WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?: Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie on the Show’s Renewal and Continued Popularity
August 6, 2013 by Marisa Roffman
Whenever a canceled show is revived in one form or the other, it runs the risk of not quite living up to the nostalgia that made us yearn for more. But thankfully for The CW’s WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?, viewers tuned in for the funny-as-ever improv series…which led to the show already getting renewed for an expanded “second” season.
“I think we had a feeling it would do well,” WHOSE LINE star Colin Mochrie told me after the renewal news was announced. “Just because ever since the first show ended, people were always going on Facebook and Twitter, ‘Bring back WHOSE LINE.’ What I loved is that they were like, ‘Why don’t you bring back the show?’ As if we had that power. So we knew there was an appetite for it. And [The CW boss] Mark Pedowitz was at ABC when we did the first show, so I think once he moved here, he was just trying to get it back. And I think some people thought The CW was an odd choice because of the younger demographic, but our fans are younger. All of us that have been touring have noticed our fans are getting younger, thanks to YouTube. They weren’t born during the first incarnation, and they’re discovering how funny we were in the last century.”
“That’s why, I think, CW was the perfect place,” Wayne Brady added. “Because I think you have in this day and age, the reality TV where people cherish and watch people’s lives falling apart and a lot of that behavior is rewarded. And people just want to see funny, light stuff…just watch funny. That has changed from people being voyeuristic and seeing other people’s lives crumble. It’s like, hey, my stuff is in disarray, let’s watch funny. And that’s what you get when you watch this. And the CW, thanks to the younger viewership, the kids watch everything in these three minute chunks anyway, so it works out that these games are built for that; they’re built for that attention span. It’s built for the family. So we’re so happy.”
And while the series was technically not producing episodes for seven years between the ABC and CW version, the comedy never truly went away.
“It’s never gone away, and worldwide, it’s never gone away,” Brady noted. “Colin and I tour, and Jonathan Mangum and I tour, and we’ve been all these places, multiple tours in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa…and all these different countries and WHOSE LINE is on the air there for real. Not just [syndicated on] ABC Family, it’s on like you would watch it in primetime.”
Since the show clearly has a future in America, too, the men are thinking ahead about what season 2 might bring.
“I think we’re hoping to get some of the guys we worked with [in the ABC version], like Greg Proops and Chip Esten [who is now starring on NASHVILLE] to come on,” said Mochrie. “It’s constantly trying to make the show the best it can be. Just trying to get our producer to listen to us! There’s always new games coming up, we’re always trying out new games, just basically doing the same thing where it’s goofy fun.”
Which could also lead to some new guest stars for the second year.
“One of my personal favorites [of potential guests] would be Darren Criss from GLEE,” Brady shared. “I think that guy is so talented, and he’s fast. I think that’s the thing — we don’t have people just because this guy is a star on blah, blah, blah show; you want someone that has personality and can put two sentences together and that doesn’t take themselves quite so seriously.”
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WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? airs Tuesdays at 8 PM on The CW.
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LOL Darren Criss would be awful at this. He doesn’t even pull off the most basic acting on Glee, let alone improv on WLIIA.
Darren Criss would be awful on Whose Line. He lacks personality and talent. Please stop.
Darren is really not suited for this kind of show. Kevin Mchale did a great job though.
Someone like Darren Criss as the fourth guest would be Candice Accola-levels of bad on the show. Dude is whatever at singing and nothing to write about as an actor. Brady needs to stop trying to sell out and get himself on “Glee” through Whose Line.
Chip, OTOH, is sorely missed.
LOL, you people are so sad with your weird Darren hate. So you don’t like him, do you want a medal? (also, I bet you’re all the same person, since you’re the only ones commenting right now)
Giggling at the same sad, bitter troll commenting multiple times because they know they’re in the very small minority. Darren oozes charm and talent, and he’d be perfect for the show. Even one of the original stars thinks so, why are you even trying to argue? Looking forward to seeing if Darren can take time out of his busy schedule being a superstar to drop by on one of my favorite shows! It’d be incredible.
…Who is Darren Criss?
I’m sure you are just the same people commenting since you were the only ones saying anything at that time and you all seem to think the same thing.
‘Darren is not talented’. Yeah… which is why he was on Broadway, went on his first tour, is on Glee, is an excellent singer and has a large vocal range, made his very first film and is starting his first album.
If you hate Darren, you could easily just keep it to yourself and not have to tell everyone else how much you hate him. That’s just your opinion!
Darren’s good when he has time to sit down and think things through. When he’s forced to think on his feet, he ends up making a big showy ass of himself (see: Starkid singalong at H2$ stagedoor). Not good improv qualities. That being said, the show is already renewed so it might be amusing to see him flop.
Kevin was good but he needs to be a fourth-seater, not just a guest they pull out randomly. The fourth-seaters alternate and only do a few shows a season, so he could easily do that and Glee. I would love to hear him and Wayne sing another song or do Sideways Scene.
I would love to see Darren Criss on this show. He is so talented and would be perfect for this. Those of you saying that he isn’t talented and you hate him, you could just keep it to yourself. Even one of the people in this show thinks that he should be on it. He would be great for the show. But he is so busy with Glee Season 5 filming and his album right now that he might not have time out of his busy schedule.
Um, comment sections go both ways. You’re allowed to blow up his “achievements” (like being stunt cast in a musical for a couple of weeks) out of proportions and other people are allowed to say that he’s not very talented. The entire point of this section is to express opinions and thoughts. Sorry that some others don’t align with yours, but if you were so confident in his skills you wouldn’t resort to rambling off a spiel of “accomplishments” and accusing people of commenting multiple times.
I’d really like to see more than just no-name CW stars on Whose Line eventually please.
The last Glee kid they had was good but that’s definitely enough of them. We don’t need an entire parade of them going through the show.
Darren Criss would be a fantastic choice. He’s got a lot of experience with live theater and improvisation from his college days and time with Starkid. Actually almost any of the Starkids would be great on the show since they’re all hilarious and good at improv, but Darren would be the obvious choice.
Lol Darren haters. Arguing with Wayne Brady, improv pro, hilarious, talented man and great singer? I think he has a better judge of talent and of who would suit the show he’s been on for years than you.
So predictable the Darren hate. Whatever. Darren already proved he has the physicality and timing that would be perfect for Whose Line when he did Young Storytellers last year.
Actors are not paid to be the judge of talent. The producers of WLIIA are. Wayne knows Darren personally and probably is amused by his antics at events and wants to hang out (also, Wayne wants to be on Glee). This does not mean Darren is good enough for the show. He is a decent singer and a talented songwriter. This does not mean that he is God or that his feces is ice cream.
Oh why did I read this, now I am so disappointed in Wayne Brady. Darren Criss makes mediocre look good.
If anyone has any doubts about Darren’s improv skills I suggest checking out some videos on YouTube from the Young Storyteller Foundation’s Improv night – he was far and away the best one (others who were there included Kevin McHale and Naya Rivera) and if you have seen him in interviews you know that he thinks well on his feet and is always engaging and charming. But obviously Wayne Brady doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Stay pressed.
Ah, Darren haters. My fave. It must be so difficult to dislike the dude when literally everyone in the industry he comes into contact with loves him – let’s see what he’s done so far this summer, shall we? Sold-out tour, the Hollywood Bowl, A Capitol Fouth (Barack’s a fan), released a movie in which almost every reviewer said he was the best part – not to mention that he is consistently asked to host and play for important people in the biz and is returning back to work this week where he is one of the main stars of Glee. Like, really? Your pathetic comments on the internet aren’t going to change any of that, and it just makes you look sad and severely lacking in taste.
Lol he was not “far and away the best one,” he was by far the weakest one in the Beatles sketch and people barely remembered he was a part of the event.
Rule #1 of the internet – never read the comments section. Regrettably, I broke that rule, and now I feel compelled to say that Darren is a good actor and an even better musician, and I think it would be fun to see him on a show like this. To the people who are complaining: why don’t you find an article written about your fave and go there to post messages of support, rather than tearing down someone you don’t even know. What sad little lives you must lead.
Another loser resorting to rambling off a list of dubious accomplishments that don’t set him apart from the rest of the cast. They all performed for Obama years ago, Amber Riley did A Capitol Fourth the year before, Kevin’s already done Whose Line?, all of the other guys have already hosted the Teen Choice Awards, his stint on Broadway was only for a couple of weeks and people like Lea, Matt Morrison, and Jenna Ushkowitz are the real Broadway performers, his movie bombed spectacularly and the most positive reviews were about him as the boy candy and not about him as an actor or performer, etc. Need I go on?
Are Darren Criss fans always this weirdly defensive in articles? You’d think they’d politely disagree with the negative comments and move on instead of foaming at the mouth about “haters”…
Sorry @Rebecca, kind of hard to just “politely disagree” when people are being viscous. Why should we have to just sit back and take it? A normal person who came across this article and didn’t like the idea of Darren being on the show would simply not comment. I know that’s what I would do. Because really, who gives a sh*t? It’s a theoretical guest spot on a TV show – it’s not even happening, and was just Wayne Brady’s personal wish list.
Uh, yeah, my point was that he has done all of those things just this past summer alone, so compiling a list of things that an entire cast of people has done over the years is a wee bit nonsensical. Also, no mention of the tour? I would for sure have thought you guys would’ve found a way to minimize that accomplishment. And I’m not going to show you the list of reviews that mentioned his acting and things beyond his visual appeal, because you don’t actually care. You’re just intent on disproving me. Well, congrats, you’ve won! You’re officially an internet troll!
The word you’re looking for is “vicious.”
“Viscous” is what describes the stuff dripping down Darren’s chin from Ryan Murphy’s unit that ensured him more than his promised three-episode stint on Glee.
Yes, please! Darren would be great for this type of show! 🙂
The Darren haters just come out of the woodwork and are just experts at everything and big “know it alls”(or at least they think they are). Just ignore them. It must really chap their a#$%sses when so many people who are real experts praise Darren’s talents and are so anxious to work with him.
Oh, you got me! My spelling error completely negates what I was saying. Stay classy! 🙂
Nice! Hope this happens and we get to see Darren on the show!
Didn’t mention the tour because like the media, it barely registered for me. The only coverage it got was a Rolling Stone fluff photography piece that his label paid for. No domestic reviewers bothered with his shows. The venues were tiny and the dates were few. Nothing worth bothering to acknowledge.
Darren Criss would be great on the show! Love him in the Starkid productions! So happy he’s doing so well for himself. And the haters are no doubt from that anti darren glee site. They always gang up on articles like this to make it seem like Darren has no supporters. Y’all are sad and should be ashamed.
You guys are so predictable. “Someone somewhere said something good about Darren Criss! This cannot stand! Quick, we must assemble!” What y’all don’t seem to get is that the only impression you’re making is of how pathetic you are.
You guys are so predictable. “Someone somewhere said something negative about Darren Criss! This cannot stand! Quick, we must assemble!” What y’all don’t seem to get is that the only impression you’re making is of how pathetic you are.
Yeah, lol, what a bunch of losers those Darren fans are. Imagine, showing support and love for a person they admire! Those other guys, though – you know, the ones who spend the majority of their online existence tearing down the work (and looks and personality) of a man they don’t even know because he has surpassed the popularity of their faves – now they are something to aspire to!
Sure hasn’t past the popularity of the critically acclaimed, award winning and/or nominated stars of the show.
Face it he is marketable but that doesn’t mean he is really talented. Dianna is marketable and she has limited range, acting and singing just like Darren.
Love Darren Criss! Not a big fan of Glee, but love his work with Starkid!