How the Tenderloins Formed and the NBC Sketch Contest Win

• 1:05:07All four Tenderloins members born in 1976, met as freshmen in the same school in 1990.
• 1:05:19They did improv in high school, then separated after graduating.
• 1:05:42Ran into Peter James at the mall after college; he had started an improv troupe at Georgetown.
• 1:05:54Georgetown's improv scene produced Birbiglia, Kroll, Mulaney, Novak, and other successful comics.
• 1:06:50Called Joe and Mike Q (Brian Quinn) to form the group; Quinn was working for Kevin Smith on comics and movies.
• 1:07:17Original member Mike left early to start a family and pursue other opportunities.
• 1:07:27Transitioned from stage improv to sketch comedy when MySpace and YouTube emerged.
• 1:07:54NBC held an online sketch comedy competition with weekly themes and $1,000 weekly prizes for 20 weeks.
• 1:08:25The Tenderloins won 11 of the 20 weekly NBC competitions, earning $11,000 total with a handycam and four people.
• 1:08:55NBC turned five winning sketches into a pilot episode hosted by Carson Daly; audience voting led to $100,000 grand prize win.
• 1:09:13NBC obtained five pilot videos for only $5,000, using clips from the competition submissions.

The TenderloinsJohn MulaneyYouTubeNBCCarson DalyMike QMySpaceBirbigliaKrollJacqueline NovakGeorgetownKevin Smith