TV Pirata was a weekly Brazilian comedy showaired on Rede Globo between 1988 and 1990, being re-aired monthly in 1992. Some of the writers later went on to form the comedy troupeCasseta & Planeta. The show was first aired in April 1988 to fill a gap on Rede Globo's Tuesday night prime time line-up and its comedy was inspired by sketch comedy shows such as Saturday Night Live and Monty Python's Flying Circus with a no-nonsense approach to Brazilian comedy ; however, it mixed a new style of comedy with elements of Brazilian culture such as football, politics, pop culture, telenovelas, economics and celebrities. No well-known figure or member of any economical or social class was spared from the show's cutting edgehumor. The premise of the show was a TV studio being invaded by pirates who took over the programming department and put a tape on the air with some "unusual" programming. Another new element to Brazilian audiences was the performers, who weren't the usual comedic actors, but dramatic actors doing more comedic roles. Despite the slow beginning, the idea of a fresh new comedy style began to settle among Brazilian audiences who grew to embrace the program and its writers, who at the time were still writing the comedymagazineCasseta Popular and the newspaper-like Planeta Diário. While the sketch comedy style was not new to the audiences, it was done in a manner to be considered ground breaking for the time and place while defying the old comedies styles on Brazilian TV from the late 1960s to the early 1980s; therefore turning the show into a cultural phenomenon. But in 1990, due to weak cast changes and ratings decrease, the series was cancelled. It experienced a short-lived revival in early 1992 but was cancelled later that year. However, the series obtained a cult status in Brazil since it was aired as there has never been a show like it before or since. The program has been released on DVD, and was aired on Rede Globo's sister stations to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2005. Some of the program's videos are also available through YouTube.
