Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories

Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories
Also known asBedtime Stories
GenreComedy horror
Surreal comedy
Dark comedy
Anthology
Created byTim & Eric
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes13 (and 1 pilot and 2 specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Camera setupSingle-camera setup
Running time11 minutes
22 minutes (select episodes)
Production companies
Original release
NetworkAdult Swim
ReleaseOctober 31, 2013 (2013-10-31)
ReleaseSeptember 18, 2014 (2014-09-18) –
October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)

Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories (also known as Bedtime Stories[1]) is an American horror comedy television series on Adult Swim. Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories was created by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim of the comedy duo Tim & Eric, who have been working with the network for several years with various shows and projects. The pilot episode aired on October 31, 2013, and the series officially premiered on September 18, 2014.[2]

Production

[edit]

According to the network, the series would mark a stylistic departure from the duo's previous Adult Swim show, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, instead being formatted as an anthology series.[2] Initial reports indicated that the series would have a quarter-hour running time.[3][4] Reviewers, the network and Heidecker have commented that the series is inspired by The Twilight Zone,[1][2][5] with the latter stating they will explore "different genres and different tropes" in the anthology format.[1]

The series' pilot aired midnight, October 31, 2013, as a Halloween special. According to Heidecker, the pilot was produced in the same year that it aired, and the show had not been produced yet, waiting to start production toward the end of the year.[1]

On May 7, 2015, two new half-hour episodes were announced to be in production.[6] They aired in the fall of 2015.

On June 16, 2016 Tim Heidecker announced in an interview that Season 2, consisting of at least six full 30 minute episodes, would be aired in 2017.[7][8]

Season 2 premiered on September 10, 2017. On October 3, 2018, Heidecker implied on Twitter that a third season was unlikely.[9] As of December 2023, there has been no announcement of a third season.[10][11]

Episodes

[edit]
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
PilotOctober 31, 2013 (2013-10-31)
17September 18, 2014 (2014-09-18)October 30, 2014 (2014-10-30)
Thanksgiving SpecialNovember 6, 2015 (2015-11-06)
Christmas SpecialDecember 4, 2015 (2015-12-04)
26September 10, 2017 (2017-09-10)October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)

Pilot (2013)

[edit]
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
"Haunted House"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimOctober 31, 2013 (2013-10-31)1.268[12]
In order to collect their rich grandfather's inheritance, Tim, Eric & Zach must move to his haunted house for the rest of their lives. (Guest stars: Zach Galifianakis and John Heard)

Season 1 (2014)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
11"Hole"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimSeptember 18, 2014 (2014-09-18)1.152[13]
Family man Dennis "Murph" Murphy (Eric) moves next door to Brenner (Tim), a friendly bully who torments Murph for declining his offer to hang out.
22"Toes"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimSeptember 25, 2014 (2014-09-25)N/A
Detective Miller (M. Emmet Walsh) confronts toe-removal specialist Dr. Stork (Bob Odenkirk) about some troubling inconsistencies with a medical waste investigation. (Guest stars Gillian Jacobs)
33"The Bathroom Boys"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimOctober 2, 2014 (2014-10-02)0.827[14]
Tim, Eric and Zach are three weird men who work as attendants and secretly live in the men's public restroom of the Stanton Building, where one day they run embarrassingly low on mints. Zach has a chance encounter at the candy store during his refill run, leading to a risky triple date with the Bathroom Boys and three sisters from England. (Guest stars Zach Galifianakis, Lauren Cohan)
44"Angel Boy"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimOctober 9, 2014 (2014-10-09)1.003[15]
Before his son Patrick's Sweet 17th birthday party, Dan Dimler (Eric) is visited by Scotty Andrews (Tim), a hydrophobic young man who sells Dan his new DVD and enraptures him with his divine singing voice.
55"Roommates"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimOctober 16, 2014 (2014-10-16)0.843[16]
Hollywood actor and talented mixologist Franklin Bing (Tim) welcomes fellow actor and out of work barista Tony K. Dort (Eric) as his new roommate. Their initial friendship becomes increasingly strained as Franklin learns of Tony's erotic misadventures.
66"The Endorsement"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimOctober 23, 2014 (2014-10-23)0.817[17]
In order to protect his reputation and avoid low company, actor Jason Schwartzman strictly avoids product endorsement deals until his agent proposes a novel arrangement: the ad will never be seen in the US, and the entire photo shoot will take place while he is asleep. The endorsement appears to work great until Jason realizes that the terms of the arrangement were violated. (Guest stars Jimmy Kimmel, Shira Lazar, Dawnn Lewis, Jason Schwartzman, Brent Weinbach)
77"Baby"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimOctober 30, 2014 (2014-10-30)N/A
Jordan Terp (John C. Reilly) answers an ad for a baby-based personal development program but is instead robbed of all his possessions by a pair of con artist brothers (Tim & Eric) posing as creepy life coaches. (Additional guest star Laurie Metcalf as Gabrielle, the waitress)

Thanksgiving Special (2015)

[edit]
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
"Sauce Boy"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimNovember 6, 2015 (2015-11-06)0.847[18]
Goodfella Bobby Balogna (Tim) helps struggling addict Gary Royce (Eric) overcome his debilitating addiction, but the cure comes at a price as Gary finds himself indentured to the mob.

Christmas Special (2015)

[edit]
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
"Tornado"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimDecember 4, 2015 (2015-12-04)N/A
A tornado devastates St. Charles County and rips Matt's parents' septic tank out of the ground, causing it to land on the church-run county hospital and spill the copious collected semen from his teen years all over the place. Matt must confront Father Krang to re-bury his past. (Guest stars Lance Reddick, Kurtwood Smith, Zach Gilford, Rosa Salazar, Jamey Sheridan, Cynthia Stevenson)

Season 2 (2017)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
81"Baklava"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimSeptember 10, 2017 (2017-09-10)N/A
Fazoli piano store salesman Barry “Big Bear” (Eric) must sell pianos to pay his recently kidnapped daughter Janey's (Summera Howell)[19] ransom and save the city of Dallas, but his mission is frustrated by the constant interruptions and questionable judgment of his neurotic boss, Mr. Crown (Tim).
92"The Duke"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimSeptember 10, 2017 (2017-09-10)N/A
At the absurd Pamungo Casino, where scratcher lottery tickets are the game of choice, Brian loses his wife but gains a dad, The Duke (Ray Wise)—a mysterious and hypnotic stranger. (Guest Stars Rhea Perlman (misspelled "Pearlman" in the credits) as Maureen, and Jorge Garcia as Brian)
103"Angel Man"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimSeptember 17, 2017 (2017-09-17)N/A
In this sequel to Season One's "Angel Boy", Dan Dimler (Eric) escapes from a mental institution to see Scotty Andrews (Tim), who now works at an underground night club while perfecting his new musical style.
Note: Following the initial airing of this episode, a double-length "Extended Cut" was released exclusively on Adult Swim's website.[20]
114"The Demotion"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimSeptember 24, 2017 (2017-09-24)0.98[21]
After air traffic controller Will Schiffler's (Will Forte) sleep deprivation costs hundreds of lives in plane crashes, he turns to unorthodox sleep therapy techniques, with Tim and Eric as the therapists. Guest starring Sarah Sutherland as Dayna, Will's coworker and love interest, and Fred Willard as Dan, his supervisor.
125"Squat"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimSeptember 24, 2017 (2017-09-24)0.81[21]
Slovenly and overweight IT technician Forrest Gumb (Tim) is convinced to try out an automated and potentially deadly "AUTOGYM" health club. The CG trainer "Trent" is voiced and portrayed in animation by Eric. The disturbing experience at the gym makes him question his own existence. Guest starring Kris Lofton, Emily Rowan, and Emily Berry.
136"Butter"Tim Heidecker & Eric WareheimTim Heidecker & Eric WareheimOctober 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)0.96[22]
Southern butter saleswomen, Belle (Tim), and her wife, Bonnie (Eric), adopt various children from around the world to assist in their butter production and shop upkeep. A wealthy businessman, Jackson, claims to want to educate Belle's favorite child Mongo and offers a large financial donation to their business in exchange for custody of Mongo. After they agree to the transaction, Belle begins having second thoughts.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Evans, Bradford (October 30, 2013). "Talking to Tim Heidecker About Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories and Future Projects". Splitsider. New York City: The Awl. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Anderson, James; Rutherford, Wendy; Niespodziani, Elliott; Palaski, Courtenay; Ehlmann, Kimberly; Petruzzi, Sal; Toner, Jennifer; McCabe, Lauren (May 9, 2014). "Adult Swim Enters Upfront at No. 1". Turner Press Site. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  3. ^ DiLeo, Adam (October 31, 2013). "Adult Swim Announces Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories for 2014". IGN. San Francisco: Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  4. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 30, 2013). "Adult Swim Orders Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories Live-Action Anthology Series". Deadline Hollywood. Hollywood: PMC. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  5. ^ Perkins, Dennis (November 1, 2013). "Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories". The A.V. Club. Chicago: Onion Inc. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  6. ^ "Adult Swim's New Slate Boasts Projects Featuring Adam Scott, Seth Green and Nathan Fillion". 7 May 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Tim Heidecker's Nightmare Show: Unclassified". Weld for Birmingham. 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  8. ^ "Instagram photo by Eric Wareheim • Aug 8, 2016 at 8:46pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2016-08-09.
  9. ^ "Tim Heidecker on Twitter: "Thank you. There's very little interest"". Twitter. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  10. ^ "'Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!' to Return with 10th Anniversary Special". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Eric Wareheim on Instagram: "THATS A WRAP ON BEDTIME STORIES SEASON 🖕🏻🖕🏻 ........ six brand new episodes coming late summer. Huge special thanks to our incredible…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  12. ^ Pucci, Douglas (November 5, 2013). "Adult Swim Weekly Ratings Scorecard (October 28 – November 3, 2013)". TV Media Insights. Cross MediaWorks. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  13. ^ Bibel, Sara. "Thursday Cable Ratings: College Football Wins Night, 'Project Runway', 'Pawn Stars', 'Black Jesus', Haven' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  14. ^ Bibel, Sara. "Thursday Cable Ratings: Football & Baseball Win Night, 'Black Jesus', 'Project Runway', 'Pawn Stars' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 5 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  15. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda. "Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Thursday Night Football' Leads Night + 'Black Jesus', 'Project Runway', 'Pawn Stars', 'The Daily Show' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  16. ^ Bibel, Sara. "Thursday Cable Ratings:Thursday Cable Ratings: Football & Baseball Win Night, 'Project Runway', 'Black Jesus' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  17. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda. "Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Thursday Night Football' Tops Night + 'Project Runway', 'Ridiculousness', 'Black Jesus' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  18. ^ Rick Porter (2015-11-06). "Friday cable ratings: 'Gold Rush,' 'Girl Meets World' and NBA lead the way". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  19. ^ "Baklava". 10 September 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via www.imdb.com.
  20. ^ "Angel Man - Extended Cut - Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories - Adult Swim Shows". Retrieved on Sept. 20, 2017.
  21. ^ a b "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.24.2017 - Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  22. ^ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.1.2017 - Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]