Kroll Show ended its three season run not with a bang, but with a wink and a sly sidle off stage before the curtain came down. No big emotional sendoff or breaking of the third wall for its creator or stars to comment on the fact that this was the end. No, nothing so gauche as that.
Instead, Kroll and his company of players and writers decided to let worlds collide in the main storyline. In his hopes to wed a Jewish bride, Rich Dick Wendy hires PubLIZity to plan his bar mitzvah/bris, or as it was known throughout as the Jewmanji Christmas Bris Mitzvah Miracle (there has to be a Christmas tree there or his parents won’t pay for it). Liz B. sees this as the perfect opportunity to wed a rich man and does everything she can to get between her client and his potential fiancé.
From there, most of the show’s recurring characters get in the mix. Wendy has an extended naked fight with Aspen in order to get his buddy’s “blerssing.” The ghost of Dr. Armond shows up to offer up his services as mohel after Wendy’s girlfriend doesn’t show up to do the job (she’s busy discussing her cold feet with and getting pranked by the Too Much Tuna gents). And C-Czar and Bob Ducca arrive to crash the event so he can proclaim his love to Liz B. and their child Pinocchliord.
It all wound up with the closing of PubLIZity after they are sued by the makers of Jumanji for stealing the film’s logo without permission, but it all never felt bittersweet or at all emotional. It was righteously silly with moments of brilliance and many scenes that elicited a knowing, pleased smile. That’s pretty much the reaction that came with every episode of Kroll Show. Looked at as one complete package, the satirical sketch show was entirely satisfying even if it didn’t break much new ground along the way.
What it did—and did well—was maintain a consistent tone and energy throughout. I would have liked to have seen it improve dramatically rather than just stay in one groove, but it never flagged. And you always got the impression that the people on screen were, as the title of this episode suggests, having an amazing experience making fun of the navel-gazing world of reality TV. It was fun while it lasted, Kroll Show. Now go and infect the rest of the comedy universe with your spirit and vision.
Robert Ham is a Portland-based freelance writer and regular contributor to Paste. You can follow him on Twitter.