Younglings might not fully understand this, not when every cellphone comes equipped with caller ID, but when our telephone used to ring, we always ran the risk of dealing with prank phone calls. Only they weren’t funny like when Bart Simpson calls Moe. But like dial-up internet and pagers, those irksome calls feel like forgotten relics of a bygone day. Or rather they did until this week, because Comedy Central has announced they are turning back the clock and bringing back their vulgar puppets from the early 2000s with all new episodes of Crank Yankers. But this time with a modern twist.
Comedy Central announced (in news we first heard about at Deadline) that it has ordered 20 new episodes of the half-hour series, which first debuted way back on June 3, 2002. Just like the original series, it will feature real prank calls recreated with profane puppets. The concept of prank calls feels so dated at this point, but in a press release the network said the new iteration will be “updated for a digitally driven audience.” That will include “pranking on phones, social media, e-sport platforms, and any venue where trouble can be made.” So basically no one who communicates in any way is safe, meaning this is still the Crank Yankers we know.
The original show’s creators and executive producers – Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla, Daniel Kellison, and Jonathan Kimmel, who will also serve as showrunner – are returning to this show, which will be the first project from Jimmy Kimmel’s new production company, KIMMELOT.
Like the old version, we imagine there will be plenty of famous names and celebrities doing the pranking. However, one thing this new iteration won’t have over the original Crank Yankers, which ran for 70 episode through 2007, is the late, great Bob Enstein, who voiced Yankerville president Tony DeLoge.
Trust us young people of the world, if you get a call or a message from Tony DeLoge, you’re definitely being pranked.
Images: Comedy Central