“We have made it a remarkably long way for a network that has so few shows on it,” cracks Sam Reich, owner and CEO of Dropout, the five-year-old streaming service for comedy fans that was born out of CollegeHumor.
Los Angeles-based Dropout, which develops its original programming internally, currently has nine active shows — "if we're being a little generous about what constitutes a show," Reich says. "Adventuring Academy and Adventuring Party are two Dimension 20 spinoff shows. If you don't include those, there are only seven."
Dropout excels at generating laughs by placing a revolving cast of comedians and improv actors in unscripted situations and letting the humor flow organically. Its series include Dimension 20 (a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing anthology hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan) as well as Game Changer and Make Some Noise, two game shows that Reich hosts himself. And a fresh batch of funny is on the way. "We have fifteen shows in various stages of development right now," Reich says. "A year from today, it could be that we are producing twice as much content."
Among the forthcoming shows is Nobody Asked, which Reich describes as "a mock investigative reporting series where we go after answers to questions that no one's dared to ask before ... because the questions are too stupid to ask."
Reich, a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, who started his career as an actor, now wears many hats at Dropout; in addition to hosting, he has a hand in creative development and manages business affairs. A veteran employee of digital comedy pioneer CollegeHumor, founded in 1999, Reich bought a majority stake in its parent company, CH Media, in 2020. He officially retired the CollegeHumor brand a few months ago, but more than thirty legacy series remain available.
While CollegeHumor, at least in its early days, was the province of white men and frat-boy humor, Dropout is known as a more inclusive outlet. "I want to be careful that I don't pat myself on the back too much for it, because it really doesn't feel like something I did as much as that our community did for itself," Reich says of Dropout's diversity. "People say, 'Get woke, go broke,' and I just want to scream the opposite," he adds, stressing that inclusivity is good business.
To wit: In an era of right-wing politicians attacking LGBTQ rights and attempting to criminalize drag performances, one of Dropout's most popular shows is Dimension 20: Dungeons and Drag Queens.
