It happened. Finally. After months of fans basically vibrating with anticipation on Discord and Reddit, Very Important People Season 2 is a reality. If you haven't been paying attention to what Sam Reich and the team over at Dropout (formerly CollegeHumor) have been cooking, you’re missing the most inventive character study happening on screen right now.
Vic Michaelis is back. And honestly, they might be the best improviser working today.
The premise sounds simple, maybe even a little gimmicky. A guest comes on a talk show, but they’ve been put into full prosthetic makeup and costumes before they even know who they are. They look in a mirror, see a monster or a pageant queen or a sentient pile of trash, and then they have to do a full-length interview as that person. It’s high-wire comedy. No net.
The Evolution of Very Important People Season 2
Why does this season feel different?
The first season was a proof of concept. It gave us Vic’s legendary "step-on-me" energy and introduced us to characters like Princess Emily and Tommy Shriggly. But Very Important People Season 2 has clearly had a budget bump. You can see it in the pores of the prosthetics. The team at standard-setting makeup houses is doing work that would look at home in a Marvel movie, only to use it for a bit about a guy who eats lightbulbs or whatever weirdness the guest dreams up.
Dropout has found a rhythm. They aren't just doing "funny voices" anymore. This season leans into the "Important" part of the title with a hilarious, biting irony. The set looks more like a prestige late-night show than ever, which only makes the absolute chaos of the guests more jarring.
Who Is Showing Up This Time?
The guest list for Very Important People Season 2 is a who’s who of the improv world. We’re seeing a mix of returning favorites and people who have been crushing it on Comedy Bang! Bang! or Game Changer.
Think about the technical skill required here. You sit in a chair for four hours. You get glue applied to your face. You get a wig. Then, you walk onto a set and Vic Michaelis—who is playing the "straight man" but with a chaotic, slightly sinister edge—asks you a deeply personal question about your character's childhood.
- It’s about the "Yes, and."
- It’s about the physical comedy of navigating a costume you didn't choose.
- It’s about the weirdly emotional beats that happen when an actor accidentally finds a soul in a puppet.
Bobby Moynihan, Paul F. Tompkins, and several Dimension 20 regulars have been linked to this run. The chemistry between Vic and these performers is what makes it work. Vic doesn't just let them talk; they push. They probe. They find the one weird thing the guest said and they dig until it becomes a tragic backstory.
Why This Isn't Just Another Sketch Show
Most sketch comedy is written to death. It's polished. It's safe. Very Important People Season 2 is the opposite. It’s dangerous.
When you watch a "traditional" talk show, you know the beats. The guest has three pre-approved stories. The host has a list of questions. In VIP, nobody knows what's coming. Not even the producers, really. They provide the look, but the guest provides the spirit.
There’s a specific kind of magic in seeing a performer like Zac Oyama or Brennan Lee Mulligan realize, in real-time, that the character they are playing is actually a divorced dad who lives in a bowling alley. You can see the gears turning. It’s a masterclass in spontaneous writing.
The Vic Michaelis Factor
Can we talk about Vic for a second?
Truly.
They are the glue. If Vic played it too silly, the show would collapse into nonsense. Instead, Vic plays it like they are interviewing Meryl Streep. The gravitas they bring to a conversation with a person wearing a giant foam head is what makes the comedy land. It’s the juxtaposition.
In Very Important People Season 2, Vic has mastered the "uncomfortable silence." They know exactly when to let a guest sit in their own weirdness. It's a specific skill set—part journalist, part therapist, part chaos agent.
Making Sense of the Dropout Model
Dropout is doing something no one else is. They’ve moved away from the ad-supported YouTube model that killed so many digital media companies in the 2010s. By charging a subscription fee, they can make weird, niche stuff like Very Important People Season 2.
They don't need a joke to go viral on TikTok to justify its existence, though they often do. They just need it to be good. This season proves that the "niche-to-prestige" pipeline is real. People want to see talented people being talented. They want to see the process.
Behind the Scenes: The Prosthetic Magic
It’s worth mentioning the artists. The makeup team on this show deserves an Emmy. No joke.
In the first few episodes of this season, the transformations are so complete that you genuinely can’t tell who the actor is for the first five minutes. That’s the "hook." It creates a sense of discovery for the audience. You’re playing a guessing game along with the show.
"Is that Josh Ruben?"
"Wait, is that Kimia Behpoornia?"
The reveal is half the fun. But the character's staying power is what keeps you watching for the full twenty minutes. You start to care about these weirdos.
The Impact on Modern Comedy
We are living in an era of "content" where everything feels like it was generated by an algorithm to keep you scrolling. Very Important People Season 2 feels handmade. It feels like something a group of friends made because they thought it was funny, and they just happened to have a professional camera crew and a world-class makeup department.
It’s refreshing.
It reminds me of the early days of The Eric Andre Show, but without the nihilism. There’s a warmth to VIP. It’s a celebration of the craft of acting, even when that acting involves pretending to be a sentient bug.
What to Watch Next
If you’ve binged everything available for Very Important People Season 2, you aren't out of luck. The "Dropout-verse" is deep.
- Check out Game Changer. It’s the flagship. It’s where the DNA of VIP started.
- Look for the "Survivor" parodies if you want to see these same actors in a high-stakes competitive environment.
- Watch the behind-the-scenes "Making Of" specials. Seeing the makeup artists explain how they built a three-eyed monster is genuinely fascinating.
Actionable Steps for the VIP Superfan
If you want to get the most out of this season, don't just watch it in the background while you're on your phone.
- Watch the eyes. In improv, the eyes tell you everything. You can see the exact moment a guest "finds" their character. It's usually right after Vic asks a specific, difficult question.
- Follow the makeup artists on Instagram. They often post process shots that show the layers of work that go into these characters. It makes you appreciate the show on a technical level.
- Re-watch Season 1. There are often "callback" jokes or subtle nods to the shared universe that you’ll miss if you haven't seen the early episodes.
Very Important People Season 2 isn't just a sequel; it's a level-up. It’s weirder, faster, and more confident. In a world of recycled sitcoms and safe stand-up specials, it's the kind of creative risk we need more of.
Go watch it. Then go tell a friend to watch it. This is how we keep good comedy alive. We support the weird stuff. We support the people who are willing to sit in a makeup chair for six hours just to make us laugh for twenty minutes.
The next step is simple. Log into your account, find the latest episode, and pay attention to the credits. Those names at the end are the ones making the best comedy on the internet right now. Give them their flowers.