Editing Strangers with Candy (section)

===Conception===
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| quote = “I always refer to Paul and Stephen as the woodchoppers. And I'm more like a tree decorator. That's the way it is—they organize my chaos.”
| source = —Amy Sedaris on Colbert and Dinello's involvement.<ref name="GQ">{{cite web|url=https://www.gq.com/story/strangers-with-candy-mini-oral-history|title=Strangers with Candy: A Mini-Oral History|first=Paul |last=Schrodt|website=[[GQ]]|date=June 5, 2018|access-date=April 27, 2023|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401193527/https://www.gq.com/story/strangers-with-candy-mini-oral-history|archive-date=April 1, 2023}}</ref>
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Sedaris, Dinello, Colbert and Rouse first created the sketch comedy show ''[[Exit 57]]'', which debuted on Comedy Central in 1995 and aired through 1996''.''<ref name="ign">{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/08/11/an-interview-with-stephen-colbert|title=An Interview with Stephen Colbert|first=Ken|last=P.|website=[[IGN]]|date=August 11, 2003|access-date=July 22, 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105202148/http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/08/11/an-interview-with-stephen-colbert|archive-date=January 5, 2014}}</ref> Although it lasted only 12 episodes, the show received favorable reviews<ref>{{cite news|title = Critic's Corner|first = Matt|last = Roush|work = [[USA Today]]|date = August 18, 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title = The new skitcoms: Sketches of pain|first = David|last = Lipsky|author-link=David Lipsky|magazine = [[Rolling Stone]]|date = January 21, 1995}}</ref> and was nominated for five [[CableACE Award]]s in 1995, in categories including best writing, performance, and comedy series.<ref name="ccbio">{{cite web|url = http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/news_team/correspondents/stephen_colbert.jhtml|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051026174626/http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/news_team/correspondents/stephen_colbert.jhtml|archive-date = October 26, 2005|title = Biography of Stephen Colbert at ''The Daily Show'' official website|publisher = [[Comedy Central]]|access-date = July 22, 2006}}</ref> After the show was cancelled, Colbert and Dinello were preparing a pitch for a show known as "Mysteries of the Insane Unknown". Simultaneously, Rouse and Sedaris had developed their own pitch, which Sedaris described as "something based on after-school specials" inspired by shows like ''[[The Brady Bunch]]''. They presented it first to [[MTV]], as Rouse knew someone there; while his friend loved it, they were told the channel would not go for it.<ref name="Rouse">{{cite web|last=Trembath|first=Ron|url=https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2017/12/04/mitch-rouse-interview/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202121938/https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2017/12/04/mitch-rouse-interview/|date=December 4, 2017|archive-date = February 2, 2023|title= Mitch Rouse [Interview] {{!}} Trainwreck'd Society|work=Trainwreck'd Society|access-date = April 28, 2023}}</ref> Comedy Central was prepared to greenlight "Mysteries" but Dinello convinced Colbert to go help Sedaris with her pitch. Colbert was reticent after hearing her idea because he knew it was better than theirs; he was right, and Comedy Central's  [[Kent Alterman]] chose her show instead.<ref name="GQ"/><ref name="CCORAL">{{cite web|last=Seabaugh|first=Julie|url=https://www.avclub.com/night-after-night-to-midnight-an-oral-history-of-come-1798246395|date=April 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703101144/https://www.avclub.com/night-after-night-to-midnight-an-oral-history-of-come-1798246395|archive-date =July 3, 2023 |title=Night After Night to @midnight: An oral history of Comedy Central (Part 1)|work=[[The A.V. Club]] |access-date = October 1, 2023}}</ref>

At first, Sedaris wanted to do a straight after-school special: "We wanted to play it dead, dead serious. No laugh track, nothing. But Comedy Central didn’t go for it."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Spitznagel|first1=Eric|title=An Interview with Amy Sedaris |url=https://www.thebeliever.net/an-interview-with-amy-sedaris/ |website= [[The Believer (magazine)|The Believer]]|date=March 1, 2004|issue=11|archive-date=March 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322194749/https://www.thebeliever.net/an-interview-with-amy-sedaris/}}</ref><ref name= "FreshAir">{{Cite news|last=Gross|first=Terry|author-link=Terry Gross|url=https://freshairarchive.org/segments/fake-newsmans-fake-newsman-stephen-colbert|title=A Fake Newsman's Fake Newsman: Stephen Colbert|date=January 24, 2005|work=[[NPR]]|access-date=April 27, 2023}}</ref> Rouse, Colbert, and Dinello went to the [[Paley Center for Media|Museum Of Television]] and found several after-school specials starring [[Scott Baio]], which they used as reference.<ref name="Rouse"/><ref name="Paley">{{cite web| title=Museum Of Television & Radio Seminar Series: Strangers With Candy| first=David| last=Bushman| website=[[Paley Center]]| date=12 April 2017| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Efwfn1S-iM| access-date=April 28, 2023| url-status=| df=mdy-all}}</ref> Dinello later found a tape of [[Florrie Fisher]]'s ''[[The Trip Back]]'' at [[Kim's Video and Music|Kim's video]] in the [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village]]; Fisher, a motivational speaker, recalled her days as a New York prostitute and heroin addict to a group of high-school students. After watching it, Dinello thought Fisher reminded him of Sedaris and promptly suggested doing a character—inspired by Fisher—that would go back to high school. Colbert added the idea of her learning the wrong lesson after every episode, and Sedaris said "Okay, she'll be a junkie whore this time."<ref name="GQ"/><ref name= "Esquire">{{Cite news|last=Schrodt|first=Paul|url=http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/interviews/a33697/amy-sedaris-paul-dinello-strangers-with-candy-interview/|title=Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello on Why 'Strangers with Candy' Should Never Come Back|date=March 17, 2015|work=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]|access-date=January 25, 2018|archive-date=August 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823132123/http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/interviews/a33697/amy-sedaris-paul-dinello-strangers-with-candy-interview/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Paley"/><ref name="avclub">{{cite web |last1=Rabin|first1=Nathan|author-link=Nathan Rabin|title=Amy Sedaris|url=https://www.avclub.com/amy-sedaris-1798208316|website= [[The A.V. Club]]|date=January 21, 2004|archive-date=May 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517181733/https://www.avclub.com/amy-sedaris-1798208316}}</ref> Rouse noted ''Strangers'' was a combination of Fisher's tape, the Baio specials, ''[[Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer]]'', and [[Frederick Wiseman]]’s ''[[Titicut Follies]]''.<ref name="Rouse"/>