Horrible Histories (US TV series)

Horrible Histories is an American sketch comedy & musical television series, part of the children's history books of the same name. An adaptation of the original CBBC series of the same name, it airs on ABC, with some of the episodes on Disney Channel.

Like its original British counterpart, the series maintains the franchise's overall irreverent but accurate focus on the dark, gruesome or scatological aspects of history, except it focuses more on American history. The cast for the series consists of students & members of Bigfoot Drama at Spokane Falls Community College in Spokane, Washington.

It is the franchise's first series to be made in America since the 2001 animated series.

Theme Song
(Same as the British version.)
 * Potty Presidents, Angry Aztecs
 * Fighting Frenchmen, Wicked Wild West
 * Woeful Wars, Ferocious Fights
 * Freaky Nations, Scary Frights


 * Horrors that defy description
 * Shocking Scots, Awful Egyptians
 * Vicious Vikings, Cruel Crimes
 * Punishments from ancient times


 * Romans, rotten, rank, & ruthless
 * Cavemen, savage, fearsome, toothless
 * Groovy Greeks, Brainy Sages
 * United States, throughout the ages


 * Gory stories, we do that
 * And your host, a talking rat
 * The past is no longer a mystery
 * Welcome to Horrible Histories

Main

 * Danny Healy
 * Chris Hansen
 * Reyn Robinson
 * Jennifer Tindall
 * Jerry Frunk
 * Samuel Peters
 * Rebecca Earley Craven

Supporting

 * Nick Castaldi
 * Athena Lauzon
 * Bree Castillo
 * Herron Davidson
 * Kiara White
 * Haley Garcia-Peters
 * Arthur Riese-Freeman
 * Ashley Gren
 * Ismen Vue
 * Nalini Jeffords
 * Sarah Plumb
 * Jordan Baird
 * Jayce Fortin
 * Damon Abdallah

Puppeteer

 * Matt Vogel as Rattus "Norvus" Norvegicus, the host & star of the series. A Norwegian brown rat, he is the (slightly bigger) cousin of Rattus Rattus from the British series.

Special Guests

 * "Weird Al" Yankovic
 * Chris Rock
 * Keegan Michael-Key
 * Jordan Peele

Angry Aztecs
These sketches explain the history & customs of the Aztecs of ancient Mexico.

Amazing Aussies
These sketches explain the history & customs of Australia.

Awful Egyptians
These sketches explain the history, the customs, & the rulers of Ancient Egypt.

Corny Canadians
These sketches explain the history of Canada.

Fabulous French
These sketches explain the people & the historical events of France.

Fascinating First Nations
These sketches explain the customs and religions of Canada & US' first nations.

Frightful First World War
These sketches explain the people--including the US & its involvement--& the events that occurred during World War I (1914-1918).

Groovy Greeks
These sketches explain the people, lifestyle, & events in Ancient Greece.

High Tide Hawaiians
These sketches explain the history & customs of Hawaii.

Ignoramus Inventors
These sketches explain some of the most brilliant (& the craziest) inventors in history.
 * Alexander Graham Bell makes the world's first telephone call... for a rather embarrassing reason.
 * New! Eli Whitney's cotton gin (Advertisement)

Ingenious Industrial Revolution
These sketches explain the people & events that occurred during the Industrial Revolution (1790-1870).

Marvelous Mormons
These sketches explain the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (1830 to present).
 * A one-legged skeptic challenges Mormon leader Brigham Young to prove himself a prophet. (Be careful what you wish for...!)
 * New! Brigham Young's Deseret Alphabet (Advertisement)

Nasty 19th Century
These sketches explain the people & events that occurred during the 19th century (1801-1900).
 * A couple of Pennsylvanians end up getting the last laugh for mocking a newly-built oil rig.

Potty Presidents
These sketches explain some of the Presidents of the United States.

Radical Renaissance
These sketches explain the people & events that occurred during the Renaissance (14th-17th Centuries).

Revolting Revolution
These sketches explain the people & events that occurred during the American Revolution (1765-1783).

Rotten Romans
These sketches explain the people, lifestyle, & events in Ancient Rome.

Ruthless Rulers
These sketches explain various leaders in world history.

Savage Settlers
These sketches explain the first settlers in America (1492-1763).

Savage Stone Age
These sketches explain the people of the Stone Age, their customs, & their evolution.

Shocking Scotland
These sketches explain the people & historical events that occurred during the days of Scotland.

Troublesome 20th Century
These sketches explain the people & events that occurred during the 20th century (1901-2000).

Uncivilized Civil War
These sketches explain the people & events that occurred during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Unusual Africans
These sketches explain the lives and customs of Africans (100's-2000's).

Vicious Vikings
These sketches explain the history, the customs, & the events that occurred during the Age of Vikings (800-1066).

Vile Vietnam War
These sketches explain America's involvement & the events that occurred during the Vietnam War (1955-1975).

Wicked Wild West
These sketches explain the lifestyle & events that occurred in the American West during the 19th & 20th centuries.
 * A couple of Arizona ranchers fighting over possession of their settlement decide to settle things with a card game.
 * A group of cowboys declare war on sheep.

Woeful Second World War
These sketches explain the people--including the US & its involvement--& the events that occurred during World War II(1939-1945).
 * Who Me
 * A member of the French Resistance tries to explain a new secret weapon that stinks--literally!

HHTV News
Horrible Histories Television News, or HHTV News, features reports from all different historical eras & places.
 * The attack on President Taft (Potty Presidents) - Reporting live at the White House just as President William Howard Taft gets hit in the head by a head of cabbage.


 * President Jackson's Inauguration (Potty Presidents) - Reporting live at the US Capitol as President Andrew Jackson flees from his inaugural party.

Historical Bachelor
A parody of The Bachelor, Historical Bachelor focuses on a single bachelor from a different historical era dates multiple women over several weeks, narrowing them down to hopefully find his true love.
 * Mormon Bachelor (Marvelous Mormons) - A 19th-century Mormon dates several women... & in the end decides to marry them all!

HHTV Sports
HHTV Sports covers historical sporting events. It is presented by a newsreader introducing the sports events, & sports correspondents in the field.
 * President Adams at Potomac River (Potty Presidents)

Historical Chop
A parody of American reality-based cooking television game show Chopped, Historical Chop features two judges as they taste some of the most strange & unique dishes from different contestants, all from different eras of history.
 * Ezekiel Moore, Soldier (Uncivilized Civil War) - Ezekiel Moore, a soldier fighting in the Civil War, prepares some highly unusual dishes, such as beef-tea & fried robins on toast.

Historical Desktops
If some of these historical figures had a computer or tablet then perhaps these are some of the things they would’ve been doing if they had one.
 * Abraham Lincoln (Uncivilized Civil War) - Unable to persuade Robert E. Lee to lead the Union, President Lincoln decides to give Ulysses S. Grant a shot.
 * Joseph Smith Jr. (Marvelous Mormons) - The prophet Joseph Smith tries to convince President Martin Van Buren to help his fellow Mormons.

Historical Fashion Fix
In each of the sketches, the host helps historical people of the lower class get a professional makeover to transform them into a higher-class gentleman.
 * Boston Gentleman (Revolting Revolution) - A gentleman from colonial Boston gets an unusual makeover... & soon learns that the "tea party" he's about to attend isn't a literal tea party!

Historical Hospital
The Historical Hospital is like any other hospital, people go there to get treated for injuries or illnesses. Unlike other hospitals, the doctors here are transported from different historical periods.
 * Dr. Eagle (Troublesome 20th Century) - A hippie doctor from the 1960s, tries to treat a patient with "medical alternatives".


 * Dr. Mathias Livingston (Revolting Revolution)


 * Dr. Oluwaseun and Dr. Combe (Unusual Africans) - A Yoruba folk healer and a British phrenologist are assigned to treat a patient's illness, but it seems only one of them is concerned with trying to help the patient.

Historical Wife Swap
A parody of the television program Wife Swap, Historical Wife Swap comparing the lives of two very different historical families, where the wife of one family would swap with another wife for one week.
 * 1617: The Livingstons swap with The Saggers (Savage Settlers) - The Livingstons, a Pilgrim couple from England, trade places with a local Dutch couple, the Saggers.
 * 1700: The swap with The (Fascinating First Nations) - A Cherokee couple from the Southeast trades places with an Inuit the Arctic.
 * 1765: The English Royalty swap with the American Colonists (Revolting Revolution) - George III & his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, trade places with a married couple in Colonial America.


 * 1836: The Harrises swap with The Shermans (Marvelous Mormons) - Brother & Sister Harris, a Mormon couple, trade places with Baptist couple, Mr. & Mrs. Sherman.
 * 1861: The Hamiltons swap with the Cottons (Uncivilized Civil War) - Mr. & Mrs. Hamilton from the more industrialized Northern States trade places with Mr. & Mrs. Cotton from the Southern States.

Movie Trailers

 * M for McCarthy  ( Troublesome 20th Century) - Joseph McCarthy goes on a zealous crusade in hunting down Communists in "M for McCarthy" (parody of V for Vendetta).


 * Mad Jack (Woeful Second World War) - Parody of Mad Max.
 * The Air Conditioner (Wicked Wild West) - Meet the real hero of the American West (Western film parody).

Stupid Deaths
Stupid Deaths features historical figures explaining the circumstances of their death to the Grim Reaper, who then decides if they can enter the afterlife.

Adolf Frederick


 * Era : Ruthless Rulers


 * Year of Death : 1771


 * Occupation : King of Sweden


 * Method of Death : Died of digestion problems after having consumed a meal of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring, & champagne, topped off with 14 servings of his favorite dessert: semla served in a bowl of hot milk, called "hetvägg".

Allan Pinkerton


 * Era : Nasty 19th Century


 * Year of Death : 1884


 * Occupation : Detective & spy


 * Method of Death : Died of gangrene as a result of tripping on pavement & biting on his tongue.

Eleazar Avaran


 * Era : Groovy Greeks


 * Year of Death : 163 BC


 * Occupation : Maccabean rebel


 * Method of Death : Crushed to death by an elephant after he stabbed it in the belly during a battle.

George Washington Great Molasses Flood victims Twenty-one people from Boston explain to the Grim Reaper of the sticky situation they were in.
 * Era : Potty Presidents
 * Year of Death : 1799
 * Occupation : Political leader, military general, statesman, & president
 * Method of Death : Died in the hands of physicians who attempted to cure his sore threat through bloodletting.
 * Era : Troublesome 20th Century
 * Year of Death : 1919
 * Method of Death : Killed by a wave of molasses as the result of a freak accident.

Isadora Duncan Steve Irwin The Crocodile Hunter tries to explain a painful lesson he had learned at the last moments of his life... & it did not involve a crocodile!
 * Era : Troublesome 20th Century
 * Year of Death : 1927
 * Occupation : Dancer
 * Method of Death : Broke her neck when her long scarf caught on the wheel of a car in which she was a passenger.
 * Era : Amazing Aussies
 * Year of Death : 2006
 * Occupation : Zookeeper, conservationist, & television personality
 * Method of Death : Stung in the heart by a stingray

Domitian
The paranoid Roman Emperor Domitian sings about his corrupt reign, all leading up to his assassination. A parody of "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell.
 * Era : Rotten Romans

The Mormon War Song
Leaders of the Mormon Church--Brigham Young, John Taylor, & Wilford Woodruff--explain their struggles with the US Government. A parody of "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads.
 * Era : Marvelous Mormons

The Monkey Trial Song
John T. Scopes sings about the ridiculous case that was made against him. A parody of "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora.
 * Era : Troublesome 20th Century

The VVV
The Varsity Victory Volunteers sing about how they helped the US & the Allies to victory. A parody of "Shut Up & Dance" by Walk the Moon.
 * Era : Woeful Second World War

Rasputin's Song
The Mad Monk sings about his influence over the Romanovs & all of Russia. A parody of "It Goes Around the World" by ATC.
 * Era : Troublesome 20th Century

World War II Girls
In this song, whilst the men are fighting World War Two, the women at home show a bit of girl power as they take to the tough, tiresome jobs of factory working, plane watching, & manual labor hood, helping to win the war. A parody of "Just a Girl" by No Doubt.
 * Era : Woeful Second World War

World War II Leaders: They're Bad
The four most notorious leaders--Benito Mussolini, Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, & Josef Stalin--boast over who was the worst during World War II. A parody of "Bad" by Michael Jackson, & a remake version of the Roman Emperors one.
 * Era : Woeful Second World War