Some Much Needed Improv-ment

Remember in the Before Times, when we had live theater and comedy? Netflix remembers, in the form of a few one-hour specials titled (and starring) Middleditch and Schwartz. Although there are only three of these, they're a wonderful time capsule and signpost for the future.

Middleditch is Thomas Middleditch, whom you may know best as Richard on Silicon Valley. Schwartz is Ben Schwartz, whom you may know best as Jean-Ralphio on Parks and Recreation. The two of them have a lot of experience in improv both separately and as a duo, and had been in the midst of a nationwide tour when theater venues shut down for the pandemic. Three of their performances had been recorded, though, and were released in April on Netflix.

Each episode (if that's even the right term for it) begins with an audience suggestion of an upcoming event someone is looking forward to or dreading. A short interview with that audience member ensues, eliciting a few "characters" and details to jump start the proceedings. And then away they go with a long-form improv one-act play.

Some people don't like improv. (Saying you don't seems to be pop culture currency.) To be sure, there's a lot of bad improv out there. But this is not that. Maybe you've seen a few episodes of Whose Line Is It Anyway? -- but this is not that either. Whose Line can certainly be good for a few quick laughs, but its game-oriented structure can be very hit or miss, and usually devolves into one-upsmanship in short order.

Middleditch and Schwartz keep the aim on gags, but they also actually care about telling a (mostly) coherent story as they go. They populate the narrative with several characters (and often switch off playing the same character), and try to bring basic story structure to their performance. To me, it's more satisfying than an ephemeral game premise that lasts only a few minutes. It's richer comedically too, allowing for more callbacks, invention, and clever connections.

If you're completely against improv for whatever reason, this probably won't change your mind. Plenty of improv shenanigans are still in play here: cornering a scene partner into something ridiculous, breaking the fourth wall for a laugh (that may be more for themselves than the audience), and only loosely inhabiting any given character. But these two guys are really, really good at this. They had been scheduled to come to Denver last summer -- an event I probably would have missed had I not first seen these specials. Now, I can look for their possible return to touring in the After Times and plan for tickets.

The three episodes are ordered by Netflix from what I'd call best to "worst," but all three have multiple laugh-out-loud moments throughout. I tried to make them last, and I'm not really a "binge watcher," but you can only pace three one-hour shows so far. In any case, I thought they provided some much needed laughs.

I give the Middleditch and Schwartz specials an A-. If improv is at all your thing, you should check them out. (And maybe one day, there will be more than just the three of them.)