On Cinema

On Cinema (later renamed On Cinema at the Cinema for the video series) is a comedic film review web series starring Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington as a pair of hapless movie reviewers (using their own names). The series, which currently airs online through the Adult Swim YouTube channel, began in 2012 and is now in its eighth season.

The show started as an independently released, audio-only podcast from 2011 to 2013, before being picked up as a professionally produced web video series by Thing X in 2012-13 for its first two seasons, and Adult Swim starting in its third season in 2013.

Early audio episodes of On Cinema were quite short, frequently no more than one or two minutes long. Heidecker and Turkington would "review" films on these podcasts without actually providing any meaningful information or critical insight. Nearly every film that has been discussed or mentioned on On Cinema since the podcast's inception has received a "5 bags of popcorn" rating on a scale of five from the two reviewers, regardless of its reception elsewhere in the press or with the viewing public. Heidecker and Turkington began making the podcast as a "prank" and a mockery of the "self-indulgen[ce]" of the podcasting community.

With the series' growth into an online video series, episodes grew to an average length of eight to ten minutes. Although reviewing films remains a central conceit, the focus of the series quickly shifted from a mockery of amateur podcasting to an extended character study of the two podcasters. Heidecker, in character on On Cinema, frequently uses his time on camera to discuss anything on his character's mind except film, especially his bizarre ailments, personal crises, and right-wing political views, or to simply berate and belittle Turkington. Turkington's character fancies himself a "film expert," his primary qualification being an enormous collection of forgotten and arguably forgettable mainstream films from the 1980s and 1990s on VHS. The series continues to provide reviews that purposely offer no real critical insight.

Several seasons of On Cinema have discernible multi-episode plot arcs as Heidecker and Turkington explore the dynamic and characters they have created both in the series' actual episodes and, simultaneously, on social media. Notably, Turkington's Twitter account under his own name is currently written entirely in character as his On Cinema alter ego.

Guest appearances have included Jordan Hoffman, Jimmy McNichol, Joe Estevez, Lawrence Turman, Sally Kellerman, Candy Clark, Mark Proksch, John Aprea, and Peyton Reed. Each season includes a Live Oscar Special. In addition, On Cinema spawned a spinoff web series in its fifth season, Heidecker's Decker, a simultaneous spoof of both the political-thriller genre and homebrew video intended for the web. In 2016, Decker received a TV adaptation on Adult Swim, Decker: Unclassified.

In 2013 the On Cinema Film Guide app was released, featuring the voices of Turkington and Heidecker reviewing over 17,000 films.

In 2015, Heidecker's character "left" the series. Turkington became the new host with special guest Gregg Turkington (pre-taped and seen on a television) as the show's new movie expert for a single episode. Heidecker returned as the host for the rest of the show.