“Studio C” kicked off its fifth season yesterday, Oct. 6. The long-awaited season premiere of BYUtv’s original scripted and improvisational comedy show is finally here.
Shores has watched “Studio C” grow in popularity from its pilot episode back in Fall 2012. Standing back is exactly where Shores prefers to be, despite being a big fan himself.
“I’m really just that dude behind the camera, which I like,” Shores said. “People don’t even have to know who I am.”
After graduating in economics from BYU in 2010, Shores continued to work for BYU Broadcasting, a job he had been involved in since 2008. It wasn’t long before he joined the department’s content-development committee, contributing new show ideas for the network.
Shores was searching for something new when he first met Meese.
“I knew they were looking for new content, so I just set up an appointment, which ended up being an appointment with Jared,” Meese said.
All current cast members are BYU graduates and former members of the comedy sketch troupe Divine Comedy, though the show is not extensively connected to BYU. Shores said the group is able to see a little bit better now that it has been doing it for a couple of years. He said “Studio C” is like “a machine that is getting more and more oiled.”
“I would easily say, and we would all agree, it is our best season we have ever done. I think we’ve finally reached a point that we all feel like we’re finally humming along,” Shores said.
Meese said the performers are excited about the show’s growth, and they owe a lot of credit to Youtube. “That’s where I think the main success of the show has come, is YouTube,” Meese said. “The TV ratings are right where they should be in terms of BYUtv and what they want. They didn’t have a YouTube presence prior to ‘Studio C,’ and now pretty much their YouTube content is ‘Studio C.’”
Shores said the group is changing its YouTube strategy and that “YouTube has played such a big role in our shareability.” Shores also contributed success to the actors and writers.
Other popular videos include grocery-store standoffs between group members Matt Meese and Mallory Everton, who argue over which country is best or who is most organic.
“Love From Afar” is a popular “Studio C” music video, where three girls at the mall fall in love with every man they see, only to realize that each one isn’t exactly who they hoped he would be.
Other famous sketches include “The Ground Is Lava!,” “Flirting Academy,” “Mother Power” and “P90X.” “Studio C” jokes about everything, from Facebook friends and Google translator to dating troubles and career-placement tests.
Mikinon Hadley, a 17-year-old from from West Haven, Utah, watches “Studio C” because of the cast members. “You can tell that they love what they do,” she said. She is looking forward to seeing new characters and “seeing characters like the Bisque Guy and the Shoulder Angel.
“Lobster Bisque” and “Shoulder Angel and Devil” are popular reoccurring sketches. “Lobster Bisque” sketches feature “Studio C” member James Perry, an obsessive lobster bisque salesman whose accent is unlike any other. “Shoulder Angel and Devil” literally climb onto people’s shoulders to offer advice in each sketch.
“Studio C” continues to produce fresh content that gets laughs and clicks. Shores said Season Six is already in the works.
“We kind of never stop,” Shores said. “We’re already writing and thinking of ideas of what Season Six looks like.”
Meese, Shores and the entire “Studio C” cast are proud of this new season.
“It’s everything you would want all at once, and I feel like it’s going to be hard to top that in the future,” Meese said.
In this commercial for the Bean Museum, Meese puts his trademark wit to good use promoting the place where he worked while he was a BYU student.
