Video of the Day: CNN made a 2016 election themed version of Too Many Cooks

Back in November, Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim released “Too Many Cooks,” a parody of sitcom opening credits that combined an addictively inane theme song with wickedly funny genre set-ups and the occasional dip into surrealism. Now, in a somewhat puzzling show of corporate synergy, sibling network CNN has released a “Cooks” cover with video clips of the endless field of candidates in the 2016 presidential election. We get it: A lot of people are running, or rumored to be running, or at least discussing their email practices. Had CNN stuck with a two-minute montage of candidate cameos over its version of the “Cooks” song (“It takes a lot to make an election stew”) this might have been a mildly amusing commentary on the crowded field. But like the Adult Swim version, this video goes on and on and on. And rather than being funny, CNN’s attempted segue into surrealism (Putin, North Korea, a demonic herbivore) is at best unsettling, at worst, sad. Perhaps folks at CNN are forgetting that it’s not their job to be funny: Leave that to the Daily Show or Cartoon Network.