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Back in my college days, I was a theatre performance major and became the first woman to serve as captain in the history of my underfunded state school's improv team (no one who reads /Film regularly is shocked), which meant I spent an excessive amount of time on YouTube consuming sketch clips and illegally uploaded episodes of "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" This fixation led me to the CollegeHumor channel and I became obsessed with a show called "Hello My Name Is." Each episode had Josh Ruben being transformed into a new character with prosthetics, wigs, and costumes, after which he would have to sit down for an improvised, in-character interview upon seeing the result. Nearly 15 years later, my college friends and I still quote a few of the episodes.

"Hello My Name Is." ended long ago, but "Very Important People" hosted by Vic Michaelis has continued to carry that...

Indie streaming platform Dropout, formerly known as CollegeHumor, is vying for a spotlight at this year’s Primetime Emmys with an ambitious campaign to secure its first major nominations. With a passionate and niche audience, Variety has learned exclusively about Dropout’s top contenders submitted for Emmy love, including the innovative game show “Game Changer” and the unique interview series “Very Important People.”

“Game Changer,” a standout series hosted by Dropout CEO Sam Reich, turns the traditional game show format on its head. Each episode introduces a new game, but the twist is that the three comedian contestants are clueless about the rules until the game begins. The blend of improv comedy and fierce competition has not only captivated audiences but also spawned three successful spinoffs: “Dirty Laundry,” “Make Some Noise” and “Play It by Ear.”

Two of the season’s funniest episodes, “Sam Says 3” (featuring Jacob Wysocki’s epic...