There’s always two sides to everything and that’s exactly what Vice has investigated with its Dark Side series. The latest installment will find itself focusing on the heavier side of the funnier things in life titled, Dark Side of Comedy. In it, audiences will follow some familiar names in the comedy and entertainment industry as they dish on the sometimes stranger-than-fiction lives of several of their peers.
A trailer recently dropped by Vice reveals the documentary tell-all to be equal parts funny and, well… dark. With Dave Foley (The Kids in the Hall) narrating, this season promises to do a deep dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly surrounding legendary comics such as Andrew Dice Clay, Chris Farley, Freddie Prinze, Maria Bamford, Artie Lange, Roseanne Barr, Dustin Diamond, Greg Giraldo, Brett Butler, and Richard Pryor.
The trailer reveals a slew of familiar faces including the late Gilbert Gottfried, Patton Oswalt, Russell Peters, DeRay Davis, Ed “The Machine” Regine, Godfrey, Pete Holmes, Marc Maron, Scott Thompson, Cecil Brown, and both subject and participant, Bamford. As each opens up about different comedic legends, it quickly becomes obvious that the production will hold nothing back as they go into some hard-to-learn details surrounding such iconic names. Drugs, guns, and shame all take center stage in deciphering exactly what was going on in the heads of the subject matter, many of whom battled their own demons far from the public eye. As Oswalt puts it “There’s no dark side of comedy, really. As a matter of fact, it’s all dark.”
Oswalt’s bleak outlook is exactly the thing Vice has tried to unearth in its other documentary series’ which includes Dark Side of the Ring, Dark Side of Football, and Dark Side of the ’90s. As the names suggest, each installment in the franchise has peeled back the layers behind some of America’s favorite subjects. Investigating the underbelly of comedy is a genius move on the side of Vice as many of the art-form’s most well-known performers have had their biggest struggles with pressure from not only the public, but also internally and stemming from those closest to them. And, if the other productions are any indication, Dark Side of Comedy has a great chance at succeeding.
Stepping into the ring and going head-to-head with wrestling’s biggest superstars and the trauma surrounding them, Dark Side of the Ring proved to be the franchise’s biggest hit, airing for 3 seasons and cementing the idea that fans love learning about what goes on behind the curtain.
Keep scrolling to see the trailer for Dark Side of Comedy and head to Vice TV on August 16 at 9 p.m. to catch the first episode.