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CITIZENS REIGN

WANT proof of Upright Citizens Brigade's dominance in the comedy world? Start by turning on your TV. While the most visible UCB success to date is SNL star and Weekend Update co-anchor Amy Poehler, the theater/training group is making its mark throughout the entertainment landscape, starting with that other beloved comedy institution, The Daily Show.

Rob Corddry and Ed Helms, veteran Daily Show correspondents, both spent years training at the theater and honing their craft on the UCB stage. Corddry, who will star in the Fox sitcom The Winner later this year, performed there with the highly acclaimed sketch group Naked Babies, and Helms played on the improv team the Syndicate.

All evidence shows that Poehler, Corddry and Helms are just the tip of the iceberg for UCB. Slowly but surely, UCB vets are popping up both onscreen and behind the scenes, littering the entertainment universe with UCB stars in the making.

Former Marine Rob Riggle spent a season as a cast member on SNL, and Dannah Feinglass and Andrew Daly both held slots on MAD TV.

Rob Huebel - who won an Emmy producing segments for The Awful Truth with Michael Moore - has been a frequent chatting head on VH1's Best Week Ever, but you've probably seen even more of him while settling down for a flick, as Inconsiderate Cellphone Man. Paul Scheer and Danielle Schneider are also BWE regulars, and Scheer will soon be seen in School for Scoundrels with Billy Bob Thornton and Trainwreck: My Life as an Idiot with Sean William Scott.

Original troupe member Adam McKay served as head writer for SNL and has since written and directed Anchorman and Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby.

UCB vet and School for Scoundrels screenwriter Scot Armstrong has not only found success, but also dedicated himself to bringing UCB buddies into the big time. Armstrong, who still performs every Saturday night with his troupe Mother, co-wrote the films Road Trip, Old School and Starsky & Hutch. His production company has given UCB talent development deals.

UCB vets Jason Mantzoukas, Brian Huskey and Huebel work with Armstrong, as do Joe Ventura, who wrote for UCB's Comedy Central show, and Demetri Martin, who stages Obie-winning shows at the theater.

Armstrong has cast UCB vets cast in School for Scoundrels, include Horatio Sanz, Scheer, Daly, Jon Glaser and Aziz Ansari. Also cast in the film is Matt Walsh, UCB co-founder and co-star of Comedy Central's Dog Bites Man.

He has not only been cast in every one of Armstrong's films, but is always given the same character name: Walsh.