By Esther Zuckerman
Copyright gq
Have you joined the cult of Tim Robinson yet? In the past six years, Robinson has gone from an underutilized Saturday Night Live player to one of the most beloved and idiosyncratic voices in comedy. That voice is loud, aggrieved, and willing to take even the most minor situation to extremes.
After his own sketch comedy series, I Think You Should Leave, became a massive surprise hit, Robinson gained popularity, Emmys—and opportunities to make even more of his specific brand of intensely oddball comedy. His latest project is The Chair Company, dropping on October 12th on HBO. It’s an ambitious comedy about a man who starts to distrust everything in the world around him after a small humiliating moment at work. And now, we can safely say there’s a whole Tim Robinson Cinematic Universe to explore. But which project is best for you? Here’s how to choose, based on your personality traits (or, uh, defects).
If you love to ball so much that it scares people: The “Roundball Rock” sketch on Saturday Night Live (2013)
Alas, Robinson’s time on Saturday Night Live was brief. He was hired as a featured player in 2012, but after one season was bumped off camera to the writing staff before leaving the show altogether in 2016. Miraculously, in that short amount of time onscreen he gave us a ball anthem like no other. His “Roundball Rock” sketch with Jason Sudeikis is an all-time classic, one that invades my brain every time an NBA game is airing—even if it’s not playing on NBC. Tim Robinson plays Dave Tesh, the (fictional) brother of “Roundball Rock” composer John Tesh (Sudeikis). Dave, according to John, is the brains behind the operation and wrote the accompanying lyrics to the earworm, which started as a poem. Those lyrics? “BA BA BA BA BA BASKETBALL GIMME GIMME GIMME THE BALL BECAUSE I’M GONNA DUNK IT!” The NBC executives like the tune but they aren’t so sure about the words, leading to a classic Robinsonian meltdown. A sketch like “Roundball Rock” demonstrates how Robinson’s distinctive style shone through even in his limited SNL work. It maybe wasn’t the best fit for that institution, but it was just the start. And just try getting “BA BA BA BA BA BASKETBALL” out of your head. You won’t.)
If you’re obsessed with your best friend: Detroiters (2017-2018)
There’s perhaps nothing in the comedy industry more heartening than Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson’s real-life friendship. (They trade birthday posts on Instagram. It’s truly sweet.) The creative expression of this affection for each other is Detroiters, which aired for two beautiful seasons on Comedy Central starting in 2017, right after Robinson departed SNL. In the show Robinson and Richardson play a pair of low-budget Don Drapers making ads for local businesses in Detroit. It’s an absurd love letter to Robinson and Richardson’s hometown as well as a tribute to their own camaraderie and is utterly delightful in every way.
If you’re obsessed with clothes that fit just right: Friendship (2024)
Maybe you’re not so convinced about the power of male bonding. If so, head toward Friendship, which features Robinson’s first leading man turn in a film. Andrew DeYoung’s A24 release stars Robinson as Craig Waterman, a man who becomes obsessed with his new neighbor, a mustachioed weatherman named Austin Carmichael played by Paul Rudd. Austin is a slick guy. Craig is someone dedicated to his wardrobe of overwhelmingly beige Ocean View Dining branded clothing, which, as he zealously insists, are “the only clothes that fit just right.” Austin is willing to bro down with Craig at first, but when Craig makes a faux pas at a boys’ night, he distances himself, sending Craig down a miserable spiral. Friendship is ridiculously funny, but also a grim look at the state of the American male, desperate for connection but unable to maintain it. You also should seek out the extended cut of Craig yelling at a house guest played by Conner O’Malley, which features a rare instance of Robinson breaking.
If you have a short attention span: I Think You Should Leave (2019-2023)
It’s fair to say that the Netflix series I Think You Should Leave is Robinson’s masterpiece up to this point. The show, co-created with Zach Kanin, features three seasons of bite-sized doses of Robinson’s madness. All the episodes hover around 15 minutes and each one is guaranteed to have a sketch that will make you burst out in hysterical laughter. There are the viral classics like the “no good car ideas” guy—a feat of perfect casting—and “Coffin Flop,” a reason to subscribe to Corncob TV. I have a particular affection for the ghost tour in the season two premiere. Through these maniacally brilliant bits, I Think You Should Leave explores one of Robinson’s main comedic interests: How far can one person take his or her vendettas? The series is also a showcase for all the players in the Robinson alt-comedy gang: Richardson is there, as is O’Malley, Patti Harrison, and many, many more.
If you’re a completist to a fault: Netflix Presents: The Characters (2016)
Want to watch a version of I Think You Should Leave before I Think You Should Leave existed? Great news, there’s Robinson’s episode of Netflix’s short-lived 2016 series The Characters, which gave alt comedians like Robinson, Kate Berlant, and John Early a half an hour each to run wild. Robinson’s episode is pure Robinson. He opens it playing a Rat Pack-wannabe Sammy Paradise who loses it when he makes a bad bet. Later he, Kanin, and O’Malley are the Pointer Brothers, a corporate Pointer Sisters cover band whose main thing is being too into pointing aggressively at people. Like his SNL work, The Characters makes it clear just how well-defined Robinson’s style has always been, even before I Think You Should Leave: Deranged. Genius.
