The Tenderloins

The Tenderloins are an American comedy troupe currently composed of Joe Gatto, James Murray, Brian Quinn and Sal Vulcano. Based on Staten Island, The Tenderloins are best known for their filmed comedic sketches. In 2007 they won the $100,000 grand prize in the NBC “It’s Your Show” competition for the sketch “Time Thugs”. This success led to a development deal with Spike TV, which included the filming of a Tenderloins television show pilot.

Stage
The Tenderloins were formed in 1999 as a live improv comedy troupe. The original line-up consisted of Mike Boccio, Joe Gatto, James Murray and Sal Vulcano. A fifth member, Gideon Horowitz, joined them in 2001. Trained in the teachings of Del Close and Charna Halpern, The Tenderloins began performing Long Form Improv in 2000, followed by sketch comedy soon after. The group’s irreverent style attracted a following that led to years of sold out shows, mainly across Manhattan and Staten Island. After successful shows in Los Angeles and Chicago, the Tenderloins were invited to perform at the San Francisco Sketch Comedy Festival and the Miami Improv Festival.

Internet Success
Following years of successful live shows, in 2007 The Tenderloins redirected their talents to filmed comedic sketches. A line-up change occurred as a result of this shift, and Brian Quinn was brought in as the fourth member. Gatto, Murray, Quinn and Vulcano began producing comedic videos that were featured prominently on the home pages of MySpace and YouTube, garnering them millions of internet views. After being named Featured Comedians on MySpace in 2008, The Tenderloins were ranked #1 out of over 23,000 MySpace comedians for the month of April. They are currently ranked 12th out of 140,000 comics.

After producing 20 comedic sketches and winning $10,000 in an online sketch competition sponsored by NBC, the troupe was cast on NBC’s “It’s Your Show” sketch comedy show, hosted by Carson Daly. The Tenderloins took top honors on the show and were awarded the Grand Prize of $100,000 for “Time Thugs.”

Television
Following their online success, the troupe was signed to develop a scripted comedy pilot for Spike TV based on their own lives. The pilot was shot on location in 2008 on Staten Island, as well as other locations around New York City. Spike TV ultimately passed on the project.

A second pilot starring The Tenderloins was named as an official selection of the 2009 New York Television Festival.

Currently
Currently, The Tenderloins are developing two separate television projects that will again utilize the troupe’s diverse talents. Several new sketches have been filmed and will released via The Tenderloins web page as well as the usual assortment of content providers.