Have you joined the cult of Tim Robinson yet? In the past six years, Robinson has gone from an underutilized Saturday Night Live player to one of the most beloved and idiosyncratic voices in comedy. That voice is loud, aggrieved, and willing to take even the most minor situation to extremes.
After his own sketch comedy series, I Think You Should Leave, became a massive surprise hit, Robinson gained popularity, Emmys—and opportunities to make even more of his specific brand of intensely oddball comedy. His latest project is The Chair Company, dropping on October 12th on HBO. It’s an ambitious comedy about a man who starts to distrust everything in the world around him after a small humiliating moment at work. And now, we can safely say there’s a whole Tim Robinson Cinematic Universe to explore. But which project is best for you? Here’s how to choose, based on your personality traits (or, uh, defects).
If you love to ball so much that it scares people: The “Roundball Rock” sketch on Saturday Night Live (2013)
Alas, Robinson’s time on Saturday Night Live was brief. He was hired as a featured player in 2012, but after one season was bumped off camera to the writing staff before leaving the show altogether in 2016. Miraculously, in that short amount of time onscreen he gave us a ball anthem like no other. His “Roundball Rock” sketch with Jason Sudeikis is an all-time classic, one that invades my brain every time an NBA game is airing—even if it’s not playing on NBC. Tim Robinson plays Dave Tesh, the (fictional) brother of “Roundball Rock” composer John Tesh (Sudeikis). Dave, according to John, is the brains behind the operation and wrote the accompanying lyrics to the earworm, which started as a poem. Those lyrics? “BA BA BA BA BA BASKETBALL GIMME GIMME GIMME THE BALL BECAUSE I’M GONNA DUNK IT!” The NBC executives like the tune but they aren’t so sure about the words, leading to a classic Robinsonian meltdown. A sketch like “Roundball Rock” demonstrates how Robinson’s distinctive style shone through even in his limited SNL work. It maybe wasn’t the best fit for that institution, but it was just the start. And just try getting “BA BA BA BA BA BASKETBALL” out of your head. You won’t.)
If you’re obsessed with your best friend: Detroiters (2017-2018)
©Comedy Central/Courtesy Everett Collection
