Viva Variety (1997–1999)

Pseudo-European variety show with all the trimmings. Mr. and (the former) Mrs. Laupin and their dimwitted more-American-than-American sidekick Johnny Blue-jeans team up to bring their "... See full summary »

Creators:

Michael Ian Black, Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon

Stars:

Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenney, Michael Ian Black

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Thomas Lennon	...	Meredith Laupin (16 episodes, 1997)
Kerri Kenney	...	Agatha Laupin (16 episodes, 1997)
Michael Ian Black	...	Johnny Blue Jeans (16 episodes, 1997)
Betsy Chang	...	Swimsuit Squad (13 episodes, 1997)
Jill Nicklaus	...	Swimsuit Squad (13 episodes, 1997)
Kerri Quinn	...	Swimsuit Squad (13 episodes, 1997)
Mira Tzur	...	Swimsuit Squad (13 episodes, 1997)

Storyline

Pseudo-European variety show with all the trimmings. Mr. and (the former) Mrs. Laupin and their dimwitted more-American-than-American sidekick Johnny Blue-jeans team up to bring their "European" show to an American audience with hilarious results. As they say "Viva Variety is as American as French Fries... with mayonnaise and vinegar."

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Plot Keywords:

variety | variety show | comedy troupe | absurdism | husband wife relationship | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Spanish Italian French

Also Known As:

The Mr. and Former Mrs. Laupin Variety Program

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Spun-off from The State (1993)

User Reviews

Weird parody of a variety show that showed why variety is dead.

This was a strange show. In an era that hasn't seen a successful variety show, we get a parody of one. Many of the guests and performers were real, but the whole show revolved around the fact that VV was supposedly the American version of "Europe's #1 variety show.". The hosts were bad parodies; the bickering ex-husband/wife team, and the (Latvian?) Johnny Bluejeans who, though not entertaining, was better than Yakov Smirnoff.

Comedy Central pushed this show incredibly hard, to an audience that really didn't care. No offense to the people who worked on the show, but the time, money, and effort spent on the show were wasted. Few found it entertaining; perhaps if the US market were familiar with over-the-top Euro variety shows, then we would have wanted a parody. As it stood, though, the point was lost.