Even though our TV sentiments are pretty well aligned, there are few shows that I can watch with my parents without things getting weird. For example, my mom and I both love VEEP and Orange is the New Black, but we have to experience that love in other rooms. My mom feels self-conscious watching Selina’s filthy mouth around the same human she scolded for years for saying the word “stupid,” and you don’t know what awkward is until you accidentally watch a lesbian sex scene with your mother. So when the CW brought Whose Line Is It Anyway? back into my viewing life, I felt relieved. Finally, here was a quality show that was smart, adult, fun, and with enough censors in place to ensure I wouldn’t watch anything too embarrassing with my parents. I expected to laugh, but I didn’t expect a group of improvisers to successfully bridge the gap between my generation and my parents’.

If you haven’t watched Whose Line, then you need to remedy this viewing oversight immediately. I’m sure you’re a nice person who deserves more joy in your life, and Whose Line Is It Anyway? will give you that joy. The premise of the series is beautifully simple — a handful of highly trained comedians perform short form improv under the direction of their host / all mighty ruler. Sometimes the players are forced to sing; they’re often forced to rap. There are penis jokes, yo mamma zings, insane situations, and throughout it all, the host awards various amount of points that never matter. Originally, the series ran from 1998 until its cancellation in 2007, and during all of that time, it was hosted by Drew Carey. It looked like Whose Line would be one of those brilliant shows that lived in its own delightful niche of TV history until CW picked up the series for a revival in 2013.

Whose Line’s latest incarnation is hosted by the dynamic Aisha Tyler and features the highly talented Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and Wayne Brady as the show’s three regular performers as well as a rotating fourth player. However, the CW made one more alteration to its revival: it added a “special guest” segment. Whose Line as a series is no stranger to having guest performers, but under the CW, that guest doesn’t have to have an improv or comedy background. Typically, the show features stars of other CW shows, such as Candice King (Caroline from The Vampire Diaries), Misha Collins (Castiel on Supernatural), and Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin), or actors from shows with younger audiences, such as Darren Criss and Kevin McHale (both from Glee). There have been other big names on the series, but predominantly, those guest star spots have been filled with actors on shows with Millennial audiences. It’s a smart and simple movie — CW stars get more air time, Whose Line has the potential to get a ratings boost that comes from featuring a beloved star, and the in-show improv benefits from having a new player in the mix. This move is also the most intelligent way to blend television audiences that I’ve ever seen.

When I watch the show with my parents, the conversation inevitably turns to the guest star’s filmography. Seeing these younger actors on a show we all loved a decade ago exposes my parents — an older generation of TV viewers — to a world of television they were completely unaware of. Will my middle-aged parents watch the latest episode of The Vampire Diaries or The Originals? Probably not, but they now have a frame of reference for those two shows. Likewise, I’m sure there are several diehard fans who, in their quest to watch everything their favorite actor of the week has appeared in, has accidentally discovered some great comedy. And before you ask, no, these guest stars don’t detract from the show. If anything they make Whose Line better.

When everyone in the room is an amazing artist, you become immune to the skill it takes to create great art. It’s only when you add in an amateur’s drunken scribbles that you realize, holy cow. These people really are talented. Whose Line’s guest stars have the same effect, highlighting the performer’s’ strengths while making the show better. It’s genuinely fun to watch these often serious actors giggle through an underwater improv scene. In its own insane way, Whose Line Is It Anyway? has succeeded in bringing two very different viewing generations together. For that I say thank you.

You can watch Whose Line Is It Anyway? for free on CW Seed and the CW Seed app.

[Where to stream Whose Line Is It Anyway?]