We revisited DrunkHistory's six-season run to identify the 25 tipsy retellings that stood above the rest
Photo-Illustration: Vulture and Comedy Central/YouTube In 2007, Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner produced six short sketches for Funny or Die called Drunk History, in which the inebriated retellings of historical events were reenacted with community-theater-level production values, A-list comedians, and total commitment to the storyteller’s every fumbled word and modern vernacular.
[Note: We gave oursevles one hard-and-fast rule, which made the creation of this list incredibly complicated: only one story per narrator. This way, each narrator’s entry on the list is a testament to everything they brought to the table across the whole of the show’s mad history.
Waters: There’s something so special about that. Also, his dad hadn’t been cast as Mister Rogers yet. When he got cast, Colin told his dad, “Well, I played him first.” Man, the re-creation of that set; the production design was unbelievable. Sometimes [on Drunk History], it makes sense for it to look good — but some things, like [spacecraft], you make funny little models with that. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, you’re not going to dumb down the trolley. You gotta make it look as close as you can.
Slip of the Tongue: “[Nichols] was like, ‘That’s a lot on my shoulders. Can you chill?,’ and he’s like, ‘No, I’m Martin Luther King. I have no chill.’” Waters: Maria Blasucci is the top dollar of that sketch — that’s one of the best performances of the whole show. But that’s also Maria’s talent mixed with Jennie’s talent. What’s that she says? “I’m gonna cut yer fundin’!” I can’t do it. Again, that story was one I didn’t know about before.Narrators: Erin and Michael Rohr
Slip of the Tongue: “We’re gonna take their fresh water. We’re gonna take their electrixity — lemme say that right.” Waters: This is nice; it lets me take a step back and say, “Damn, we got to do some cool shit with a lot of neat, really talented people.” We did Nellie Bly twice, and that story, that book, is so powerful. I feel like we’re just about to start talking about mental health, which is crazy, considering how long people have been trying to get conversations going about it. I just felt that story had an importance to it.
Waters: That’s the one that won us the Emmy for costumes. One of my favorite things is when John Lithgow and Jack Black are in the elevator, they’re actually in a bathroom standing in a tub. We filmed the narration at the Biltmore with Berg, and the lights kept flickering. I know how to play with my narrators and told him, “I think Orson’s here, man.” But I found out later that was where the Academy Awards were held the year [Welles] won for Kane.
Slip of the Tongue: [Talking to her dog] “He’s like, ‘Give me back my balls!’ ‘I can’t. I took them away.’ [Laughs.] But I have a full vagina.” When we were filming the shot where she’s about to get hanged, you see [that] a van drives by in the back. I remember the first AD yelling, but we were like, “No, please — it’s perfect.”I’m sure you’re sensing a pattern here: The best episodes come from the most energetic, enthusiastic performers — sure, you can get away with lollygagging cynicism, but there’s nothing like a breathless recounting of a subject a good speaker is really excited about.
Trussell’s one of those fascinating dudes who sits somewhere between pop philosopher and conspiracy theorist, which makes him perfect for the Drunk History milieu. The tale of Jet Propulsion Laboratory founder Jack Parsons is an ideal intersection of Trussell’s niche interests, his cackling befuddlement matched perfectly by a fully committed Taran Killam and Eric Edelstein as L. Ron Hubbard.
That was the last shoot day of that season, and I remember every year feeling like I’m done. And then you do that story, and suddenly you’re like, “There’s more of these, right?”The Tony-winning superstar, no longer young, scrappy, and hungry, decided to go onto Drunk History and offer up a different spin on an American story he has had quite a bit of experience spinning into his own: the rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
The same year Tiffany Haddish blew up with her star-making turn in Girls Trip, she made her one and only appearance on Drunk History and offered a solid case for herself as one of the best narrators in the bunch. Tackling the story of French museum curator Rose Valland and her attempts to keep Jewish-owned art from falling into the hands of the Nazis, Haddish proves that learning the finer points of WWII history doesn’t have to be boring.
Julia Child falls into the category of stories we loved to do: “I know this person as one thing but had no idea they also did this.” Julia Child as a spy. If people quote one thing the most from the show, it’s, “Cool cool cool, tight tight tight.” Aasha Davis, one of our amazing ensemble members, made pins that said it — I wear it proud.
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