Jan. 13--It was only a couple years ago that the members of the Chicago improv team The Katydids launched a web series called "Teachers," a show about the "small and often wildly inappropriate conversations teachers have with each other in the course of their workday." Now, from those ambitious if modest beginnings, comes their first large-scale national exposure on TV Land, where new episodes of the sitcom premiere Wednesday.
The six member of the ensemble (all of whom have first names that are a variation on Kate, hence The Katydids) have all since moved to Los Angeles but are back in town for a private screening, coinciding with the show's premiere, at iO Theater, where the women performed regularly before "Teachers" (which is executive produced by "Community's" Alison Brie) was picked up.
The comedy, which airs 10 p.m. Wednesdays on TV Land, is paired with the sophomore sitcom "Younger" (which premieres at 9 p.m.), and though they are vastly different stylistically ("Younger" is a slick confection of a rom-com, "Teachers" is more of a sourball with a slightly absurdist bent that "yields a pretty consistent assault of laughs," per Variety) both are likely to appeal to a similar audience.
It's a canny programming move by TV Land, and I'll be at iO this week with women, talking to them about their big break. That story to come ....
