''Insomniac with Dave Attell'' was an American
television show
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...
on
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
hosted by
comedian Dave Attell
David Attell (born January 18, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer best known as the host of Comedy Central's '' Insomniac with Dave Attell'', which earned him a cult following. His work has drawn admiration from many comed ...
, which ran from August 5, 2001 until November 11, 2004.
Overview
Host
Dave Attell
David Attell (born January 18, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer best known as the host of Comedy Central's '' Insomniac with Dave Attell'', which earned him a cult following. His work has drawn admiration from many comed ...
goes through a particular city at night, usually close to
midnight beginning with his performance at a local
comedy club
A comedy club is a venue—typically a nightclub, bar (establishment), bar, hotel, casino, or restaurant—where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedy, stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, impr ...
, then going to various bars, clubs, and city landmarks. Along the way Attell cracks jokes with passersby and takes pictures with a
disposable camera which would be shown during the end credits. Every episode concludes with the sun rising into the next morning and Attell saying his catchphrase "Get some sleep!"
Episodes include a visit to Chicago's world-famous
The Wieners Circle
The Wieners Circle is a hot dog stand on Clark Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is known for its Maxwell Street Polish, Char-dogs, hamburgers, cheese fries, and the mutual verbal abuse between t ...
, where the staff routinely got in cursing matches with their customers, and a visit to a Phoenix
nudist camp
A naturist resort or nudist resort is an establishment that provides accommodation (or at least camping space) and other amenities for guests in a context where they are invited to practise naturism – that is, a lifestyle of non-sexual socia ...
.
U.S. cities featured on the show were
Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
,
Anchorage
Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
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 i ...
,
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
,
Boise
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...
,
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...
,
Charleston,
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
,
Chicago,
Cleveland,
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
,
Honolulu,
Houston,
Kansas City,
Key West,
Las Vegas,
Little Rock,
Long Island,
Memphis,
Miami,
Myrtle Beach,
Nashville,
New Orleans,
New York City,
Oakland,
Philadelphia,
Phoenix,
Portland,
Reno
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
,
San Francisco and
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...
. Other cities featured on the show were
Amsterdam,
Dublin,
London,
Montreal,
Tijuana,
Toronto, and specials that took place in
Berlin,
Rio de Janeiro,
Tokyo and the
Southern United States.
The 30-minute program ran for four seasons on
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
and continued with four one-hour specials. In 2003, two volumes of the show under the title ''The Best of Insomniac Uncensored'' were released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
.
The producers of ''Insomniac'' were Nick McKinney,
Dave Hamilton
[ and Mala Chapple. McKinney and Hamilton also directed all the episodes. The show's theme song and series composer was Bob Golden.
]
Cities visited
Specials
* ''March on the South'' ( North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
)
* ''Rio Dave Janeiro'' ( Rio de Janeiro)
* ''Sloshed in Translation'' ( Tokyo)
* ''Insomni-Achtung Baby!'' ( Berlin)
See also
* '' Dave Attell's Insomniac Tour''
References
External links
*
*
{{Comedy Central programming
Comedy Central original programming
Comedy Central late-night programming
2000s American late-night television series
2001 American television series debuts
2004 American television series endings
English-language television shows