Testees - TV-MA

Gross-out comedy makes light of medical testing.

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TV Rating: TV-MA
Network: FX
Cast: Kenny Hotz, Steve Markle, Jeff Kassel
Genre: Comedy

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that this crass sitcom depends heavily on bodily functions for humor. The main characters make their living testing experimental drugs, which cause a broad range of unusual side effects (extreme flatulence, penis enlargement, male lactation, and more), and their discomfort is played for laughs. There's a fair amount of sex -- and even more discussion about sex, genitalia, and bodily functions, with some salty language. There are brief flashes of nudity during some of the medical procedures, and some scenes show people going to the bathroom. In addition to taking lots of experimental drugs, characters are often shown drinking.

Families can talk about the show's style of "gross-out" humor. What's the appeal of this style of comedy? Who do you think the target audience is? Families can also discuss medical experiments. Drug companies need to test their products before they can be sold, but does this show seem like a realistic portrayal of the doctor-patient relationship? Do the featured side effects appear plausible? Would you be willing to try experimental drugs for money? Even for a lot of money?

Message
Violence
Sex
Language

Message

Social Behavior:

The environment at Testico, where the testees are employed evaluating experimental drugs, is very hierarchical. The doctors seem to have little compassion for their test subjects and blithely ignore any discomfort, either when the medicine is administered or from the subsequent side-effects. The subjects routinely suffer a broad range of unpleasant side-effects -- indeed, that's the point of the show. The show doesn't explicitly address class implications, but the testees are young, underemployed slackers who seem willing (though often somewhat reluctantly) to rent their bodies to the medical industry in exchange for easy money. Some scenes are extremely demeaning. One man forces others to lick his feet when they're groveling for jobs. A woman forces a man to wear a bag on his head when they have sex, suggesting she only wants to sleep with him because of his medically enhanced, extremely large penis.

Consumerism:

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

The whole premise of this show revolves around taking experimental drugs, though there's no recreational drug use. Characters often drink at home or in bars.

Violence

Sex

Some sex, with people shown under the covers in bed. No nudity during the sex scenes. But the testees are shown partially clothed during some medical procedures; there are brief glimpses of their backsides when experimental drugs are inserted into their rectums, along with some discussion about the nature of the procedure. Lots of talk about sex, including rather explicit discussions of genitalia. One character tests a "penis enlargement spray" and frequently discusses the results. He also flashes a female character, and they excitedly discuss his newfound endowment. Another character is shown urinating, with the stream flowing all over the bathroom.

Language

Some salty language, including "screw you," "wieners," "schlongs," and "wanking" (accompanied by hand gestures); when a couple is in bed, they talk about "going down" on a woman and "coming." The name of the show, Testees, and the company where the characters work, Testico, are both intentionally suggestive.

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Will Wade

TESTEES, a raunchy comedy about two slackers who make their living testing experimental drugs, makes its intentions obvious from the start. Just say the name of the series out loud. Still not clear? Well, the company that pays Peter (Steve Markle) and Ron (Jeff Kassel) to endure a comic string of unusual side effects is named Testico, so it should be apparent to any viewer that they're in for plenty of jokes, some less funny than others, about bodily functions, usually featuring some kind of sexual angle.

Is it any good?

A series focused on medical experiments would have to stretch to reach beyond the obvious, simple humor found in absurd side effects and physical discomfort. Testees, executive produced by South Park writer Kenny Hotz (who also created the vile Kenny vs. Spenny), doesn't even try. The show mines its jokes from placing its test subjects in the most unpleasant, unusual bodily distress that the writers can devise -- including male lactation, extreme flatulence, and enormously swollen genitals -- and then seeing how much they can actually get away with showing on camera.

There's plenty of gross-out humor, which sometimes crosses the fine line between lowbrow funny and simply offensive; the factor that pushes many of the jokes over the edge is their emphasis on humiliation. It's not enough that the characters must suffer; their corporate masters at Testico seem to relish demeaning them by, say, skimping on the lubricating jelly when inserting a test drug or by forcing them to grovel for the privilege of abusing themselves. If it sounds like they're selling their bodies, well that's how it looks, too.