Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis (2008 — 2018)

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis (2008–2018) is a comedic American talk show where celebrity guests are interviewed by the host himself. Each episode runs for a few minutes and involves playful exchanges of teasing remarks between the interviewer and guests. The title of the show reflects its unique set-up, with Galifianakis situated between two potted ferns while conducting his interviews. The intentionally unpolished set design adds to the charm, mimicking the style of public-access television shows. To further enhance the humor, on-screen graphics often contain deliberate mistakes, like in a 2014 episode where Brad Pitt’s name was spelled as ‘Bart Pit’ and his award-winning movie 12 Years a Slave was hilariously referred to as ’12 Years a Salve’.

Galifianakis has a tendency to portray a rather awkward and confrontational attitude towards his guests. He tends to ask peculiar, inappropriate, or offensive questions while also throwing in random statements that don’t seem to fit. Much of the guests’ responses are unscripted, despite having gone through pre-interviews. In each episode, Galifianakis takes a moment to awkwardly plug a sponsor’s product, such as bananas, Need for Speed: Shift video game, and most frequently, Speed Stick deodorant. Some advertisements even take inspiration from aspects or events related to the guest being interviewed, like the use of graphics in the episode featuring Hillary Clinton or even airing one of Donald Trump’s campaign commercials.