Anthony Jeselnik is a wonderful man. His show, The Jeselnik Offensive, which starts its second season at 10:30pm tonight on Comedy Central, finds a way to delicately tread through the more difficult issues our society struggles to come to grips with.
Just kidding, he’s a brutal comedian who ruthlessly mocks everything from cancer to Anne Frank while laughing at AIDS babies. And that’s why we like him very, very much.
To celebrate the second season of The Jeselnik Offensive, we asked him to look back and give us his 10 favorite moments from the first season. We included video clips when they were available. Take it away, Anthony…
10. Is That a Baby in the Dryer?
Anthony Jeselnik: One of my favorite panel games. Our graphics guy, Nate, made a clip of a lifeless baby spinning in a dryer and we played different sound effects. Panelists had to guess if the sound was a baby in a dryer or not. One answer was a baby, one was a Panini maker, one was towels, and the last was three babies in a dryer. Classic.
9. Baby 9/11
Anthony Jeselnik: This was one of those bits I thought up years ago and then got to put on the show. Dress up two babies to look like the Twin Towers? Check. Spoon feed the baby while saying “Here comes the airplane.” Check. Baby explodes? Check. People either loved this one or hated it. Wonderful.
8. Stuebenville Rape Joke
Anthony Jeselnik: Another of my favorite monologue jokes of the year. “Two teenagers in Stuebenville, Ohio were sentenced to just three years after being found guilty of raping a girl while she was passed out drunk. They actually could have gotten six years in prison, but they weren’t pirating music.” Nothing beats a rape joke that gets applause.
7. Tom Brady Monologue Joke
Anthony Jeselnik: One of my favorite monologue jokes of the year. “It’s rumored that a current NFL player is strongly considering coming out of the closet within the next few months. Insiders wonder whether the player will be ostracized for being gay, or praised for having the courage to quarterback the Patriots to three Super Bowl championships.” I hate the Patriots!
6. Black Name Spelling Bee
Anthony Jeselnik: This was an audience game where contestants had to spell some more difficult common African-American names. The best part? Our one black contestant correctly spelled Dont’a Hightower. Minds were blown.
5. Which Kind of Asian is This?
Anthony Jeselnik: This was a game where audience members came out and tried to identify the ethnicity of an Asian person in a photograph. Four contestants, four wrong answers. And a lot of fun.
4. Oscar Pistorious Panel
Anthony Jeselnik: The Oscar Pistorious murder case is ideal material for The Jeselnik Offensive. For some reason, it’s okay to laugh at a woman being killed if her killer is a famous athlete with no legs. Patton Oswalt and Nick Kroll dove right in with me. Half the jokes were made up on the spot.
3. Top 3 Things We Can’t Talk About
Anthony Jeselnik: The Boston Marathon bombing happened a few days before our season finale. Our corporate overlords refused to let us mention the tragedy on the show in any way. So we came up with this huge F-you to Comedy Central.
2. Cancer Stand Up
Anthony Jeselnik: In our first episode, I did stand up jokes in front of a group of people currently battling cancer. This bit is everything The Jeselnik Offensive is all about. Starts out uncomfortable. Ends hilariously.
1. Shark Party
Anthony Jeselnik: Shark Party was my favorite bit from the first season of The Jeselnik Offensive. I did a choreographed dance number with girls dressed like sharks and then got a lap dance from a giant shark. All to tastefully mock the victim of a fatal shark attack.
Watch the season 2 premiere of The Jeselnik Offensive at 10:30pm tonight on Comedy Central with guests Amy Schumer and Jim Norton. And follow Anthony on Twitter.
