The new original series FUNNY OR DIE’S HIGH SCIENCE will debut THURSDAY, APRIL 20 on discovery+ and HBO Max. The series stars Matt Klinman, and Zack Poitras, featuring Paul Bettany as the voice of futuristic, talking bong “Dr. Oh” who will take Matt and Zack on psychedelic trips of scientific discovery to blow their minds with real facts from the cutting edge of human knowledge. Episodes will become available to stream at the same time and the series will premiere two episodes weekly beginning April 26 on Discovery Channel.
Paul Bettany quote: “It was a pleasure to work with Funny Or Die and the creators, Matt and Zach, on a project that is so opposite to anything I have done before. ‘Dr. Oh’ is their creation that I’ve tried to sort of bring an avuncular warmth to. This one’s for those science fans with a sense of humor.”
Henry Muñoz, Owner of Funny or Die, quote: “As I’ve said before, Funny Or Die has always been on the cutting edge of comedy and social issues, giving a voice to new generations. High Science does just that by combining humor, and originality through a hallucinatory lens.”
Logline: From Funny Or Die comes a psychedelic trip into the world of real science. Matt Klinman and Zack Poitras star as two stoner lab assistants who get high on science, literally, by smoking various topics from a robotic bong (voiced by Paul Bettany) to blast off to imaginary realms full of real facts and mind-blowing insights.
Cast: Matt Klinman, Zack Poitras, and Paul Bettany star. Guest expert appearances will include astrobiologists, archeologists, zoologists and more from universities across the world.
Episode descriptions:
Episode 1 “A Trip to the Moon”: With NASA’s Artemis moon missions on the horizon, Dr. Oh blasts Matt and Zack into space to replay the moon’s wild birth, crash a rocket into the moon to find some ice, and discover the moon’s secret treasures above ground…and below.
Episode 2 “Human Kind Bud”: Zack finds out he’s part Neanderthal, so he and Matt spark up Dr. Oh to trip back to when six different species of humans all walked the Earth at the same time! It’s a human family reunion that reveals why Homo Sapiens are the only ones still partying.
Episode 3 “The Dank Web of Trees”: Dr. Oh logs Matt and Zack on to the Tree Internet where trees use fungus to communicate, share resources and live in harmony… or do they!? Matt and Zack hack into the root system and learn this underworld is far seedier than they could ever imagine.
Episode 4 “Aliens of Antiquity”: Dr. Oh is furious that Matt and Zack are watching a TV show about how aliens helped ancient Egyptians, so he takes them back 3000 years to show them how impressive the Egyptians truly were – no aliens required. They also find out what “ithyphallic” means.
Episode 5 “Unlimited Life”: Dr. Oh sucks Matt and Zack into a video game so they can discover what it takes to defeat aging and never die. From health-bar draining breakup texts to immortal animals to rich men stealing testicles, it’s a wild quest for the cheat code to live forever.
Credits: For Funny or Die, FUNNY OR DIE’S HIGH SCIENCE is created, written, and executive produced by Matt Klinman and Zack Poitras; showrunner Becca Kinskey; head writer Joe Randazzo; directed by Olney Atwell, executive producers are Henry R. Muñoz III, Joe Farrell, and Mike Farah, Becca Kinskey, Paul Bettany, John D. Boswell, Evan Mirzai; co-executive producers are Whitney Hodack and Kate Lilly. For Discovery, executive producers are Scott Lewers, Caroline Perez and Joseph Schneier.
About Funny Or Die: Funny Or Die (FOD) is a renowned entertainment brand and independent comedy studio that creates premium content in TV, movies, digital, and more. Recent credits include the pop-culture film phenomenon “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” which won Best Streaming Motion Picture at the 2023 Producers Guild of America Awards and Best Movie Made for Television at the 2023 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, the star-studded sports-comedy special “Pickled” starring Steven Colbert (CBS), as well as the critically acclaimed mockumentary series “Players” on Paramount+ and the upcoming “High Science” starring Paul Bettany for Discovery+.
A company with a uniquely high profile across multiple media, FOD has won six Emmy Awards and dozens of Emmy nominations, two Clios, a Peabody, and a Cannes Golden Lion for everything from iconic TV shows like “Billy on the Street” (TBS) and “American Vandal” (Netflix) to groundbreaking multi-platform IP like Zach Galifianakis’s “Between Two Ferns” and Hank Azaria’s “Brockmire,” all while continuing to reach a global audience of more than 40 million people across our social platforms.
In 2021, FOD was acquired by the designer and activist Henry R. Muñoz III, becoming one of the only Latino-owned companies in entertainment. Muñoz had previously worked with Funny Or Die on powerful, socially driven projects like the Between Two Ferns starring President Barack Obama, as well as the Momento Latino Special on CBS, which celebrated the Latino community’s critical contribution to America’s COVID response. In purchasing FOD, Muñoz rededicated the company to an even stronger mission of inclusivity and activism, specializing in a broad range of content that’s Funny, Original, and Diverse.
