In the fourth episode of its seventh season, Dropout’s Game Changer introduced an intriguing new game. Stand-up comedians Jeff Arcuri, Josh Johnson, and Gianmarco Soresi had to do competitive crowd work, spinning comedy out of their audience’s most outlandish — and sometimes, downright traumatizing — stories.
Titled “Crowd Control,” the episode’s audience featured a competitive bearder, identical triplets, and the survivor of a serial killer attack, prompting a wide range of reactions and jokes from the competing comedians. Ultimately, though, the episode proved a fascinating exploration of walking the line between comedy and empathy, making it one of the season’s most compelling installments. Now, Dropout is spinning “Crowd Control” off into its own show, joining the likes of other Game Changer spin-offs like Make Some Noise, Dirty Laundry, and Play It By Ear.
Premiering this Sept., Crowd Control is hosted by comedian and frequent Dropout collaborator Jacquis Neal. Each episode introduces a new trio of comedians who must spin up new material based solely on their interactions with audience members. Just like in the Game Changer episode, Crowd Control‘s audience members are wearing shirts that display intriguing facts about them. A red shirt means the fact is much trickier to put a comedic spin on, but more risk means more reward, right? (For example, one red shirt in the trailer above reads “distant incest.”)
Original “Crowd Control” champion Soresi returns to defend his title this season. However, he’s not the only big name on the docket. Crowd Control has assembled a real who’s who of comedians, with this season’s competitors including Bob The Drag Queen, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Paul F. Tompkins, Moshe Kasher, Leslie Liao, Ify Nwadiwe, Jamie Loftus, Leah Rudick, Cristela Alonzo, Guy Branum, Atsuko Okatsuka, Kiran Deol, Tina Friml, Baron Vaughn, Jenny Zigrino, Megan Gailey, and Joyelle Nicole Johnson.
Crowd Control premieres Sept. 8 on Dropout, with new episodes streaming every other Monday.
