‘Too Many Cooks’ Destroys and Rebuilds the Concept of Television

Too Many Cooks

It’s amazing to see something as bizarre as Too Many Cooks take the internet by storm. This short played on Adult Swim for a few nights in late October and hit YouTube this week, but it seems like Too Many Cooks has always been with us. It has that effect. This piece of television warps space and time. It’ll turn your head inside out, return you to the womb then shoot you into imaginary media space like Mike Teavee from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory if he was the Star Child from 2001.

What is Too Many Cooks? I can’t tell you. You either already know — you’ve always known — or you’re about to find out. Watch below.

Think that’s all hyperbole? Then maybe you’ll believe these guys:

This will break your brain. http://t.co/CqoyU3zIl3

— edgarwright (@edgarwright) November 6, 2014

No joke, this should be in the Oscar running for best short. “@JayWadeEdwards: This is amazing. Too Many Cooks: http://t.co/zeR5KrHLzE

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) November 6, 2014

Note: this is kinda not safe for work primary because this gets dark, and because playing it at work will ensure that you hear the song all day coming from other desks as the thing spreads like a virus.

Blame Chris Kelly for this. He directed it. (Update: EW now has a good interview with him.)

I’ve already seen people on Twitter joking that you can tell a person’s true nature by how much of this they watch. If you turn off Too Many Cooks within the first 90 seconds, we probably wouldn’t be friends. Then again, I’ve watched this four times and barely know who I am any longer.