The Jack and Triumph Show Set to Premiere February 20th

One of the stranger projects Adult Swim has had in the pipeline for a while is finally set to make its debut next month.

The Jack and Triumph Show, the new multi-camera sitcom starring Jack McBrayer (30 Rock, Wander Over Yonder) and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (played by Robert Smigel, of course) will premiere Friday, February 20th at 11:30 PM. Smigel was at the Television Critics Association Winter TV Press Tour and spoke about the idea, acknowledging how odd an idea it is:

“We have a big concern that people are going to look at the aesthetics and just dismiss it,” Smigel told TV critics at Winter TV Press Tour 2015. Viewers could “easily assume these guys are slumming in a multi-cam.” But the whole point of the experiment is to put Triumph into a “format considered kinda lame in 2015 and mess with it,” Triumph’s creator said.

“I wouldn’t call it a parody of a multi-cam, because we stick with the conventions, but we’re definitely having fun with the conventions…We want you to watch the show and get past the fear it’s a corny multi-cam.”

[Source: Deadline]

The show stars McBrayer as an ex-child star who was in a show alongside Triumph in the late 80’s and early 90’s that was akin to Lassie. The show was canceled, and Jack’s life took a bit of a nosedive– but after some time, he’s recovered and living with his mother, until one day, Triumph finds himself in Jack’s life once more.

The show is at least partially the product of a segment the two starred in on Conan, in which Jack goes to a hot dog stand in Chicago where he’s hassled and bullied enough by the employees to leave and return with his friend Triumph in tow to insult the employees right back. Check it out, it’s pretty good:

The show will have a 20-episode season, according to Smigel at TCA. [Source: Deadline]

We were able to attend the show’s New York Comic Con panel back in October and what we saw of the show was pretty funny. The panel also outlined some of the guests we can expect (Leonard Maltin, Joey Fatone, Tay Zonday all appeared together in one clip) and what the show’s structure may be (which includes classic sitcom stuff mixed with man-on-the-street segments, the kind of thing that made the Triumph character famous). Our own John J. Galbo attended a taping (a tiny bit was mentioned on the recent Swimcast episode) and enjoyed what he saw, too. So it’s something to look forward to. Speaking of, tapings of the show return in March, so check TheBlackListNYC.com then to see if you can attend.

It all begins Friday, February 20th at 11:30 on Adult Swim.