Entering its 51st year, SNL has become an institution within comedy, having launched the careers of countless comedians (particularly throughout the 90s), and whose skit-character creations have entered pop culture. The success led to its producer, Lorne Michaels, working on various projects, from the cult-favorite comedy show Kids in the Hall and 30 Rock to films of great success, like The Blues Brothers (1980) and Wayne’s World (1992), to flops like It’s Pat! (1994) and Stuart Saves His Family (1995).
While each of these projects became tied to SNL’s legacy, the long-running sketch comedy show primarily stuck to one-offs of popular characters (with a few exceptions) and kept its involvement with other shows, like KITH, without leaning heavily on presenting them as a production of SNL’s Lorne Michaels. This formula works, and one can see why, as not only did SNL have several spin-offs that failed to make it to air, including a Blues Brothers cartoon series, but the one that did make it to air failed to make an impact and now lives in obscurity: TV Funhouse.
‘TV Funhouse’ Was One of SNL’s Longest Running Skits
Created by Robert Smigel, TV Funhouse ran sporadically between 1996 and 2008 as an animated skit on SNL. Drawing influence from the Hanna-Barbera cartoons, Smigel would lean into the underlying themes and absurdity explored across various cartoons of the bygone era, notably poking fun at the undertones in classic cartoons with the “Ambiguously Gay Duo.” Other skits would include “The X-Presidents,” featuring a superhero team of past presidents, and “Fun with Real Audio,” which was a sort of animated vignette built around other audio clips; a form of comedy that is now commonplace on YouTube.
Smigel’s other biggest claim to fame would come as the creator and voice of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a staple character on Conan O’Brien’s late-night show. Behind the scenes, he is a prolific writer, and while his sketch show would lose favor, he remained a core writer at SNL from 1985 to 2024. Still, TV Funhouse, particularly to fans of SNL at a certain age, remained his most recognized work, and one which has not exactly aged all that great. Already, paying homage to cartoons of the past, the humor in TV Funhouse feels particularly dated alongside recurring skits like The Roxbury Guys and the Boston Teens.
Its obscure references, even for the time, and often reliance on jokes based on ethnicity, gender, or orientation, can be very cringeworthy when viewed in 2025. Still, during its run, it was a popular segment; when broken down by years, it is the longest-running skit, with Wayne’s World coming in second at half (6 years); that is, if you rule out the long-running Weekend Update with its iconic hosts. While it may seem odd that TV Funhouse was poised for its own spin-off TV series, it makes sense that SNL took the chance when considering the skits’ legacy.
‘TV Funhouse’ Failed to Capture an Audience Outside Its Skits on ‘SNL’
During its SNL run, TV Funhouse produced around 100 skits, around 2–5 minutes long. For the TV series adaptation, a different approach was taken: the show would feature a host, Doug Dale (Jimmy Fowlie), who, along with puppets and real animals, would present a perverted, crass take on the traditional children’s variety show. Robert Smigel remained integral to the show’s writing and creation, as evidenced by much of its humor and recurring skits.
TV Funhouse would debut on Comedy Central on December 6, 2000, and run for eight episodes before being canceled; its brief existence is a key factor in why it remains largely forgotten. The reason the show was canceled was that Smigel himself spoke to the grueling work that came with it, as he told the LA Times:
“It’s just ridiculously grueling, I’m executive producer. Also head writer, basically. I’m also a puppeteer crouching under a stage, sticking my arm up a dog’s [behind], with the other arm under the dog’s chin, trying to make him look like he’s chasing his tail while I scream at the top of my lungs.” (Robert Smigel)
The DVD commentary also spoke of a ballooning budget, with the show always going over (via AV Club). These two factors are generally accepted as reasons for the show’s short-lived existence. Still, others point to TV Funhouse’s niche and purely provocative and often disturbing comedic nature as just as limiting in its ability to succeed, or at least to justify its budget. 25 years later, TV Funhouse, as a series, is almost entirely forgotten, remembered only for its legacy as a long-running SNL Skit.
Is it Worth Watching ‘TV Funhouse’ in 2025?
The issue with provocative humor is that it seldom stays relevant beyond the time period it exists in; you can even apply this to the craft of stand-up, with someone like Lenny Bruce being legendary but unlistenable now. What is provocative, changes with the times and culture, and while there is a curiosity in seeing TV Funhouse now, it is not nearly as impactful as it would have been on release. When this is one of its ‘charms’, losing that edge makes for a semi-miserable watch. Still, the ambition behind the project is admirable, and not all the humor lands flat. It is a curiosity worth checking out for those interested.
Given its obscurity, TV Funhouse never got picked up for streaming, and unless you want to dive into eBay, you cannot find the full series through official channels. Still, given the show’s age and obscurity, there are plenty of clips you can find on platforms like YouTube to get a full impression of what the series was.
- Release Date
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October 11, 1975
- Network
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NBC
- Directors
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Dave Wilson, Don Roy King, Liz Patrick, Andy Warhol, Linda Lee Cadwell, Matthew Meshekoff, Paul Miller, Robert Altman, Robert Smigel
- Writers
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Will Forte, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell, Asa Taccone, John Lutz, Tom Schiller, Simon Rich, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Nicki Minaj, Herbert Sargent, Matt Piedmont, John Solomon, Chris Kelly, Alan Zweibel, Kent Sublette, Ari Katcher, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schnedier, Scott Jung, Justin Franks, Jerrod Bettis, Rhiannon Bryan
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Andrew Dismukes
Self (archive footage)
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Chloe Fineman
Self / Margaret Jo McCullin / Various
