Comedy Central's Latest Show Is Pure Raunch

For a show about high school basketball players, Comedy Central's Legends of Chamberlain Heights sure skimps on showing the actual game in action. But, according to Josiah Johnson and Quinn Hawking, the show's co-creators and stars, this is entirely intentional. Because just like the characters they voice in the animated half hour comedy, Johnson and Hawking were real life perpetual bench warmers.

The former UCLA Bruin's players admit that their time on the bench had "a major impact on the show." According to Johnson, "These characters aren't necessarily us, per say, but they have our spirit and our voice and our soul. During those times when you're on the bench during games, you have a lot of time to entertain yourself. We'd be on the bench for three hours, so you have to make sure you're having a fun time and staying engaged. We were masters of that."

The show surrounds three freshman bench warmers — Jamal, Grover, and Milk — who are trying to find their place in the high school hierarchy, while also trying to get their asses off the bench. Johnson and Hawking bonded over their shared time on the bench, and just like the show's characters, they developed a "alternate mindset" to keep their spirits high.

"Once you've succumb to being on the bench and you know you're not going to get in the game, you develop another type of mindset to keep persisting, because it can f*ck up your whole self esteem," Hawking says.

Yet whether or not you play basketball, the show is still surprisingly relatable. Freshman politics permeate every high school, and feeling less than adequate (like being benched time and time again) is inevitable at some point, right? "We use the bench as the metaphor because everybody's been in a position in life where they aren't technically the star player or the person who's given the most credit. That's where our guys are at," Hawking says. "But mentally, they're not. So it could be inspirational — just because you're down and out, you don't have to think you're down and out. You can always be somewhere else mentally."

It's a good lesson to consider, but let's not forget that while the show does boast some impressive social commentary and an inspirational message, it's primarily a vehicle for laughs. And within 30 seconds of the cold open, it's evident this show will deliver line after line of raunchy, boundary-pushing dialogue. "We'll push it as far as we can," Hawking promises.

"Yeah, we don't really give a f*ck," Johnson adds. "We aim to offend everybody equally. We are equal opportunity offenders. That's what we're looking to do."

And they certainly succeed in offending. No one — and I mean no one — is off limits to these hilarious and self-proclaimed "offensive" creators. "We leave it up to Comedy Central to let us know when we've gone too far," Hawking says. "At this point they've said, 'Do what you guys do and we'll reel you in if it ever becomes an issue.' We're relying on them to be the adult. We're just a bunch of children."

Catch the season premiere of Legends of Chamberlain Heights Wednesday night on Comedy Central.

Images: Comedy Central; Giphy