If you want to feel completely unmoored by the passage of time, here’s a fun fact: Nearly four years passed between Seasons 1 and 3 of “I Think You Should Leave” from co-creators Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin. Thankfully, the wait is over, and now comedy fans can savor a whole new batch of sketches to join the previous 57, bringing the total to a whopping 85. The full series (so far — fingers crossed for more) ranks as Netflix’s easiest and most satisfying binge with episodes under 20 minutes and endless absurdity.
It’s doubtful anyone realized what kind of impact that first season would have on our culture; a man in a hot dog costume is now visual shorthand for shunning responsibility, and an old man dabbing became someone to laugh with, not at. Season 2’s sketches quickly broke through, while others were repurposed based on news at the time. Still more might be forgotten, only to be rediscovered as fans power through Season 3 and drown their sorrows in an inevitable series rewatch.
The writers at IndieWire couldn’t help talking about which were the best, and which were the very best. While “I Think You Should Leave” is clearly not built to be a broadly accessible comedy, anyone who dials into its specific humor frequency are bound to appreciate aspects of every sketch. They may have their own favorites. They may have their least favorites. But when we decided to rank the sketches, we decided first and foremost this wouldn’t be a ranking of every sketch from best to worst — because there is no “worst.” There are only sketches worth celebrating.
That held up for Season 3, as well. After initially publishing our Season 1 list, we added Season 2 sketches when they premiered in 2021 and now 2023’s Season 3 sketches to form a complete ranking. Below, you’ll find IndieWire’s appreciation of every sketch from “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson.” So let’s look back, remember, and laugh.
Ben Travers and Leo Adrian Garcia also contributed to this original article, which included four independent sketch rankings, averaging each ranking to create a master list, and a three-day debate before finalizing the order. Proma Khosla added the Season 3 sketches with limited supervision.
85. “40th Birthday Weekend”
Alternate Title: King of the Dirty Songs
Laugh Line: [making nonsensical sounds while putting hat on and off] (the captions actually say “nonsensical sounds”)
Maybe You Forgot: This sketch feels unfinished, and not just because Don Bon Darley can’t remember his dirty song act from the ’80s. Maybe that’s for the best.
84. “Dog Haircut”
Alternate Title: Hairy Date
Guest Star: Mithra Jouhari
Laugh Line: “Think about it: two girlfriends. That’s better. You know what I’m saying, Meredith?”
Maybe You Forgot: It’s not unusual or unwelcome for “ITYSL” sketches to start as one premise and then take a sharp turn into something else; the dog haircut follows a known formula, but there are just many better versions of it.
83. “Credit Card Roulette”
Alternate Title: “I’m Not Paying For It”
Guest Star: John Early (hates credit card roulette)
Laugh Line: “f*ck, I should have lied! No!”
Maybe You Forgot: There’s no such thing as a bad “ITYSL” sketch, but Credit Card Roulette doesn’t exactly trend toward the top. Without Robinson there to facilitate the awkwardness of the bill debacle, Early is left to carry all of the humor himself. That said, forgetting to lie and then beating yourself up over it is just a funny concept.
82. “Summer Loving Farewell”
Alternate Title: Return of the Zipline
Laugh Line: It’s an on-screen credit: “Ramp guitar by Slish Valez”
Maybe You Forgot: Only this far down because it’s more of a reprise (a coda?) than a full sketch, with no actual dialogue. But Robinson kicking his legs in perfect time with the guitar riff is what dreams are made of.
81. “Herbie Hanco*ck” (pictured)
Alternate Title: “He Was Humping You”
Laugh Line: “That’s why I love Herbie Hanco*ck, he loves to lie.”
Maybe You Forgot… that this sketch was centered around a Herbie Hanco*ck tribute, considering it quickly devolves into Tim Robinson’s speaker claiming an audience member’s dog “bit” his head.
80. “Dave’s Huge Dumps”
Alternate Title:(that’s just what it’s called)
Laugh Line: “Oh my God. How long have you been doing this?”
Maybe You Forgot… his name is Luca. That’s important.
79. “Team Building Workshop”
Alternate Title: Fake Workplace Rivalry
Laugh Line: “All of this happened because teacher.”
Maybe You Forgot: Of course taking things too far is an indispensable ITYSL tradition, but this sketch doesn’t scratch any itches that “Dan Flashes” or “Big Wave” can’t.
78. “Jelly Bean”
Alternate Title: Silent Theater
Laugh Line: “If you’d asked me when I started this how many frats would come, I woulda said none.”
Maybe You Forgot: If Richard Brecky (Robinson) talks, he has to pay the audience, so they come in from near and far to heckle him until he does. But he’s doing sold out shows, so it’s a dream come true!
77. “Fourth Grade Concert”
Alternate Title: Shirt Brothers
Guest Star: Biff Wiff
Laugh Line: “I tried to rip the Wright brothers off the ceiling, brother!”
Maybe You Forgot: It’s rare to see Robinson as the straight man, and he always handles it just as well as his heightened characters.
76. “Surprise 50th”
Alternate Title: Rat Mom
Guest Star: Patti Harrison
Laugh Line: “I’m the rat mom!”
Maybe You Forgot: Every ITYSL mainstay brings something unique to their characters, and Harrison’s always have a dark side (and love Christmas). Who else could play the rat mom who tries to poison a cardboard cutout with Windex and dog sh*t?
75. “Tasty Time Vids”
Alternate Title: Frankenstein’s Chick
Guest Star: Connor O’Malley
Laugh Line: “Frankenstein’s chick and her manager are really coming after me.”
Maybe You Forgot: Following yourself on someone else’s Instagram should be illegal, and this sketch shows why.
74. “ABX Heart Monitor”
Alternate Title: Club Haunted House
Guest Star:Tim Heidecker
Laugh Line: “Theres been a tragedy in the club community.”
Maybe You Forgot: A man who dances too hard at club Acqua (where he built the deck) gets a heart monitor, which his doctor uses to spy on him and see if he’s out other exclusive clubs, like Haunted House.
73. “Office Happy Hour”
Alternate Title: Pay For Friends
Guest Star: Beck Bennett
Laugh Line: “Just when I slammed my two hands down I squoze and I farted.”
Maybe You Forgot: Bennett’s character pays for his 200-person friend group, which comes with rules.
72. “The Capital Room” (pictured)
Alternate Title: “Charlie Brown Money”
Guest Star: Patti Harrison
Laugh Line: “And popcorn!”
Maybe You Forgot… if you bring her a bad deal, she’ll raise her arms above her head and make burping sounds.
71. “Office Meeting”
Alternate Title: Workplace Hallucinations
Laugh Line: “He’s gonna keep picking up stuff and saying it’s other stuff.”
Maybe You Forgot: Once you see the world through Randall’s (Robinson) eyes, it kind of makes sense! Why wouldn’t there be a volcano, a little knife, or a tiny pimp in the board room? Anything is possible.
70. “Insult Comic Restaurant”
Alternate Title: “Space Date”
Guest Stars:Tim Heidecker, Tracey Birdsall
Laugh Line:“Just to get school supplies her mom had to drink puke on a local morning radio show.”
Maybe You Forgot: Tim Heidecker also made an appearance as jazz aficionado Howie in the “Game Night” sketch in Season 1 of “I Think You Should Leave.”
69. “Bozo Dubbed”
Alternate Title:“Viral Videos”
Laugh Line:“I guess it’s, like, a viral video where Bozo dubs over.”
Maybe You Forgot:Look closely while a Google search is being performed for “Bozo Dubbed Over” and you’ll notice that Reggie’s video is nearly 57 minutes long. Release the Reggie Cut.
68. “Carber Hot Dog Vac”
Alternate Title: “You Can’t Skip Lunch, Part 2”
Alternate Title No. 2: “You Sure About That? You Sure About That, That’s Why?”
Laugh Line: “We all make mistakes. We shouldn’t be punished for them.”
Maybe You Forgot… Pushing lunch without asking shouldn’t be allowed. That’s the big takeaway here.
67. “Wilson’s Toupees”
Alternate Title: “Gorilla Attack”
Laugh Line: “That’s my real hair.”
Maybe You Forgot… if you can’t wait 52 weeks and need to be bald right now, Wilson’s will send a fake gorilla to a public place of your choosing, and rip your hair clean off!
66. “Parking on the Sidewalk”
Alternate Title: Ponytail Guy
Guest Star: Will Forte
Laugh Line: “Google ‘disgusting diarrhea in bowl’ image search.”
Maybe You Forgot: Forte is a madman.
65. “Street Sets”
Alternate Title: Dad Deepfake
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Laugh Line: “Brian! You were filming this whole thing?”
Maybe You Forgot: This man spent $15K.
64. “Baby Shower” (pictured)
Alternate Title: “Stanzo Brand Fedoras”
Laugh Line: “It needs to be quality on my end, otherwise no f*cking deal!”
Maybe You Forgot: Shawntay Dalon plays Tim’s wife in the sketch, but before “I Think You Should Leave,” she played Tim’s wife (and Sam Robinson’s sister) on their Comedy Central series, “Detroiters.”
63. “Pay It Forward”
Alternate Title: Fast Food Hustle
Laugh Line: “55 burgers 55 fries 55 tacos 55 pies 55 co*kes 55 tater tots 100 pizzas 100 tenders 100 meatballs 100 coffees 55 wings 55 shakes 55 pancakes 55 pastas 55 peppers and 155 taters!”
Maybe You Forgot: Nothing on this show hits like Robinson unleashed, and he’s at 110% giving that drive-in order and using a strangers goodwill against them. The sketch also offers a greater moral lesson: Sometimes you can just run away!
62. “Work Convention After Party”
Alternate Title: Guy Who Can’t Stop Talking About His Kids
Guest Star: Jason Schwartzman
Laugh Line: “I’m the most popular guy here now!”
Maybe You Forgot: You don’t have to talk about your kids constantly, but you do have to make sure they don’t shoot Godzilla the gorilla.
61. “Metal Motto Search”
Alternate Title: Metaloid Maniac
Guest Star: Sam Richardson
Laugh Line: “This wall is his ground. Is there any way we can make it look like this wall is your ground?”
Maybe You Forgot: Another knockout from Richardson, who plays the effervescent host but also voices multiple characters in the Metaloid Maniac cartoon. Can Netflix pick up “Metaloid Maniac” please?
60. “Babysitter Hit and Run” (pictured)
Alternate Title:“Late to the Party”
Laugh Line:“If you keep talking about the hit and run, I’m gonna f*cking kill you.”
Maybe You Forgot:If you’re a fan of characters very quickly digging themselves in a series of bigger, deeper, and cringier holes, this is the only sketch that has someone getting pushed into a china cabinet — that at least has to count for something.
59. “Little Buff Boys” (Commercial)
Alternate Title:“The Buffest Little Buff Boy”
Guest Star:Andre Belue, who played Tommy Pencils on “Detroiters”
Laugh Line:“I get full to the brim eating cherry chuck salad. People say it’s healthy, but with that much cherry and that much ground chuck, it can’t be healthy.”
Maybe you forgot:The way Belue growls and flexes between lines like “I still think I should have won in Tuscon!” and “Now I eat at some of the best restaurants in town” deserves its own mention.
58. “Whoopee Cushion”
Alternate Title: “Pink Bag”
Laugh Line: “Oh my God… I farted.” (or: “So what’s the joke? That I had a milder fart than I normally do?!”)
Maybe You Forgot… that placing a whoopee cushion on an unsuspecting person’s chair — especially on the day of their family photo — is “a betrayal on levels that no one has ever seen!”
57. “New Office Printer”
Alternate Title:“Christmas Came Early”
Guest Stars: Patti Harrison
Laugh Line:“Oh, that naughty old elf must be one mean bastard to give us this so early.”
Maybe You Forgot: Some “I Think You Should Leave” sketches are showcases for writing, and others are showcases for Choices. Some of Harrison’s line deliveries here are like a soloist throwing in extra notes, that aren’t even in a scale, yet somehow work. It’s a simple premise built around a 140-second joke, but Harrison playing her character’s frustration/embarrassment by weaving through four or five different voices elevates the whole thing.
56. “Hotel TV Channel”
Alternate Title: “Del Omni Hotel and Atrium”
Laugh Line: [the one guy following the screensaver pipe pattern all across the one shirt]
Maybe You Forgot… that the “baby, baby, baby” song was coming from the inside of the fabric of that last Dan Flashes shirt. That’s canon now.
55. “Conflict Resolution”
Alternate Title: Banana Breath
Laugh Line: “Back away, banana breath! What the hell did you just eat, a banana?”
Maybe You Forgot: Cracking a joke at work that actually makes people laugh is a special feeling, one we should more regularly celebrate with shirts.
54. “Garfield House”
Alternate Title: “Party House”
Guest Star: Kate Berlant
Laugh Line: “That chair reclines, by the way. The tongue sticks out.”
Maybe You Forgot: If nothing else, this sketch beautifully illustrates the show’s commitment to a bit, as well as reminding us of how hand-in-hand hilarity and horror work. Nightmares have been had over that Odie recliner and nightmares will be had again.
53. “Wedding Reception”
Alternate Title:Photobooth Vomit
Guest Star: Tim Meadows
Laugh Line: “Hey look at me I’m Barney, like Barney’s hair!”
Maybe You Forgot: Three seconds really isn’t enough time to think of something silly, especially when you’ve got business deals on the line!
52. “Honk If You’re Horny”
Alternate Title: (no one has ever called this anything other than “Honk If You’re Horny”)
Guest Stars: Conner O’Malley
Laugh Line: ♫“Fri. Day. Night. I’m thinkin’ that We. Just. Might….” ♫
Maybe You Forgot: Watching O’Malley physically convulse while pacing around a fleet of headstones, you get the feeling he might just be the most committed performer in all of comedy. This sketch maxes him out, and it’s telling that just the sight of him with his palm laying into the steering wheel has become a no-context meme all its own. Even if you don’t know the source of that image, you can sense this is a character working through some of the deepest on-screen existential (sexual) frustration this side of “Splendor in the Grass.” Kudos here also to the sound mixer, who manages to put the honk at just the right level in each step to sell the joke that this guy is Everywhere.
51. “Gelutol”
Alternate Title: Hair Loss
Laugh Line: “I don’t like him, I don’t want him to have hair!”
Maybe You Forgot: “ITYSL” loves to derail an infomercial, and this one turns into psychological warfare at a St. Patrick’s Day party.
50. “The Man ft. Will Forte”
Alternate Title: “Old Baby’s Revenge”
Guest Star: Will Forte
Laugh Line: “It was 1982. I was 48, you were nine months.”
Maybe You Forgot… what the man was really upset about was the fact that he was too tired to do anything funny in pursuit of his lifelong dream of making the guards at Buckingham Palace break.
49. “Stable of Stars”
Alternate Title: “Carson Can Hit”
Guest Stars: Johnny Carson, George Kennedy, George W. Bush (kind of)
Laugh Line: “That’s my George Kennedy. I brought him here as a perk.”
Maybe You Forgot… that Tim Robinson characters are preoccupied with what’s around people’s houses. Remember the view from the Gift Receipt house? Maybe it’s for the best there are no coffee shops nearby.
48. CalicoCutPants.com
Alternate Title: “The Long One” (clocking in at eight minutes, 50 seconds, “CalicoCutPants.com” is the longest sketch of “ITYSL” so far)
Guest Star: Michael Patrick O’Brien
Laugh Line: “It’s the same thing Supreme does, wouldn’t you agree?”
“She just keeps eating batteries.”Maybe You Forgot… that he always needs you to “hold that door!” (But he’ll never hurry to get there.)
47. “Gift Receipt”
Alternate Title: “Happy Birthday”
Guest Star: Steven Yeun
Laugh Line: “Tell them it’s the ugly house on Kenmore.”
Maybe You Forgot… that before he was an Oscar-nominated movie star, Steven Yeun was just some guy trying to conserve toilet paper. (OK, he was never “just” anything — Yeun has been great for a long, long time — but his quiet transition from enthusiastic to irritated to humbled birthday boy is outstanding, selfless work.)
46. “Summer Loving”
Alternate Title: Zipline Bachelorette
Laugh Line: “Carmelo said your face looks like a clock.”
Maybe You Forgot: Robinson’s Ronnie takes things too far as usual, but this time in a way that irritates no one (except the rope guy) and brings him infinite joy in paradise (something that true love can’t provide).
45. “Motorcycles”
Alternate Title: “Mind-Blown Alien” (pictured)
Laugh Line:[delivered to a woman standing by herself with a stroller] “Yeah! Yeah! Yeh-hey!”
Maybe You Forgot: Few on-location shoots have ever captured the wonder and beauty of walking around North Hollywood. With so many other “I Think You Should Leave” sketches centered around characters whose lives are crumbling at various speeds, it’s the ideal antidote to see Robinson in a “last-minute costume from the Halloween store”-level biker getup gaze in wonder at the most banal sights in the neighborhood. (He also manages to invent an entirely new accent in the process.) The reveal of the spaceship is one of the best effects-driven gags of the season, and the whole group joining in at the end makes for a perfect button. Just joyous.
44. “Ghost Tour”
Guest Stars: Alex Aiono, as the tour guide
Laugh Line: “Any of these little f*ckers ever pop out of the f*ckin’ wall and say, ‘f*ck, there’s a horse co*ck in my room or a donkey dick?’”
Maybe You Forgot: So much of Season 2 seems to be concerned with sad men who do not understand the world in which they live, and there’s no better example of this than Robinson’s final monologue in “Ghost Tour,” which is expertly preceded by a sheepish hand raise that both tips the audience off to what’s coming, but also makes us feel for this poor idiot: “You can’t change the rules just ‘cause you don’t like how I’m doing it. I don’t know what is going on, but somewhere our wires got crossed. You’re saying we’re allowed to swear. I’m saying ‘big, fat load of cum’ and ‘horse co*ck’ and you’re getting mad.”
43. “Instagram”
Alternate Title: “Sunday Funday”
Guest Star: Vanessa Bayer
Laugh Line: “Are we the pig dicks or the bags of meat?”
Maybe You Forgot… that before Brenda tagged her brunch friends as “wet chodes” and “bonafide pieces of hog sh*t,” they did call her a “dumb-dumb” — why are they bullying her?
42. “Supermarket Swap VR Edition”
Alternate Title: Father/Son Game Show
Guest Star: Ayo Adebiri
Laugh Line: “How do we move our bodies ever?” (“What”)
Maybe You Forgot: He turns into a mannequin!
41. “Blues Brother” (pictured)
Alternate Title: “Take Off Your Hat and Glasses”
Laugh Line: [as a second dog appears from nowhere] “Oh, f*ck.”
Maybe You Forgot: At first glance, there’s nothing intricate here. It’s just a guy trying to liven up an unnecessarily tense weekend getaway. But there’s something in the way that every new detail is an escalation. The Mr. Happy t-shirt. The dog is barking. He asks her to turn it up. The dog is jumping now? Wait, there’s a kid? Do they really not know his name? ANOTHER dog?? In and out in true “ITYSL” fashion, this is the show’s id on display.
40. “Laser Spine Specialists”
Alternate Title: “Your Family Hates You, Only I Love You”
Guest Star: Connor O’Malley
Laugh Line: “I can finally fight my wife’s new husband.”
Maybe You Forgot… that Robbie has a new beat ready for you, and it’s totally in your Q zone. (For at least two brief shots, the faintest hint of a smile crosses Connor O’Malley’s lips, as he tries to pull one over on Tim Robinson’s irate wannabe singer.)
39. “River Mountain High”
Alternate Title: “TC Tuggers”
Laugh Line: “But they’re not a joke.”
Maybe You Forgot: Sure, the bulk of the “TC Tuggers” sketch(es) take place in a pseudo-early-oughts teen drama “River Mountain High,” but things go next-level with a commercial for the shirts featuring chubby dads dancing awkwardly in their beloved TC Tuggers.
38. “Pacific Proposal Park”
Alternate Title: Wrestler Park
Guest Star: Sam Richardson
Laugh Line: “That’s what I’m looking at when I’m putting proposals in the calendar, I’m looking at a guy’s penis that looks like it’s about to pop!”
Maybe You Forgot: The park proprietor is nothing like Richardson’s usual characters, or even the range he’s established with previous “ITYSL” episodes. The world deserves more unhinged Sam Richardson and this show is providing.
37. “Magicians Suck!”
Alternate Title: “Which Hand”
Guest Star: Cecily Strong
Laugh Line: “Well, you wouldn’t know it from the suit!”
Maybe You Forgot… that Charlie makes 10 times as much as the magician, but his wife and kids will never respect him. Not after this. Not after… the magic show.
36. “Darmine Doggy Door”
Alternate Title:Nixon Pig
Laugh Line: “For 50 seconds I thought there was monsters on the world.”
Maybe You Forgot: The world can look different when you’ve been losing sleep over a swing dancer flipping your wife over, so cut yourself a break.
35. “Game Night”
Alternate Title: “TC Tuggers”
Laugh Line: “But they’re not a joke.”
Maybe You Forgot: Sure, the bulk of the “TC Tuggers” sketch(es) take place in a pseudo-early-oughts teen drama “River Mountain High,” but things go next-level with a commercial for the shirts featuring chubby dads dancing awkwardly in their beloved TC Tuggers.
34. “Pacific Proposal Park”
Alternate Title: Wrestler Park
Guest Star: Sam Richardson
Laugh Line: “That’s what I’m looking at when I’m putting proposals in the calendar, I’m looking at a guy’s penis that looks like it’s about to pop!”
Maybe You Forgot: The park proprietor is nothing like Richardson’s usual characters, or even the range he’s established with previous “ITYSL” episodes. The world deserves more unhinged Sam Richardson and this show is providing.
33. “Choking”
Alternate Title: “TC Tuggers”
Laugh Line: “But they’re not a joke.”
Maybe You Forgot: Sure, the bulk of the “TC Tuggers” sketch(es) take place in a pseudo-early-oughts teen drama “River Mountain High,” but things go next-level with a commercial for the shirts featuring chubby dads dancing awkwardly in their beloved TC Tuggers.
32. “Pacific Proposal Park”
Alternate Title: Wrestler Park
Guest Star: Sam Richardson
Laugh Line: “That’s what I’m looking at when I’m putting proposals in the calendar, I’m looking at a guy’s penis that looks like it’s about to pop!”
Maybe You Forgot: The park proprietor is nothing like Richardson’s usual characters, or even the range he’s established with previous “ITYSL” episodes. The world deserves more unhinged Sam Richardson and this show is providing.
31. “Big Wave”
Alternate Title: “Surfing on the Conference Table”
Laugh Line: “I need a wet paper towel.”
Maybe You Forgot: Some of the main characters in these sketches just want to watch the world burn. Is Russell one of those people? Or is the act of causing destruction, getting overly personal, and hyperarticulating the phrase “chode jeans” the only way he knows how to fit in? Who can say. (Also, the sound of the guy’s head hitting the office wall is absolutely horrifying.)
30. “Sitcom Taping”
Alternate Title: TK Jewelers is a Scam
Laugh Line: “You really can’t do anything once someone says ‘Shut Up.'”
Maybe You Forgot: TK Jewelers is a scam and 500 springs exploding all over your date is not what you want.
29. “Tammy Craps” (pictured)
Alternate Title: “Dolls Without [Expletive] in Their Heads”
Guest Stars: “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” breakout star Julia Butters
Laugh Line: “You gotta get outta here, little girl.”
Maybe You Forgot: Eagle-eyed redditors noticed that the girls in the Tammy Craps sketch were clearly not saying “farts” in the ad, with some pretty obvious dubbing over the word “sh*t.” Which somehow makes the new and improved doll that craps herself and then lies about it even funnier.
28. “Claire’s”
Alternate Title: “JibJab Video”
Laugh Line: “Sometimes I put my dad in a JibJab video so he’s alive again. I showed it to my mom. She said, ‘Where is he?’ I go, ‘Mom, it’s not real. It’s a JibJab.”
Maybe You Forgot: Ron Tussbler’s final monologue about laughing hysterically at nothing in empty rooms, so that when his life flashes before his eyes when he dies he’s able to trick himself.
27. “Ghosts of Christmas Way Future”
Alternate Title: “The Night Scrooge Saved Christmas”
Guest Star: Sam Richardson
Laugh Line: “That’s good bone-crushin’!”
Maybe You Forgot… this is actually a two-part sketch, which starts at the top of Episode 4 when Sam Richardson’s “Edge of Tomorrow” character says “there’s only one man who can save us now.” Then the title card hits and the “Herbie Hanco*ck” sketch plays out in full, before we circle back to the bone-crushin’. To better emphasize Sam’s surprise reappearance, there’s even a shift in format: whereas we meet Sam’s skeleton-fighting warrior in high-res widescreen, the “classic” Scrooge story is shot in grainy 4:3.
26. “Driver’s Ed”
Alternate Title: “Tables”
Guest Star: Patti Harrison
Laugh Line: “What is her job?”
“Tables!”Maybe You Forgot… that we do find out what Carrie’s job is! So in the first video, we learn that “Carrie” (played by Patti Harrison) is loading tables into her minivan, and she’s really upset that “Eddie Munster” dirtied up one of them. “It’s filthy,” she cries, before calling up her client to complain about losing out on her “livelihood” (aka the tables).
The easiest answer to the lingering question, “What’s her job?” (asked by a persistent student) is simple: She rents tables. How that “pays for [her] house” is a reasonable if inexplicable follow-up, but hey — maybe the table market is really strong where she lives. After all, if George is gonna razz her about learning to treat “talent” the right way, that likely means there are a lot of “Comic-Cons and Horror-Cons” going on — otherwise, she wouldn’t have to worry about Freddy Krueger’s hurt feelings. It sounds like he’s a repeat client. So he’s gonna need those tables again.
25. “Funeral Organ”
Alternate Title:“His Own, Much Larger Organ”
Guest Stars: The One and Only Fred Willard
Laugh Line:“My condolences.”
Maybe You Forgot: It wasn’t Willard’s last screen appearance, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better swan song punchline than this: playing an organ player enthusiastically shouting “2, 3, 4!” before twirling knobs, pulling levers, and smashing plates at a wake filled with unsuspecting mourners. As a performer, the guy always held his own as a captain navigating any joke through choppy waters. That he delivers all of his lines here with the same placid tone amid all the noise, antics, and chaos is a filling tribute. He layeth on high, indeed.
24. “You Can’t Skip Lunch”
Alternate Title: “Hot Dog Sleeve”
Guest Stars: Whitmer Thomas, Sisa Grey, Eugene Samuel Kim
Laugh Line: “I don’t know if you’re allowed to do that.”
Maybe You Forgot… this is the first sketch of Season 2, and much like the first sketch of the first episode of the first season (“Pulling the Door Open”), “You Can’t Skip Lunch” serves as an excellent thesis statement on what’s about to come.
23. “Detective Crashmore” (Trailer)
Alternate Title: “Detective Crashmore, Part One”
Guest Stars: Biff Wiff as the titular Detective Crashmore.
Laugh Line: “You f*cking suck!”
Maybe You Forgot: The Detective Crashmore saga is stronger taken as a whole than in individual pieces, but despite what other IW staffers might tell you, the trailer is the better of the two. While the sketch lives and dies on the late-breaking reveal, the trailer up to that point is full of classic “ITYSL” humor, which is to say that Crashmore’s lines are so odd and strangely put together. While Wiff isn’t quite as adept at delivering on the humor as Robinson has proven himself to be time and time again, he easily plays the part of a celebrity hoping to expand their resume.
22. “Pulling the Door Open”
Alternate Title: “Both Ways”
Laugh Line: “I was here yesterday, and it actually goes both ways.”
Maybe You Forgot… this is the sketch that started it all, the first sketch of the first episode of the first season of “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson”; a perfect representation of the show, for better or best.
21. “Diner Wink”
Alternate Title: “Classic Cars”
Guest Star: Bob Odenkirk
Laugh Line: “But she’s beautiful, but she’s dying.”
Maybe You Forgot… triples makes it safe. Triples is best.
“Feed Eggs”
Alternate Title: Egg Game (ft. Butthole)
Laugh Line: “We should be able to look at a little p*rn at work…”
Maybe You Forgot: The egg shows its butthole!
20. “Scott Loves His Wife”
Alternate Title: “Poker Night” (or “Jamie Taco”)
Guest Stars: Paul Walter Hauser
Laugh Line: “Your husband is a henchman.”
Maybe You Forgot: OK, so maybe that line isn’t funny. And maybe there aren’t as many jokes in here as its length would suggest. But for all the talk about how “I Think You Should Leave” is filled with irredeemable agents of pure chaos, it’s a genuine achievement that the series can also include a sincere sketch-length ode to Wife Guys and community theater. It’s just magical.
19. “Barley Tonight”
Alternate Title: Phone Pundit
Laugh Line: “My mom’s getting robbed.”
Maybe You Forgot: Going on your phone is a great way to exit a conflict! You’ve got tons of stuff on your phone (a jousting game, obviously), and don’t even have to worry about losing it when the new one comes out.
18. “Fully Loaded Nachos”
Alternate Title: “First Date”
Laugh Line: “…what?”
Maybe You Forgot… how well Richardson sells the bit, not only to the audience, but to his character’s nacho-hoarding date. As she confronts him about talking to the waiter, and the waiter confirms what happened, Robinson leans harder and harder into feigned confusion. It’s a great performance, and one of his softer, non-screaming turns.
17. “Fenton’s Horse Ranch”
Alternate Title: “Hung Like a Horse”
Laugh Line: “Where the horses are hung like you!”
Maybe You Forgot… that “Shortstack” was the first horse at Fenton’s Ranch to have a five-inch penis… before he jumped off a cliff.
16. “Detective Crashmore” (Junket)
Alternate Title: “Cosmic Gumbo”
Laugh Line: “To see if they got tattoos. If they do, they get no gift.”
Maybe You Forgot… that this was all for AOL Blast, a junket outlet so specific it doesn’t matter that it actually doesn’t exist. Biff Wiff, the legend.
15. “The Driving Crooner”
Alternate Title: Designated Driver
Laugh Line: “f*ck, he’s tryna steal my decals!”
Maybe You Forgot: Some people hate the Driving Crooner so much they want him dead. Dead!
14. “Dan Flashes”
Alternate Title: “It Costs More Because of the Patterns”
Laugh Line: “Shut up Doug or I’ll eat her whole f*cking head!”
Maybe You Forgot… the more the lines crisscross and the patterns overlap, the higher valuation Dan Flashes gives their shirts. One shirt is so complicated it costs $2000.
13. “Baby Cries”
Alternate Title: “Sloppy Steaks”
Laugh Line: “What are sloppy steaks?”
Maybe You Forgot… people can change. After all, just this past weekend, my best friend handed me his four-month old son, and the Wee Baby Seamus started crying. He was right. I used to be a piece of sh*t. White bathing suit? Check. Slicked back hair? You bet. Sloppy steaks? Come on, I was 25!
But now, my swimsuit is aqua marine, I push back my hair, and damn it, if steaks don’t just taste better well done. So wouldn’t you know it? After we got a good look at each other, Seamus smiled at me. He knew. I used to be a piece of sh*t. But I’m not anymore.
12. “Little Buff Boys” (Competition)
Alternate Title: “Oversized Water Bottle”
Guest Stars: Sam Richardson, Brooks Whelan
Laugh Lines: “What a crop! That’s a crop!”
“Goose suit! It’s an old circus term!”
“No, no. Not Troll Boy. It’s not going to be Troll Boy. We’re not doing Troll Boy. I mean, you get that right, Troll Boy? You get why it can’t be you? Yeah, see? OK. It can’t be him. This can’t be Troll Boy.”Maybe You Forgot: Sam Richardson is the funniest person on the planet, and this spiritual successor to Season 1’s “Baby of The Year” sketch serves as further evidence.
11. “Parking Lot”
Alternate Title: “Road Rage”
Laugh Line: “No, I don’t know how to f*cking drive, I don’t know what any of this sh*t is, and I’m f*cking scared.”
Maybe You Forgot: One popular warning used to deter road rage involves reminding people that their bad behavior could cost them. “What if you get to where you’re going and it’s a job interview, and I turn out to be the boss?”
While acknowleding that idea mid-sketch, what “Parking Lot” presupposes is that your worst assumptions are true: that the other driver you just cussed out is incompetent, that they can’t drive, and that they don’t know what they’re doing.
Does that make your anger… better? Excusable? The right reaction? No, it doesn’t. All it does is turn you into an asshole who’s yelling at a scared, crying human being who was just trying to safely operate their van. Honking doesn’t help, it only makes them more upset. Just be respectful. Practice a little patience. And if he screams when he grabs the steering wheel, believe him when he says “It hurt!”
10. “Dan Vega’s Mega Money Quiz”
Alternate Title:“Chunky”
Guest Stars: Andy Samberg
Laugh Line: “Figure out what you do!! You had alllllll summer to think of it.”
Maybe You Forgot: Finding a new angle on the fake-game-show sketch is not an easy task. So rather than choosing to just focus on the manic energy of the host, zero in on an odd detail of the show itself, or lean into the anxieties of the contestants, this does all three with absolute glee. The questions are inane (half of them aren’t even questions), the space on the board the contestants pick is never the actual square that gets revealed, the “Press Your Luck” animated version of Chunky is just lifeless enough to make an impression of its own. Is this game show set in a portal to Hell? Are these four people stuck in purgatory, doomed to wear terrible hats, not talk, have their choices ignored, and live perilously on the edge of popping a forehead vein? No laptop is safe.
9. “Insider Trading”
Alternate Title: “Brian’s Hat”
Laugh Line: “And then I swear to f*cking God, he tried to roll the hat down his arm like Fred Astaire.”
Maybe You Forgot: Everything about this sketch makes me laugh. The narration of the flashbacks. Robinson’s background reactions. The escalation of the scene in the meeting. The fact that it features a Season 2 hallmark: Robinson crying. Very divisive at IW HQ, with some voters (correctly) declaring it their new favorite overall sketch.
8. “Professor Dinner”
Alternate Title: “I’m Just Joking!”
Laugh Line: [the way he hesitates right before tossing the last bite of the burger into his mouth]
Maybe You Forgot: It’s not so much forgetting as it is giving credit where it’s eternally due. Behold the comic wizardry of Bob McDuff Wilson, who elevates this from an amusing premise to a deranged spectacle of singularly focused restaurant behavior. We’ve all had this thought at one point. To see someone commit to it so fully and unreservedly makes for an absolute symphony to behold.
7. “Has This Ever Happened to You?”
Alternate Title: “Just for Farts Toilet”
Laugh Line: “It’s Turbo Time!” (and, of course, “You’re not part of the Turbo Team!”)
Maybe You Forgot… that Home Depot sells “joke hole just for farts toilets” (which are the actual words listed on the receipt left behind by the prankster termite exterminators).
6. “Prank Show”
Alternate Title: “Karl Havoc”
Guest Stars: “SNL” writer Gary Richardson as Craig
Laugh Line: “What’s that do for the greater good?”
Maybe You Forgot: Just the third sketch of the second season, “Prank Show” is the first to truly delve into the central conceit of the season: “What if this absurdist hilarity was also really f*cking sad?” Never has existential despair been so funny.
5. “Coffin Flop”
Alternate Title: “Corncob TV”
Guest Stars: None, unless you count the various stunt people like LJ LaVecchia tasked with busting out of sh*t wood and hitting pavement.
Laugh Line: Nearly every line both in composition and delivery is a stone cold classic, but “We’re allowed to show ‘em nude ‘cause they ain’t got no soul” likely takes the cake.
Maybe You Forgot: There’s now an unofficial Change.org petition to keep Corncob TV on Spectrum. I guess it’s your move, Spectrum.
4. “Wienermobile”
Alternate Title: “Brooks Brothers”
Guest Star: Zach Kanin
Laugh Line: “Or we could work as a team, find out whoever did this, and punish him ourselves. Maybe take his bare butt out of his costume and spank him.”
Maybe You Forgot… the beauty of the hot dog car sketch is the escalation of humor, all hitting on different notes and ultimately striking a glorious chord of hilarity. And while scads of internet ink could be spilled about Tim Robinson’s antics as Hot Dog Man, one of the most delightful bits of humor in the sketch comes from HDM claiming innocence by pointing out that another man appears to also be dressed as a hot dog. That unfortunately-outfitted man, dismayed by the accusation, is actually “I Think You Should Leave’s” own co-creator Zach Kanin, who appears to be the show’s go-to for a sensible schlub destined to become the butt of a joke. (See also: the very next sketch on this list.)
3. “Focus Group”
Alternate Title: “You Flinched!”
Guest Stars: Ruben Rabasa and Zach Kanin
Laugh Line: “No space for the mother-in-law,” “I’m doing the best at this,” “Who is the most popular now, Paul?” and “Stinky!”
Maybe You Forgot… you… have… no… good… car… ideas.
2. “Baby of the Year”
Alternate Title: “Another Chode”
Guest Star: Sam Richardson
Laugh Line: “I hope you f*cking die, Harley Jarvis!”
Maybe You Forgot… they don’t stay babies forever, you idiot (and In Memoriams typically don’t include how they died).
Fun Fact: Three of the four authors behind this list all chose “Baby of the Year” as the series’ No. 1 sketch, but one dissenting vote kept it out of the top spot. Votes will remain anonymous, so you’ll have to blame the math, not Libby Hill, for this ranking.
1. “The Bones Are Their Money”
Alternate Title: “The Day That Robert Palins Murdered Me”; “The Night the Skeletons Came to Life”
Laugh Line: [all]
Maybe You Forgot: Listen, it’s not that “Baby of the Year” isn’t an amazing sketch. Sam Richardson is a goddamn national treasure and everyone knows it; his commitment to keeping lil Bart Harley Jarvis from being unceremoniously murdered by any number of adults is admirable. But this show is called “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson,” and this is the sketch that best captures Robinson’s manic energy, oddly guileless nature, and incomparable ability to make it seem like every line he utters is improvised. It’s been more than a year, but the song still inspires uproarious laughter whenever I watch it. I suspect I’m not alone. – Libby Hill
