Sketch Comedy Isn’t Just Funny—It’s Work: Lessons from a Digital Group

Over the years, I’ve had a lot of conversations with people excited about starting a sketch comedy group. And I totally get it — the idea is thrilling. It feels like making Saturday Night Live with your friends. But something I’ve learned (through trial and error) is that making sketches consistently isn’t just about being funny — it’s about structure, follow-through, and having a team that’s on the same page.

It’s no knock on anyone — most of us, myself included, don’t realize what we’re getting into until we’re deep in it. Schedules get busy. Motivation fades. And suddenly the fun idea starts feeling like another job. That’s when I realized: success in sketch isn’t just about talent. It’s about reliability, clear goals, and shared commitment.

That’s not always glamorous — but it’s how the work actually gets done. And honestly, learning that has helped me become a better collaborator, leader, and creative partner.

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When You Mess Up Spotting at the Gym featured Raechel Sinuk and Jack Anderson, and it was the first sketch under a short-lived collaboration we called The Color Plaid. At the time, I was still running with The Dads and Raechel was someone I wanted to work with. We shot a few sketches, had a few laughs, and quickly realized we were not on the same page. Here's what I learned:

1. Everyone needs to be on the same page.

Were we starting a YouTube channel? A TikTok series? A soft collab or an actual group? We started by shooting a sketch, and I posted it to my channel. I think some of us wanted to create algorithm-friendly short-form content — but none of us really knew what that meant yet.

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2. I Already had a sketch group called The Dads Comedy

I already had a sketch group called The Dads Comedy. At the time, The Dads was mostly doing live shows and had only released Good Kids Daad City. Because of that, I thought it made sense to keep The Color Plaid separate — to give Raechel space to create without mixing things up too much. In hindsight, that separation just made things messier. The Dads had a clearer brand identity and could have embraced a guest model or a fourth member dynamic much earlier.

We made a handful of sketches, realized it wasn’t the right creative fit, and things naturally shifted: Raechel focused on her successful channel, Jack and Sam on their podcast, and I concentrated on my own channel and work.

Looking back, I probably overcomplicated things. Jack, Sam, and I were already in The Dads — why didn’t we just include Raechel as a guest performer there? 3. A digital sketch group needs serious structure.

Trying to be democratic while also producing fast-paced content is a challenge. Our process was: everyone wrote a sketch, we’d meet to shoot, I’d typically edit and upload to Dropbox, and then we’d approve it as a group. The structure was if you wrote it, you cast it, and you direct it. It felt like a good way to learn and take responsibility at the time. Everyone got to keep the sketches they wrote — there was no shared IP structure or long-term plan. The result? Sketches that were fine by internet standards, but not something I was proud to hang my hat on. It was functional but messy — and it made it hard to grow as a cohesive group or brand. I was hard on my own work as I didn't feel like I was bringing my best to the fold.

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4. Speed kills... your motivation.

We were trying to cram four sketches shot into one day, work around everyone’s schedule, and maintain momentum. It quickly became too much. I realized I had hit my creative limit and needed to focus back in on what was sustainable. I was already making 9 videos a week for my full time job at the time. I was leading two sketch groups and burning out fast. I was so eager during the pandemic to be creative again that I bit off more than I could chew. I said yes to everything. Sometimes it's good to go fast, sometimes slow, but you get what you get.

5. 

   When You Mess up Spotting At The Gym features Raechel Sinuk and Jack Anderson.

   Grateful for past failures I know it probably seems like I always want to lead — but honestly, it just ends up happening. I’m not obsessed with being in charge. I just have that hyper-focused energy that kicks in when there’s something creative to finish. I’ve worked with groups before where things never got completed, and that always drove me a little nuts. So when we started this, I told everyone upfront: if I’m in, I’m going to see it through. And we did. We always finished what we started, and I’m proud of that. Raechel, Sam, and Jack always delivered, we just knew we had to focus on what was important to us. Not everything has to be a viral smash, sometimes you just have to learn you can count on people to be there and complete things with you.

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Going for a walk