Any sketch show thrives thanks to its cast, and Friends of the People is no different. But most sketch shows don’t develop just out of nowhere; often casts have known each other for years before they ever work together. Here’s a look at how some of the cast of Friends of The People bounced off each other before coming together on truTV.
Take, for example, Kevin Barnett and Jermaine Fowler. They both have independent success: Barnett has been on Comedy Central, College Humor, and was one of the comedians featured in Mike Birbiglia’s Sleepwalk With Me. Here he is, explaining racism:
…while Fowler, beyond being mistaken for somebody who works on Orange Is The New Black, worked with HBO and The Eric Andre Show, when he wasn’t playing stages like the Upright Citizens Brigade:
But they first worked together professionally on MTV’s Guy Code. Similarly, Fowler and cast member Josh Rabinowitz knew each other from their time at Comedy Central:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J8B9S4unps
How about the Lucas Bros., best known for their bizarre late night animated comedy on Fox and for their cameo in the fourth season of Arrested Development? Barnett and Fowler have both done voice work as associates/victims of the exceptionally lazy moving crew:
…Which also brought in Lil’ Rel Howery, semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing and another Lucas Bros. Moving Co. alum.
And, most fascinating, is how they all worked together on one project… through a revival of In Living Color, where they met Jennifer Bartels and completed the cast. The ’90s sketch show was revived by Fox, complete with a pilot shot, featuring every member of the cast… only to be canceled without airing.
And, from there, you had the genesis of a new sketch show. It’s a complicated alchemy of people, and it’s always a long road to get there… but always worth it.