Rebooting Tosh.0; Daniel Tosh Chats About Living the Dream and Making Fun of the Web

Daniel Tosh likes poking fun at people. His stand-up routine involves gems like his “Febreeze the Homeless” charity and jabs at religion.

But with his hit Comedy Central show Tosh.0, he has a whole new group of people to lampoon — people doing stupid things on the Internet.

Tosh made a name for himself doing stand-up comedy, appearing several times on Comedy Central. The network produced his stand up special and featured him on several shows.

During this time, he pitched various show ideas to the network executives. “I’d always tried to sell show ideas,” Tosh said. “And [Tosh.0] was one that Comedy Central agreed with and put on the air.”

The show’s concept started simply enough. Tosh and a friend shot the first of his Web Redemptions, a segment where stars of embarrassing Internet videos are given a second chance to redo their mistakes.

The Afro Ninja, the viral video star who fell while attempting a back flip, was the first of these. “We shot that one before [Tosh.0] was ever a TV show. It was just a concept of someone who messed up on the Internet and giving them a chance to redeem themselves.” Tosh said.
“It felt heartfelt and that was what we originally had in mind.”

Comedy Central agreed. The first season of his show was so well received that they ordered an unprecedented 25-episode season, the largest such order in television history.

For Tosh, getting this far has been more than he hoped. “[Having the show continue] past episode two . . . has all been gravy,” said Tosh. “I don’t get too worked up or stressed out about it. I realize it’s a long shot to get here and have your own show. Anything past episode two is past my expectations.”

Despite his success, there are still mountains to climb. Although more people are agreeing to be “redeemed” on the show, Tosh estimates that about 40 percent of people they approach turn him down.

Infamous stars like the Star Wars kid don’t want to be associated with their videos and have said no.

Still, Tosh and his team press on, searching for the biggest stars. “I actually spoke to Jerry Seinfeld to see if he would help me get [Seinfeld’s] Kramer to do one.” Tosh said. “I wanted Michael Richards to do stand-up at an all-black comedy club, but that to date has not happened.”

It should come as no surprise, then, that Tosh is keeping busy. While he has no plans to head back to film, (“I don’t think everyone is dying for Love Guru 2,” he quipped), he would like to try writing once his show ends. “Once the show is done or gone, I’ll worry about [writing], but my plate is plenty full.”

For Tosh, colleges are still his favorite venues. “I still enjoy performing in colleges more than anything, and that is probably the sole reason I got into stand-up. Colleges have always been my main focus in stand-up.”

Tosh may not be hitting the silver screen any time soon, but he is keeping busy outside his show. He will be taping a new Comedy Central special June 12 in San Francisco. The special will be released in the fall and followed by a national tour spanning over 30 cities.

Tosh.0 airs Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. on Comedy Central. For more information on the show or Daniel Tosh himself, visit his website at www.comedycentral.com/tosh.0.