The State

The State was MTV's sketch-comedy show, airing for three seasons in the early 1990s. The State follows in the tradition of Monty Python's Flying Circus and Saturday Night Live as a loosely-formatted show, featuring a few memorable recurring characters, linked segments, and catch phrases that became commonly used by the public. The eleven young comedians who created, wrote, edited, and starred in the show would go on to create many other comedic successes. Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, and Kerri Kenney created and starred in Comedy Central's hit COPS parody Reno 911. David Wain, Michael Showalter, and Michael Ian Black founded another landmark sketch group, Stella, as well as the summer cult favorite camp-comedy Wet Hot American Summer. The sketches were typically high energy and often satirized popular culture, with some sketches (particularly in later seasons) venturing into absurdism. The State was cancelled after three seasons despite positive critical reception, and a DVD release was delayed for years due to legal issues. Now The State is back in all its glory and available here in its entirety. MORE