The Drew Carey Show: The Complete Series DVD review
Jun 12, 2025- Permalink
The Drew Carey Show aired on the ABC network in the US from 1995 to 2004. Carey played a fictionalized version of himself, working in the offices of a Cleveland, Ohio retail store, Winfred-Louder. Over the nine years, three constants in the cast were his friends, Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader), and his co-worker, nemesis and eventual sister-in-law, Mimi (Kathy Kinney). Christa Miller appeared in the series’ first seven years as Drew’s friend and on-off girlfriend, Kate, while Craig Ferguson played his obnoxious English boss, Mr. Wick in seasons 2 through 7. John Carroll Lynch played Drew’s occasionally cross-dressing older brother and Mimi’s eventual husband, Steve, in what was a recurring, main, and finally guest role, while Cynthia Watros played Drew’s girlfriend, Kellie, in the last two seasons. The show combined workplace rivalries with the hijinks of the friends after work, which included the launch of their own microbrew, Buzz Beer. Warner Bros. has now released The Drew Carey Show: The Complete Series on DVD and I had a chance to take a look. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.
For years, the idea of a complete series release seemed like a distant dream. The show made use of a lot of musical numbers and cues and though the music was licensed for initial broadcast and reruns, deals weren’t in place for home entertainment, let alone streaming, which didn’t exist during the show’s run. So this is a complete series release with an asterisk. Some of the musical inclusions were replaced or altered, while four episodes that relied heavily on music are not in the collection. Those episodes — Drew’s Dance Party Special, Drew Carey’s Back-to-School Rock ‘n’ Roll Comedy Hour – Parts 1 & 2 and What’s Love Got to Do with it? — are currently available on the Antenna TV network, so you can record them on your PVR if that channel’s in your area.
Seasons 1 through 6 are in the original 4:3 aspect ratio, while seasons 7 through 9 match the show’s transition to 16:9. Though sources indicate that the show was shot on film, this DVD set varies in quality improving as the seasons progress, so perhaps we’re seeing the result of a transfer from a tape master. Unfortunately, many TV series will only see release on the DVD format. Unless it’s some prestige series with a huge or dedicated cult following, it just makes more sense — or cents — to release it on the cheaper DVD format. Colours are pretty good, but some compression artifacts are present throughout.
On the audio side of things, the DVD set is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 track. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Dialogue is clear thoughout but there is a slight occasional hiss heard in the first few seasons.
The Drew Carey Show: The Complete Series spreads the 229 included episodes over 27 discs. There is only one included extra, a featurette called “Life Inside the Cubicle” that appears in season one.
The Drew Carey Show was a quirky and absurd workplace comedy that made us laugh for nine seasons. Yes, The Drew Carey Show: The Complete Series DVD may not have HD quality audio or video or even the best DVD format presentation, but it still is the most complete home media release of this show. If you love it and don’t want your viewing of it to be subject to the whims of broadcaster or streamers, then I’d recommend picking this set up.