Comedy Central has posted the entire first episode online, which you can see here.
I've watched it, and it's got a similar sensibility to The State. It's not a sketch show though, but rather a full-length scripted story. It's been compared to the Marx Brothers. It reminds me of The Monkees, without the music.
The show is the next step in the evolution of the comedy troupe, also known as Stella. According to the bio on Comedy Central's site:
The Black/Showalter/Wain co-venture began in 1997 as a weekly nightclub comedy show that quickly became New York's premier showcase for alternative and mainstream comedy. Running for seven years at Fez in New York's Greenwich Village, the trio hosted such regular guests as Janeane Garofalo, Ben Stiller, David Cross and the Upright Citizens Brigade. The show has been praised by Time Out, The New Yorker and Entertainment Weekly.
In addition to their stage show, Stella has created a number of short films, which can be seen here.
The show premieres at 10:30 after Reno 911! , another show featuring former cast members of the State.
Timed with the upcoming premiere of Stella, the most recent issue of Entertainment Weekly has an article on the cast members of The State. A copy of the article is here. It's pretty interesting.
