‘Fridays’ Starring Larry David and Michael Richards Finally Gets a DVD Release

The sketch comedy show Fridays has been unavailable on home video or in reruns since it originally aired in the early 1980s, with a smattering of sketches posted on YouTube being the only option for fans and young comedy nerds interested in checking out the show. Now, all that’s about to change because Shout! Factory has acquired worldwide rights to Fridays and is planning a DVD release, according to The Wrap. Fridays was ABC’s attempt to duplicate the success of Saturday Night Live, and it ran for three seasons from 1980 to 1982, jump-starting the careers of cast member/writer Larry David, cast member Michael Richards, and writer Larry Charles (a Seinfeld writer and director of Borat and Brüno), amongst others.

In a piece called “Fridays: The SNL Ripoff That Nearly Surpassed the Original” that Dennis Perrin wrote for us last year, he explains why it’s taken so long for Fridays to make it to DVD: “Everyone else connected with Fridays wants to see an official set (though I’m told that Michael Richards goes back and forth), yet Larry David won’t allow it. Everyone has their theories as to why, but the general consensus is that David, noted for his control over his material, is balking because he’ll have little should Fridays be released.” There’s no set date or any info on the content/extras of the Fridays DVD release, but I guess somebody must have paid off Larry David to make this finally happen? Either way, it’s something to look forward to for fans who want to see the earliest work of some pretty, pretty good comedians and comedy writers ever.

‘Fridays’ Starring Larry David and Michael Richards […]