Strangers with Candy was an American sitcom that aired thirty episodes (in three seasons of ten episodes each) on Comedy Central in 1999 and 2000. The series' main character, Jerri Blank (played by Amy Sedaris), was a runaway returning to high school as a freshman at the age of 46.

Created and written by Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, Stephen Colbert, and Mitch Rouse, the show was a spoof of the after school specials of the 1970s and 1980s. Sedaris, Colbert, Dinello, Rouse, and many stars of the series were alumni of Chicago's Second City comedy troupe.

According to the show's animated introduction (used after the first season), after dropping out of high school as a teenager, Jerri ran away from home and became "a boozer, a user, and a loser," supporting her drug habits through prostitution, stripping, and larceny. She went to prison because, in her words, "I stole the TV!"

Every episode featured a theme or moral lesson, although the lessons were often amoral or warped; in an episode about eating disorders, Jerri learns that it's OK to become an anorexic, because it will get people to pay attention to you. When Jerri's father passes away in the episode "The Goodbye Guy," Jerri learns the valuable "You never really 'lose' your parents. Unless of course they die. Then they're gone forever. And nothing will bring them back."

The series was first envisioned by Dinello and Colbert, both of whom had seen a public service annoucement called "The Trip Back," in which motivational speaker Florrie Fisher recalled her days as a New York Street whore to a group of high school students. Seeing that Fisher strongly resembled their friend Amy Sedaris, they showed her a copy of the tape, and suitably impressed with Sedaris' imitation of Fisher, began developing a series based around the idea of Fisher going back to high school herself. The three, along with Mitch Rouse, combined this concept with lampooning the after school specials they had all been subjected to in high school. Much of Jerri's past is taken from anecdotes in "The Trip Back" and Florrie Fisher's autobiography, "The Lonely Trip Back," and several lines in the series are taken verbatim from speeches that Fisher gave. It is arguable that Jerri Blank has become even more famous than the woman that inspired her; while Strangers With Candy became a cult success, Florrie Fisher sank into obscurity in the 1980s. Today, much speculation among fans of the series revolves around finding out whatever happened to Fisher.

• Geoffrey (pronounced Joffrey) Jellineck (Paul Dinello)-- Jerri's flamboyant, narcissistic art teacher

• Chuck Noblet (Stephen Colbert)-- Jerri's bitter history teacher and Jellineck's secret lover

• Onyx Blackman (Greg Hollimon)-- The overly stern principal of Flatpoint High; the character's name is a play on the fact that Greg Hollimon, who portrays him, is a large African American

• Orlando Pinatubo (Orlando Abdo Pabotoy): Jerri's best friend, a Filipino whom she constantly mocks because of his race

• Coach Cherri Wolf (Sarah Thyre): the Flatpoint gym coach

• Sara Blank (Deborah Rush): Jerri's wicked stepmother

• Tammi Littlenut (Maria Thayer): Jerri's best girlfriend

• Derrick Blank (Larc Spies): Jerri's super-jock step-brother

• Guy Blank (Roberto Gari): Jerri's catatonic father

• Strangers With Candy at IMDb
• Strangers With Candy at TV.com
• Tony's Strangers With Candy Companion Site: cast and episode lists
• The Comfort Zone Strangers With Candy photo galleries and quotes pages, as well as Amy Sedaris pictures, audio downloads and interview transcripts