Andrew Alexander

Del Close was never a household name, but any comedy enthusiast is aware of his impact. From Bill Murray to Chris Farley to Amy Poehler, many of the most famous comedians consider him their mentor. Fifteen years after Del Close’s death, thousands of Improv students, comedy fans, actors, and successful comedians gather to celebrate the most important person in modern comedy that no one knows.

Comedy guru Del Close, mentor to everyone from Bill Murray to Tina Fey, sets out to write his autobiography for D.C. Comics. As he leads us through sewers, mental wards, and his peculiar talent for making everyone famous but himself, Close emerges as a personification of the creative impulse itself. He's a muse with BO and dirty needles, offering transcendence despite (or because of) the trail of wreckage behind him.

The series traces the evolution of one of the world's most successful comedy troupes from its humble beginnings as a stage production in Chicago to the hit late-night TV show.

After a successful Canadian run as Second City TV on Global and SCTV on CBC, the cast packed up and moved to America (theoretically) when NBC offered them a timeslot under the title SCTV Network 90. With them, they brought their unique, quirky characters, their personalities, and the shows they had appeared on. Dick Blasucci had begun writing for the cast in their second series, SCTV, and joined them here, serving as a recurring straight man for the characters. Tony Rosato and Robin Duke wrote scripts at the beginning of the show as they had before, until quickly leaving to write and perform for Saturday Night Live. The appeal of SCTV Network 90, however, doesn't only come from the writing, but from the sheer wit of its legendary stars.

The series traces the evolution of one of the world's most successful comedy troupes from its humble beginnings as a stage production in Chicago to the hit late-night TV show.