Strangers with Candy
Overview
Strangers with Candy is a television series
produced by Comedy Central
. It first aired on April 7, 1999, and concluded its third and final season on October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10 p.m. (ET). It was replaced by the Comedy Central show Strip Mall
.
In 2007, Strangers with Candy was ranked #30 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.
The series' main character, Geraldine Antonia "Jerri" Blank (played by Amy Sedaris
), was a "junkie whore"/runaway returning to high school
as a freshman at age 46 at the fictional Flatpoint High School in the town of Flatpoint.
Created and written by Amy Sedaris
, Paul Dinello
, Stephen Colbert
, and Mitch Rouse
, the show was a spoof
of the after school special
s of the 1970s and 1980s and was also inspired, at least in part, by a 1970 public service film
, The Trip Back, that featured a reformed drug addict named Florrie Fisher
(see "Origin" below).
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
produced by Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
. It first aired on April 7, 1999, and concluded its third and final season on October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10 p.m. (ET). It was replaced by the Comedy Central show Strip Mall
Strip Mall
Strip Mall is a situation comedy that aired on Comedy Central from June 2000 until March 2001.The series, a spoof of prime time soap operas, was set in Van Nuys, California which is series star/creator/executive producer Julie Brown's hometown. The titular "Strip Mall" was the fictional Plaza del...
.
In 2007, Strangers with Candy was ranked #30 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.
The series' main character, Geraldine Antonia "Jerri" Blank (played by Amy Sedaris
Amy Sedaris
Amy Louise Sedaris is an American actress, author, and comedian. She is known for playing the character Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy. Sedaris regularly collaborates with her older brother, humorist and author David Sedaris...
), was a "junkie whore"/runaway returning to high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
as a freshman at age 46 at the fictional Flatpoint High School in the town of Flatpoint.
Created and written by Amy Sedaris
Amy Sedaris
Amy Louise Sedaris is an American actress, author, and comedian. She is known for playing the character Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy. Sedaris regularly collaborates with her older brother, humorist and author David Sedaris...
, Paul Dinello
Paul Dinello
Paul Dinello is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and an alumnus of Chicago-based The Second City, Improv Institute, and Annoyance Theatre...
, Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
, and Mitch Rouse
Mitch Rouse
Edward Mitchell "Mitch" Rouse is an American film and television actor, director and screenwriter.Rouse was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and raised in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where he played football at Oak Ridge High School. He attended the University of Tennessee before developing an interest in...
, the show was a spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the after school special
After school special
The American Broadcasting Company coined the term after school special in 1972 with a series of made for television movies, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues, that were generally broadcast in the late afternoon and meant to be viewed by school age children, particularly...
s of the 1970s and 1980s and was also inspired, at least in part, by a 1970 public service film
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
, The Trip Back, that featured a reformed drug addict named Florrie Fisher
Florrie Fisher
Florence "Florrie" Fisher was an American motivational speaker in the 1960s and 1970s who traveled to high schools in the United States, telling stories about her past as a heroin addict and prostitute...
(see "Origin" below).