You Wrote It, You Watch It was a show on MTV that ran from 1992 to 1993. Often cited as an early version of crowdsourcing, the show featured comedy troupe The State acting out strange stories viewers sent in via mail or interviewed on the street. It only ran for one season due to low ratings, though The State made most of it available to watch on their Vimeo page.
Not long after You Wrote It, You Watch It was canceled, The State were given their own self-titled sketch comedy show on MTV — one that ran for about three years, four seasons, and 28 episodes. The show was early TV work for The State, which had 11 members — most of whom went on to even greater success individually. Michael Ian Black, Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Joe Lo Truglio, David Wain, and Michael Showalter have gone on to mainstream success in particular, either as actors or writers.
The segments were introduced by a young Jon Stewart in one of his first big TV gigs. After the show was canceled due to low ratings, he quipped "You wrote it, you just didn't watch it!" The State also maintained a relationship with Stewart, showing up on his MTV talk show.
