‘SNL’ alum Chris Parnell chats with funeral clowns, sin eaters, and more with outdated professions on ‘This Job Is History’
While funeral clowns, VHS store clerks, garden hermits, and sin eaters might be atypical, unexpected, and outdated jobs of the past, “This Job Is History” is bringing these folks back in conversations with a modern comedian. SNL alum and Rick and Morty‘s Chris Parnell hosts this fictional series, serves laughs, shares historical talking points, and answers burning questions about the past.
Stream “This Job Is History” episodes in any order with the average episode running under 40 minutes. Glance back in time when milkmen delivered to your door way before Instacart, and barber surgeons walked the ultimate dual-fold career path. This series is also an “informative look into how time can change the way we live and work.”
With help from the show’s producer Linda, Chris finds actual workers who could have once been considered essential. They’ll share stories from their time on the clock. On the first episode, Chris interviewed a real funeral clown who shared experiences telling jokes at a Roman emperor’s funeral. This clown was from 82 CE and explained his job was sometimes a hit with funeral attendees, but had the potential to end in death or “blood-soaked riots.” Chris contemplates if this job could ever suit him.
A VHS clerk joined episode 2, the ultimate “’80s and ’90s cinema sommelier.” Chris chats with a Spice World Age icon to explore Speed to Speed 2: Cruise Control, the bygone experience of recommending perfect films to complement your Friday nights, and more.
Soul food or food for thought? Professional sin eaters from 1700s England loved chowing down on cardinal sins like wrath, sloth, envy, and pride. Chris spoke with a sin eater on episode 3 who practically inhaled evil doings “so people [could] find safe passage into heaven.”
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