Ranking Every Sketch of I Think You Should Leave, Seasons 1 and 2

Sandwiched amidst the end of such legacy, buzzworthy shows as Succession, Ted Lasso, Barry and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, there is some additional significant television news in this already loaded week. Yes, for those of you that are not chronically online, allow me to be the first to let you know that today marks the return of I Think You Should Leave. The brainchild of SNL alum Tim Robinson, the absurdist sketch comedy series has found unlikely success thanks to its adoring throngs on Twitter in particular.

ITYSL has provided some of the most enduring and evergreen references and bits in my life the last few years, and gauging by how omnipresent it is in online discourse, I imagine I am far from alone in that sentiment. So, to celebrate its return, I thought it only fitting to rank every last sketch that Tim and co. have written and produced in the show's first two seasons. For the sketches that have videos available online, a video link will accompany so you can gauge for yourself. But really, you should just rewatch the whole show from start to finish the way I did; you won't regret it. In order from worst to best:

55. "Little Buff Boys Promo Ad"

(Season 2, Episode 5)

This is a callback to an earlier Season 2 sketch— which you’ll read about later in this article —but it’s enough of its own entity that it doesn’t feel like it can be lumped in with the actual competition sketch itself. That said, as a standalone bit, it’s not very good. It mostly just feels like a buildup to a decent-but-not-hilarious punchline regarding “cherry chuck salad.”

54. "TC Tuggers Shirts"

(Season 1, Episode 2)

I may have already lost some of you— this one has a surprisingly loyal fanbase — but I’ve never been that high on this sketch. Tim’s changing cadence and oddly-timed water bottle chug still kill me, and I appreciate the conceit of a mock ad + product placement within a teen melodrama but truthfully, this is more random and silly than it is actually funny.

53. "Credit Card Roulette"

(Season 2, Episode 5)

One of the very few skips in the entire show for me. John Early is hilarious in general, and he makes me chuckle a couple times in this one, but it’s mostly just uncomfortable and weird more than anything else.

52. "Dave and Rodney"

(Season 2, Episode 6)

I don't even know what to say about this one. It’s not totally unfunny, it’s just so ridiculously bizarre, even by ITYSL standards. Who comes up with a sketch about a guy who’s in trouble with his company for hiring a bald lookalike of his bald coworker to take massive dumps?

51. "The Ghost of Christmas Way-Future"

(Season 1, Episode 4)

This one is pretty dumb, to be honest, but Sam Richardson sure gives it his all; his Level 10 energy makes me laugh at least.

50. "Hair Loss Toupee"

(Season 1, Episode 2)

One of many wild fake ads, one that involves Three Stooges impressions, gradual hair-shedding toupees, and a fake gorilla that will come rip your hair clean off your head. Funny, but not nearly as ready-made for quotes and references as others.

49. "Motorcycles"

(Season 1, Episode 2)

Honestly one of the more wholesome sketches in the whole show, but not a particularly funny one to me.

48. "It Does Both"

(Season 1, Episode 1)

The very first sketch of I Think You Should Leave is a good intro to the show in terms of wacky quotability, but pretty one-note overall.

47. "Tammy Craps"

(Season 2, Episode 6)

A toy doll still craps, but the farts in her head isn’t a problem any more! That’s…about all that’s going on this one. It definitely elicits several juvenile chuckles out of me, but not one of the more noteworthy ITYSL sketches.

46. "Garfield House Intervention"

(Season 1, Episode 6)

The meat in the middle of this sketch sandwich is a hilarious star turn from Kate Berlant, who drastically misunderstands what the most important element is of their friend’s intervention. However, the cold open of the episode and the button on the end of the sketch are both so weird and random that it detracts from the overall quality.

45. "Choking On Hotdogs"

(Season 2, Episode 1)

Much like “It Does Both,” this opener to Season 2 is more silly (and unsettling) than it is actually funny, but does a great job setting the tone for the wacky energy we were about to experience in the hilarious sophomore season.

44. "Boring Work Meeting"

(Season 2, Episode 6)

This one doesn’t have too many laughs, but the slow-developing parody of office workplace culture is worth it for two Tim Robinson moments: one, his facial expressions as he transforms from cautious disapproval to reluctant acceptance of the coworker antics, and two, his delivery of “I almost KILLED myself, JULIEEEEEE!!!”

43. "Baby Shower Fedoras"

(Season 1, Episode 6)

This has some memorable ‘riled up Tim’ quotes that have led to some oft-used memes, but is only mildly funny on the whole. I will admit, though, the end of it is SO random and SO stupid that I can’t help but die laughing at it every time.

42. "Humping Service Dog"

(Season 1, Episode 4)

I’m not gonna lie, I forgot this sketch existed, but it was a fun rewatch, though not one I need to return to any time soon. I appreciated that the entire dog “biting vs. humping” debate happens at a Herbie Hancock tribute.

41. "Fenton's Horse Ranch"

(Season 1, Episode 6)

A juvenile joke to be sure, but an effective one for immature people like me.

40. "Johnny Carson Impersonator"

(Season 2, Episode 5)

I appreciate the bonkers energy of this one, but the only real humor in it is Tim Robinson’s adamant insistence that the low price point enables his impersonators to hit party guests. Which, to be fair, is a very funny bit.

39. "Claire's"

(Season 2, Episode 6)

Many sketches in this show have an undercurrent of sadness, but the very last sketch of this show that we got up until May 30, 2023, ended on the most overtly sad note of all. But god, it’s played so well here. The visual of a rough-around-the-edges older man interspersed with young girls in a Claire’s tutorial ad to help assuage nerves about getting ears pierced, that man’s words resonating with a temperamental older man in the waiting room… to me, this is cinema.

38. "Little Buff Boys"

(Season 2, Episode 1)

This is definitely the inferior of the two Sam Richardson-helmed fake child competitions (more on that later), but it has plenty of laughs, still, in no small part due to how much Richardson sells out for his role.

37. "Honk If You're Horny"

(Season 1, Episode 4)

The musical bits in this show are underrated, and out of nowhere, this zany sketch gives way to perhaps the best musical bit of all. But— mildly hot take alert! —truth be told, the sketch as a whole isn’t a must-watch every time the way many others in this show are.

36. "Choking In Front Of Caleb Went"

(Season 1, Episode 5)

As my brother said to me after a recent rewatch, this is far from the most memorable sketch, but it is perhaps one of Tim Robinson’s funnier deliveries throughout. His attempts to remain cool and talk/emote while clearly choking are hysterical.

35. "Hotdog Vaccuum"

(Season 2, Episode 3)

I loved the callback on this one, referencing the very first sketch of the season. The fact that the mock ad is really just a Trojan horse for Tim to air his grievances about being fired for nearly choking on a hotdog makes it all the funnier.

34. "Galactic Bar"

(Season 2, Episode 5)

I'm torn on how to rate this sketch, because even if the central conceit isn’t too original (it has the same energy as the ‘person being roasted can’t handle being roasted’ that’s been played out on The Office, Family Guy, SNL, and more), the surrounding context is. The set design is impressive and the detailed backstory of Janine’s mother’s plight is… something else. All in all, a sketch that’s weirdly more memorable than it is funny.

33. "Reggie's Favorite Video"

(Season 1, Episode 6)

The first half of this sketch is already funny in Tim’s cripplingly awkward character failing to keep up with the YouTube zeitgeists, but it kicks up a notch when it resumes later in the episode with that same character failing to pass off his badly dubbed video as a ‘popular viral video.’ [Note: the link above is the first half of the sketch, and the second half is on the same video at 7:30]

32. "Detective Crashmore"

(Season 2, Episode 3)

The first half of this one, played earlier in the episode, is already funny as a send-up of a Tarantino-esque flick featuring a bloviating actor who goes by “Santa Claus.” Its second half, though, is the real gold mine. It’s here, in the format of a realistic panel interview with ‘AOL Blast,’ that we learn that the actor is in fact Santa Claus, and Santa, as it runs out, is a ego-tripping old crank (Chevy Chase, eat your heart out), who describes films as “cosmic gumbos.” It may rate higher if not for its needlessly abrupt and weird ending.

31. "The Capital Room"

(Season 2, Episode 2)

This parody of Shark Tank is among many people’s faves, and I don’t rate it quite as highly as the masses, I think. But I do rate it higher than my friend David, who considers this one of the most overrated sketches in the show. It’s all about Patti Harrison, and true to form, she turns in a delightfully chaotic performance as the one ‘shark’ who made her money in…shall we say, more unconventional ways.

30. "Airplane Crier"

(Season 1, Episode 2)

I can’t think of a more perfect casting job on the show than Will Forte as the airplane passenger. Another weird offering from perhaps the most unhinged episode of the show to date, but a delightfully weird one.

29. "Has This Ever Happened To You?"

(Season 1, Episode 1)

Not the best of the mock ads, nor the funniest example of Tim getting way too angry way too fast, but still a terrific early introduction to the “where does he come up with this kind of thing?” theme.

28. "Diner Conversation"

(Season 2, Episode 2)

This is a simple one— as close to normal as a sketch in this show is going to get — but it’s just so effective. It’s so fun to quote and I love Bob Odenkirk in anything he does. It’s also fun to see Tim play the straight man, since it so rarely happens.

27. "Whoopee Cushion"

(Season 1, Episode 2)

One of my favorite comedy bits is someone who way overreacts to being the butt of a mild joke, so naturally I love Tim’s increasingly unhinged reaction to the fairly innocent gag of sitting on a whoopee cushion.

26. "Wife Jokes"

(Season 2, Episode 4)

Okay actually, THIS is the most wholesome sketch of the whole show. And I want to know whose mind came up with the idea that a man’s undying love for his wife is borne out of her helping him stick up to a play castmate named Jamie Taco who keeps stealing all his lines. This one isn’t as easily reference-able as most others in the show are, but it’s just such a fun, weirdly heartwarming skit.

25. "Dylan's Burger"

(Season 2, Episode 3)

For most of this sketch, the joke seems like it’s simply going to be that Tim and co’s old business professor is jealous of Tim’s meal. Then, true to the show’s form, it gets increasingly ridiculous and downright sinister, culminating in perhaps the best ‘jump laugh’ (is that a thing?) ending of the entire show. Not the best sketch overall, to be sure, but man, I wish I could watch it again for the first time just to experience that last line again.

24. "Birthday Gifts"

(Season 1, Episode 1)

In the pantheon of great ITYSL sketches, this isn’t one I tend to remember. But this is Tim at his zaniest, and I do love how quickly all the other party guests fall in line with his line of thinking. Steven Yeun may have gone on to have an Oscar-nominated acting career, but he’ll never be able to live down his sloppy mudpies.

23. "Late To The Party"

(Season 1, Episode 5)

Another one that I always forget about, and every time I rewatch it am reminded how funny it is, with Tim’s increasing anger towards his friend who won’t buy his absurd excuse for tardiness. Put this in the tier of “not as reliably memorable, but undeniably funny.”

22. "Calico Cut Pants"

(Season 2, Episode 4)

In the ITYSL universe of short sketches, this 10-minute bit is practically a feature-length film. And what a glorious, unnerving, wild, dystopian feature film it is. You gotta give!!!!!!

21. "The Day Robert Palins Murdered Me"

(Season 1, Episode 5)

I’m embarrassed to admit I had no idea this was a parody of Walk The Line when I first watched it. Regardless of whether you know the reference or not, this one is hilarious on multiple levels. Tim’s delivery of this line deservedly made a deep run in the recent viral ITYSL quote bracket.

20. "Nachos on a Date"

(Season 1, Episode 4)

This sketch combines three great elements: a. a very real problem in America that’s not talked about enough (when your date takes all the best parts of a dish you’re sharing), b. Tim’s hilariously bad solution to address the problem, and c. His hysterical confusion when it all starts to unravel. Short, but sweet; a sleeper hit.

19. "Christmas Came Early"

(Season 1, Episode 5)

The joke in this one gets old kinda fast, but Patti Harrison is one of the funniest people ever, and this may be her biggest star turn in the show. Her delivery of “Did I stutter, Megan?” and “I’m smarter than YOU!” never fail to make me laugh.

18. "Parking Lot Dispute"

(Season 2, Episode 5)

Another sleeper hit. One of the best ‘cold opens’ to any episode. Just a short, sweet vignette of one man’s road rage coming up against Tim Robinson’s incompetence and oblivious moral high-grounding.

17. "Chunky"

(Season 1, Episode 6)

I don’t see this one listed among the crowd favorites usually, but it kills me every time. I love everything about this stupid game show idea, and Andy Samberg’s guest appearance as the confused-come-incensed contestant is delightful.

16. "Dan Flashes"

(Season 2, Episode 2)

If your sense of humor is ‘Tim Robinson yelling,’ boy, is this the sketch for you. Fortunately for me, that IS a large facet of my sense of humor. The ad for Dan Flashes and The Creeks later on in the episode makes for a nice button to the chaotic boardroom sketch.

15. "Baby of the Year"

(Season 1, Episode 1)

Waaaay funnier and chock-full of memorable lines than I remembered upon first viewing, to be honest. The first of several star turns from Sam Richardson.

14. "Karl Havoc"

(Season 2, Episode 1)

What starts as a very realistic send-up of those prank shows we all went through a phase of enjoying takes a turn midway through when the star, Carmine, decides that physically and emotionally he isn’t up for it. As hilarious as Robinson’s Carmine is, Gary Richardson plays a subtly terrific co-starring role as the straight man, too.

13. "Car Focus Group"

(Season 1, Episode 3)

One fun thing about this show is that it makes such good use of older actors, and through two season, perhaps still the biggest star of all is Ruben Rabasa, whose every line in this sketch is a ready-made quote bomb. This sketch would be wholly forgettable without his incredible delivery of each wacky line.

12. "Funeral Organist"

(Season 1, Episode 3)

My first time ever watching this show, this sketch may have been the hardest I’ve ever laughed. It doesn’t have as much replay value once you’ve seen it the first time because it’s so short and so simple, but god, Fred Willard was such a national treasure and is just so perfect here.

11. "Blues Brothers"

(Season 2, Episode 4)

This sketch is pretty much one joke, and thus, you’ll either find it really funny or very dumb. But I’m in the former camp for sure. The increasing volume of the dog barking, all other attendees yelling louder and louder at Tim to stop his Blues Brothers impression, the panic and desperation in Connor O’Malley’s eyes.. man, I just die every single time.

10. "Charades"

(Season 1, Episode 3)

Tim Heidecker is so delightfully hateable as the much-older boyfriend of one member of a friend group. His complete lack of social awareness and obsession with portraying “jazz legends” in charades make for a gold mine of quotes.

9. "Brian's Hat"

(Season 2, Episode 3)

This is actually one of the least wild conceits in all of ITYSL when you think about it. The idea that private texts entered into a courtroom as evidence could unintentionally reveal embarrassing information about a third party isn’t too much of a stretch. But its simplicity is what makes it so brilliant- Tim plays Brian, the unfortunate party in this one, so well as he deals with the slow realization that his coworkers (on trial) were mocking him. There’s just something about the way the lawyer reads the texts in a monotonous voice while we the audience see the events happening that kills me every time.

8. "The Magician"

(Season 1, Episode 3)

A criminally underrated sketch. Cecily Strong’s misplaced, chilling fury plays so well off of Tim’s dopey, innocent husband. The whole latter half of this skit will have you rolling.

7. "Sloppy Steaks"

(Season 2, Episode 2)

An absolute belter of a sketch. It’s peak ‘no social awareness’ Tim, it’s weird, it’s bonkers, it’s aggressively quotable, and it ends in a surreal dream sequence scored by Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. What more could you want?

6. "Driver's Ed"

(Season 2, Episode 6)

A Tim Robinson and Patti Harrison masterclass. I’ve rewatched this one so many times, I can probably quote every line of theirs. Even though they’re in different metaphysical spaces, the two play off each other so well, Robinson’s note-perfect impersonation of your everyday Drivers Ed teacher, and Harrison as the most fraught table vendor you ever did see.

5. "Instagram Captions"

(Season 1, Episode 1)

This already has a special place for me as the first ITYSL sketch I ever saw (shout out to my friend Andrew Savage for spreading the gospel before Twitter did), but it’s also just an absolute banger. It’s practically a greatest hits of memorable quotes, and Vanessa Bayer is so good as the oblivious brunch guest who does not comprehend the ‘art’ of lightly self-deprecating captions.

4. "Coffin Flop"

(Season 2, Episode 1)

In a show chock-full of great mock ads for fake products and services, this is THE standard. Every line in this mock ad for Corncob TV is memorable, and the ingenuity, both of thought and actual design, behind creating this sketch deserved awards.

3. "Laser Spine Specialists"

(Season 1, Episode 3)

This sketch already is funny in its initial form, which is Tim Robinson playing a divorced dad with rage issues amidst an otherwise normal, cheery spinal surgeon ad. But the humor really escalates when it devolves into a story of how Tim was swindled by a skeezy music agent. Every single line of Connor O’Malley’s, who plays said agent, and Robinson’s kills me in this one.

2. "Ghost Tour"

(Season 2, Episode 1)

I wish I could rewatch this one for the first time. I’ve seen it… has to be well north of 100 times at this point, and certain lines still crack me up, so I can’t even remember how hard I must have laughed upon first viewing. This sketch may have just missed out on my top spot (due entirely to how good #1 is), but its lines are easily my most-quoted, and its best-delivered, of the whole series thus far.

1. "Hotdog Car Crash"

(Season 1, Episode 5)

Even if you’ve never watched this show, if you’ve spent any time on Twitter, you know this sketch. It’s not just that it’s relentlessly hilarious and so easily quotable, it’s the one that spawned the most famous meme, and launched ITYSL into the stratosphere of internet fandom. For that, it takes top billing.