Cracked After Hours is a comedy web series created by Jack O'Brien and Daniel O'Brien and hosted on the website Cracked.com (and simultaneously on YouTube). Produced by Cracked and its then-parent company The E. W. Scripps Company,"Demand Media's Unlikely Success Story" . Digiday."Web Series: ‘After Hours’ at Cracked.com." . Comedy Spot Nation On April 18, 2013 In Featured Reviews the series premiered on July 19, 2010, and its final episode was released on November 20, 2017.
Overview The scripted comedy followed four friends/co-workers of Cracked.com who meet after work at their local diner."Cracked After Hours; Or, How to do Internet Comedy Right ". Comedy TV is Dead. 2013-03-10."Behind The Scenes Of A Future Cracked: After Hours Episode". Bleeding Cool, . November 8, 2014. Michele Brittany. The Seinfeldian conversations usually result in heavily disputed opinions about pop culture and life in general."Geeks Argue About Mario After Hours". TubeFilter, By Chris Landa. March 26, 2012."The 10 Best Web Series of 2014". By Shannon M. Houston | December 31, 2014
The series was launched on July 19, 2010 with an episode centered around the 1985 film Back to the Future, and grew to become the most viewed web series on Cracked.com. The show's first 13 episodes had reached 15 million views by April 2012 "How Comedian Daniel O'Brien Turned One Joke Into a Major Book Deal". Forbes, 2012-04-16. and it subsequently expanded to 30 episodes and surpassed 25 million total views. It starred Cracked.com employees Michael Swaim, Daniel O'Brien,"Geekscape Interviews Agents of Cracked Star Dan O'Brien". Geekscape, Jun 28, 2011. and Soren Bowie"We get Crackin’ Up with Cracked.com". FanBoy Nation, November 11, 2014. Christie Shinn and regular Cracked contributor Katie Willert."After Hours- Answering Life's Least Important Questions" . Paste Magazine] Most episodes were written by one of the stars or series co-creator Jack O'Brien, with help from the Cracked team."After Hours Works the Late Shift". Stated Magazine,
The series integrated animated segments created by artists Winston Rowntree, Brett Herholz, Anthony Clark, and Matt Barrs. Characters' thoughts are illustrated by thought-bubbles or full-screen display. The first 22 episodes were directed by Justin Viar. Subsequent episodes were directed by Abe Epperson, Adam Ganser or various others.
The episode "Why Mario is Secretly a Dick With a Mustache" infamously had a slightly extended version when first uploaded to YouTube. This was quickly replaced by the regular version with a new title card because the original one used unauthorized artwork from internet artist "Fictionalhead."
In 2014, After Hours won a Webby Award.
Introduction of second cast (2017) The July 24, 2017 episode "Awkward Scenes That Must Have Happened In Marvel Movies" introduced a second cast of diner patrons: Yazmin Monet Watkins, Kimia Behpoornia, Cracked writer Carmen Angelica and Cracked head writer for video Cody Johnston.Awkward Scenes That Must Have Happened In Marvel Movies. Cracked, July 24, 2017. Daniel O'Brien This group meets at the same diner, and has similar pop culture conversations. Before its cancellation, episodes of this second cast were to be released monthly, alongside new episodes from the original cast.
Cancellation Prior to December 4, 2017, Soren Bowie had left Cracked to pursue another writing job while Michael Swaim"Michael Swaim's Official Twitter". Twitter.com. had quit in October to pursue other media. On December 4, 2017, Cracked laid off a significant number of staff members, including Daniel O'Brien,"Daniel O'Brien's Official Twitter". Twitter.com. Carmen Angelica,"Carmen Angelica's Official Twitter". Twitter.com. and Cody Johnston."Cody Johnston's Official Twitter". Twitter.com. Before this, an episode had been filmed which would be the final one to feature the original cast, allowing the show to continue with the new cast. In the wake of the layoffs, this episode was never aired. The last episode uploaded to the Cracked YouTube channel was "The Best Movie Hell to End Up In" on November 20, 2017.
After After Hours On April 9, 2019, via the Small Beans Patreon, Michael Swaim announced that he and several other of his Cracked alumni would be raising money to create a new version of After Hours away from Cracked.com. In the update, Swaim stated that the new show Off Hours would focus on four friends who 'discuss pop culture in their spare time, accompanied by fanciful illustrations and masterfully-edited clip packages'. He went on to say that everybody working on it had a prior association with After Hours and that episodes would be directed by Abe Epperson (the director of many After Hours episodes) with a revolving cast including Swaim, Cody Johnston, Katy Stoll, Greg Burke, Damien Washington, Maggie Mae Fish, Teresa Lee and Daniel Vincent Gordh.
On May 10, 2019, Michael Swaim tweeted a logo for the new show designed by Small Beans artist Michael Bramley and added; 'It's real now, you guys. There are art assets. This is really happening.' "Michael Swaim's Official Twitter". Twitter.com
On July 12, 2020, the original cast met for a charity stream, doing a table read for the intended series finale for the original cast. The episode saw the group discuss "What TV Friend Group would be the best to join" - as it's revealed that the foursome is about to go their own ways. The stream ended up raising $11,000 for the CDC Foundation."Daniel O'Brien's Official Twitter July 12, 2020". Twitter.com
On May 28, 2021, the original cast released another series finale on the Small Beans channel, titled "The After Hours Quarantine Special."
Episodes
Season 1: 2010–2011 # Title Writer Director Original airdate 1 "Why 'Back to the Future' Is Secretly Horrifying" Daniel O'Brien Justin Viar July 19, 2010 2 "5 Classic Movie High Schools That Would Suck to Attend" Jack O'Brien Justin Viar August 30, 2010 3 "Which Apocalypse Would Be the Most Fun?" Daniel O'Brien Justin Viar November 18, 2010 4 "Why The Harry Potter Universe Is Secretly Terrifying" Michael Swaim Justin Viar December 20, 2010 5 "How Breakfast Cereal Mascots Brainwashed You" Soren Bowie Justin Viar January 31, 2011 6 "Which Ninja Turtle Are You?" Soren Bowie Justin Viar March 14, 2011 7 "Why Star Wars Is Terrifying for Women" Daniel O'Brien Justin Viar April 4, 2011 8 "Why Everyone Wants to Have Sex with Vampires" Soren Bowie Justin Viar May 23, 2011 9 "Why Batman Is Secretly Terrible for Gotham" Daniel O'Brien Justin Viar June 27, 2011 10 "The Best Super Power (Is Not What You Think)" Michael Swaim Justin Viar July 25, 2011 11 "TV Ads That Depict Terrifying Alternate Universes" Soren Bowie Justin Viar September 26, 2011 12 "4 Terrifying Psychology Lessons Behind Famous Movie Monsters" Robert Brockway Justin Viar October 24, 2011
Season 2: 2012 # Title Writer Director Original airdate 1 "Why Mario is Secretly a Douchebag" Daniel O'Brien Justin Viar March 12, 2012 2 "If You Could Have Dinner (And Sex) With Any Famous Figure" Jack O'Brien Justin Viar April 2, 2012 3 "Why The Scariest Sci-Fi Robot Uprising Has Already Begun" Jack O'Brien Justin Viar April 16, 2012 4 "The 6 Most Unintentionally Creepy Sitcom Characters" Cody Johnston Justin Viar April 30, 2012 5 "3 Popular Children's Characters Who Secretly Hate Animals" Daniel O'Brien Justin Viar May 29, 2012 6 "Why The Star Trek Universe is Secretly Horrifying" Michael Swaim Justin Viar May 14, 2012 7 "4 Creepy Hidden Truths Behind Popular Scary Stories" Jack O'Brien Abe Epperson July 9, 2012 8 "Why Pixar Movies Are All Secretly About the Apocalypse" Daniel O'Brien Justin Viar September 4, 2012 9 "Why Indiana Jones Secretly Sucks at His Job" Michael Swaim Abe Epperson September 24, 2012 10 "The Only 8 Types of TV Shows That Get Made" Daniel O'Brien Abe Epperson October 15, 2012 11 "5 Reasons James Bond Might Be the Worst Spy Ever" Soren Bowie Justin Viar November 12, 2012 12 "The 4 Worst Lessons Disney Movies Taught Us as Kids" Jack O'Brien Justin Viar December 17, 2012
Season 3: 2013 # Title Writer Director Original airdate 1 "Four Reasons Spider-Man is Secretly Bad at His Job" Michael Swaim Justin Viar January 21, 2013 2 "Why Romantic Comedies Are Secretly Bad for You" Soren Bowie Adam Ganser February 14, 2013 3 "The 4 Best Movie Universes To Die In" Cody Johnston Adam Ganser March 25, 2013 4 "5 Horrifying Secret Rules of Life in a Movie Universe" Daniel O'Brien Abe Epperson April 15, 2013 5 "The Horrifying Truth About Life Inside of Movie Musicals" Kristi Harrison Adam Ganser May 13, 2013 6 "The 3 Worst Lessons Taught by '80s Sports Movies" Jack O'Brien Adam Ganser June 17, 2013 7 "Why Tarantino Films Take Place in the Same (Insane) Universe" Soren Bowie Adam Ganser July 22, 2013 8 "4 Movie Apocalypses That Would Be More Fun Than Reality" Daniel O'Brien Adam Ganser August 19, 2013 9 "4 Disney Movie Villains Who Were Right All Along" Daniel O'Brien Abe Epperson September 23, 2013 10 "The Horrifying Secret 'The Matrix' Reveals About Humanity" Jack O'Brien Abe Epperson October 21, 2013 11 "The 10 Most Secretly Ridiculous Moments in Classic Movies" Daniel O'Brien Adam Ganser November 18, 2013 12 "6 Beloved Christmas Movies With Horrible Secret Meanings" Michael Swaim Adam Ganser December 16, 2013
Season 4: 2014 # Title Writer Director Original airdate 1 "4 Weirdly Specific Things Famous People Do in Every Movie" Jack O'Brien Abe Epperson January 13, 2014 2 "8 Mind-Blowing Connections Between the Works of Joss Whedon" Michael Swaim Abe Epperson February 17, 2014 3 "7 Horrifying Lessons Hidden in Famous Movies About Childhood" Soren Bowie Abe Epperson March 10, 2014 4 "6 Insane Stereotypes That You Still See in Every Movie" Daniel O'Brien Adam Ganser April 14, 2014 5 "5 'Jurassic Park' Plot Holes With Horrifying Implications" Jack O'Brien Adam Ganser May 12, 2014 6 "11 Movie Alternate Dimensions With Horrifying Downsides" Soren Bowie Adam Ganser June 16, 2012 7 "Why Disney's 'Aladdin' Is Secretly Horrifying" Daniel O'Brien Abe Epperson July 14, 2014 8 "Why 'Peter Pan' Is Propaganda for Perverts" Soren Bowie Abe Epperson August 18, 2014 9 "The Horrifying Hidden Subplot You Missed in Star Wars" Cody Johnston Abe Epperson September 8, 2014 10 "6 Weirdly Conservative Messages Hidden in 'Ghostbusters'" Soren Bowie Adam Ganser October 20, 2014 11 "5 Movie Epilogues That Should Have Been Sequels" Soren Bowie Adam Ganser November 10, 2014 12 "The 9 Creepiest Things Movies Portray as Romantic" Daniel O'Brien Adam Ganser December 8, 2014
Season 5: 2015 # Title Writer Director Original airdate 1 "5 Racist and Sexist Messages Hidden in Forrest Gump" Jack O'Brien Abe Epperson January 12, 2015 2 "14 Super Powers That Every Movie Character Apparently Has" Michael Swaim Abe Epperson February 9, 2015 3 "5 Evil Organizations We Wouldn't Mind Joining (in Movies)" Soren Bowie Abe Epperson March 2, 2015 4 "Why The Friends From 'Friends' Are Terrible People" Katie Willert Adam Ganser April 13, 2015 5 "Movies Secretly Told From The Perspective Of One Character" Katie Willert Adam Ganser May 11, 2015 6 "10 Terrifying Implications Of The Matrix Universe" Michael Swaim Adam Ganser June 15, 2015 7 "Why Movie Cops Are Terrible At Their Jobs" Soren Bowie Abe Epperson July 27, 2015 8 "The 3 Worst Lessons Hiding in Children's Movies" Daniel O'Brien Abe Epperson August 17, 2015 9 "The Terrifying Truth About Doc Brown" Jack O'Brien October 21, 2015 10 "'Stupid' Movies That Are Surprisingly Progressive" Katie Willert Adam Ganser November 16, 2015 11 "4 Reasons The Jedi Are Secretly The Bad Guys Of Star Wars" Alex Schmidt Abe Epperson December 14, 2015
Season 6: 2016