Pictured L-R: Ron, Dallas Liu, Kirrilee Berger, Haley Tju, Bentley Green, Lilla Crawford, Adam Hochstetter, and Zach Timson
"The following stories are all based on actual events, except of course, where it's obvious that they aren't, like when [insert false fact about a real-world historical figure]."
— H. Jon Benjamin at the beginning of every episode.
The Who Was? Show is a Netflix TV series that premiered on May 11, 2018, and is based on the Who Was..? series of books from 2002-2008.
The show is a Sketch Comedy series that focuses on the lives of several well-known historical figures. Each episode has two historical figures sharing the spotlight, jumping between each of their lives and careers via a series of skits and animations, while also having the two interact with each other. The show also has a Framing Device taking place at the studio where the show takes place, putting the focus on the cast of the show (who plays the many historical figures seen), and the show's CEO, Ron (played by Andy Daly).
It only aired for one season before being canceled.
This series provides examples of:
- The Backstage Sketch: A lot of the show across all episodes takes place backstage.
- Birthday Episode: Episode 10 is about Ron's birthday.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: There are several references to the fact that this is a TV show, from animated characters acknowledging that they're animated characters, to people interacting backstage.
- Call-Back: In Episode 11, one of the Wright Brothers makes a reference to the "Peanut Soup" Running Gag from the previous episode.
- Episode 8 made references to sketches from earlier episodes in the Fast and the Curiest trailers.
- Covers Always Lie: Dallas Liu can be seen in one of the promotional images for the show with drawings of a cowboy hat, bandana, and mustache on him, but we only ever see him as Bruce Lee.
- Historical Domain Character: The whole point of this show is to pair them up with each other and find similarities in their life stories and accomplishments.
- Episode 1 has Mahatma Gandhi and Benjamin Franklin.
- Episode 2 has Albert Einstein and Joan of Arc.
- Episode 3 has William Shakespeare and King Tut.
- Episode 4 has Issac Newton and Amelia Earhart.
- Episode 5 has Marie Antionette and Louis Armstrong.
- Episode 6 has Sacagawea and Blackbeard.
- Episode 7 has Susan B. Anthony and Frida Kahlo.
- Episode 8 has Marie Curie and Harry Houdini.
- Episode 9 has George Washington and Marco Polo.
- Episode 10 has Genghis Khan and George Washington Carver.
- Episode 11 has Pablo Picasso and the Wright Brothers.
- Episode 12 has Galileo Galilei and Queen Elizabeth I.
- Episode 13 has Julius Caesar and Bruce Lee.
- Historical Domain Crossover: Almost all of the episodes contain historical figures from completely different time periods. Despite this, they still interact throughout their respective episodes.
- Hostile Show Takeover: The main plot of the final episode is Julius Caesar taking over the entire show.
- Jerkass: Issac Newton is depicted as one.
- Meaningful Name: The names of two of the animated characters reflect what they do. The Explanationator explains things to those who don't understand them, and Monsieur Tidbits provides tidbits of information related to some of the historical figures that appear on the show.
- Roger Rabbit Effect: Some scenes in the show have animated characters interacting with the live-action ones. Most notably, there are scenes featuring the Explanationator.
- Running Gag:
- A major one is Ron constantly trying to get Bruce Lee onto the show, only to fail every time. In the final episode, however, Lee manages to get on, being paired with Julius Caesar.
- Episode 10 has a brief ditty about Peanut Soup in one of George Washington Carver's skits as a running gag throughout the episode, and it gets a Call-Back in the following one.
- Shout-Out: Many pop culture references were made.
