Too Many Cooks (short)
{{Short description|2014 short film directed by Casper Kelly}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Too Many Cooks.png
| caption = The main title screen, with a font similar to that of Full House{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/nov/10/too-many-cooks-can-you-spot-all-the-references-to-other-tv-shows |title=Too Many Cooks: can you spot all the references to other TV shows? |last=Donahue |first=Anne T |date=November 10, 2014 |work=The Guardian |accessdate=November 16, 2014 |archive-date=November 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116211715/http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/nov/10/too-many-cooks-can-you-spot-all-the-references-to-other-tv-shows |url-status=live }}
| genre = Black comedy
Surreal humor
Comedy horror
| creator = Casper Kelly
| writer = Casper Kelly
| director = Casper Kelly
| starring = {{ubl|Ken DeLozier|Tara Ochs|Katelyn Nacon|Linda Miller|William Tokarsky|Katie Adkins}}
| opentheme = "Too Many Cooks", performed by Shawn Coleman, Cheryl Rogers, Michael Magno, and Patty Mack
| composer = Shawn Coleman
Michael Kohler
| country = United States
| language = English
| channel = Adult Swim
| executive_producer = {{ubl|Casper Kelly|Ashley Kohler|Keith Crofford|Mike Lazzo}}
| producer = {{ubl|Alex Orr|Brandon Betts}}
| editor = Paul Painter
| cinematography = Adam Pinney
| company = Fake Wood Wallpaper Films
Awesome Inc. {{small|(animation)}}
Williams Street
| runtime = 11 minutes
| released = {{Start date|2014|10|28}}
| related = Infomercials
}}
Too Many Cooks is a surreal comedy horror short that originally aired as a special during Adult Swim's "infomercials" block on October 28, 2014, at 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time.{{cite web |url=http://www.adultswim.com/videos/infomercials/too-many-cooks/ |title=Infomercials - Too Many Cooks |date=October 28, 2014 |work=Adult Swim |accessdate=November 17, 2014 |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110155525/http://www.adultswim.com/videos/infomercials/too-many-cooks |url-status=live }}{{cite tweet |author=Shawn Coleman |user=shawncoleman |number=526814175251939330 |date=27 October 2014 |title=There's a new family on the block-- the PROGRAMMING block! TV! Too Many Cooks, tonight at 4am on @adultswim http://t.co/7T4wvXfVmm |access-date= 13 November 2014}} It was created, written, and directed by Casper Kelly, and produced by Williams Street. After its original airing, the piece became a viral video online and was repeated each night at midnight Eastern Time during the week of November 11, 2014.
Synopsis
The short begins as a parody of opening credits sequences of 1970s, '80s, and '90s American sitcoms, listing the actors in the fictional series "Too Many Cooks". The credits introduce dozens of actors as the genre of the show gradually segues from a sitcom into a crime drama, a primetime soap opera, a Saturday morning cartoon, a superhero live-action series, a slasher film, and a science fiction series. Particular focus is put on a slasher film villain (played by William Tokarsky), who is hidden in the background of several early shots but eventually starts killing the other characters with a machete and replacing them in the credits. Everything is falling apart, different genres are colliding, and the text and people are swapping sides. The opening credits sequence ends after ten minutes and transitions into the "episode", with all the characters from the opening standing in one room; the short ends roughly ten seconds later, cutting to closing credits before a full line of dialogue can be spoken ("Honey, I'm ho–").{{cite news |work=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/videos/watch-adult-swims-too-many-cooks-20141107 |title=Watch Adult Swim's Demented, Surreal Sitcom Parody 'Too Many Cooks' |first=Ryan |last=Reed |date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-date=October 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018205905/http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/videos/watch-adult-swims-too-many-cooks-20141107 |url-status=live }}
Development and production
According to Kelly, he conveyed the concept of the short to his Squidbillies writer-producer friend Jim Fortier, who in turn described it to Adult Swim executive Mike Lazzo, who loved the idea. The footage was filmed over a period of three days in October 2013 with a cast completely composed of extras from the Atlanta area. Post-production took a year, with Kelly recruiting friends and co-workers to help with the process.{{cite news |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/11/07/too-many-cooks-casper-kelly/?mod=WSJ_ArtsEnt_Speakeasy |title=Inside Adult Swim's 'Too Many Cooks' |first=Mike |last=Ayers |date=November 7, 2014|url-access=subscription}}
While the video depicts the opening credits of a fictional television show, most of the cast members' real names were used.{{cite magazine |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/11/07/adult-swim-too-many-cooks/ |title='Too Many Cooks' creator tries to explain his awesomely bizarre Adult Swim short |first=Marc |last=Snetiker |date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=November 9, 2014 |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110070424/http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/11/07/adult-swim-too-many-cooks/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |publisher=Entertainment Tonight |url=http://www.etonline.com/tv/153634_this_is_the_most_insane_viral_video_you_ll_ever_watch_and_obviously_you_need_to_watch_it/ |title=This Is the Most Insane Viral Video You'll Ever Watch |first=John |last=Boon |date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=November 9, 2014 |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110003858/http://www.etonline.com/tv/153634_this_is_the_most_insane_viral_video_you_ll_ever_watch_and_obviously_you_need_to_watch_it/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |work=New York / Vulture |url=http://www.vulture.com/2014/11/too-many-cooks-behind-the-scenes.html |title=Behind the Scenes of the 'Too Many Cooks' Video |first=Jesse David |last=Fox |date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=November 9, 2014 |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110001010/http://www.vulture.com/2014/11/too-many-cooks-behind-the-scenes.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |publisher=MTV News |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1991470/too-many-cooks-behind-the-scenes/ |title=Learn The Story Behind The Insane 'Too Many Cooks' |first=Kevin P |last=Sullivan |date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=November 9, 2014 |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110181510/http://www.mtv.com/news/1991470/too-many-cooks-behind-the-scenes/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite magazine |magazine=Esquire |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/too-many-cooks-took-over-internet |title=How the Bizarre Adult Swim 'Infomercial' Too Many Cooks Took Over the Internet |first=Ben |last=Collins |date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=November 9, 2014 |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110080902/http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/too-many-cooks-took-over-internet? |url-status=live }} According to Katie Adkins, actors were not presented with a clearly explained script, but rather coached on the go, in a somewhat nonchalant manner.{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/15/too-many-cooks-katie-adkins-on-what-its-like-when-your-wacky-short-film-goes-viral |title=Too Many Cooks' Katie Adkins on What It's Like When Your Wacky Short Film Goes Viral |last=Goldman |first=Eric |date=November 14, 2014 |work=IGN |accessdate=November 16, 2014 |archive-date=November 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141117193207/http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/15/too-many-cooks-katie-adkins-on-what-its-like-when-your-wacky-short-film-goes-viral |url-status=live }}
Among the series openings parodied are those of Full House, Wonder Woman, The Brady Bunch, Dallas, Dynasty, Battlestar Galactica, Falcon Crest, ALF, G.I. Joe, Roseanne, Family Matters, T. J. Hooker, Seinfeld, and the Law & Order franchise.{{cite web |url=http://www.adweek.com/news/television/adult-swims-amazing-11-minute-credits-sequence-will-warp-you-permanently-161291/ |title=Adult Swim's Warped Viral Sitcom Parody References a Stunning 30+ Shows and Movies |last=Thielman |first=Sam |date=November 7, 2014 |accessdate=July 4, 2015 |archive-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711022617/http://www.adweek.com/news/television/adult-swims-amazing-11-minute-credits-sequence-will-warp-you-permanently-161291 |url-status=live }} The short briefly mentions avant-garde film director Lars von Trier.{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cooks-see-insane-viral-video-747482 |title='Too Many Cooks': See the Insane Viral Video Hollywood Is Buzzing About |last=Abramovitch |first=Seth |date=November 7, 2014 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |accessdate=November 16, 2014 |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110070332/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cooks-see-insane-viral-video-747482? |url-status=live }}
Reception
Upon its release by a third party on YouTube, Too Many Cooks became a viral video,{{cite news |work=IGN.com |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/07/adult-swims-too-many-cooks-takes-sitcom-parody-to-the-next-level |title=Adult Swim's Too Many Cooks Takes Sitcom Parody to the Next Level |first=Eric |last=Goldman |date=November 6, 2014 |access-date=November 8, 2014 |archive-date=November 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107092801/http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/07/adult-swims-too-many-cooks-takes-sitcom-parody-to-the-next-level |url-status=live }} with Rolling Stone calling it an "instant cult classic".{{cite news |work=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/features/too-many-cooks-casper-kelly-20141107 |title='Too Many Cooks' Creator Casper Kelly on the Making of an Instant Cult Classic |first=David |last=Fear |date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-date=November 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106124334/http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/features/too-many-cooks-casper-kelly-20141107 |url-status=live }} Director Rian Johnson said that, "no joke", Too Many Cooks should have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film (although it was in fact ineligible for this honor, not having had a cinematic release).{{cite news |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-too-many-cooks-takes-social-media-by-storm-20141107-story.html |title='Too Many Cooks' takes social media by storm |first=Day |last=Patrick Kevin |date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=November 8, 2014 |archive-date=November 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108080408/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-too-many-cooks-takes-social-media-by-storm-20141107-story.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cooks-see-insane-viral-video-747482 |title='Too Many Cooks': See the Insane Viral Video Hollywood Is Buzzing About |first=Seth |last=Abramovitch |date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=November 8, 2014 |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110070327/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cooks-see-insane-viral-video-747482 |url-status=live }} Penn Jillette, Simon Pegg, Zach Braff, and Richard Kelly all tweeted their positive reactions to Too Many Cooks.{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/09/living/too-many-cooks-video/ |title=This weekend's trending video: 'Too Many Cooks' |last=Grinberg |first=Emmanuella |date=November 9, 2014 |publisher=CNN |access-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110173733/http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/09/living/too-many-cooks-video/ |url-status=live }}
David Sims of The Atlantic wrote that Too Many Cooks relied on "the classic anti-comedy premise of taking so long with something that it goes from being funny, to being not very funny, to being boring, to suddenly becoming hilarious again. More than that, it's an excellent piece of non-narrative sketch comedy that sets out boundaries for its own weird reality and then goes about breaking them over and over again."{{cite news |work=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/the-less-you-know-about-adult-swims-viral-sensation-too-many-cooks-the-better/382529/ |title=The Less You Know About Too Many Cooks, The Better |first=David |last=Sims |date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-date=November 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130112353/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/the-less-you-know-about-adult-swims-viral-sensation-too-many-cooks-the-better/382529/ |url-status=live }} Julian Darius called it "a sublime postmodern masterpiece" and analyzed its metafictional aspects.{{cite web |url=http://sequart.org/magazine/52159/too-many-cooks-is-a-sublime-postmodern-masterpiece/ |title='Too Many Cooks' is a Sublime Postmodern Masterpiece |last=Daris |first=Julian |date=November 12, 2014 |publisher=Sequart Organization |accessdate=March 11, 2015 |archive-date=March 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321201734/http://sequart.org/magazine/52159/too-many-cooks-is-a-sublime-postmodern-masterpiece/ |url-status=live }}
In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it the 10th-best TV theme song of all time, calling it an "earworm" that is "somehow every theme song, from every genre".[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-tv-theme-songs-of-all-time-1234630913/too-many-cooks-1234631093/ 10: ‘Too Many Cooks’: Adult Swim, 2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129012905/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-tv-theme-songs-of-all-time-1234630913/too-many-cooks-1234631093/ |date=2022-11-29 }}; by Alan Sepinwall, at Rolling Stone; published November 24, 2022; retrieved November 28, 2022
Legacy
CNN created a parody of the video in March 2015, using it to mock the number of potential candidates in the 2016 United States Presidential Election.{{Cite web |url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/03/cnn-made-a-2016-version-of-too-many-cooks.html |title=CNN Made an Election 2016 Version of 'Too Many Cooks' for Some Reason |first=Margaret |last=Hartmann |date=March 19, 2015 |accessdate=March 19, 2015 |work=New York |archive-date=March 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321004856/http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/03/cnn-made-a-2016-version-of-too-many-cooks.html |url-status=live }} The video was conceived by digital producer Eric Weisbrod; Chris Moody, a senior digital correspondent at CNN and the video's creative director, noted that "b-roll from cheesy political ads...are almost taken right out of '90s sitcoms. If you look at old ads, it's families smiling at each other and smiling at the camera. It just fit so nicely.""[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cnn-too-many-cooks-election-2016-parody-video_n_6911540 Here’s CNN’s Explanation For That Bizarrely Hilarious ‘Too Many Cooks’ Political Parody] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129071231/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cnn-too-many-cooks-election-2016-parody-video_n_6911540 |date=2021-01-29 }}" by Ryan Grenoble. HuffPost. March 20, 2015 and updated December 6, 2017. Accessed January 22, 2021.
In June 2018, Adult Swim published a short film by Casper Kelly and Nick Gibbons titled Final Deployment 4: Queen Battle Walkthrough, which parodies livestreaming gaming culture. Kelly described this short as his spiritual successor to Too Many Cooks.{{cite web |last=Singer |first=Matt |url=http://screencrush.com/final-deployment-4-casper-kelly-nick-gibbons-interview/ |title=Interview: Casper Kelly and Nick Gibbons on 'Final Deployment 4' |date=June 28, 2018 |work=ScreenCrush |accessdate=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=September 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909040013/http://screencrush.com/final-deployment-4-casper-kelly-nick-gibbons-interview/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Roberts |first=Andrew |url=https://uproxx.com/tv/final-deployment-4-adult-swim-too-many-cooks-gaming/ |title=The Guys Behind Adult Swim's 'Too Many Cooks' Return To Take On Gamers |date=June 28, 2018 |work=Uproxx |accessdate=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=September 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909073558/https://uproxx.com/tv/final-deployment-4-adult-swim-too-many-cooks-gaming/ |url-status=live }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website}}
- {{IMDb title|3534838|Too Many Cooks}}
{{Adult Swim pilots and specials}}
Category:2014 television specials
Category:Adult Swim pilots and specials
Category:American black comedy films
Category:American drama short films
Category:Black comedy television shows
Category:Fiction about cannibalism
Category:Film and television opening sequences
Category:Internet memes introduced in 2014
Category:Metafictional television series
Category:Parodies of television shows