''Bad Internet'' is an American series that premiered on May 25, 2016, on

YouTube Premium YouTube Premium (formerly Music Key and YouTube Red) is a subscription service offered by the video platform YouTube. The service provides ad-free access to content across the service, as well as access to premium YouTube Originals programming ...

(then known as YouTube Red). It is produced by CollegeHumor's

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

-based production studio Big Breakfast. The first season contains ten episodes, with only the first—"Which of the 'Friends' are You?"—available to view on YouTube without a YouTube Premium subscription. As of November 2021, it has also been released on Dropout, CollegeHumor's streaming platform. The series was inspired by

Charlie Brooker Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...

's technology-centered anthology TV show ''

Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fiction ...

''.

Sam Reich Sam Reich ( ; born July 22, 1984) is an American CEO, businessman, and game show host. He is best known for his work with CollegeHumor (which as of 2020, he majority owns), the TV show ''Adam Ruins Everything'', as well as hosting the web series ...

, CollegeHumor's head of video, said that in creating the series, he wanted to do a project that was both ambitious and true to CollegeHumor's slacker humor heritage. Reich also told '' Mashable'' that ''Bad Internet'' was "a series built for the Internet."

Cast

The cast on the show included Los Angeles based sketch comedians like Zac Oyama, Siobhan Thompson, Mike Trapp,

Emily Axford Emily Axford is an American actress, writer, and producer. She is best known for her various roles in CollegeHumor videos, her role as Emily on the truTV comedy ''Adam Ruins Everything,'' and for her role on the Pop original '' Hot Date'' co-st ...

, and

Colton Dunn Colton Dunn (born June 30, 1977) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his role as Garrett McNeil on the NBC workplace comedy '' Superstore'' (2015–2021) and for his work on Comedy Central sketch co ...

who are regulars in CollegeHumor content, alongside YouTube celebrities, including

Justine Ezarik Justine Ezarik ( ; born March 20, 1984) is an American YouTuber. She is best known as iJustine, with over one billion views on her YouTube channel. She gained attention as a lifecaster who communicated directly with her millions of viewers on ...

, Rosanna Pansino, Jordan Maron, Ian Hecox, and Anthony Padilla, and mainstream comedians and character actors like

Jack McBrayer Jack McBrayer (; born May 27, 1973) is an American actor and comedian, who gained national exposure for his portrayal of characters on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' and as Kenneth Parcell in '' 30 Rock''. For his role in ''30 Rock'' he was ...

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...

Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. After beginning her career in regional theater in the Pacific Northwest, she appeared on Broadway in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play '' Piaf''. Smart was ...

Cheri Oteri Cheryl Ann Oteri () is an American actress and comedian. A nominee of a Primetime Emmy Award, Oteri is best known for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2000. Early life The daughte ...

Maribeth Monroe Maribeth Monroe (born March 25, 1978) is an American actress, writer and comedian. She is known for portraying Alice Murphy on Comedy Central's sitcom ''Workaholics'', Mindy St. Claire on NBC's sitcom,''The Good Place'', and Christina Wheeler on ...

Oscar Nunez Oscar Nunez (born November 18, 1958), sometimes credited as Oscar Nuñez, is a Cuban-American actor. He is best known for his role as the Dunder Mifflin accountant Oscar Martinez on NBC's ''The Office''. He was a member of The Groundlings and l ...

, Matt McCarthy,

John Milhiser John Milhiser (born November 29, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. Milhiser first garnered attention for his work as a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch group Serious Lunch, before achieving widespread success for his brief s ...

Larry Hankin Larry Hankin (born ) is an American character actor, performer, director, comedian and producer. He is known for his major film roles as Charley Butts in '' Escape from Alcatraz'' (1979), Ace in '' Running Scared'' (1986), and Carl Alphonse in ...

, Mary Holland,

Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in '' Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television characters ...

Mindy Sterling Mindy Lee Sterling (born July 11, 1953) is an American television, film and voice actress. She portrayed Frau Farbissina in the ''Austin Powers'' film series and starred in the web series ''Con Man'', the latter of which earned her a Primetime ...

, Ed Begley Jr., and

George Wyner George Wyner (born October 20, 1945) is an American film and television actor. Wyner graduated from Syracuse University in 1968 as a drama major and was an in-demand character actor by the early 1970s. Wyner has made guest appearances in over 1 ...

Episodes

Reception

Marissa Martinelli of '' Slate'' described the series as "very funny stuff", noting the clear parallels it contained to ''Black Mirror'' and '' Divergent''.

Nominations and awards

References

{{YouTube Premium 2016 web series debuts CollegeHumor YouTube Premium original series 2016 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings Mass media about Internet culture