Artist Michael Showalter

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Michael Showalter

Since Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter debuted over 16 years ago as members of the sketch troupe The State, laughing out loud is only part of their comedic style. On the eponymous MTV show, in the spoof film Wet Hot American Summer, and as the comedy trio Stella, the humor is based not so much on punch lines, but on irony, meta-references, and, uh, dildos. Black and Showalter have since shifted their comedic focus to Comedy Central's Michael And Michael Have Issues, which finished its first season semi-strong but hasn't yet been given the go-ahead to start filming season two. The series follows Black and Showalter (who play themselves) as the feuding stars of their own sketch show. The duo is now touring on the show's behalf, usually with talent from the program (Jessi Klein, Kumail Nanjiani) as the warm-up act.

Updated 02/03/2010