Guests must follow rules on the popular podcast Comedy Bang! Bang! Mainly, they're to be as funny as possible, but there are other, lesser formalities. When playing "Would You Rather," for instance, everyone must wait until host Scott Aukerman closes the floor for questions before choosing between the two unusual/gross/highly unlikely scenarios the game outlines. For rule-breakers, the demerit system is capricious, as is Aukerman's quick wit—a fact that makes Comedy Bang! Bang! unfailingly funny.
Each show, Aukerman brings guests onboard (like Neko Case, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Maria Bamford) alongside surprise guests (comedians like James Adomian doing characters like the Sheriff of Nottingham, or Matt Besser as Björk). Comedic chaos ensues. With that winning formula, the podcast has garnered a televised talk show on IFC, which starts its fifth season this June. Not too shabby for a bunch of comedians improvising in a stuffy studio. The podcast has evolved over the years from a radio show in 2009 to a podcast on Aukerman's Earwolf podcast network. What was once peppered with comedic song breaks is now mostly filled with oodles of beloved characters that have bizarre and byzantine backstories.