Million Dollar Extreme

Million Dollar Extreme (MDE) is an American sketch comedy troupe.[1] The main members are Sam Hyde, Charls Carroll, and Nick Rochefort.[2] The group remains largely inactive since the cancellation of their show, World Peace in 2016. They are known for their online videos, anti-comedy, and public pranks mainly uploaded on their several related YouTube channels.[3] The group's first channel was permanently banned in 2018 for violating community guidelines.

Million Dollar Extreme
MediumWeb, television, stand-up, literature
NationalityUnited States
Years activesince 2013
GenresSatire, sketch comedy
Notable works and rolesMillion Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace
Members
Former membersCharls Carroll

YouTube channel

Pranks
Main article: Sam Hyde § Pranks

Sam Hyde performed numerous public pranks on the Million Dollar Extreme YouTube channel. Most notable, in 2013 Hyde delivered a false TEDx talk titled "2070 Paradigm Shift" at Drexel University.[4]

Sketches

A collection of sketches titled "Ideas Man" co-produced by Brooklyn-based VFX company Pomp&Clout, was uploaded to the MDE YouTube channel in 2013.[5] iPhone recorded videos of Sam Hyde usually with monologues, were also considered a staple for video content on the channel.[6]

World Peace
Main article: Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace

On May 7, 2015, it was announced that MDE were slated to have their own live action 15-minute sketch show on the cable network Adult Swim.[7] It was to be set in a post-apocalyptic nightmare world that satirizes the current political climate.[2] Titled Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace, the series premiered on August 5, 2016.[8] World Peace was subject to internal controversy at Adult Swim due to MDE's documented ties[9][10][11] to the alt-right. Three weeks later, it was announced that the show would not be renewed for a second season.[12]

The troupe has run into various issues with online terms of service violations due to their content and fanbase. On May 4, 2018, the MDE channel was permanently removed from YouTube for a violation of the site's community guidelines.[13] On September 10, 2018, the group's subreddit on Reddit was permanently removed for violations of their policy regarding violent content.[14]

Critical reception

Christian Williams of The A.V. Club describes them: "Some videos borrow Wonder Showzen's toolkit, wielding subliminal blips and eye-straining text in service of subversive ends. Some make use of the Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! aesthetic, and some are surprisingly slick, with excellent, eardrum-shredding music courtesy of talented mystery-men like Orangy and Vaervaf."[3] In the view of Philly Mag's Andrew Thompson: "The mission of Million Dollar Extreme has always seemed a spin on afflicting the comfortable, except its targets usually aren’t the comfortably powerful. To the extent that satire exists in MDEs comedy, it feels like more of rationalization than a reason for the shock itself."[1] Robert Mariani wrote at The Federalist that the group's comedy style is an example of post-irony: "Figuring out the intentions of the ironist is easy: whatever is being shown is being mocked. But the post-ironist folds over on his own sincerity with exaggeration, using the ironic not just to ridicule, but also to enjoy the absurdities of what he genuinely appreciates."[15]

References
  1. Thompson, Andrew (October 6, 2013). "WATCH: TEDx Drexel Got Pranked This Weekend". Philly Mag.
  2. Lincoln, Ross. "Adult Swim Comedy From Sketch Troupe Million Dollar Extreme Gets Series Order, Official Title". deadline.com. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  3. Williams, Christian (April 23, 2013). "Take in the work of the comedy provocateurs in Million Dollar Extreme". The A.V. Club.
  4. "Comedian Gives Ridiculous Prank TED Talk".
  5. "Iᴅᴇᴀs Man - YouTube". Archived from the original on April 6, 2018.
  6. "Take in the work of the comedy provocateurs in Million Dollar Extreme".
  7. Stanhope, Kate. "Adult Swim Upfront Slate Includes 12 Pilots, Two From 'Robot Chicken's' Seth Green". The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. "Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace". Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  9. "The Underground Neo-Nazi Promo Campaign Behind Adult Swim's Alt-Right Comedy Show". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  10. "Adult Swim Talent Want The Network To Cancel Its Alt-Right Comedy Show". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  11. "Sam Hyde Speaks: Meet the Man Behind Adult Swim's Canceled "Alt-Right" Comedy Show (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  12. Blistine, Joe (December 5, 2016). "Adult Swim Cancels Controversial Show 'Million Dollar Extreme'". Rolling Stone.
  13. Stephen, Bijan (September 12, 2018). "Reddit has banned QAnon". The Verge. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  14. Daro, Ishmael (September 11, 2018). "Reddit Banned A Page That Trafficked In White Supremacist Content, But The Problem Is Much Bigger". Buzzfeed News. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  15. Television (December 12, 2016). "Million Dollar Extreme's Show Is Collateral Damage Of Trump's Victory".
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