Before I dive into this review of the documentary film Long Live The State directed by Matthew Perniciaro, I need to be transparent about the fact that I was a hardcore fan of this show during its run on MTV. In fact, I loved this show so much that when the show ended, I wrote a letter to MTV demanding they put the show back on the air.
There’s only one other show I did that for, and that was Fox’s South Central.
At the time I thought MTV abruptly canceled the series, so I was infuriated and my letter to the network wasn’t very kind. As it turns out, the MTV sketch comedy series The State was never canceled by the cable network. The cast voluntarily left the show to pursue a network opportunity with CBS.
We’ll get into more of that later.
The documentary Long Live The State crafts a raucously funny, surprisingly heartfelt tribute to one of comedy’s most daring and misunderstood collectives. The documentary doesn’t just look back at The State, the sketch comedy troupe that lit up MTV in the ’90s, it celebrates their legacy with the reverence of a love letter and the irreverence of a fart joke at a funeral. The result is a film that captures the raw energy, lasting camaraderie, and stubborn weirdness that made The State a cult classic and makes their recent reunion tour a poignant exclamation mark on their still-unfolding story.
Director Matthew Perniciaro explores the origin story of each respective member of the cast, going as far back as their childhood, through their college years where they all connected as a group of ragtag misfits at NYU in the late ’80s. The State was a comedic Molotov cocktail, smashing conventions with sketches that were unapologetically absurd, chaotic, and often too ahead of their time for mainstream success. The film weaves archival footage with behind-the-scenes stories, revealing how these then-unknowns names like Michael Showalter, Joe Lo Truglio, and Michael Ian Black — found their creative voice during a gritty era in New York when both comedy and the city itself had sharp edges.
But Long Live The State isn’t just a nostalgia trip. It’s a compelling exploration of how art and friendship endure. The centerpiece of the film is footage from the group’s 2024 Breakin’ Hearts & Dippin’ Balls reunion tour, showcasing the same unfiltered chemistry that fueled their original rise. Perniciaro wisely lets these moments breathe, allowing the audience to witness the unspoken rhythms of performers who know each others’ instincts like family.
The film revisits some of the best clips that took off. Ken Marino is amazed that a joke that Michael Patrick Jann came up with 30 years ago about dipping balls in peanut butter still resonates with fans today. Truth be told, Louie saying, “I wanna dip my balls in it” is still one of the funniest catchphrases from a sketch comedy show to date.
There’s also my favorite comedy sketch of all time and that’s Michael Showalter’s “Doug.” He shares how the character is actually inspired by his dad, and another indelible catchphrase “I’m outta heeeeree” is one that just sticks with you.
Also can I just say that the intro The State show slaps?
There’s also real emotional weight the documentary. Beneath the sketches and self-deprecation lies a story about creative identity, missed opportunities, and the cost of staying weird in an industry that often demands compromise. The film doesn’t shy away from the group’s frustrations, studio interference, and show gone too soon, the slow grind of post-MTV success. But it frames them not as failures, but as battle scars from a war fought for comedic integrity.
Speaking of gone too soon, let’s get to what really happened. And I guess this is a bit of a spoiler alert, so if you don’t want to know these details, stop reading now. As it turned out, the cast members of The State were not getting paid at market rate and wanted bigger and better opportunities. When the chance to work in network TV happened, they decided to leave cable and hop over to network. Although CBS was not their first choice, that was what they were offered. Sadly due to low ratings, they were canceled and their show was short-lived.
The marketing must have been underwhelming because I wasn’t even aware The State was picked up by CBS after they left MTV. I was aware of Viva Variety however, and boy was that a mess. I vaguely remember watching the show; it was a mixture of musical and comedy and to put it bluntly, it was pretty awful. The show starred The State alumni: Michael Ian Black, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Thomas Lennon. The documentary goes into what happened with this show and drama that ensued behind the scenes with the other members of The State that were not involved.
What makes Long Live The State exceptional is its dual achievement: It honors a group that helped shape modern American comedy while simultaneously reminding us how fragile and vital collaborative artistic expression really is. Perniciaro gives the audience a front-row seat not just to the laughs but to the lives behind them.
Long Live the State made its premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival.
