Alt-Comedy’s Two Thumbs Up: Tim Heidecker & Gregg Turkington’s ‘On Cinema’ Hits The Road

Veteran alt-comedy mainstays Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington first launched On Cinema at the Cinema in October 2011 as a lark: a 90-second faux podcast meant to mock the emerging medium while parodying the famed Siskel & Ebert review show, swapping thumbs up and down for the now-iconic “Five Bags of Popcorn.”

Featuring Heidecker and Turkington as bickering, hapless rivals who insulted one another as much as they critiqued films they often hadn’t even seen, On Cinema followed a distinctly modern route to success. It evolved from an audio-only podcast into a web video series in 2012, then into a show on Warner/Discovery’s Adult Swim in 2013. That following eventually helped them launch their own subscription platform, HEI Network, in 2021.

The archival site now boasts more than 20,000 subscribers paying $6 a month or $50 a year, along with its own app, which has logged more than 12,000 downloads. The platform hosts all 16 seasons of “On Cinema,” 12 annual four-hour live Oscar specials, the 2019 feature film Mister America, and multiple seasons of Decker, a Hawaii Five-O–styled action-spy spoof—part Steven Seagal, part Trump—filmed on location. Across more than 170 roughly 10-minute episodes, the series has evolved into a dense, soap opera–like fictional universe.

“We started doing this just for the fun of it,” explained Heidecker. “It was a reaction to the flood of what we felt were pointless podcasts at the time. We take it one year at a time, and it’s a lot more intentional than it was at the beginning. ”

Shortly after hosting their 13th annual Oscar special on March 15, the duo will embark on their first live tour since before COVID. The 20-date “Certified Five Bags of Popcorn Tour” kicks off March 21 with two shows at Chicago’s Thalia Hall, with additional stops including Philadelphia’s 3,000-seat Fillmore (March 31), Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre (April 3), and a finale at Los Angeles’ 1,300-seat Wilshire Ebell on April 17. Turkington – an early Bay Area punk aficionado best known for Neil Hamburger, the hapless, Rupert Pupkin–with-a-combover stand-up he played in the 2015 feature “Entertainment” – portrays the VHS-collecting sidekick who repeatedly tries to steer the show back toward movies and popcorn.

“We just took that format and played two hapless podcasters who just had no information,” Gregg explained. “When you watch those old shows, Siskel and Ebert used to snipe at each other with some real hate. We may have inadvertently become more like them.”

As the narrative expanded, Heidecker’s character underwent surgery for blood clots, suffered first-degree burns, married and divorced several times (including campaign manager Toni Newman), formed the rock band Decker, and lost his son Tom Cruise Jr.—named after his favorite actor—after refusing to vaccinate him. The recurring cast includes John C. Reilly, Joe Estevez, and fellow comedian Mark Proksch. Fans follow the increasingly bizarre developments through social media feeds.

“Some of it is written, but it’s mostly improvised,” acknowledged Heidecker. “We’re not just going in and comedy sporting it, but some of the best parts come out of us just riffing together.”

The series has often proven prescient, with their annual Oscar special predating the Academy Awards’ own eventual move to YouTube streaming in 2029.

“Hollywood was on much firmer ground when we started this,” said Tim. “It doesn’t quite have the same patina as when we were growing up. Our show has become more insular in its characters and less about the movies themselves. It’s now just a set-up to explore darker, more personal issues.”

With a devoted niche audience and full creative control, Heidecker and Turkington continue operating on their own terms.

“It’s rare when you meet someone who has your sense of humor,” concluded Gregg. “So, when you do, it’s nice to be able to crack them up. We like to make each other laugh. That drives a lot of it.”