In 1996, Dana Carvey could have taken his primetime sketch comedy show, The Dana Carvey Show, to any network he wanted. Carvey, then 40, was hot off an unprecedented run as one of the most popular cast members in Saturday Night Live history and the success of two Wayne’s World films. And he would soon be armed with what is now a who’s who of comedy names: Robert Smigel, Louis C.K., Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Spike Feresten, 30 Rock showrunner Robert Carlock, Delocated star Jon Glaser, and Community writer and supporting player Dino Stamatopoulos, among many others. Not to mention a guy who would go on to write some of the most abstract and beloved films in history—including Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind—Charlie Kaufman.

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