CollegeHumor, provider of fine internet comedy videos, is a serious institution for funny business that's old enough to be in college itself. However, like so many online media companies, CollegeHumor was decimated by dried-up ad sales and misrepresented social media metrics. The solution? Dropout, an expertly named new video streaming service for premium online laughs. It’s hard to avoid the sense that the company’s best days are probably behind it, but Dropout is still a hilarious portal to what CollegeHumor offers.
What Can You Watch on Dropout?
Dropout has more than 1,500 videos from CollegeHumor’s archives. Granted, you can watch many of these videos for free on YouTube, but it’s nice to have them all in one place without distraction. Since 1999, CollegeHumor has created some of the most gut-busting skits and sketches on the web. Revisiting them feels almost nostalgic. While Editors’ Choice picks Hulu, Netflix, and Peacock have strong exclusives, Dropout is virtually all exclusives.
Classic videos include video game sketches from Dorkly, Batman parody Badman, and Hot Date, a web show that eventually became a network show on Pop. You’ll also find all sorts of one-off and viral sensations under 15 seasons of CH Shorts, as well as behind-the-scenes office videos.
Dropout also has original shows you can only find on the paid service, typically with a little more ambition than what you see from its normal programming. There’s an expanded series based on the Honey Boo Boo parody Precious Plum. Cartoon Hell takes viewer suggestions for animations and illustrations. And my favorite show, Um, Actually, is a trivia game show about correcting pedantic nerd minutiae. CollegeHumor alum Adam Conover of Adam Ruins Everything shows up in the first episode. Bad Internet, a Black Mirror parody that CollegeHumor originally produced for YouTube Premium, is also here.
Similar Products
Tubi
Kanopy
Crunchyroll
Plex
Fandango at Home
Amazon Freevee
CW Seed
Midnight Pulp
PBS Video
RetroCrush
The Roku Channel
Crackle
Pluto TV
However, Dropout's current output seems to reflect the fact that in January 2020, the company was reduced to a skeleton team with far fewer resources and full-time staff to create original content. When it comes to new, weekly shows these days, it’s basically all Breaking News improv bits and game shows. There’s also an incredibly heavy emphasis on the popular tabletop role-playing game show Dimension 20 hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan. It’s a cool show, but you may be disappointed by the amount of new comedy Dropout provides on a regular basis if you’re not interested in that type of geeky fun.
How Much Does Dropout Cost Per Month?
After a three-day free trial, Dropout costs $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. You can browse the content for free before signing up, and you can give a subscription to a friend. This is reasonably priced for what you get, especially since everything is ad-free. Dropout even has a gift shop. You can buy everything from pins to shirts to coffee cups. At the time of this writing, the store was running an auction for signed figurines based on Dimension 20 campaign characters.
Dropout has apps for most platforms you’d expect. That includes mobile devices (Android and iOS), Xbox consoles, Samsung smart TVs, and media streaming devices (Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku).
Dropout on the Web and Mobile
On the web, Dropout’s main page blasts you with what it thinks you’d be interested in: New releases, trending releases, and originals shows. You also see everything you’ve already started watching, so you can quickly resume at any time. Browsing shows is easy enough, and I appreciate that you can filter tags not just by shows and formats, but by actors, too. It’s a cool, transparent way to put the talent front and center.
While watching a video, you can share it on social media, add it to your watchlist, and see other episodes in the season where applicable. Playback was smooth over my home Wi-Fi connection (60Mbps download) even after raising the video quality up to full 1080p HD. Dropout supports up to three simultaneous streams.
As for community features, Dropout encourages users to join its Discord server. There, you can interact with fellow subscribers, as well as the creators. You can suggest new merchandise, ask the cast questions, or share your weirdest fan art. It’s a smart way to make the passionate (and extremely online) audience feel welcome. It makes me feel more involved than simply leaving a rating or a comment, which you can’t do on the site itself.
On mobile, navigation is a bit more streamlined. You’ll find sections for exploring the main page, search for specific videos, watching your saved library, and editing your profile. Dropout lets you download videos to your mobile device for offline viewing, which is always a great feature.
Dropout Accessibility and Parental Controls
Dropout has standard accessibility features. You can turn on English subtitles and adjust the font, background, playback speed, and other properties. The service lacks audio descriptions, but relatively few video streaming services offer that functionality.
If the name itself wasn’t a big enough clue, CollegeHumor has a certain age demographic in mind. Its raunchy comedy isn’t intended for children, at least when their parents are nearby. So, unsurprisingly, Dropout lacks parental controls.
Dropout and VPN
Everyone from college students to college professors should use a VPN. A VPN keeps you and your data private and protected online. It does that by virtually changing your location through servers all over the country and even all over the world. However, that also means many VPNs don’t work with video streaming services that very much care about where viewers are located.
Dropout isn’t like other video streaming services, though. Dropout is a cool video streaming service. I tested Dropout using a Windows PC connected to ProtonVPN servers. No matter where I went, no matter what server I connected to in the US or abroad, I could keep streaming without issue. That’s great, but it may also change in the future if Dropout ever decides to block VPN traffic.
Video Streaming Services: What You Should Know
Drop Into Dropout
People should be able to make a living being funny on the internet. So if Dropout helps more comedians achieve that, even if CollegeHumor is no longer quite at full strength, then this streaming service is good enough for us.
If you prefer a video streaming service with wider appeal and deeper libraries, stick with our Editors’ Choice picks Netflix (for original shows), Hulu (for live and on-demand content), and Peacock (for free TV shows and movies).
For more on streaming, check out five reasons to ditch your video subscription and keep cable. Learn how to pick streaming services that fit your budget, and enjoy all sorts of reality show trash. Finally, check out our recommended streaming video guides if you don’t know what to watch.
Dropout carries the torch for CollegeHumor’s original online comedy as an entertaining, if niche, video streaming service.
Like What You're Reading?
Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Sign up for other newsletters
