Ever since Commedia dell'Arte brought traveling troupes through Renaissance Europe presenting short shows with improvised dialogue, sketch and improv comedy has been an important part of new comedic talent. On television, sketch comedy has always been present with Your Show of Shows, Monty Python's Flying Circus, SCTV, The Kids in the Hall, Mr. Show and In Living Color, providing decades of short-form comedy to audiences. In comparison, Saturday Night Live has spent over 40 years recruiting talented performers from influential improv groups to create the longest-running sketch show in American television history.

An exploration of the ways the deaths of comedic legends affect their audiences and comedy in general and how that connection makes the loss more significant. Comedic performers connect with their audiences in a unique and personal way, so when one of them is gone too soon, the loss can feel more profound. Whether it be comedic legends like John Candy, Phil Hartman, Bill Hicks, John Belushi, Chris Farley, and Gilda Radner, or lesser-known comics like Patrice O'Neal, Greg Giraldo, Harris Wittels, and Mitch Hedberg, their voice is gone prematurely. Even when a comedian has been with us for a long time like George Carlin, Garry Shandling, and Joan Rivers, it still feels as if they had a lot more to say.