Comedy streaming service Dropout is back with a new series that will tap into the PowerPoint party trend that has flourished during the pandemic and on TikTok.
Smart pants, hosted by Rekha Shankar, will feature a number of guests from Dropout’s rotating stable of artists, each of whom will present a PowerPoint on a topic – any topic. Examples in the trailer include: “Are Vegetables Real?”, “Which Cryptid Is Best to Flare Up?” and ‘The United States government should build me a Gundam.’ These are all topics that fit well with the high-quality, academic setting.
The first season will consist of 10 episodes and will premiere on April 25, with episodes every other week on Thursdays.
Smartypants’ guest list – and members of the “Smartypants Society” – includes faces that will be familiar to fans of the service, including Katie Marovitch, Erika Ishii, Mike Trapp, Paul F. Tompkins, Jacob Wysocki, Demi Adejuyigbe, Vic Michaelis and many others.
PowerPoint parties are flourishing as a way for people to get together and speak kindly in public about sometimes extremely silly topics, which they can turn into easily presentable slideshows. They were popular during the pandemic because they could be done virtually, but they have also gone viral on TikTok. The format has also been used in live comedy shows for podcasters, stand-up comedians and others.
The company now known as Dropout has hosted a number of popular web series over the years, starting back when it was known as CollegeHumor. Some favorites include a nerdy, traditional game show Um, actually, chaotic game show Game changerand Dungeons & Dragons live game show Size 20.