You’ve probably seen him on roller skates soliciting sex in “Reno 911” or maybe in “Grandma’s Boy” as a gloriously stereotyped nerdy game designer still living with his parents.
You may also have even seen him in Almost Famous as an ecstatic David Bowie fan. In any case, Nick Swardson has probably made you laugh until you cried and now he has his own show.
Swardson first splashed into common knowledge when he had his own “Comedy Central Presents” special back in 2001. With jokes about his grandmother loving him and yelling, “Oh, Nicholas, you’re so strong!” for lifting a gallon of milk to commentary on how modern music will be perceived when our generation is 80, he was an instant quotable sensation.
His new show, “Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time,” is a sketch show with no centralized theme. In a conference call interview with City Times, Swardson stated, “People were baffled I wanted to do this. I’ve always been a big Saturday Night Live fan and the opportunity presented itself. I think I could pull this off right now. Show all the stuff I can do. Just show f****** crazy s*** all week.”
With sketches featuring things like a urine powered car, a gay robot and Lady Gaga’s brother, Gary Gaga, a New Jersey police officer, he’s off to a great start.
“There’s going to be a Gay Robot sketch in every show. It’s wicked f****** funny,” Swardson said.
The show pushes boundaries with sketches like ‘Wheelchair Cat: Trust Fund Kitty,’ a cat voiced by Swardson riding around in an electric wheelchair and referencing snorting cocaine with, “Powdered doughnuts make me go nuts.”
“I wanted to push myself with characters, push the limits,” Swardson said. “Comedy Central wanted us to push it and we did … (they) knew what they were getting. They’re familiar with me. (Dave) Chappelle left and there was a void. They wanted to work with someone with that creativity.”
Keep an eye out for Swardson. He said he’ll be at the next Comic Con.
Be sure to look hard, though. He said last year he “blacked out and passed out in an alley.”
“Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time” airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.
