Dropout is probably the best-kept secret of streaming services right now. Confidently bucking the streamer trends of ad-based subscription tiers, third-party licensed content, and streaming libraries that are as elusive as shifting sands, Dropout is instead carving out its niche in authentic, passionate comedy.
Specialising in comedy reality series – or more specifically ‘live play’ (which includes improv comedy, panel shows, game shows and tabletop roleplaying), Dropout offers a unique lineup of shows that, in my opinion, just get better and better. Where else can you bust a gut from spot-on bird impressions, learn new party games to impress your friends, and get way too invested in a DnD character that’s just a divorced elf dad?
The biggest drawcard of the platform is that every show is an original, made in-house at Dropout. Each one focuses on a unique comedic hook and prominently features a cast of faces that you’ll become more and more familiar with as your explore their content. So while bigger streamers make use of very famous actors, Dropout makes each of its cast members a star in their own right, and soon enough you’ll be gushing to your friends about Vic Michaelis, Zac Oyama, Ally Beardsley, Grant O’Brian and Josh Ruben as though they were household names (and maybe they are – depending on your household).
The deets
Streaming service: Dropout
Formerly known as: CollegeHumor
Shows at a glance: Original comedy series like Gamer Changer, and Dungeons and Dragons playthroughs like Fantasy High.
Owned by: Sam Reich
Country of origin: USA
Founded in: 2018
How much is it: $9.17AUD per month
App or website: Both
Are there ads: Nope
I’d very much like to tell you about my favourite shows on Dropout. So without further ado, here are my favourite shows on Dropout!
Very Important People
Very Important People is an improvised interview show, where the actors create a new character on the spot to be profiled by host Vic Michaelis. The character creation segment consists of a blind makeover (the interviewee’s won’t see what they look like until the HMUAs are done), followed by a few minutes for them to make up the character’s name, personality, and backstory. Then they’re interviewed, with the result being a chaotic, free-flowing conversation that often ends with either Vic or their guest splayed on the floor, knocking over the set, or covered in some kind of food.
This show completely altered my brain chemistry. There was my life before Very Important People (dull, colourless) and after Very Important People (every second I am thinking about Tommy Shrigley, my beloved bodybuilder/motivational speaker). The characters are so memorable and endlessly quotable (‘My mom’s face? Stepped on’), and Vic is the reliable glue holding it all together. A delight!
Game Changer
Game Changer is the only game show where the ‘game’ changes every episode, and is the perfect show if you like watching comedians enduring low-level torture for points. Fortunately, I do, so I’m already down from the moment the three contestants line up, the game begins, and they scramble to try and work out the gimmick before anyone else does.
The games often revolve around some kind of performance, and usually have a layer or two of puzzle-solving and hidden ‘if X, then Y’ rules. In one episode, ‘Beat the Buzzer’, contestants are given simple trivia questions to answer, but they can only submit an answer after a valid buzzer press – and all the buzzers are hidden (on the roof, in the back of the studio, inside vending machines, in a video game maze). One press of the buzzer makes that particular buzzer unusable again, so they must find another. It makes for surprisingly thrilling viewing.
Dimension 20
Ah, DnD – the last bastion of true nerd-dom? Or simply the gateway drug into embracing your inner geek? Well, no matter where you sit on the nerd spectrum, Dimension 20 has an accessible point for you to begin your tabletop role playing adventure. Far from being raw video of gamers rolling dice, calculating damage and hallucinate fantasy lands, Dimension 20 offers a full scale immersive experience by putting its players in a colour changing dome, with a table set up many TTRPG die-hards could only dream of (we’re talking fully painted minifigs, detailed sets, AND stop motion animation for when important actions take place). It also has Brennan Lee Mulligan, one of the coolest, calmest and most charismatic Game Masters out there, who is always willing to ‘yes, and’ his players’ wild suggestions.
If you’re unfamiliar with DnD, much like I was, I highly recommend starting with the miniseries Dungeons and Drag Queens, which stars four former contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race (who are also learning DnD for the first time). Then you can work your way up to longer campaigns like Tiny Heist, Never Stop Blowing Up, and the ongoing flagship show Fantasy High. It’s worth noting that not all of these follow traditional DnD mechanics, but the rules of each game will become clearer as you continue watching.
Make Some Noise
Make Some Noise is like the love child of Whose Line Is It Anyway and Taskmaster. Revolving around the simple concept of impressions and vocal games, contestants earn a made up amount of points for either being the best or the funniest at responding to the prompts given to them onscreen. Those prompts could be things like: Sauron As Donald Trump, Three Sports Announcers Doing A Play-by-Play Of Each Other, Adam and Eve Broach An Open Relationship, and ‘Name This Sword’. If a contestant has the most points at the end of the game, they win the coveted ‘Golden Ear’ statuette.
But the competitive aspect doesn’t really matter (at least, not like it does in Game Changer). The hook is in watching improv comedians at the top of their game demonstrate what is so joyous and fulfilling about the craft.
Breaking News
Breaking News is a scripted news/game show where the newsreaders don’t know what they’re going to say until it appears on the teleprompter. Laughing, smiling, or ‘breaking character’ isn’t allowed, and so actors lose points for every time they do this.
I have snort-laughed many times at the ridiculous things the newsreaders are forced to say and do, so I highly recommend it as a quick pick-me-up. The episodes are also quite short, usually clocking in at 8-10 mins an episode, so it’s perfect for a lunch break watch.
Head to Dropout.TV for more information.
