''Infomercials'' is an

umbrella title An umbrella title is a formal or informal name connecting a number of individual items with a common theme. It is most often used in lieu of listing the separate components or providing a convenient "label" for a collection of disciplines. Uses of ...

for independent, quarter-hour

television comedy Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first United States television ...

specials airing on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

. Unlike actual

paid programming Paid or PAID may refer to: * ''Paid'' (1930 film), an American film starring Joan Crawford * ''Paid'' (2006 film), a Dutch film *''Personality and Individual Differences'', a journal See also * Paide Paide is a town in Estonia and the ...

, all of the programs are fictitious, and for the most part maintain no continuity with each other. Most of the specials closely resemble & lampoon the format of infomercials, while others parody tropes in niche media such as closed-circuit hotel information channels,

industrial film Sponsored film, or ephemeral film, as defined by film archivist Rick Prelinger, is a film made by a particular sponsor for a specific purpose other than as a work of art: the films were designed to serve a specific pragmatic purpose for a limited t ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

s, outdated

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

formats, and

public-access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

. A number of the titles have a purposeful

standard definition Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...

look and framing, to match a dated aesthetic. The specials typically air at 4 a.m. ET/ PT. There is no title card or common identifier for the specials, and on some program guide listings, it can be confused with an actual segment of paid programming; if there is a description, it is sometimes blank, with no season or episode numbers. Every title has a different look, as outside of the

Williams Street Williams Street Productions, LLC, d/b/a Williams Street and formerly known as Ghost Planet Industries, is an American animation and live action television production studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., ...

production logo A production logo, vanity card, vanity plate, or vanity logo is a logo used by movie studios and television production companies to brand what they produce and to determine the production company and the distributor of a television show or film ...

s, there are no common directors, cast or crew between the specials, though some directors have returned. One in particular, "'' Too Many Cooks''", is notable for gathering media interest in November 2014. It contains a long-form introduction sequence common to 1980s and 1990s TV shows, except with a seemingly endless cast that continued to be introduced for 11 minutes straight.

Specials

''All the titles are or have been aired under the homonym banner, according to the

schedule.''

Scrapped

* ''The Six Pack Comedy Minute'' * ''Ultimate Beetles Collection''

Notes

References

External links