For years, marijuana and the law never really mixed very well, and weed's counterculture status as an illegal drug (in most states) tends to foster a somewhat wary attitude in imbibers towards things like judges and courts. However, comedian Doug Benson seems poised to change all of that with his new Comedy Central series. Get ready, stoners, because you're about to go to small claims court.
We've just learned that Comedy Central is teaming up with comedian Doug Benson to move forward with a brand new series called The High Court, or THC. The series will follow the comedian as he smokes weed and serves as the judge for real-life small claims court cases. Episodes of The High Court will be incredibly short, as the series is currently intended to air as a 15-minute strip series -- akin to popular Adult Swim series like The Eric Andre Show or Childrens Hospital. Honestly, this sounds like a recipe for an absolutely perfect comedy series, and viewers can expect to check it out for the first time in 2017.
The overarching premise of The High Court shouldn't surprise anyone who has kept up with Doug Benson's career over the years. By now he has pretty much become the go-to guy for stoner comedy. In addition to THC, Benson has fostered a weed-centric career with projects like Getting Doug with High, as well as the film Super High Me, a take on Morgan Spurlock's documentary Supersize Me. Outside of his career pursuits, Benson is an avid marijuana advocate (obviously) who champions legalization, as well as reform for strict legal scheduling of pot.
If you're unfamiliar with Doug Benson's particular brand of 420-friendly humor, check out a quick clip of his stand-up below to get a better understanding as to exactly how an episode of The High Court could generally play out:
There's arguably no better time for a show like The High Court to move forward at Comedy Central. As marijuana has slowly but surely become more and more destigmatized, an untapped market has opened up for weed-based comedies like THC to draw in large mainstream audiences. Workaholics and Broad City have already done quite well mixing buds and laughs for the network, and with legitimate legalization efforts currently on several state ballots as well, stoner comedy could soon experience an unprecedented boom among viewers.
Assuming we remember to, CinemaBlend will bring you any and all relevant details related to the 2017 premiere of The High Court as more information becomes available to us. Until then, make sure to check out our fall TV premiere guide for more information concerning all of the most highly anticipated fall television debuts.
