"), Stephen Colbert (Chuck Noblet) took home an award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program ("The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"), and David Cross (Dr. Trepanning, Is My Daddy Crazy?) stood with his "Arrested Development" castmates as their producers accepted the prize for Outstanding Comedy Series. Congratulations to you all, but you've always been winners to me (how queer, but true).  See pictures here.

  • 8/16/04 - Various news sources have named Amy Sedaris as a top contender to replace Craig Kilborn as host of CBS's "Late Late Show", which follows David Letterman's "Late Show" and is produced by Letterman's Worldwide Pants. Find more details here.

  • [On The Big Screen] 8/6/04 - Release of Zach Braff's ("Scrubs") film Garden State, which features Jackie Hoffman (Miss Plog, A Price Too High For Riches) and Sir Ian Holm (Dr. Putney, SWC: the movie).

  • [On Stage] 8/6/04 - Matt Lappin (SWC Additional Writer) and his posse will present an evening of comedy at Jack Rabbit Slims (266 E. 10 St. between Aves. 1 & A, New York, NY) at 8pm. No cover charge!

  • 7/30/04 - Final day of the Strangers With Candy movie shoot in New Jersey, with a wrap party to follow the next night in New York's West Village. See some pictures here!

  • 7/8 & 7/9/04 - I visited the set of the Strangers With Candy movie at Bayonne High School in northern New Jersey. On Thursday the 8th I observed the filming of a scene in which Jerri hides out in her loverboy Brason's (Chris Pratt) locker and takes verbal abuse from alpha girl Monica (Elisabeth Harnois), and then on Friday the 9th I a had a big bad case of "cameosis" when I appeared as a Flatpoint High School teacher in a Teachers Lounge scene with Matthew Broderick (Roger Beekman) and Sarah Jessica Parker (Peggy Callas)!!!   Todd Oldham, Tony Longoria, Callie Thorne, and Billy Erb also appeared as Flatpoint faculty and David Rakoff played Boswell, the writer of Roger Beekman's autobiography, in the same scene. 

  • [Check Your Local Newsstand]

  • [On The Tube]
    • 8/4, 8/11/04 - Callie Thorne (School Nurse, Bully; Mrs. Thorne, SWC: the movie) appears as Sheila Keefe on the new FX hit "Rescue Me", which stars Denis Leary and Daniel Sunjata.

    • 7/25/04 - Stephen Colbert appears on "Sunday TODAY" to discuss the upcoming Democratic National Convention and to give his trademark non-answers to Campbell Brown's questions about the trend of young people getting their news from sources other than network news broadcasts and newspapers, such as the internet and "The Daily Show". He revealed that on Day 4 of the convention the Democrats have scheduled some full-frontal nudity.
    Stephen Colbert, interviewed by Campbell Brown on ''Sunday TODAY''

  • [On The Big Screen]

  • [On Stage]
    • 7/23/04 - Troy Metcalf (Troy, the "scab" guy) appears in The Awesome 80s Prom, an audience participation show at Webster Hall (125 East 11th Street, New York). The show is currently scheduled to play on Friday evenings at 8:00pm from July 23rd until August 27th.

    • 6/12 - 7/4/04 - Jeremy Davidson (Drake Rogers, The Virgin Jerri) returns to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; this time replacing Patrick Wilson in the role of Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The production is part of an ongoing Tennessee Williams festival. The play is directed by Mark Lamos. Also in the cast: Mary Stuart Masterson as Maggie, George Grizzard as Big Daddy, Dana Ivey as Big Mama, and Emily Skinner as Mae.
    Mary Stuart Masterson and Jeremy Davidson in ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof''

    • 7/2/04 - Matt Lappin (SWC Additional Writer) and his posse will present an evening of comedy at Jack Rabbit Slims at 8pm.
    Go to like2laugh.com for more info

    • 6/13, 6/20, 6/27/04 - Jack Ferver (Jimmy Tickles) appears in SEX*BUT at Fez, 380 Lafayette Street, New York, NY. Inspired by the 1969 #1 National best-seller Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex* (* But Were Afraid to Ask), Sex*But takes you through a series of question and answers that reveal the inner workings of the mysterious and previously hidden world of homosexuality. This educational flashback is directed by Erik Sniedze (The Dilemma of Drugs), featuring a cast of five go-go boys / actors. Cast also includes Andersen Gabrych, Garrett McKechnie, Jonathan Lisceki, Matthew Wilkas and Jenn Harris. The show starts at 7:00pm and tickets are $10.  Reservations: 212-533-2680.  Thanks to Dan Boland for the info.
    Jack Ferver in Sex*But
    Jack Ferver in Sex*But

    • 5/20/04 - Matt Lappin (SWC Additional Writer) has organized a stand-up show at Jack Rabbit Slims (East 10th Street, between 1st Avenue and Avenue A, New York). The show will feature Scott Jacobson ("Daily Show" writer and SWC Writers' Assistant), Matt himself, and some other "tasty" comics. The show starts at 7:30pm.  For more info, go here or write to happypills@stereotypesrock.com.

  • [On The Tube]

  • [On The Big Screen]
    • Spring 2004 - Mark McKinney (Lee, The Last Temptation of Blank) stars with Isabella Rossellini in the critically-acclaimed film The Saddest Music in the World, which is currently in limited release.

    • 5/4/04 - Matt Newton's (Alan, Behind Blank Eyes) new film Poster Boy premieres at 6pm at the Tribeca Film Festival. Tickets will go on sale Saturday, April 24th.

    • April 2004 - David Cross (Dr. Trepanning, Is My Daddy Crazy?) appears in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  P.S. If you're not watching "Arrested Development" (which features Cross as Dr. Tobias Funke) on FOX Sunday nights you should be ashamed of yourself!

  • 4/20/04 - Happy Birthday to Stephen Colbert!

  • [On The Tube]
    • 4/24/04 - Amy Sedaris begins a 5-week stint hosting double-feature matinees for TRIO's new Film Fanatic program. The roster of films scheduled includes the network television premiere of The Man Who Wasn't There, as well as Mulholland Drive, 12 Monkeys, Heathers and Purple Rain. Each week, one of these movies will be paired with a lesser-known "insider favorite."

    • 4/24/04 - Comedy Central will show Blank Stare 1, Blank Stare 2, and A Price Too High For Riches starting at 9:30am.

    • 4/14/04 - Chris Carmack (Laird, Invisible Love) makes what may be his final appearance as a regular cast member on the FOX guilty pleasure, The O.C.

    • 4/14/04 - Amy Sedaris makes a last-minute appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman".  Thanks to Amy for the info.

  • 4/10/04 - Happy Birthday to Deborah Rush!

  • 4/7/04 - Happy Anniversary! "Strangers With Candy" premiered 5 years ago, and I created my first SWC tribute webpage not long after—just one little page with an episode guide, pictures, and bios. We've come a looooong way, babies!

  • 4/7/04 - From Matt Roush's column at tvguide.com:
    Question:
    I was a huge fan of Comedy Central's Strangers with Candy when it was on the air. Recently, I have heard talk of a big-screen movie being made. Is it true or is it just wishful thinking? — Josh

    Matt:
    By all accounts, it's true, with Amy Sedaris reprising her role as the hilariously bizarre Jerri Blank. Let's hope it can sustain a full feature's length. I'm betting it can.

  • 3/29/04 - Happy Birthday to Amy Sedaris!

  • [On The Tube]
    • 4/15/04 - Peter Lauer, who helmed many of the best SWC episodes, directs tonight's episode of the delightfully quirky new FOX series, "Wonderfalls".
      Note: FOX announced on 4/5 that they canceled "Wonderfalls", so this episode probably won't air. Some fans are currently organizing a campaign to have all thirteen episodes released on DVD.

    • 4/5/04 - Amy Sedaris appears on the FOX comedy, "Cracking Up", which stars Molly Shannon, Christopher McDonald, and Jason Schwartzman.  See pictures here.
      Thanks to Amy Sedaris for the info.

    • 3/30/04 - Orlando Pabotoy appears briefly as an orderly at guest star Celeste Holm's assisted-living facility on the NBC sitcom, "Whoopi".

  • [Check Your Local Newsstand]
    • 4/18/04 - There's an article about Amy Sedaris in TV Guide—Ultimate Cable.  Thanks to Kalman Kish for the info.

    • April 2004 - There's a 2-page article about Amy's bunny love in Animal Fair.
      Thanks to Katie from flatpointhigh.com for the info.

    • Spring 2004 - Roberto Gari appears as an evil genius in a print ad for Skechers. There appears to be some kind of Kill Bill / Jane Bond drama going on. At the right side of the movie poster-styled ad, the blond heroine fights an Ninja Catholic-school chick, who is defending Gari's wicked villain character. See a close-up here.

    • March 2004 - Amy Sedaris is on the cover of The Believer (not Beaver). Amy really enjoyed the interview and highly recommends it, which she usually doesn't do. Thanks Amy!

    • Amy Sedaris and her brother David rank #8 on the Entertainment Weekly list of the 25 Funniest People in America. Stephen Colbert and the rest of the "Daily Show" gang rank #2, and Will Ferrell (Bob Whitely, "Trail of Tears") is at #3. (March 19, 2004 issue, on sale 3/13)
      Thanks to Temperance Blalock at my FlatpointHigh message board for the info.
      8 Big brother is the best-selling author of the sublime autobiographical essay collections 'Me Talk Pretty One Day' and 'Naked', full of terrific riffs about stuff like his cuckoo-clock North Carolina clan and his midget guitar teacher. Little sis was the rubber-faced star of Comedy Central's truly strange 'Strangers with Candy', as well as the blond pixie stealing scenes in 'Sex and the City' and coauthor of the book 'Wigfield'. WE LAUGHED AT the 'Me Talk Pretty' story about when Amy wore the bottom half of a fatty suit around town just for kicks - and Amy's Off Off Broadway version of the deadly serious Marsha Norman drama 'night, Mother', played for laughs in a fatty suit.

  • [Short Film] 2/26, 3/4, 3/11, 3/18 - Greg Hollimon stars in "Partners in Blues", written by Scott Jacobson and directed by Dan Powell, at the Ars Nova Theater, 511 W. 54th [between 10th & 11th], New York, NY.  Jack Ferver (Jimmy Tickles) also appears in this short film.  "Partners in Blues: the Story of a Man and His Guitar", is presented as part of "This Just In", four short films from five Emmy-winning writers of "The Daily Show". For those of you who can't make it to New York, you can buy a DVD copy of "Partners in Blues" to watch in the comfort of your own home.   Thanks to Scott
    Jacobson     and Dan Boland for the info.

  • [On The Tube]
    • 3/14/04 - Stephen Colbert plays the killer of the week, James Bennett, on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent". His character, a handwriting expert, is one of the craftiest evil geniuses that Vincent D'Onofrio's Detective Goren has ever come up against.

    Call him Russell Hoax:  James Bennett faces accusations, admits culpability, and exits in handcuffs.
    • 3/14/04 - Stephen Colbert and Richard Kind appear in the season finale of the HBO hit, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" as a disgruntled tourist named John and Larry David's cousin Andy, respectively.

  • January 2004 - Click here to vote for Amy's cupcakes in New York magazine's "Best of New York" poll! (it's question #7, but maybe you should just answer all of them)
    Thanks to Todd Oldham for the info.

  • 1/21/04 - jerriblank.com and I are mentioned in an Amy Sedaris interview from The Onion's A.V. Club.

  • [On The Tube]
    • 1/16 & 1/23/04 - Amy Sedaris makes her first two appearances on the NBC series "Ed" as Kate McCormick, manager of a Stuckeyville radio station. Troy Metcalf makes his second "Ed" appearance on the January 23rd episode, this time playing Clay Aiken's road manager, Aaron Conway.  Thanks to Troy Metcalf for the info.

    Click here to see pictures of Amy on "Ed"

    Clay Aiken as himself and Troy Metcalf as Aaron Conway
    Clay Aiken and Troy Metcalf on "Ed"

    • 1/13/04 - David Cross and Paul Rudd appear on the "Celebrity Poker Showdown" championship on BRAVO, and Nicole Sullivan ("Mad TV") kicks their asses.

    • 1/11/04 - Jackie Hoffman appears on the HBO hit "Curb Your Enthusiasm" as Rhonda, the girlfriend of Michael, the accompanist for Larry David and Ben Stiller's rehearsals for "The Producers".
    • Rhonda and Michael meet Larry DavidRhonda meets Ben StillerLarry reveals to Michael that Rhonda does NOT look like a supermodel

  • [On Stage]
    • Jackie Hoffman: The Kvetching Continues1/19, 1/26, 2/2, 2/9/04 - Jackie Hoffman appears in "Jackie Hoffman: The Kvetching Continues" at Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY.  Thanks to Dan Boland for the info.

    • 1/18/04 - Amy Sedaris appears at the The San Francisco Sketch Comedy Festival, aka SF Sketchfest: Amy Sedaris in conversation with Beth Lisick, Sunday, January 18, 2004 at 2:00PM at Cobb's Comedy Club (915 Columbus Avenue in North Beach, San Francisco, CA 94133). Tickets are $25.   Thanks to David Owen for the info.

    • 1/13/04 - Stephen Colbert will participate in a panel discussion, "The American Comic Vision: Is There One? What Is It?" at the Symphony Space American Comic Vision Festival in New York.
      The Amercian Comic Vision Festival opens with a serious and funny discussion on the anatomy of the American funny-bone. Isaiah Sheffer hosts a panel that includes comic visionaries Roy Blount Jr., Stephen Colbert, Calvin Trillin, and Nora Ephron, among others. 8:00 pm in the
      Leonard Nimoy Thalia; $17 (members $14, students/seniors $15)

  • [On The Big Screen] 1/9/04 - My Baby's Daddy, which features Amy Sedaris, hits theaters.

  • [Check Your Local Newsstand] January 2004 - An interview with Amy Sedaris appears in Playgirl.   Read it » here «. Thanks to PantyShot9 & G. Salem for the info.
• Go back to current SWC News: February 2005 - Present
• Go to the April - December 2003 SWC News Archive
• Go to the April 2002 - March 2003 SWC News Archive
• Go to the March 2000 - March 2002 SWC News Archive
• Read some of the "Strangers With Candy" Reviews


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