The show begins. Laughs are shared and drinks slung back. Then, something strange begins to take hold of the crowd. The 11-minute episode twists from comedy into something much creepier. A suburban dad has politely declined his neighbor’s invitation to watch football with the guys. Soon, a rotten turkey is left on his porch, his bushes are torched by a flamethrower, and a hole just big enough for a body is dug in his backyard. As the action comes to a head, the viewing party grows quiet. Death is imminent. The credits roll.

In recent weeks the collaborators-and-best friends have been touring the country with the newest iteration of their live show, their first in four years. The reason for the get-together in Dallas, however, is an impromptu viewing party for the premiere of Heidecker and Wareheim’s new comedy-horror series, “Tim & Eric’s Bedtime Stories,” on Adult Swim.

It’s late on a Thursday night in Dallas, and a local bar is filled with friends and fans of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, known collectively as the comedic duo Tim & Eric.

“By the end everybody was just kind of holding their breath and they’re like ‘Oh, whoa what was that?’ ” Heidecker said in a telephone interview last week.


At this point in their careers, it would be easy for Heidecker and Wareheim to stick with what works. Their best-known series, “Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!,” ran for five seasons, spawned a feature film and has a ravenous fan base begging for more. The show’s flurry of surrealist skits are framed by lousy, cable-access cinematography and bits that go on so long that it’s often their endurance that makes them so funny. Compared with the absurdity of “Awesome Show,” “Bedtime Stories” is a completely different animal. The camera work is anchored and professional, the story lines are direct and often serious. There are still, according to Wareheim, “splashes of old school Tim & Eric” in the new series, but it seems that “Bedtime Stories” is an opportunity for them to flex their muscles outside the “Awesome Show” bubble. “It’s cool to have a forum to surprise your audience,” said Heidecker.


Heidecker and Wareheim met in the mid-1990s while they were students at Temple University in Philadelphia. They became fast friends, and eventually started making off-the-wall videos that featured the deadpan, surrealist comedy they are now known for.

“Even before we had a TV show, even before YouTube, before Funny or Die, we made these videos, and a lot of the time they were just focusing on these uncomfortable moments,” Wareheim said. “We’ve always thought that was the funniest thing about life: when you have an interaction and you’re like, That guy’s the weirdest person I’ve ever met. We’ve always been drawn to that.”

Discovered by Bob Odenkirk (of “Mr. Show With Bob and David,” now better known as Saul Goodman of “Breaking Bad”), Heidecker and Wareheim went on to create several series for Cartoon Network’s late-night alter ego, Adult Swim. Among them: “Tom Goes to the Mayor,” “Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!,” and “Check It Out! With Dr. Steve Brule,” starring the comedians’ good friend, actor John C. Reilly.

The enigmatic Brule was originally featured on “Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” in a popular skit called “Brule’s Rules.” A wild-haired Reilly plays the bumbling Brule, who gives bizarre advice like how to maintain good personal hygiene (vinegar in the armpits) and what to do when you can’t find a date for senior prom (“Take your sister, dum-dum! She’s a girl!”).


Reilly is along for the current Tim and Eric tour, which comes to Boston Saturday for two shows at the Berklee Performance Center. “Boston has always been like our second home,” said Wareheim. “For some reason people really relate to us there.”

“Tim and Eric & Dr. Steve Brule” is a two-hour multimedia show that lets the audience get up close and personal with the characters of the Tim and Eric universe. Outlandish songs, skits, video interludes, and satirical infomercials come at a ferocious pace, all in accordance with Wareheim’s goal of creating “the best, craziest comedy show ever.”

Regardless, before kicking off the 25-city tour, Heidecker had some reservations.

“I was a little nervous just in terms of was the audience still out there? Were people still excited to see us? But once we hit Canada it was like OK, this is going to be great.”

Between the tour and “Bedtime Stories,” Heidecker and Wareheim feel energized. On one hand, the live show allows them to crank up their comedic intensity to 11, while the blend of comedy and horror in “Bedtime Stories,” according to Heidecker, is “a perfect outlet” for them to craft stories.

“I think [“Bedtime Stories”] is the best work we’ve ever done. I think this new tour is the best tour we’ve ever done. So I’m pretty happy,” Wareheim said. “We did 50 episodes of ‘Awesome Show.’ We said what we had to say, and now with this new show [“Bedtime Stories”] this is really like the next level of Tim and Eric storytelling.


“We just want to create a new vibe where it’s not just all about laughs nonstop, it’s about a feeling you get when you’re done watching of, Holy [expletive], what was that? — and something you’ll think about for a day.”

More information:

TIM & ERIC’S BEDTIME STORIES

On: Fridays, Adult Swim

Time: 12:15 a.m.

Raffaela Kenny-Cincotta can be reached at raffaela.kenny-cincotta@globe.com.