Comedy Central's much-beloved series, Drunk History, won't be returning for another round. The network has decided to cancel the show after six seasons.
The reason for the cancellation seems to be sort of linked to that pesky COVID-19 pandemic. The show had been renewed for a seventh season last year and was in pre-production on that season when the COVID-19 pandemic forced production to stop in March. During that downtime, Comedy Central decided to pull the plug on the show since the network will be moving away from live-action scripted shows in favor of adult animation.
The news isn't completely bad for series creator Derek Waters who signed a first-look deal with Comedy Central at the time of the Season 7 renewal and will continue to develop projects at the network. This is a case of one door closing and another one opening. I'm sure Waters will come up with something that invades the pop culture consciousness like Drunk History has.
Drunk History features a changing cast of actors and comedians who re-create historical events. It began as a web series on Waters’ YouTube page then moved over to Funny or Die. The concept from the start entailed an inebriated host who regales an obscure historical tale which is then reenacted by famous stars. As far as reenactments, the series attracted some grade-A talent including Tiffany Haddish, Winona Ryder, Maya Rudolph, Seth Rogen, Kirsten Dunst, Will Ferrell, Tessa Thompson, Vanessa Hudgens, Colin Hanks, Quest Love, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. During its run, Drunk History has earned 17 Emmy nominations, winning one so far. It is currently up for three Emmys this year, including one for best variety sketch series.