General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

The Earliest Show

The Earliest Show is an American improvised comedy web series that parodies a cheery early-morning talk show, created, written, directed by, and starring Ben Schwartz alongside Lauren Lapkus. It premiered on Funny or Die's YouTube channel on October 27, 2016, and ran for six main episodes through December 6, 2016, followed by two bonus releases.¹^•² The series was financed by the cereal brand Cap'n Crunch as branded content and later received two Primetime Emmy nominations.³^•⁴ A half-hour television adaptation led by Schwartz entered development with Amplify Pictures in 2025.⁵

Key fact	Detail
Original run	October 27 to December 15, 2016, on Funny or Die's YouTube channel¹
Creators and stars	Ben Schwartz as Josh Bath and Lauren Lapkus as Samantha Newman; Schwartz wrote and directed⁶
Format	Six main episodes of roughly 11 to 13 minutes each, mostly improvised, plus an Extended Interviews special and an hour-long Outtakes & Bloopers reel⁷^•²
Premise	Co-host Josh Bath is dumped live on the air and works through the stages of grief while his co-host keeps the show cheerful⁶
Sponsorship	Financed by Cap'n Crunch, whose parent company Quaker targeted nocturnal millennial snackers³
Awards	2017 Primetime Emmy nominations for Ben Schwartz (Outstanding Actor) and Lauren Lapkus (Outstanding Actress) in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series⁴
Television adaptation	Half-hour series in development with Amplify Pictures and Funny or Die; in pre-production as of May 20, 2026⁵^•⁸

Spoilers

Premise and format

The series presents a fictional talk show airing in the "wee hours" of the morning, hosted by Josh Bath (Schwartz) and Samantha Newman (Lapkus). In the first episode, "The Proposal," Josh proposes to his girlfriend live on the air and is rejected, and each subsequent episode is named for a stage of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.²^•⁶ Schwartz described the concept to Funny or Die as a reversal of the usual late-night pitch: "What if it's the earliest show, very early in the morning, and something happens to me in the first episode which messes up every episode after it?"⁷

The comedy rests on the contrast between the format's forced cheerfulness and Josh's unraveling. Schwartz said he wanted to show "someone who is forced to be happy on TV, but them going through some real sh*t while it's happening," with Lapkus's co-host obliged to pretend everything is fine.⁷ Recurring cast members included Joe Hartzler as Marc, Ryan Stanger as Chip Stump, and Andy Rydzewski as cameraman Brian.⁶

Improvisation. Schwartz outlined each episode with beats he wanted to hit but left room to improvise, so the show would feel like a morning broadcast where "people are making it up as we go."⁷ Each episode ran 11 to 13 minutes, to which the team added an hour-and-ten-minute blooper reel.⁷

Production and sponsorship

Funny or Die approached Schwartz while he was shooting in London with the idea of a late-night-style talk show, financed by Cap'n Crunch. Schwartz redirected the concept toward the earliest hours of the morning, and the brand agreed.⁷ Quaker, Cap'n Crunch's parent company, framed the series as a way to reach nocturnal male millennials who snack outside breakfast hours; marketing director Jessica Spaulding described it as being "part of their experience versus just trying to interrupt it."³ The Cap'n Crunch branding is prominent on screen, and commentators noted the series as an unusually ambitious example of branded content.⁹

Schwartz cast Lapkus, whom he had performed with at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and friend Joe Hartzler as the straight man.⁷ Each episode featured a celebrity guest: Reggie Miller, Reggie Watts, Jake Johnson, Jane Levy, Thomas Middleditch, and Pedro Pascal, in episode order.²

Episodes and reception

The six main episodes aired weekly from October 27 to December 6, 2016, followed by "Extended Interviews" on December 12 and the "Outtakes" compilation on December 15.² On IMDb the series holds a rating of 8.3 out of 10 from about 670 votes, with individual episodes scoring between 8.1 and 8.6.¹⁰ The Television Academy's 69th Emmy Awards nominated Schwartz for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series and Lapkus for the corresponding actress category, both for their roles as Josh Bath and Samantha Newman.⁴

Television adaptation

In November 2025, the Los Angeles-based production company Amplify Pictures, which finances scripted series outside the traditional studio and streaming model, announced development of a half-hour television version of The Earliest Show. Amplify commissioned Schwartz to write a full season of scripts, and he will write, direct, and star alongside Lapkus, reprising their roles. The adaptation is described as a "comedic behind the scenes look at America's earliest live morning show, starting at 3am sharp," set in a tiny upstate New York town.⁵ Executive producers include Amplify CEO Joe Lewis, Rachel Eggebeen, Colin King Miller, and Luke Esselen, along with Daniel Powell, Alex Bach, and Funny or Die's Ricardo Martinez, Ben Gigli, and Jessica Renick.⁵

As of May 20, 2026, the project was listed in pre-production, with a shoot date and location to be announced.⁸ In October 2026, Schwartz reported that he had completed production on an independently financed six-episode version of the series, writing, directing, producing, and starring in it himself so he could present buyers a finished show rather than a pitch; he cited 13 previously sold projects that never reached greenlight as the reason for bypassing traditional development.¹¹ Guest stars announced for the adaptation include Chris Pratt, Sarah Silverman, Gillian Jacobs, Nicole Byer, Lamorne Morris, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Jillian Bell, Drew Tarver, and Samara Weaving, among others.¹²

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series › Premiered 1999 to 2016

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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