Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain are the producers, writers, performers and directors of the new Comedy Central show Stella, which premieres June 28th at 10:30/9:30 Central (and 7:30AM on June 29th for all of our friends in the Eastern Europe Summer Time Zone.) These do-it-yourself comedians are just our kind of guys. (In a non-sexual kind of way)

Believe it or not, it was more than a decade ago that The State made MTV funny (intentionally) for a while, and since that time Black, Showalter, and Wain have been busy. They’ve been doing Stella, a hilarious stage show about the adventures of three idiots in their business suits, since 1997. But that’s not all.

Michael Ian Black may be best known for his character Phil on NBC’s sitcom Ed which I never saw because, like exercise, it was clearly for women. He also played McKinley in the very funny movie Wet Hot American Summer. Guest hosted The Late, Late, Show for awhile, and yet somehow managed to squeeze in an appearance or two on VH1. Showalter was a correspondent on The Daily Show in 1996. Was in Signs with Jesus’ favorite director Mel Gibson, and also co-produced and starred in Wet Hot American Summer. He also just finished writing, directing and starring in The Baxter, which also stars Black and Wain. Wain not only co-wrote, and directed Wet Hot American Summer, he has appeared in tons of other projects including The Daily Show, Reno 911, Crank Yankers, Strangers with Candy, and I’m sure a lot of other stuff that I don’t know about.

The point is, these guys bust their asses to make you laugh, and they do it their way- dildos and all. More importantly, they are funny! Don’t believe me? Just see what these 3 knuckleheads of 'do-it-yourself comedy' recently had to say when we discussed life, the state of comedy, and the upcoming Stella series premiere on Comedy Central.

The Phat Phree: Thanks for doing this. I know there are a lot of fans of Wet Hot American Summer and The State both in our staff, and certainly among our readers.

Michael Ian Black: You’re welcome. Your staff and readers are obviously a discriminating bunch. Of course, you didn’t mention my Sierra Mist commercials, which I think might be some of my best work. It makes me think either you: 1. Don’t like the commercials or 2. (And I’m praying this isn’t the case) Don’t drink Sierra Mist. It’s fine if you don’t like the commercials, but I would beg your readers to at least give the soft drink another chance. I think it’s one of Pepsico’s finest moments.

TPP: I’ll keep that in mind. I just saw a copy of the pilot for Stella, and I almost pissed my pants (it was that funny). For the people who may not know anything about your new show, give us the concept for Stella.

Michael Ian Black: Thanks, although I think you might need to see a doctor about your urinary problem. At this point in your life, you shouldn’t have any trouble holding your bladder. It could be symptomatic of something serious. I could give you the name of a good urologist. In terms of the concept, it’s a lot like Law & Order, except it’s not a drama, there are no crimes, no good actors, and it’s nothing like Law & Order.

David Wain: Just three guys and they really go for it! you know?

Michael Showalter: It’s basically a typical boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy meets two other boys, they start wearing suits and acting like imbeciles, boy gets girl back - kind of story.

TPP: Stella started in the nightclubs – I caught the Stella show recently when you played a last minute show at the Grog Shop in Cleveland. Were you surprised with the turnout, and how has the response been from everyone?

MS: We’ve decided that Stella has a) the best fans in the world. b) The best dressed fans in the world. c) The best looking fans in the world, and perhaps most importantly d) the nicest fans in the world.

MIB: We are always surprised when we leave New York and people know who we are and are willing to pay good money to see us perform. Although I’m not sure that it’s “good” money they’re paying. It might be some of that dirty drug money. I hear crystal meth is a real problem out there in the heartland. The response has been very good from people. Most nights when I get off the stage there’s a sixteen or seventeen year old boy waiting to suck me off. You can’t ask for more than that. (For the record, I usually say no.)

DW: You know, you'd think my hometown of Cleveland would be more supportive but, alas, we've had our two least attended shows there. Maybe I pissed someone off at that high school hockey game when I was out back raping everyone.

TPP: It has a little bit of an Abbott and Costello flavor to it, were they a big inspiration for this?

MIB: More Abbott than Costello. 70% Abbott. Only 3% Costello. The other 27% is pure Jamaican ganga. Yah, mon!!!!

DW: Less Abbott and Costello, more Captain & Tenielle

MS: I’d say more Elvis Costello than Abbott and Costello but I can see your point.

TPP: A lot of the live show seems improvised, how much of it actually is?

DW: Very little.

MIB: It’s improvised only to the extent that it is completely scripted. But once we’ve completely committed the script to memory, we’re able to totally throw it out on stage so that what you’re seeing is a completely improvised tightly scripted show that we’re making up as we go along.

MS: We’re very old vaudeville in that regard. Every night we trot out the act like an old show horse. I’m sure we’ll be fake ad-libbing well into our golden years.

TPP: Do you prefer scripted sketch comedy to improvising? Are you fans of improv comedy?

MIB: I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of improv comedy. Most of the time it just doesn’t make sense and I don’t have the patience for things that don’t make sense. I’m not smart enough.

DW: I appreciate improv but am terrible at it. We (Stella, The State, etc) came from film/acting school and weren't much into improv as opposed to filmmaking/sketch.

MS: I did improv in college. I love improv but it’s so fleeting. It’s only funny in the moment. One tends not to remember a joke or moment they saw in an improv show. I think sketch has a little longer shelf life. Plus the fact that I’m not smart enough to do improv.

TPP: Are you all surprised with Wet Hot American Summer’s cult following?

MIB: Not really. When we were making it, I think everybody pretty much thought that a very small percentage of the population would absolutely love the movie and a much larger percentage would think it was a total piece of shit.

DW: I knew it was a cult-y type of movie but definitely have been surprised by its reach and staying power. Perhaps some day it'll turn a profit!

MS: I think we knew it had cult movie potential. It’s very gratifying to know that people care about the film. I’d have been more surprised if it made 100 million in the box office.

TPP: What comedy acts out there inspire you? And what are some of your favorite comedic actors today?

DW: Currently? Ben Folds, Graham Nash, Graham Parker, Graham Cracker.

MIB: I like Marmaduke. Just the idea that you could have a dog that big – that always makes me laugh. It’s like, when they go out, are they walking the dog or is the dog walking them? Just talking about it makes me laugh.

MS: I think Ricky Gervais is a Jedi Master of Comedy. Will Ferrel too. Steven Colbert. Amy Sedaris, just to name a few.

TPP: You must have a fun group to work with – Tell me what it’s like to working with each other?

DW: Michael Ian Black is sweet like sugar; Michael Showalter is suite like a room.

MS: We like trying to make each other laugh. We argue over the smallest details. We play a lot of poker. We reminisce alot about all the years that we’ve known each other and have been doing this. We all met in our late teens and now we’re in our thirties. We wonder, will we still be doing this when we’re in our 40’s? Doo-doo jokes and such...

Showalter, Black, and Wain

What a feeling. Bein's believin'. the first episode of Stella