History Series / DrunkHistory

* AnachronismStew: Almost inevitable given some of the actors get so drunk they don't know what year ''they'' are in, much less what year the story is set in. For example, the telling of the Robin Hood legend on ''Drunk History UK'' relates how Robin Hood gets back to his house only to find he's been evicted by the Sheriff of Nottingham, with 'all his...electronics...outside', with a shot of an 11th Century PlayStation on the grass outside.

''Drunk History'' started as [[WebVideo/DrunkHistory a web series]], then was picked up by Creator/ComedyCentral in 2013.

On ''Drunk History'', series creator Derek Waters finds comedians, gets them ''really'' shitfaced, and has them narrate historical events to the best of their abilities. Their narration is acted out, with the actors lip-synching all the dialogue, including mild slip ups. The recreation is sometimes interrupted when the narrator needs to remember what they were saying, or puke, or lie on the ground.

The Creator/ComedyCentral episodes are typically three shorts long, with initial episodes taking place in a different city and the stories related to that city's history though later episodes tend to be based around a common theme between the shorts apart from geographic location.

Even though the show was picked up for a seventh season in August 2019, a year later, Comedy Central reversed that decision and ultimately cancelled the series.

* AnachronismStew: Almost inevitable given some of the actors get so drunk they don't know what year ''they'' are in, much less what year the story is set in. For example the telling of the Robin Hood legend on ''Drunk History UK'' relates how Robin Hood gets back to his house only to find he's been evicted by the Sheriff of Nottingham, with 'all his...electronics...outside', with a shot of an 11th Century PlayStation on the grass outside.

* AsHimself: For a brief gag in the James Callender story, Creator/TaranKillam suggests that recurring Drunk History player Creator/JackMcBrayer was one of the suspects who killed Callender. Of course, [=McBrayer=] appears onscreen, and lip-synchs to Ryan Gaul's impression of him.

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Drunk people are easily distracted. Self-interruptions are [[ThrowItIn often acted out in the recreation]]. Tommy Blacha once sounded like he was recounting Ralph Nader getting framed for salaciousness, until the camera revealed he was talking to his own dog.

* {{Bathos}}: The main comedic conceit of the show, and a natural result of dramatic events narrated by the totes inebriated. Often created by talented players seriously acting the ''shit'' out of stupid dialogue.

* BuffySpeak: Because it's hard to recite 19th century dialogue when you're super drunk. Or even 20th century dialogue.

-->"...watching him, like, 'Look at you, man. Where are you now? [[BreakingTheFourthWall Look at Griswold, all you people out there.]] I don't care what you do. What'd you do? Guess what? No one's gonna remember it. Your your silly attempt to disguise a [[SoundEffectBleep *bleep*]] history show, and, like, people getting drunk. It's failure. No one cares. No one's buying it, man. Forget it. [[StrawNihilist We're all getting sucked into the void.]]' *Poe walks off set past the sound crew*"

* FunWithSubtitles: If the narrator says something funny while setting the time and place of the action, like "Siberia (which is real place, by the way)" or "It's, like, two or three in the morning", this will often be echoed by the on-screen dateline caption. Likewise with the arrival in a story of someone like "F***in' President Lincoln". A narrator's slurred speech is also given a subtitle card, like "The Dakota Indrians".

** After Creator/AmberRuffin concludes a story on Carrie A. Nation, who helped to spearhead women's suffrage, Derek trollingly says, "I've always been able to vote." Amber laughs and replies, "I'm black. I haven't been able to vote twice."

** PlayedForLaughs with set pieces as well. In an episode about an Old West shootout, a scene involving a horse getting shot is played out using a giant stuffed horse; in another about an arsonist, model houses are shown being torched -- with a hand holding a lighter in the frame. The scene of Kris Kristophersson landing his helicopter on Johnny Cash's lawn uses a ForcedPerspective shot of a ''toy'' helicopter being lowered to the grass in front of the house.
* TheUnpronounceable: A ''lot'' of mileage is got out of the fact that the narrator can't pronounce the name of an institute that investigates supernatural phenomena in the retelling of the Cottingdale Fairies story on ''Drunk History UK''. Even more mileage is had by getting the actor to patiently wait each time for the narrator efforts, looking a bit frustrated/bored.
* VerbalBackspace: Narrators will often realise they got something wrong and correct it, while the re-enactment plays out both versions one after the other. For instance, the story of Alexander Graham Bell and the invention of the telephone has a moment where Bell's accomplice calls Bell (accomplice picks up a mobile phone) -- no, wait, the phone hasn't been invented yet (accomplice swaps phone for a telegraph machine). Sometimes, if a subtitle is involved in the verbal backspace, the subtitle itself will backspace to match.

** After Amber Ruffin concludes a story on Carrie A. Nation, who helped to spearhead women's suffrage, Derek trollingly says, "I've always been able to vote." Amber laughs and replies, "I'm black. I haven't been able to vote twice."

* BuffySpeak: Because it's hard to recite 19th century dialogue when you're super drunk. Or even 20th century dialgoue.

* DramaticThunder: Dramatic thunder and lightning accompanies the mixing of the first batch of Coca Cola in the Atlanta episode.

''Drunk History'' is a series that originated on [=FunnyorDie.com=], then was picked up by Creator/ComedyCentral in 2013.

The [=FunnyorDie=] episodes are one short long. The Creator/ComedyCentral episodes are typically three shorts long, with initial episodes taking place in a different city and the stories related to that city's history though later episodes tend to be based around a common theme between the shorts apart from geographic location.

The original show can be found [[http://www.funnyordie.com/drunkhistory here]]. Comedy Central's page for the show can be found [[http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/drunk-history here]]. ''Drunk History UK'', an officially approved ForeignRemake (insofar as it features British comedians both drunkenly recounting and acting out British history), began airing on the UK and Ireland's Comedy Central on 2015, narrated by stand-up comedian and television host Jimmy Carr. The original series also aired in the UK as ''Drunk History USA''. [[https://twitter.com/CraigRennie_/status/886901317565693952 And yes, there are British viewers who thought the UK version was made first.]]

** PlayedForLaughs with set pieces as well. In an episode about an Old West shootout, a scene involving a horse getting shot is played out using a giant stuffed horse; in another about an arsonist, model houses are shown being torched -- with a hand holding a lighter in the frame.

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: At the end of the story of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's feud with Rufus Griswold, the storyteller gets to Griswold DyingAlone with Poe's picture hanging there, still played by the actor...

The [=FunnyorDie=] episodes are one short long. The Creator/ComedyCentral episodes are three shorts long, with each episode taking place in a different city and the stories related to that city's history.

** In the "Las Vegas" episode, the narrator gets a prolonged attack of hiccups in the middle of recounting a hypothetical conversation between Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra at the Moulin Rouge (the first attempt at a racially integrated Las Vegas casino). The re-enactment shows Sinatra getting the hiccups while Grant watches with increasing concern.

** Carrying forward the ColorblindCasting from the ''Musical/{{Hamilton}}'', the role of Hamilton for his eponymous episode was played by Alia Shawkat, who is of Iraqi descent, and Aaron Burr is played by Puerto Rican Aubrey Plaza.

* LargeHam: Laura Steinel flails about and nearly drops a lamp on herself during her narration on NASA astronaut Gordon Cooper.

* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: Averted. Narrators don't shy away from discussing the darker parts of their stories. Many of them recount these terrible truths in a matter-of-fact manner, simply because ''they're true.''

* WorldOfHam: It's really obvious that the actors are having a lot of fun reenacting the drunk dialogue, given their over-top expressions and acting.

* WhamShot: The immediate sign that the "Bass Reeves" segment is going to be rough? Mark Gagliardi drops his full shot glass as he does the intro, and doesn't even react.

-->"...watching him, like, 'Look at you, man. Where are you now? [[BreakingTheFourthWall Look at Griswold, all you people out there.]] I don't care what you do. What'd you do? Guess what? No one's gonna remember it. Your your silly attempt to disguise a [[SoundEffectBleep *bleep*]] history show, and, like, people getting drunk. It's failure. No one cares. No one's buying it, man. Forget it. [[StrawNihilist We're all getting sucked into the void.]]' *Griswold walks off set past the sound crew*"

** PlayedForLaughs with set pieces as well. In an episode about an Old West shootout, a scene involving a horse getting shot is played out using a giant stuffed horse; in another about an arsenist, model houses are shown being torched -- with a hand in the frame.
*** Same applies for [[SpecialEffectFailure special effects]] too. A common example being vehicles (trains, aircraft. watercraft, etc.) being portrayed not by full-size replicas, miniatures, or even [=CGI=], but ''kids' toys'' that are clearly being manipulated by visible strings and/or human hands.

** In the "Las Vegas" episode, the narrator gets a prolonged attack of hiccups in the middle of recounting a hypothetical conversation between Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. The re-enactment shows Sinatra getting the hiccups while Martin watches with increasing concern.

* ChristmasEpisode: The Christmas episode is a recital of ''Literature/TwasTheNightBeforeChristmas'' by Allan [=McLeod=] with half a bottle of whiskey in him.

--> '''Rich Fulcher:''' [Chessmaster Bobby] Fischer was huge, and he became a Cold War hero, and he felt like... *guttural noises* Tell me more, you sucking pig! Suck!! SUCK!!! *spits drink back into glass* ... That's it.

* ColorblindCasting: It avoids the RaceLift trope for the subjects of the current story, but everyone else is fair game. It's a RunningJoke that UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler is always played by somebody he'd be offended by for racial reasons.

* VerbalBackspace: Narrators will often realise they got something wrong and correct it, while the re-enactment plays out both versions one after the other. For instance, the story of Alexander Graham Bell and the invention of the telephone has a moment where Bell's accomplice calls Bell (accomplice picks up a mobile phone) -- no, wait, the phone hasn't been invented yet (accomplice swaps phone for a telegraph machine).
** Sometimes, if a subtitle is involved in the verbal backspace, the subtitle itself will backspace to match.

* VitriolicBestBuds: Derek and Paget Brewster. Whenever Paget does a segment the two of them clear love messing with each other.

** Carrying forward the ColorblindCasting from the ''Musical/{{Hamilton}}'', the role of Hamilton for his eponymous episode was played by Alia Shawkat, who is of Iraqi descent.

--> '''HarryHoudini, pretending to be a spiritualist''': "Oh, so your uncle who had a mustache," or, "You're so-and-so who had this and that, whatever," those people [that he defrauded] would be like, *gasp*, "He knows exactly what I'm talking about."

** Porter Wagoner hires DollyParton to be the girl singer on his show because "[she's] a girl."

The original show can be found [[http://www.funnyordie.com/drunkhistory here]]. Comedy Central's page for the show can be found [[http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/drunk-history here]]. ''Drunk History UK'', an officially approved ForeignRemake (insofar as it features British comedians both drunkenly recounting and acting out British history), began airing on the UK and Ireland's Comedy Central on 2015, narrated by stand-up comedian and television host Jimmy Carr. The original series also aired in the UK as ''Drunk History USA''. [[https://twitter.com/CraigRennie_/status/886901317565693952 And yes, at least one British viewer thought the UK version came first.]]