''Harmontown'' is a comedy

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

that aired live weekly from June 16, 2012 to December 3, 2019. It was hosted by writer

Dan Harmon Daniel James Harmon (born January 3, 1973) is an American writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC/Yahoo! Screen sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast ''Harmontown ...

, best known as the creator of the television series ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

'' and the co-creator of ''

Rick and Morty {{Infobox television , image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png , alt = , caption = , genre = {{Plainlist, * Animated sitcom * Adult animation * Science fiction * Black comedy * ...

'', along with actor

Jeff B. Davis Jeffrey Bryan Davis (born October 6, 1973) is an American actor, impressionist and comedian. He is known for his work as a recurring performer on the improv comedy show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' From July 2016 until October 2019, he has starr ...

, best known for his work on the

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

series ''

Whose Line Is It Anyway? ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show originating as a British radio programme, before moving to British television in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1999, ABC began airing an American ...

'' ''Harmontown'' began as a monthly live comedy show in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California, at the NerdMelt Showroom on May 23, 2011, but the show became weekly after Harmon was fired from ''Community''. Since mid-2012, each episode of ''Harmontown'' had been recorded and released as a podcast, first by

Feral Audio Feral Audio was an independent podcast network and production company, founded in 2012 as a podcasting collective by Dustin Marshall after Dustin left Earwolf. Feral launched from Executive Producer's Shadi Petosky's apartment in Franklin Village ...

through 2017, then Starburns Audio starting in 2018. The podcast featured many guest appearances, including

Game Grumps ''Game Grumps'' is an American Let's Play web series hosted by Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan. Created in 2012 by co-hosts Hanson and JonTron, Jon Jafari, the series centers around its hosts playing video games. After Jafari left the show in 2013 to f ...

Emily V. Gordon Emily V. Gordon (born May 3, 1979) is an American writer, producer and podcast host. She co-wrote the 2017 romantic comedy film ''The Big Sick'', based on her relationship with her husband and frequent collaborator, comic Kumail Nanjiani. Gordon ...

Kumail Nanjiani Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ur, کمیل علی ننجیانی, ; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019) and for co-wri ...

Greg Proops Gregory Everett "Greg" Proops (born October 3, 1959) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his guest appearances on the U.K. and U.S. versions of ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?''. He has also voiced the ...

Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom '' Par ...

Bobcat Goldthwait Robert Francis "Bobcat" Goldthwait (born May 26, 1962) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, known for his black comedy stand-up act, delivered through an energetic stage persona with an unusual raspy and high-pitched voice. ...

Rob Schrab Robby Christopher Schrab (born November 12, 1969) is an American comic book creator, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is the creator of the comic book '' Scud: The Disposable Assassin'', co-writer of the feature film '' Monster House'', co ...

Curtis Armstrong Curtis Armstrong (born November 27, 1953) is an American actor and singer best known for playing the role of Booger in the ''Revenge of the Nerds'' movies, Herbert Viola on the TV series ''Moonlighting'', Miles Dalby in the film '' Risky Busines ...

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...

Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. In 200 ...

Dana Carvey Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1993, which earned him fiv ...

Felicia Day Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred ...

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

Mitch Hurwitz Mitchell Donald "Mitch" Hurwitz (born May 29, 1963) is an American television writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom ''Arrested Development'' as well as the co-creator of ''The Ellen Show''. He is a ...

Joel McHale Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015). He has performed i ...

Rob Corddry Robert William Corddry (born February 4, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a correspondent on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' (2002–2006) and for his starring role in the film ''Hot Tub Time Machine''. He ...

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broadwa ...

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

, and

Steve Agee Steven Douglas Agee (; born February 26, 1969) is an American comedian, actor, writer and musician, known for roles including Steve Myron on the Comedy Central series ''The Sarah Silverman Program'' and as John Economos in the 2021 superhero fil ...

. On March 8, 2014, a documentary about the podcast, also called ''Harmontown'', premiered at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

Film Festival.

Premise

The original premise of ''Harmontown'' began with Harmon's and Davis's attempts to discuss how to successfully eliminate the flaws of society and create a utopia (which they claimed could be addressed with the creation of a lunar colony) in front of a live audience. The show evolved into what Harmon and Davis call "live therapy sessions" for Harmon, as he discussed with Davis a variety of topics, from anecdotes about his family and work to commentaries on movies, social issues, and scandals.

Format and structure

''Harmontown'' was not scripted; it was largely improvisational. The show frequently featured many guests to help drive the discussion. On its fifth airing, the show began having a regular ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'' (''D&D'') session at the end of each episode. This led to the introduction of Game Master Spencer Crittenden, who led their ''D&D'' segments, having extensive knowledge of the game. Crittenden happened to be an audience member when Harmon and Davis asked for assistance from the crowd with how to play ''D&D''. Crittenden gradually became a part of the main cast. He was then hired as an assistant to Dan Harmon. Beginning in 2015, with episode #131 "Dirty Little Potato People", the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' segment was replaced with a ''

Shadowrun ''Shadowrun'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspir ...

'' game session, placed towards the end of the episodes and for a similar length as the ''D&D'' segment. Crittenden was also the gamemaster for this segment, with guests optionally filling the roles of some characters in the campaign. From October 2017 to June 2018, the podcast was recorded without an audience due to permit issues at Starburns Studios. The show was recorded at the Starburns Castle, a studio owned by Starburns Industries. Harmontown returned to live audience format in June of 2018 at Dynasty Typewriter at The Hayworth, in Westlake, LA. When Davis was unavailable, guest comptrollers included

Erin McGathy Erin McGathy is an American podcast host, artist, and comedian. She hosted the podcast '' This Feels Terrible'', appeared and improvised in ''Harmontown'', and co-hosted ''Human Conversation'' with Wayne Federman. Early life McGathy was born in ...

Duncan Trussell Charles Duncan Trussell (born April 20, 1974) is an American actor and stand-up comic, known for his podcast ''The Duncan Trussell Family Hour''. He appears on the Netflix series ''The Midnight Gospel'', and starred alongside Joe Rogan in the SYF ...

, and Brandon Johnson, who eventually became Davis's regular replacement near the end of the podcast's run. Occasionally, special guests would serve as comptroller, including

Mitchell Hurwitz Mitchell Donald "Mitch" Hurwitz (born May 29, 1963) is an American television writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom ''Arrested Development'' as well as the co-creator of ''The Ellen Show''. He is a ...

, and—on the ''Harmontown'' movie tour—

Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous ro ...

Dino Stamatopoulos Konstantinos Pollux Alexandros "Dino" Stamatopoulos (born December 14, 1964) is an American writer, producer, and actor. He has worked on TV programs such as ''Mr. Show'', ''TV Funhouse'', ''Mad TV'', ''The Dana Carvey Show'', ''Late Show with ...

, Steve Agee, and

LeVar Burton Levar Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host, best known for playing Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994). He also played Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries ''Root ...

Tour and documentary

From January 10–30, 2013, ''Harmontown'' evolved from its original format and structure to go on a national tour, leaving Los Angeles and traveling to cities such as

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, and

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, all while posting new episodes within two days. The tour became the subject of a documentary produced by director Neil Berkeley. The documentary, also called ''Harmontown'', follows Harmon, Davis, McGathy, and Crittenden. The documentary (''Harmontown'') premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 8, 2014. While ''Harmontown'' performed weekly episodes in LA (eventually at the Dynasty Typewriter theater), they would take the show on the road from time to time. In 2016, ''Harmontown'' traveled to Australia for a series of performances, and from time to time ''Harmontown'' could be found performing at various comedy festivals across the US.

Cast and crew

: Mayor of ''Harmontown'' * Jeff Davis: "Comptroller" *

: recurring guest and comptroller *

: recurring guest and comptroller * Brandon Johnson: recurring guest and comptroller * Spencer Crittenden: Dungeon Master *

: recurring guest and comptroller * DeMorge Brown: recurring guest * Dustin Marshall: podcast producer 2011-2016, founder of Feral Audio * Steve Levy: producer * Kristian Boruff: live director * Sarah Hill: technical coordinator * Kevin Day: web producer

''Community'' controversy

Harmon's openness on ''Harmontown'' frequently proved controversial. Following

season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

of ''

,'' Sony fired Harmon as show-runner, and many fans noticed the show's tonal shift in season 4 with displeasure. Harmon avoided watching

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughte ...

of his former show for some time, but after finally viewing it, he expressed his opinion of the season during a ''Harmontown'' episode. Harmon made comments referencing Jeffery Dahmer (a convicted serial killer and cannibal), and described his experience of watching the season as "like flipping through Instagrams and watching your girlfriend just blow a million ther guys" Harmon subsequently publicly apologized for his comments.

Reception

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' wrote that "The podcast is for fans only, but for that undervalued group, it's essential listening."

CraveOnline Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male- ...

wrote of the podcast: "If you're a ''Community'' fan, you're not going to want to miss the brains behind the show. If you're a comedy fan, you're not going to want to miss the show because it is, in all seriousness, the best comedy podcast out there. Harmon is a fantastic talker and storyteller and Davis is just as fantastic to listen to."

References

External links

* {{Dan Harmon 2012 podcast debuts 2019 podcast endings Audio podcasts Comedy and humor podcasts