What do you get when you take the funniest improv comedians in the country and create a TV showing around their monumental talent? The Drew Carey Show. Creator and actor Drew Carey got his start as an improv comedian in the Los Angeles scene and made a number of funny friends. He decided to recruit his buddies, including Kathy Kinney, Ryan Stiles, and Craig Ferguson, for a sitcom that highlighted their knack for sketch and improv comedy. The show combined scripted dialogue and improvised moments and the results were hilarious.
ABC aired The Drew Carey Show from 1995 to 2004. It starred Carey as a self-described “everyman” as he navigates the hilarity of looking for love, gaining respect in the workplace, and just hanging out with friends. Some of the cast of characters included the iconic Mimi, Drew’s prankster and crabby co-worker, who became a popular Halloween costume with her bright-blue eyeshadow makeup and neon colored outfits. To this day, Mimi is remembered as devilishly iconic.
Then there are Drew’s friends: Oswald, Lewis, and Kate. The four BFFs have been a crew for decades and love to make fun of each other’s vulnerabilities. Both Oswald and Lewis aren’t the brightest crayons in the box, with Lewis leaning more toward the odd and Oswald being, um, no so smart. They concoct ridiculous plans to get out of debt, deliver terrible sabotaging advice to Drew on his love life, and land themselves in dangerous situations (like the time Lewis accidentally shot himself). Kate is the sarcastic and hot-headed friend who watches the chaos around her but can never seem to separate herself from it. She loves the guys even though they drive her crazy. After trying out a relationship with Oswald, she falls in love with Drew and the two attempt a chance at romance.
It took some time for The Drew Carey Show to find its footing. It stayed just slightly outside the top 50 most watched shows in its first season but ABC decided to renew it anyway. From its second seasons to its sixth, the show stayed inside the top 40, with its third and fourth seasons boasting its highest ratings ever, making it one of the most-watched sitcoms between 1997-1999. Ratings began to dip in its seventh and eighth seasons and after renewing the show for a final ninth season, ABC decided to end the show, keeping it in syndication on the network until 2007.
It’s been a minute since we last caught up with the gang, and so we wanted to see how they’re doing. Keep reading to find out for yourself what’s been going on in their lives and what exciting projects the actors have moved on to since the series’ wrap.
[post_page_title]Nicki Fifer (Kate Walsh)[/post_page_title]
Feisty Nicki dates Drew in season three and quickly falls in love with him. As their relationship progresses, she starts to gain weight, putting a strain on their relationship. Her insecurities grow and Drew doesn’t exactly ease her worries. She breaks up with him, officially for his own poor eating habits, though deep down she cannot face her own self in the mirror anymore. Later on in the show she tries to get back together with him and in classic Drew fashion, he accidentally proposes to her. Safe to say things don’t turn out so well for Drew.
