Reno 911! is an American television sitcom created by Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver for Comedy Central. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically Cops, with comic actors playing the police officers. Lennon, Garant and Kenney-Silver all starred in and are billed as creators of the series.
The series initially aired from 2003 to 2009 on Comedy Central. A revival premiered on May 4, 2020, on streaming platform Quibi, which was renewed for an additional season (the show's eighth) on September 3, 2020. Quibi later announced in October 2020 that it would be shutting down while the eighth season was in production. According to star Niecy Nash, the eighth season would debut on another platform, which was later revealed to be The Roku Channel. The eighth season, entitled Defunded, premiered on February 25, 2022, on The Roku Channel.
Premise
The show is a direct parody of the reality show Cops, which follows actual police officers through their daily duties, such as chasing criminals, and intervening in domestic disputes. Reno 911! features members of the fictitious, massively inept "Reno Sheriff's Department" (in reality, Reno is under the jurisdiction of the Reno Police Department and the Washoe County Sheriff's Office). In the course of their duties patrolling both the city of Reno and the rest of Washoe County, Nevada, the deputies sometimes address the camera directly (as though being interviewed for a documentary). The show deals heavily in politically incorrect and racy humor, including many jokes about race, sexual orientation, substance abuse, rape, pedophilia, and mental disorders. Another main comedic aspect of the show is the outlandishly severe incompetence of the deputies—often resulting in their being outsmarted by the criminals they are attempting to control.
thumb|left|Lennon and Kenney-Silver in character at Mardi Gras
Unlike Cops, which the show parodies, Reno 911! Sheriff's deputies are constantly cursing, causing much of their dialogue to be censored for broadcast. The actors often perform their own stunts. Criminals on the series are portrayed by a variety of comedians, and sometimes by main cast members performing a dual role; in these instances, the cast member's face will be blurred in the style of Cops.
The show's characters occasionally refer to their own program. They insist that the show's producers told them the videotaped footage was going to be used for a Fox Television documentary series titled Heroes on Patrol, and often say in frustration that they have no control over what is aired, and that the show only seems to capture their moments of incompetence. The many "good" incidents, they allege, are left out of the (show-within-a-show's) final edit. Also, some suspects in the show refer to the film crew, and the program being aired on television; occasionally, they will attempt to get arrested just to be on TV.
History
Development
In Lennon's words, Reno 911! came about, "like the best of ideas, through total desperation." Following the end of Viva Variety, The State alumnus worked on a series of pilots for the Fox Broadcasting Company, one of which, after a year's worth of dedicated writing, was terminated the day before shooting. It was scheduled to begin in the fall of 2000. With a month left before the pilot was expected to be due (and half of the budget still unused), the team asked if they could produce another pilot with the remaining resources, and the Fox executives agreed. Working quickly to take advantage of this, the initial Reno 911! pilot was conceived and shot in five days. In response to the cancellation, Reno residents and officials petitioned to save the show.
Revival
In October 2011, a story broke that the producers were in negotiations with the streaming service Netflix for a revival. The primary reason producers wanted to revive the show was because only 88 episodes were produced, and they and syndicating networks would have liked for the show to reach 100 episodes. However, at the time, Comedy Central, who still held sole rights, had not been involved in any negotiations. Furthermore, Lennon and Garant were attached to other projects.
It was announced on December 6, 2019, that the series would be revived in 2020 on streaming platform Quibi. The revival featured the return of the original series creators Lennon, Garant and Kenney-Silver. In a statement, Lennon said: "Reno 911! holds a special place in our hearts, and it will be a delight to get the original cast back together for 're-boot goofin'. Hopefully Nick Swardson can still roller skate. Quibi's short format seems custom made for our show."
Filming of the seventh season started in early 2020, where the production crew was spotted in Piru, California on February 23, 2020. On April 10, 2020, it was announced that the revival was set to premiere on May 4, 2020. On September 3, 2020, the show was renewed for an eighth season. All seasons of Reno 911! are currently available on the streaming service Paramount+. As of April 25, 2026 the series is available on Prime Video.
Episodes
For the seventh season, the episodes were re-edited in eight 21 minute episodes.
- 01 Let's Shoot A White Guy
- 02 Concealed Carry Fashion Show
- 03 Jackie’s Birthday
- 04 Truckee River Revenge
- 05 Coyote Hazing
- 06 Space Force
- 07 Weekend At Bernie
- 08 The Return Of Diablo
Characters
300px|thumb|Left to right: Dep. Travis Junior, Dep. James Garcia, Lt. Jim Dangle, Dep. Trudy Wiegel, Dep. Raineesha Williams, Dep. Clementine Johnson and Dep. S. Jones
<onlyinclude>
{| class="wikitable"style="text-align:left;font-size:100%"
! rowspan="2"|Actor
! rowspan="2"|Character
! colspan="8"|Seasons
|-
! style="width:5%;"|1
! style="width:5%;"|2
! style="width:5%;"|3
! style="width:5%;"|4
! style="width:5%;"|5
! style="width:5%;"|6
! style="width:5%;"|7
! style="width:5%;"|8
|-
|Thomas Lennon
| Lieutenant Jim Dangle
| colspan="8"
|-
|Kerri Kenney-Silver
| Deputy Trudy Wiegel
| colspan="8"
|-
|Robert Ben Garant
| Deputy Travis Junior
| colspan="8"
|-
|Cedric Yarbrough
| Deputy Sven Jones
| colspan="8"
|-
|Niecy Nash
| Deputy Raineesha Williams
| colspan="8"
|-
|Carlos Alazraqui
| Deputy James Oswaldo Garcia
| colspan="5"
|
| colspan="2"
|-
|Wendi McLendon-Covey
| Deputy Clementine Johnson
| colspan="5"
|
| colspan="2"
|-
|Mary Birdsong
| Deputy Cherisha Kimball
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="3"
|
| colspan="2"
|-
|Ian Roberts
| Sergeant Jack Declan
| colspan="5" |
| colspan="3"
|-
|Joe Lo Truglio
| Deputy Frank Salvatore Rizzo
| colspan="5" |
| colspan="3"
|-
|}
</onlyinclude>
Season six newcomers Joe Lo Truglio and Ian Roberts had appeared as guest stars in past seasons, and both also appeared in Reno 911: Miami. As a member of The State, Lo Truglio is an old friend of the three creators and has worked with them on numerous projects. Roberts is a founding member of the popular Upright Citizens Brigade improv comedy troupe, who had their own Comedy Central sketch show from 1998 to 2000. Other members of the troupe (Matt Besser and Matt Walsh) also appeared in recurring guest roles throughout the seasons. Amy Poehler is the only member of the "UCB 4" to have never appeared on the show in any form.
Throughout the show's run, all three main cast members from Stella (who were also from The State) made appearances as characters. While Michael Showalter was the exception on the TV series, he appeared in the film, along with all of the cast members of The State.
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:cornsilk;"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="5"|"The State" Crossovers
|- style="background:Cornsilk;"
! Actor
! On Reno 911!
! In Reno 911: Miami
|- style="background:white;"
| Thomas Lennon
| colspan="2" | Lt. Jim Dangle
|- style="background:white;"
| Robert Ben Garant
| colspan="2" | Deputy Travis Junior
|- style="background:white;"
| Kerri Kenney-Silver
| colspan="2" | Deputy Trudy Wiegel
|- style="background:white;"
| Michael Patrick Jann
| Director
| Tattoo Shop Owner #1
|- style="background:white;"
| Joe Lo Truglio
| Shopkeeper (Season 3)<br/>Deputy Frank Rizzo (Seasons 6 - 7)
| Tattoo Shop Owner #2
|- style="background:white;"
| Ken Marino
| Frank (Season 1)<br/>Cadet Jared Reese (Season 3)<br/>Sgt. Andrew Blake (Season 5)
| Deaf Tattoo Artist
|- style="background:white;"
| David Wain
| Sensual Masseur (Season 1)<br/>Sam (Season 5)
| Breen the Plumber
|- style="background:white;"
| Michael Ian Black
| Kevin the Sex Offender (Season 1)<br/>Chris (Seasons 2 & 5)<br/>Hatzolah Captain Schwartz (Season 7)
| Ron of Ron's Tattoo
|- style="background:white;"
| Kevin Allison
| N/A
| Tattoo Victim
|- style="background:white;"
| Michael Showalter
| N/A
| Paul
|- style="background:white;"
| Todd Holoubek
| N/A
| Tattooed Guy
|- style="background:white;"
|}
Main crew members
- Danny DeVito – executive producer
- Michael Shamberg – executive producer
- Stacey Sher – executive producer
- John Landgraf – executive producer
- Peter Principato – executive producer
- Paul Young – executive producer
- Robert Ben Garant – creator
- Kerri Kenney-Silver – creator
- Thomas Lennon – creator
- Michael Patrick Jann – director
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
!
|-
| align="center"| 2004
| GLAAD Media Awards
| Outstanding Comedy Series
| Reno 911!
|
| align="center"|
|-
| align="center"| 2010
| Gracie Awards
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
| Niecy Nash
|
| align="center"|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="2"| 2020
| rowspan="2"| Primetime Emmy Awards
| Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series
| Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney-Silver, John Landgraf, Peter Principato and David Lincoln
|
| align="center" rowspan="2"|
|-
| Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series
| Kerri Kenney-Silver
|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="3"| 2021
| Critics' Choice Television Awards
| Best Short Form Series
| Reno 911!
|
| align="center"|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Primetime Emmy Awards
| Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series
| Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney-Silver, John Landgraf, Peter Principato and David Lincoln
|
| align="center" rowspan="2"|
On December 23, 2021, Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon was released on Paramount+. The film involves the deputies of the Reno Sheriff's Department as they hunt for Q, the one behind all of the QAnon conspiracies. Their efforts cause them to get stuck at a QAnon convention at sea.
On October 28, 2022, a third movie was announced to be released on Comedy Central. A Christmas movie titled Reno 911! It's a Wonderful Heist it premiered December 3, 2022.
Home media
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
|-
! style="width:240px;"| DVD title
! style="width:90px;"| Release date
! of<br />episodes
!Additional information
|- valign="top"
|The Complete First Season||June 22, 2004|| style="text-align:center;"|14|| Alternate Scenes, Audio Commentary from the entire cast.
|- valign="top"
|The Complete Second Season Uncensored ||June 14, 2005|| style="text-align:center;"|16|| Over 90 minutes of Alternate/Deleted Scenes, director and Cast Commentary, Drug Arrest Prevention Seminar – Live Performance from HBO's 2004 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival.
|- valign="top"
|The Complete Third Season Uncensored ||July 11, 2006|| style="text-align:center;"|13|| Deleted scenes, extended outtakes, and commentary with the cast and crew.
|- valign="top"
|The Complete Fourth Season Uncensored ||June 26, 2007|| style="text-align:center;"|14|| Alternate/Deleted scenes, extended outtakes, and commentary with the cast and crew.
|- valign="top"
|The Complete Fifth Season Uncensored ||July 15, 2008|| style="text-align:center;"|16|| Alternate/Deleted scenes, extended outtakes, Featurette: Cop Psychology Inside the Minds of Reno's deputies.
|- valign="top"
|The Complete Sixth Season Uncensored ||July 7, 2009|| style="text-align:center;"|15|| Alternate/Deleted scenes, extended outtakes, and commentary.
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
|-
! style="width:240px;"| DVD Name
! style="width:120px;"| Release date
!Additional information
|- valign="top"
|Reno 911!: Miami||June 19, 2007|| Audio Commentary, Alternate / Extended Scenes, Trailers, Easter Eggs, and the featurette "Making a Spoof."
|- valign="top"
|Reno 911!: Miami: Unrated ||June 19, 2007|| Audio commentary, Alternate / Extended Scenes, Trailers, Easter Eggs, Public Service Announcements, and the featurette "World Premiere."
|- valign="top"
|Reno 911!: Miami: More Busted Than Ever Unrated Edition ||September 23, 2008|| Intro to "The Lost Version", Audio commentary, Extended Scenes with optional commentary, Blooper Reel, Public Service Announcements, Theatrical Trailer, Easter Eggs.
|}
Best of Releases
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!DVD name!!Release date!!Additional information
|-
|Reno's Most Wanted Uncensored ||February 13, 2007|| A compilation of Reno 911!'s best scenes from the first four seasons.
|}