'Drunk History' Host Derek Waters Talks Emmy Nomination, Dishes on Season 3

The final round of Emmy voting continues through Aug. 28, and if there’s one show that might surprise Academy members who think they’ve seen it all, it’s Comedy Central’s Drunk History, a first-time nominee in the inaugural Outstanding Variety Sketch Series category. To represent the show’s second season, co-creator and host Derek Waters chose to submit the episode “First Ladies” (streaming on Hulu) which has inebriated narrators Molly McAleer, Jen Kirkman, and Jenny Johnson telling the stories of first ladies Frances Cleveland, Edith Wilson, and Dolley Madison — which are acted out by lip-synching actresses Alia Shawkat, Courteney Cox, and Casey Wilson, respectively.

“I hate to be the bearer of real news, but ladies are rarely spoken about in history. Does that mean they didn’t exist? Of course not. But it’s the overall goal of this show to find stories that [make people say], ‘Why didn’t I know about this?’” Waters says. Plus, he adds, “At the beginning of each episode, where people are talking about whatever the topic is — we call it a love letter — our friend Ed Hansen says, ‘Behind every good man, is a ride or die kind of b—h. And America would not thrive without a ride or die kind of b—h.’ I think that line is why we got nominated.”

All joking aside, the episode does capture the show at its finest with:

* Narrators with strong, distinctive voices telling obscure true stories. “The monologue that Frances Cleveland gives blows my mind,” Waters says. “It still gives me goosebumps.”

* Clever editing that capitalizes on those narrators’ unpredictable digressions, such as Kirkman interrupting her story to ask if she could have the cheesy bread she brought (viewers see Edith Wilson pose the question first). “I didn’t call Jen and say, ‘Hey, make sure you bring some food that you keep asking me for.’ That’s my favorite part, that documentary feeling. Nothing’s ever forced,” Waters says.

* And, of course, great guest stars with the comedic timing to bring the stories to life: “When we did the Edith Wilson story, I played Woodrow. She was covering for her husband, who had a stroke, so I got to be in a version of Weekend at Bernie’s with Courteney Cox,” Waters says. “That was pretty cool.”

Drunk History’s third season, which Waters says is his favorite, premieres Sept. 1 at 10:30 p.m. on Comedy Central. The first episode, “New Jersey,” has Mark Proksch narrating the Bones Wars rivalry between fossil-hunters Othniel Marsh (Christopher Meloni) and Edward Cope (Tony Hale). Tess Lynch recounts the contributions of Thaddeus Lowe (Greg Kinnear) to America’s first air force — hot air balloons! — founded by President Lincoln (Stephen Merchant). And Jenny Slate explains how scientists Arno Penzias (Justin Long) and Robert Wilson (Jason Ritter) discovered cosmic microwave background radiation, which helped establish the Big Bang theory.

It’s an early contender for the episode Waters will submit for the Emmys next year, along with the season’s fourth episode, “Spies,” which features Oscar winner Octavia Spencer as Harriet Tubman. “It’s the same reason I like ‘First Ladies,’” he says, “because it covers stories that you’ve never even heard of. We all know Harriet Tubman is a great woman that freed so many slaves, but she was also a spy, which is really cool. And Roald Dahl, the children’s writer, was a British spy, which Will Ferrell plays. That’s a real, real good one.”

Other Season 3 appearances that Waters is particularly psyched for include Parker Posey as the inventor of the bra, Mary Phelps Jacob; Sam Rockwell and Dennis Quaid as Bugsy Siegel and Lucky Luciano in the “Vegas” episode; and Jason Alexander, who takes on “Boss” Tweed, leader of New York City’s corrupt Tammany Hall political organization.

We can also tease that Waters himself drinks more in Season 3 than ever before: “Tess Lynch got me real drunk, but that also was because I had to do two [shoots] that day, which is not fun,” he says. “This year we had a lot of newcomers come, and to help them feel comfortable, I reminded them that I do this with them so they don’t feel exploited or alone.”

Something else you won’t want to miss in the “New Jersey” episode is Waters attending the Create-a-Pro Wrestling Academy — a dream come true. “It’s like, why is that in there? Because I wanted to do it,” he admits. “‘How am I supposed to justify this?’ I don’t need to justify it. It’s something to watch in between stories.”

He doesn’t hold back either. Did he experience any injuries? “I’ll be honest with you. Doctors all across this sweet nation of ours, and even this world of ours, will tell you that you can’t do something and get appendicitis, that you have no control over it. However, two days after I did wrestling, my appendix had to be removed,” he says. “When I watched some of the footage, I was like, ‘There’s no way that didn’t help,’ moving everything around like that. Getting body slammed, I don’t think, cures your appendix from being ruptured.”

Neither does the belly-flop he does in the water while trying out rocket boots in the season’s second episode, “Miami” (which features Josh Hartnett as Clark Gable, Johnny Knoxville as Ponce de Leon, and Maya Rudolph as Griselda Blanco). “Every element of this show did not help avoid getting my appendix ruptured,” Waters says. “But I’m OK now.”

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