Television series
@midnight
Other titles called @midnight: the 1934 film, the 1939 film.
@midnight was a rapid-fire comedy game show where Chris Hardwick refereed three celebrities competing to be funniest based on absurd internet minutiae. It's pure improv energy—fast, silly, unhinged—built on the shared understanding that the internet is endlessly weird. For people who love comedy that doesn't take itself seriously and find humor in the exact same obscure corners of Twitter.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love fast panel games where improvised jokes about internet oddities land or die in seconds, and you enjoy a host who keeps the chaos moving.
Skip it if you want a story or a sustained joke, since this is a run of short bits, and plenty of them misfire before the next one arrives.
What it asks of you: Half an hour at a brisk pace, with little to hold onto between segments, so it asks you to stay alert and take each bit as it comes rather than settle in.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Whose Line Is It Anyway?1988
The spiritual parent of @midnight: improvisers riffing fast with minimal structure, building jokes together in real time. Warm chemistry and genuine spontaneity. Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles are treasures.
But Improv comedy is not everyone's speed—some games land flat, and laugh tracks can feel forced if the bit doesn't work for you.
The Eric Andre Show2012
Aggressive absurdist comedy that assumes you live online and find meaning in chaos. Surreal, unhinged, and genuinely unpredictable in ways network TV rarely attempts. A spiritual cousin in maximalist internet humor.
But It's deeply weird and deliberately antagonistic. If you like your comedy to build toward something recognizable, this will exhaust you.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine2013
Chris Hardwick has an effortless charm as a host, and this ensemble comedy nails the same vibe: smart people joking constantly while genuinely caring about each other. Fast-paced, infinitely rewatchable.
But It's a network procedural that softens as it goes on. The early irreverent edge smooths into something warmer—if you're here for edge, later seasons disappoint.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from @midnight
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Mystery Science Theater 30001988
Both are built on the pleasure of smart people making jokes together in real time about content that's already written. The comedy comes from spontaneous reaction, not script.
Three voices riffing over bad movies in real time—exactly @midnight's DNA but applied to cinema. The interplay between the hosts is warm and brilliant. If you love spontaneous comedy, this is essential, a lineage you didn't know you needed.
But The host segments interrupt the riffing, and some of the worst films are genuinely hard to sit through even ironically. Patience required.
More like this (8)
Comedy Bang! Bang!2012
Scott Aukerman's absurdist talk show riffs endlessly on pop culture, celebrity, and the form itself. Three seasons of jokes that assume you're willing to laugh at nothing. Delightful for the chaos-coded.
But It's extremely inside-baseball about comedy and improv. Without love for that world, whole episodes can feel like you're watching comedians entertain themselves.
Saturday Night Live1975
The template for everything: live comedy with rotating talent, high stakes, and instant chemistry or implosion. Fast sketches, monologues, internet-weird parodies. Pure adrenaline and spontaneity.
But Consistency is not SNL's strength. You'll sit through dead sketches waiting for the one that lands. Quality varies wildly even in strong seasons.
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson2019
Absurdist sketch comedy that feels like watching someone's fever dream. Deeply weird, confidently committed, and endlessly quotable. Robinson's specificity is unmatched—comedy for people who live in their own brain.
But The humor is so specific and surreal it doesn't land if you're not on the wavelength. Watching it with the wrong crowd is awkward and lonely.
30 Rock2006
Rapid-fire jokes stacked on top of each other, insider comedy world humor, and characters who riff constantly. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin trade zingers with real affection. Dense with laughs—you'll miss jokes on first watch.
But The pace can feel exhausting, and some cultural references have dated. If you need breathing room between jokes, this will wear you out.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah2015
Political comedy built on the same instinct @midnight has: find the absurdity in real news, riff on it, make meaning from chaos. Trevor Noah is genuinely funny, and the show moves fast.
But Topical comedy ages badly and can feel preachy. If you don't care about politics or prefer comedy untethered to current events, the premise feels thin.
Adam Ruins Everything2015
Adam Conover disrupts assumptions you didn't know you had, explaining absurd facts while being genuinely funny. It scratches the same itch as @midnight—finding weird truths and playing with them.
But The format wears thin by season three. Once you get the structure, episodes feel predictable, and the explanations sometimes oversimplify complex topics.
Community2009
Both love the internet's sensibility—the understanding that all culture is available at once to remix. Community quotes endlessly; @midnight plays with that same collage-consciousness.
Dan Harmon's ensemble reaches for absurdist comedy that plays with form and reference constantly. The paintball episodes, blanket fort wars, and loving pastiche of genre mean characters riffing on layers of pop culture together. Genuinely surprised you at the speed it moves.
But It gets caught in its own cleverness by season four. The show sometimes cares more about meta-commentary than actual stakes or heart. Uneven in the back half.
Drunk History2013
Both prize spontaneous comedy from smart people who can think fast. Neither needs a tight script—the pleasure is watching someone improvise under constraints, making meaning from chaos in real time.
Comedians get drunk and tell history, then actors perform it straight. The contrast between the slurred improv and the serious re-enactment is genuinely hilarious. Unscripted, chaotic, people riffing without a net.
But Drinking humor can feel one-note, and some episodes depend too heavily on a single performer's tolerance. The format works in bursts, not sustained.
People
Cast
Chris HardwickHost