Fridays (1980–1982)

Live late-night comedy sketch show similar to "Saturday Night Live."

Creators:

Bill Lee, John Moffitt

Stars:

Jack Burns, Brandis Kemp, Mark Blankfield

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Jack Burns		(54 episodes, 1980-1982)
Brandis Kemp		(54 episodes, 1980-1982)
Mark Blankfield		(54 episodes, 1980-1982)
Maryedith Burrell		(54 episodes, 1980-1982)
Melanie Chartoff		(54 episodes, 1980-1982)
Larry David		(54 episodes, 1980-1982)
Darrow Igus		(54 episodes, 1980-1982)
Bruce Mahler		(54 episodes, 1980-1982)
Michael Richards		(54 episodes, 1980-1982)
John Roarke		(54 episodes, 1980-1982)
Rich Hall		(21 episodes, 1981-1982)

Storyline

A skit-oriented variety/comedy show, this was an attempt by the ABC network to cash in on the success of Saturday Night Live. The formula is very similar, right down to having fake commercials and a bogus newscast.

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Plot Keywords:

late night | punk | sketch comedy | live performance | tv show | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 1980 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Regulars Brandis Kemp and Darrow Igus appeared in separate episodes of the first season of The Pretender.

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Connections

Featured in How It Began (2004)

User Reviews

Despite reputation as a second-rate rate ripoff of Saturday Night Live, it usually was much better.

Created in early 1980s by ABC as an imitation of "Saturday Night Live," it was more extreme, crazier and funnier than "SNL." Besides Andy Kauffman, it featured Larry David and Michael Richards (both later of "Seinfeld").

Richard's violent, war-mongering and ultimately self-destructive boy in the sandbox was a brilliant creation. It broke the rules of physical comedy, going far beyond the predictable smart-alek jokes of "SNL." Richards was the genius of the show, not Kauffman, who by then was sadly running out of ideas.

By the way, the Kauffman episode of "Fridays" depicted in the movie "Man in the Moon" was not a spontaneous outburst. It was planned ahead of time, according to B.K. Momchilov, who runs the Andy Kauffman Home Page.

The Comedy Channel should play "Fridays" re-runs to offset "SNL's" stale re-runs.