In Living Color

Created by stars Keenen Ivory Wayans and Damon Wayans, this Emmy-winning sketch series offers cutting-edge satire and features a host of talent, including Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, David Alan Grier and Tommy Davidson.

In Living Color (1990-1994) is a United States sketch comedy series created by Keenen Ivory Wayans and Damon Wayans for FOX. Built as a fast-moving variety show, it runs five seasons and well over a hundred episodes, each a rapid rotation of short sketches, recurring characters, and musical interludes rather than a single continuing story. The ensemble includes Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, David Alan Grier, Tommy Davidson, and T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, along with the Wayans siblings, whose recurring personas drive much of the show's energy. Its engine is pure momentum: a troupe of rising performers testing how far satire can push, lampooning television, celebrity, music videos, and racial stereotypes with a confrontational, irreverent edge. The mood is loud, playful, and unapologetic, with broad caricature sitting alongside sharper social commentary. Set in a contemporary early-nineties American present, the show is a Fox network production that became a launching pad for stars. Viewers who enjoy the sketch rhythms of Saturday Night Live, the provocative bite of Chappelle's Show, and the character-driven parody of Mad TV will find resonance here. It remains a defining artifact of that boisterous era of network comedy.

Widely regarded as a groundbreaking, Emmy-winning sketch series whose satire and fast-paced variety format launched a generation of comic talent.

• Saturday Night Livesketch comedy, topical satire, cultural commentary, ensemble cast of comic performers
• Chappelle's Showsketch format, Black cultural satire, sharp ensemble parody
• Mad TVsketch comedy, parody, ensemble of recurring characters

Created by

Damon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans

Release Date

1990-04-15

Episode runtime

30 min

Rating

8.2 / 10 (142)

What is In Living Color about?

A raucous early-nineties sketch series from the Wayans family that skewers pop culture and race with a rotating troupe of rising comedians.

What is In Living Color like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of In Living Color as breakneck, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as simple.

Is In Living Color violent?

No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in In Living Color.

What did critics think of In Living Color?

Widely regarded as a groundbreaking, Emmy-winning sketch series whose satire and fast-paced variety format launched a generation of comic talent.

Which shows are like In Living Color?

Shows with a similar feel include Saturday Night Live, Chappelle's Show, and Mad TV.

How long is In Living Color?

In Living Color: 5 seasons, 128 episodes.

Is In Living Color still running?

No, In Living Color has ended.