Bob Odenkirk, Ben Stiller bring L.A. sketch group Birthday Boys to IFC
Bob Odenkirk and David Cross gave voice to several alternative comics from the Los Angeles performing scene on their “Mr. Show with Bob and David,” which ran on HBO for three years in the mid-’90s. Sarah Silverman, Paul F. Tompkins, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Brian Posehn and Scott Aukerman all appeared on or wrote for the show.
Now Odenkirk, together with Ben Stiller, is boosting the profile of another L.A. comedy staple, the Birthday Boys, a sketch group that started up in 2007 and regularly played live at L.A.’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Odenkirk and Stiller are executive producing a new series, “The Birthday Boys,” which premieres on IFC on Friday.
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We hear that Stiller will guest star on one episode; Odenkirk plans to appear more regularly with the sketch group, which is made up of Dave Ferguson, Jefferson Dutton, Tim Kalpakis, Mike Hanford, Matt Kowalick, Mike Mitchell and Chris VanArtsdalen. If the TV version is at all like the Birthday Boys’ live performances, it will be zany and high energy.
Watch a sneak peek from Episode 1, which premieres Oct. 18 at 10:30 p.m. on IFC.
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