The Comedians (Original title Комиците [Komitsite]) is a Bulgarian Variety Show performed in front of a live audience that premiered on BTV in 2007 and is still running. Its primary focus is stand-up and (especially) sketch comedy, but it also includes dance performances from the show's dance company as well as musical performances from special guests, at least one per show. It started out with six comedic actors performing comedy skits and the cast has since grown twice as big, including more female actresses (in the beginning, it was all-male). The show is one of the most popular Bulgarian programmes and went out on several country-wide tours since its creation.
In 2012, the show was rebranded as Comedians and Friends, reflecting the increased number of special guest appearances.
The show includes examples of the following tropes:
- Abhorrent Admirer: One of the sketches centres around a creepy, smarmy guy trying to pick up girls at a bar.
- Actor Allusion:
- The other five original Comedians first met Nencho Ilchev when he was performing magic tricks. One of his most popular sketches on the show heavily involves this skill of his.
- Lubomir Neikov and Albena Pavlova play husband and wife in a recurring sketch about an alcoholic husband and Sofia Residents In Excess.
- Ruslan Mainov plays a doctor in several sketches. He goes on to portray Spas Lyutov, a doctor, in Sofia Residents In Excess.
- The Alcoholic:
- A sketch involves two brothers-in-law who are constantly drunk.
- Lubomir Neikov plays an alcoholic husband in another recurring sketch.
- All Jews Are Cheapskates: The Abraham and Moshe sketch is about two Jews trying to out-cheapskate one another.
- Black Comedy: Although not extremely frequent, the Comedians aren't strangers to this.
- Crossdresser: Most of the male actors regularly portray females, especially in the beginning when there were no female cast members. Even with the addition of several actresses, some female characters are portrayed by male actors, usually for comedic purposes.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Prof. Tazobedrev sometimes speaks in the lamenting manner old people tend to use, such as "Come here, Achillesov, I have to grade you, grade you I have to, Inhave to grade you!"
- Double Entendre: A sketch involves a guy talking about his broken cellphone in a way that comes off as if he's talking about his private parts.
- Ironic Fear: In a 2008 sketch, a lifeguard admits to being afraid of going into the water.
- Literal-Minded: All Achillesov and Tazobedrev sketches include examples of Achillesov taking things literally.
- Meaningful Name: Zdravko Achillesov, a med student, first appeared at an exam held by Professor Kosta Tazobedrev. "Zdravko" comes from "zdrave" (health); "Achillesov" refers to the Achilles tendon; "Kosta", while derived from "Constantine", sounds like "kost", bone; "Tazobedrev" comes from "tazobedren", pelvic (actually "pelvic-femoral", but it is how the pelvic joint is called).
- Too Dumb to Live:
- Zdravko Achillesov, known also as "the eternal student", is hilariously unintelligent and can't answer even the easiest questions asked by his professor.
- Sasheto and Vankata from the eponymous sketch, but especially Sasheto. Ironically, both he and Achillesov are portrayed by Nencho Ilchev.
