The reason why Inside Amy Schumer seemed to work since the show premiered, and the reason why the entire first season ended up being a success, is because it felt like all of the sketches clearly represented the vision of the star of the show, no matter which writer or writers were responsible. Schumer’s established artistic scope is a very appealing one — Amy engages her audience with a ribald vocabulary, yet after you hear two or more setups and punchlines it’s clear that she is more than vulnerable. She constantly doubts herself, using one eye to wink at the fun she’s having through being single while using the other to look for a more loving future. She makes a comic’s living on speaking in frank, licentious language about sex and relationships, while coming off as a sensitive hopeless romantic, not completely unlike Woody Allen. When that strong of a working comedic persona influences everything about a program, it’s hard to fail.
Not surprisingly, the few sketches that didn’t work were the ones most out of Schumer’s range, e.g. the segment where Amy was a meth cooker. But it worked when Schumer, co-executive producers Daniel Powell and Jessi Klein, and writers Kurt Metzger, Gabe Liedman, Kyle Dunnigan and Tig Notaro focused on what would be an extension of an Amy Schumer bit until all of the comedic meat was sucked dry from the bones. There was a patient, assured timing to all of the sketches that lent even the dumbest of bits some respectability.
Here are the ten best Inside Amy Schumer sketches from the first season, starting with the perfect segment juxtaposing the old fashioned way of courtship with the new.
Sexting
A Porn Star Is Born
The strange bit of an homage to The Artist with its black and white usage to put the pornographic industry in a cliched historical context.
Psychic with Dave Attell
Ambien For Elephants
This is a scene not currently available to YouTube or Comedy Central. After a nightmare full of disgusting men, Amy takes the pills and ends up as a princess in a supermarket. “Amy is the prettiest person we’ve ever had in here, and Hilary Duff is someone we’ve had in here,†blared the supermarket speaker.
2 Girls 1 Cup
The sketch that started it all. A perfect example of crass mixed with humanity.
Clown Panties
“They let us out of work early because there was a shooting…â€
Abusive Couple
What can best be described as the silliest segment (yes more so than “Clown Panties.â€)
Cancer Excuse
Schumer’s selfishness taken to the biggest of extremes.
Compliments
According to Schumer’s Reddit AMA: “Jessi Klein the head writer and executive producer and I noticed that we were deflecting any kind words coming our way, and we thought that was problematic. So we wrote a funny little scene where everybody kills themselves at the end.â€
How Will This Relationship End?
From the season finale. A game most of us would be good at playing.