For a show that mainly focuses on real life news, there is a surprising amount of characters that show up from time to time.
Beware of unmarked spoilers, including ones related to the Parody Episodes.
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Main Characters
Cody Johnston
The main host of the show.
- Berserk Button: Several, but nothing so prominent as THE BOARS!
- Butt-Monkey: Expect many episodes to start with something horrible happening to him and/or where he lives.
- Deadpan Snarker: He does this a lot in regards to more ridiculous news he has to read or react to.
- Despair Event Horizon: Seems to be perpetually either crossing this, or dancing along the edge of one. However, he always bounces back for another episode and at least tries to provide workable solutions to serious problems, without submitting to "Doomerism".
- Fantastic Racism: Has a bizarre distrust of Boars of all things.
- Laughing Mad: Dips into this now and then, usually when either the news or Katy (or both) push him to the very edge of reason.
- Only Sane Man: The role he usually plays in regards to all the wacky alternate versions of himself (Especially Warmbo) and his boss.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Gets so fed up with his bathroom being removed that he quits at the end of the episode about labor.
- Seriously Scruffy: His hair is typically somewhat unkempt, his clothes ill-fitted and ragged at the edges, giving him a haggard appearance of being worn down by his job and the world. His bald spot on the back of his head is getting progressively larger as well.
- Status Quo Is God: Became noticeably calmer, happier, and clean-shaven at the start of the "First Week of 2020" video. By the end of it, the beard it back, his attitude has been destroyed, and he's the same jaded, despairing, haggard Cody we know and love.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: "THE BOARS!"
Katy Stoll
The boss behind the show.
- Bad Boss: The main role she plays, mostly with the below running gag. Further shown in the Marvel Parody Episode, where she fires Alex for not appropriately replicating Cody's style and blatantly takes advantage of Warmbo before Cody abruptly returns. In a series of episodes on the perverse incentives of private prisons, utility companies, and insurance companies, she sells the doors to the studio, essentially everything in the studio, the floorboards, Cody's blood, Cody's facial hair, and Cody himself to fund a lavish vacation.
- Running Gag: Is constantly trying to get Cody to eat things that are blatantly not healthy to eat, which eventually evolves into being generally a psychotically Bad Boss.
Warmbo
Initially a puppet version of Cody, Warmbo is a Muppet-like Hand Puppet who is a staunch centrist Democrat who isn't very politically savvy otherwise. Beyond that, he holds many disturbing secrets...
- Alternate Self: He's basically Cody if he were a Sesame Street character.
- Beware the Silly Ones: He's perpetually upbeat, bouncy, chipper, and will do terrible things to you if you don't embrace the goods news. For his first few appearances, Cody is terrified of angering him.
- Bizarre Alien Limbs: According to Cody, Warmbo has dozens of legs he scampers around on. Cody finds his locomotion quite disturbing...
- Breakout Character: Debuted in The Movie as one of many minor alternate versions of Cody, and evolved into his Sitcom Arch-Nemesis and a completely distinct character.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: "Corporations Have More Rights Than People" has Warmbo deliberately take notes on the corrupt practices of corporations so that he can start his own company, emulate them and get onto the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.note At the end of the episode, he buys out Some More News and holds a mandatory tickle fight."But Warmbo needs to know how to shiewd himsewf fwom cwiminal wiability!"
- A Dog Named "Dog": He's stated on occasion to be a member of his own species... also known as "Warmbos", which can be seen in a few episodes.
- Early-Bird Cameo: He first appeared as "Cody the Human" in the movie before becoming a recurring character as "Warmbo" in the web series proper.
- Eldritch Abomination: Starts to show more and more signs of this as the series goes on. In the Forward Party episode, he even starts describing himself as some sort of unspeakable horror and claims to eat children. In the 2023 year in review episode, he also exudes grease on command.
- Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: He can't pronounce the letter "r", adding to his annoying and childish speech patterns.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Everybody else is annoyed by him and his antics.
- Hand Puppet: To be expected from a Sesame Street-esque alt of Cody. Though in-universe what exactly he is remains a lot less clear, such as him freaking out when they take his puppet body off Cody's hand; he's referred to as a "puppet", implying that puppets may be their own species in the show's setting.
- Humanoid Abomination: He resembles the human-like Whatnots or Anything Muppets but is clearly (and comically) very inhuman.
- Irony: Despite initially being called "Cody the Human", Warmbo is the exact opposite of one.
- Laughably Evil: Most of Warmbo's actions range from abrasive to outright destructive and deadly, but his childish mannerisms, Strawman Political centrist views and Eldritch Abomination traits juxtaposed with his cuddly appearance make him a hilarious character.
- Monster Progenitor: Warmbo secretes a fluid that transforms other creatures into more Warmbos. Cody gets infected in one episode and starts to declare his love for "Mitt Momney[sic]" in Warmbo's high-pitched voice, but is fortunately cured immediately afterwards.
- Non-Indicative Name: "Cody the Human" is actually Cody if he were a Sesame Street-style Hand Puppet. As seen in later episodes, the rechristened Warmbo is actually an Eldritch Abomination.
- Older Than They Look: He's 67 years old despite looking and acting like a small child.
- Planet of Hats: All members of the Warmbo species are named "Warmbo" and look and act exactly the same.
- Scatterbrained Senior: Despite his appearance, he's 67 years old and is something of a Cloudcuckoolander.
- Strawman Political:
- Of centrists/Moderate Democrats seeking a return to the pre-Trump status quo. Gets deconstructed in his second appearance when Cody concedes he represents a large portion of the American electorate.
- Warmbo is also a parody of uninformed voters in general, often having his opinion swayed by propaganda. In "What, Why, How and Who is the Forward Party?", he suddenly starts becoming a fervent supporter of Andrew Yang's nominal third party despite its many, many red flags that Cody points out in the episode.
- Shout-Out: To Sesame Street, including his ending bit in the movie where he starts eating the paper like he's Cookie Monster.
- Sudden Name Change: Known as "Warmbo" from his second appearance onwards. The implication is that "Cody the Human" is the character he played in the movie as an Animated Actor.
- Super Gullible: A Running Gag of the showdy is Cody removing him from the episode by use of a laughably transparent ruse, including trapping him in a suitcase full of spiders. Repeatedly.
- This is also deconstructed in "All of 2024's Hottest Conspiracy Theories," in which Warmbo keeps falling for nonsensical conspiracy theories like "mimmigrants" having stolent his phone (with that one in particular being pushed by Katy). After watching an advert in which Katy says that Cody lies and Warmbo should maim him, Warmbo bites Cody's arm, finally pushing the latter to his Rage Breaking Point and yelling at Warmbo to Get Out!, after which, Warmbo runs away.
- Tears of Blood: Combined with Alien Blood, "One Year of Joe Biden" has Cody disturbedly remarking that Warmbo's tears are green.
- Third-Person Person: Seems to prefer using names instead of pronouns, including for himself.
- Tomato in the Mirror: Has a brief existential crisis when he realizes he's a puppet... despite alluding to having a clan of Warmbos and even a rudimentary religion.
Other characters
Future Cody
A mysterious old-looking Cody whose time-travel device sets the plot of the movie in motion.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The one who starts the plot.
Past Cody
A pre-Trump version of Cody who appears in the movie.
- Grandfather Paradox: One is triggered when he gets killed in a power struggle between normal and Bad Future Cody.
Bad Future Cody
A version of Cody from a bad future.
- Alternate Self: A Cody from a war-torn future, and later alternate timeline.
- Ax-Crazy: Belligerent, paranoid, and awful quick to snatch up that machete...
- Bad Future: Though it changes with each appearance.
- Conspiracy Theorist: His other defining trait.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Cody is hardly averse to foul language, but Bad Future Cody cannot go a sentence without scattering profanity and curses everywhere.
CODE-E
An Alexa/Moose Brain hybrid computer used to get ideas for modern problems.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Becomes increasingly unhinged throughout its appearance, forcing Cody to unplug it before it gets out of control.
- Body Horror: Currently an unholy union of a moose brain, an Alexa, nails, and a chunk of Cody's brain. The results have been... erratic.
Other Cody alts
Alternate Universe versions of Cody that appear after breaking the timeline.
- Alternate Self: Of Cody, obviously.
- Alternate Tooniverse: Toony Drawston hails from one, which includes appropriately wacky antics like Steve Bannon using a hole to get funds that's actually him somehow turning into a monster with a giant mouth.
- Guest Star: A few of them are, including Macaulay Culkin as Maccody Culkin, Mara Wilson as Matilda Cody (though she's seemingly roped in unwittingly and annoyed when she realizes it), and Abigail Thorn note as British Cody.
- Quintessential British Gentleman: British Cody, of course.
Parody Episode exclusive characters
Star War News
Crystal Fox News
An in-universe news channel featuring an alternate Katy acting as a propagandist for Emperor Palpatine.- Propaganda Machine: Has a very obvious pro-Palpatine slant.
- Take That!: Towards Fox News, parodying their talking points in order to defend the Big Bad of the Star Wars universe.
Emperor Sheev Palpatine
The leader of the Galactic Empire and the Big Bad of the Star Wars universe. Click here for tropes that apply to him in canon. Some Marvel News
Alex Schmidt
Cody's temporary replacement after he got Thanos snapped.- Contrasting Replacement Character: Isn't as angry as Cody and never swears, even when Katy demands him to. This gets him fired right before Cody returns.
