An all-new trailer for season 5 of Crank Yankers literally assembles a team of prank phone-calling puppets in anticipation of the show’s return. A fixture on the cable comedy channel in the early 2000s, the series featured recorded crank phone calls by comedians to their unwitting victims, with the twist being that the encounters were played out by puppets, for the purpose of giving television watchers something to actually watch (and not being confused with The Jerky Boys).
The series aired intermittently on Comedy Central from 2002-07, when either the advent of caller ID made it too challenging or the idea had simply run its course. But, much like robocalls ignoring the no-call list, Crank Yankers is once again ready to pick up the phone, albeit with the purpose of making people laugh, instead of frustratedly pull their hair out. And in preparation of the new season of puppet-assisted crank calls, Comedy Central has assembled a crack team of specialists to make millennials even less likely to pick up the phone.
Though the trailer doesn’t feature any actual footage from the new season, the show isn’t as reliant on its visual component as most show are. As such, Crank Yankers gets decent mileage out of letting viewers listen to comedians make the lives of some customer service representatives utterly miserable. Check out the trailer for Crank Yankers season 5, as well as a list of guest stars below:
"Season 5 will feature beloved characters such as Spoonie Luv, Elmer Higgins, Niles Standish, Bobby Fletcher, The Truth, Terrence Catheter, Mr. Birchum and more, with voice talent including, but not limited to, Adam Carolla, Arturo Castro, Will Forte, Nikki Glaser, David Alan Grier, Kathy Griffin, Tiffany Haddish, Lil Rel Howery, Abbi Jacobson, Jimmy Kimmel, Nick Kroll, Natasha Leggero, Thomas Lennon, Demetri Martin, Tracy Morgan, Bobby Moynihan, Kevin Nealon, Adam Pally, Chelsea Peretti, Aubrey Plaza, Jeff Ross, Tony Barbieri, Paul Scheer, Iliza Shlesinger, Sarah Silverman, Jimmy O. Yang, and Derek Waters.”
It’s been over a decade since the show was around, and while it’s no surprise that Comedy Central would bring it back in this day and age of reboots and revivals, it will be interesting to see how audiences respond to a show whose very concept seems like a relic of a bygone era. Maybe if season 5 is a hit, Comedy Central can figure out how to crank call someone on Snapchat or TikTok.
Crank Yankers season 5 premieres Wednesday, September 25 @10:30pm on Comedy Central.