Exit 57 is a 30-minute sketch comedy series that aired on the American television channel Comedy Central from 1995 to 1996; its cast was composed of comedians Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Jodi Lennon, Mitch Rouse, and Amy Sedaris, all of whom had previously studied improv at The Second City in Chicago. In 1999 Sedaris, Dinello, Colbert and Rouse also created the Comedy Central show Strangers with Candy.

All of the sketches in the series are implied to take place in the fictionalized suburban setting of the Quad Cities.

Premise[edit]

The episodes usually run for around 20 minutes, and feature between four and seven sketches. The sketches all take place in a fictional setting, vaguely named Quad Cities, in reference to the region of the same name.^[1]

Development[edit]

Conception[edit]

Sedaris, Dinello, and Rouse initially were approached about developing a sketch comedy show for HBO Downtown Productions after appearing in a comic play titled Stitches,^[2][3] written by Sedaris's brother David.^[4] The show was produced for Comedy Central by Joe Forristal and Nancy Geller.^[5] Sedaris and Dinello asked for Colbert's involvement, and he left The Second City, where they all met, so he could move to New York City and work on the show.^[4] During his time on New York, Colbert lived at the General Theological Seminary in Chelsea.^[6] Fellow Second City alumna, Jodi Lennon also moved there from Chicago, leaving The Annoyance Theatre.^[7]

Writing and production[edit]

Colbert, Dinello, Rouse and Sedaris, called their The Second City's director, Mick Napier, to help them with the show's structure. "It was the first show we'd ever done, and the person we had worked with and trusted the most to understand our style of comedy was Mick, so we said, 'Would you come in and just look at our scripts and help us figure out what we're trying to say? What's the proper structure for this scene?' Because we weren't as good as that." Colbert recalled. Their shared dark sensibilities were also a factor in bringing him on the project.^[8] The team recalled having a lot of freedom to write, "They left us alone for 4 months at a time to write. Then we would come back and use what ever we had come up with.^[9] Napier alongside, Cindy Caponera,^[10] Paul Kozlowski,^[11] David Sedaris,^[11][12] A. Whitney Brown,^[13] and David Pasquesi,^[14] contributed additional material. Colbert has said "Down In the Basement", is one of his favorite sketches from the show, and described it as "one of the most Mick things that we ever did".^[8] For the sketch "You Are Fired", Colbert based his character on Second City producer Kelly Leonard, who did not like having difficult conversations with his staff. Colbert called Leonard beforehand to tell him.^[15] Comedy writer Michael O'Donoghue once wrote a sketch for the show, but it was rejected due to its violence.^[16] Donoghue died in 1994 and the sixth episode of the first season is dedicated to his memory.^[17]

The series was filmed in New York, at the HBO Downtown Production offices,^[7][18] in front of a live audience. They only were able to film two takes per sketch.^[1] Colbert recalled the budget for the show was tight: "Those were like, "Well, here's an idea. A guy gets woken up by a jackhammer. The jackhammer operator ..." and our producers would say, "First of all, before you go any further – do you have a jackhammer? Because I don't have a jackhammer."^[4]

Opening sequence[edit]

During the show's cryptic opening sequence, the cast members are seen standing next to a broken down car on the highway. Soon they are picked up by a passing driver, who changes the radio station at the mention of a serial killer, and takes Polaroid pictures of his increasingly uncomfortable passengers. Growing suspicious, the cast demands to be let out. The car is then seen pulling off the highway at Exit 57.

A rendition of "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" served as the show's theme song.

Cast members[edit]

• Stephen Colbert – Various
• Paul Dinello – Various
• Mitch Rouse – Various
• Amy Sedaris – Various
• Jodi Lennon – Various

Guest actors[edit]

• Cindy Caponera – Various

Series overview[edit]

Reception[edit]

In a 1995 review of the show, The Boston Phoenix, wrote: "They’re big on white-trash parody and fare particularly well with character-driven comedy and dialogue —a good sign." The review described the opening credits, as "The best sequence on the show", adding,  "A David Lynch—ian dark subtext can be self-conscious, but sharp wit is evident, and the show has a lot of promise."^[5]

Despite having 12 episodes over the course of two seasons, the series met with a fair amount of critical acclaim before its cancellation, garnering CableACE nominations in 1995 for writing, performance, and best comedy series.^[19][20] In a 2003 interview, Stephen Colbert was told that it was a shame that the show did not have re-runs, to which he said: "I don't know about that, I've seen some of them since. I think shame could be associated with it, but not necessarily with not showing."^[4] Actor Matthew McConaughey is a fan of the show, and in 2017 he re-enacted a sketch with Colbert.^[21]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Exit 57 at IMDb