| D.C. Follies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Sid & Marty Krofft |
| Written by | Larry Arnstein Wayne Kline Bob Dolan Smith John Debilis Mike Kirchenbaum E. Jeffrey Smith Jeff Zimmer |
| Directed by | Rick Locke |
| Presented by | Fred Willard |
| Starring | Maurice LaMarche Joe Alaskey |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 44 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Sid & Marty Krofft |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures Negative Entertainment (1987–1988) Cannon Films (1988–1989)[1] |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 26, 1987 (1987-09-26) – September 1, 1989 (1989-09-01) |
D.C. Follies is a syndicated sitcom which aired from 1987–1989. The show was set in aWashington, D.C. bar, where a bartender played byFred Willard would welcome puppet caricatures of politicians andpopular culture figures.[2]
The show, asatire, made frequent sardonic comments onCold War and late 1980s politics and pop culture. Although Willard was the only live actor appearing regularly, each episode featured a celebrity guest, suchMartin Mull,Robin Leach,Whoopi Goldberg,Leslie Nielsen,Bob Uecker, andBetty White. In one episode,Robert Englund showed up as hisFreddy Krueger character, and in a special Christmas episode an un-billed actor playedSanta Claus.[3][4]
The show's use of puppets that mimicked popular culture and political figures was similar to the British seriesSpitting Image; it was produced bySid and Marty Krofft, well-known puppeteers in the United States who were responsible for popular children's television shows includingH.R. Pufnstuf[5] andSigmund and the Sea Monsters. The show was originally funded and syndicated nationally by New York-based Syndicast Services Inc.
The series was nominated for two Emmy Awards.[7]
A series of three "Best ofD. C. Follies"VHS tapes were released, with each volume containing two episodes.[8]
On August 4, 2017,Shout! Factory announced they had acquired the rights to the series and subsequently releasedD.C. Follies – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 on November 14, 2017.[9]
The show has been made available viavideo on demand atAmazon Video andiTunes.[10]