B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping The Brendan Leonard Show into the ol’ VCR.

Picture it… 

The year is 2003. 

Teen Titans and My Life as Teenage Robot have both premiered. 

Evanescence’s Fallen is blaring through CD players across the nation. 

You’re anxiously awaiting the VHS release of both How to Deal and What a Girl Want because you’re only 11, so you can’t go to the movies freely. 

Just me? Cool.

2003 was also the year of something supremely special that you may or may not remember…The Brendan Leonard Show.

Video source: Nick D’Amico

The Brendan Leonard Show began as a local cable access show wherein a teenaged Brendan Leonard and his friends performed sketches while featuring the music of indie bands as the soundtrack throughout the episodes. 

ABC picked up The Brendan Leonard Show for a single, 16- episode season, and looking back, it’s truly surreal. 

I was trying to think about how to describe The Brendan Leonard Show, and I couldn’t find the right words. 

However, I found a Reddit post about it in my research, and I think it sums it up perfectly: 

“It kind of feels like if a church youth group decided to make a G rated, safe version of Jackass. At the start of each episode Brendan declares a band for the episode — always some obscure alt rock band from the myspace era.” 

I couldn’t have said it better myself. 

It very much mimics the early days of Smosh and other comedy YouTube channels, but if Seth Cohen were in the director’s chair.

Video source: Brendan Leonard

Looking back at this show 21 years after it aired is WILD. 

I don’t know if any network would take a risk like this now, but I also don’t know if The Brendan Leonard Show would be as special today. 

I can definitely see it having a YouTube following, but would that have messed with the charm of this show?

I’m not sure. 🤷‍♀️

However, it does make me happy that creators like Kane Pixels have gained so much attention because, say it with me, YouTube is the future of horror. 

I digress. 

Unfortunately, I had a hard time finding any full episodes of The Brendan Leonard Show anywhere on the internet. 

The show’s website still exists, but the links to episodes no longer work. 

Brendan Leonard’s YouTube channel does have a lot of content though, which was really cool to watch. 

Also, this should go without saying, but this show was made 21 years ago, so there are some things that don’t hold up. 

I will say though, that in some regards, it was ahead of its time. 

Video source: Brendan Leonard

The Brendan Leonard Show is special because it encapsulated the zeitgeist. 

The fact that a major network gave teenagers the keys to the house, albeit for one season, to bring their local access show to the big leagues is something that could (and would) probably only happen in the early aughts. 

Not to mention that the feel and soundtrack of The Brendan Leonard Show couldn’t be captured today. 

I’m not holding my breath, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that all of the episodes are released one day. 

Until then, this media is technically lost and refound. 

And yes, this is me teasing that this may become a series.