It's no joke. Boom Chicago, an Amsterdam improv theater, is churning out American comedy legends.

These can be unnerving times for American comedy. The TV sitcom is going by way of the canned laugh track, while the president tries to heckle late-night comedians out of jobs. But funny persists. And funny travels internationally. In the early '90s, two opportunistic comics decided to open an English language improv joint in… Amsterdam? It sounded less like a winning business idea than a punchline given the Netherlands' reputation as a comic, well, Netherland. But 30-plus-years later, their club, Boom Chicago, has imported American funny folk and then exported them back as future stars – including Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele, Amber Ruffin, and Jason Sudeikis. Could it be that America's ultimate laugh factory is an improv theater positioned near an Amsterdam canal? Yes, and…

Simon Lukacs: The Bush days seem quite good now in retrospect, don't they?

Kate Nixon: Oh, I know. WMDs, Colin Powell, Condi Rice, what a lark ha ha ha ha!

Comedy, they say, is hard. Improv comedy? Harder still. Then imagine doing it in a country not, generally, known as a barrel of laughs.

Seth Meyers: Dutch people, not the most giving laughers.

Jon Wertheim: I was gonna ask you about that.

Seth Meyers: Dutch people laugh like this. Ha-ha. And they immediately get quiet.

Seth Meyers needs no introduction. He and Peter Grosz — actor and Emmy-winning comedy writer — were college pals who then developed their comic chops in… Amsterdam?

Seth Meyers: They so lovingly tell you they didn't like things. The honesty. The Dutch honesty--

Jon Wertheim: Withering candor.

Peter Grosz: Yeah.

Seth Meyers: Exactly. Like, it-- it's so funny. I've never been in a place where there's less malice behind deeply cruel-- 

Peter Grosz: Yeah. It's not rude at all.

Seth Meyers: It's not rude--

Peter Grosz: I think--

Seth Meyers: --at all.

Peter Grosz: "I'm doing you a favor. This part was not good. I did laugh a little bit at that part, so do more of that."

Seth Meyers: No but we came out and the guy was like, "Hey. Yeah. Can I buy you a drink?" And I was like, "Oh, yeah. Of course. Did you see the show?" He goes, "Yes, I did." And I said-- "Did you like it?" He goes, "No, I did not care for it." And I was just-- and I go, "Why are you buying me a drink then?" He goes, "Well, maybe I will like you."

Laura Maynard (on stage): Are you ready?

Improv is not stand-up. You're not performing a pre-written routine; you're working in real-time.

Deshawn Mason (on stage): What's something you have at home that you care about?

Crowd: A watch! My shoes!

Deshawn Mason (on stage): I heard – I heard a watch right here. 

You're relying on the audience for material and direction.

Boom cast member 1 (on stage, singing): I got a watch on my wrist, it looks so fine.

Kate Nixon (on stage): It helps me when I don't know what's the time.

Chicago has Second City. LA has the Groundlings and New York has Upright Citizens' Brigade. In Amsterdam, there is Boom Chicago. Last summer, hundreds gathered outside a charming Dutch theater, which stands as a national treasure of sorts, though it's unclear if the true benefitting nation is the Netherlands or the U.S.

Jon Wertheim: This is part of your commute.

Andrew Moskos: This is-- this is part of my commute just about every day.

The set-up: it's the early '90s. Pep Rosenfeld: and Andrew Moskos, recent Northwestern grads, are struggling to make it in the Chicago comedy scene.

Jon Wertheim: Do I even ask what drew you to Amsterdam when you were-- in your early 20s and--

Andrew Moskos: Oh gosh--

Jon Wertheim: --fresh outta college?

Andrew Moskos: Yeah, fresh outta college, 23 years old. I mean, s-- sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I mean, we--

Pep Rosenfeld: Right, what-- what-- what brings anybody to Amsterdam when they're young?

Along with a third classmate, Ken Schaefle, they cooked up a half-baked idea, as one does in Amsterdam… Man, you know what this town could use? An English-speaking comedy club!

Andrew Moskos: It was probably the best stoner idea ever. You know, "Let's quit our jobs and move to Amsterdam and-- and start a business."

Aware that good comic acts often require a straight man — a straight woman in this case — they soon roped in Saskia Maas, a local who, amid the yucks, brings a measure of sobriety and savvy. She also became Andrew's wife. 

Saskia Maas: I mean, these are two goofballs and I'm the businesswoman. So-- but-- that seemed-- that worked out-- perfectly.

Jon Wertheim: I was gonna say, th-- 30 plus years later-- seems like the dynamic still-- still holds.

Pep Rosenfeld: Still holds.

Saskia Maas: Still-- still holds—yes.

Accidental entrepreneurs, they wrote to the local tourist board, asking for advice, seeking validation.

Jon Wertheim: What'd they say?

Andrew Moskos: Said, "This won't work here. Don't do it here. That-- it's not an Amsterdam kind of a thing."

Pep Rosenfeld: The Dutch don't wanna see a show in English, the tourists don't wanna see a show at all. Andrew reads the letter and goes-- "Yeah, I-- based on this I feel like we should definitely do it."

They named the club "Boom Chicago," a nod to their hometown. They found a stage in the back of a bar, and eventually their own proper theatre off the Times Square of Amsterdam, the Leidesplein.

Andrew Moskos: And our little summer project became a year-round business.

As for the small matter of recruiting talent, Moskos and Rosenfeld went back to Chicago and made their pitch to two recent Northwestern grads, Meyers and Grosz.

Jon Wertheim: What was your level of knowledge about the Netherlands?

Seth Meyers: It was so bad that I think my first thought was, "I think 'Hamlet' takes place." Does 'Hamlet'-- and then I-- the other thing I did was I remember just in my head, I think I pictured just "Sound of Music." And I was like, "Well, first thing I've gotta do is get some hiking shoes. And then the next thing I'll do is I'll buy a guidebook." So it was, like, bought the shoes. And then the next thing was, like, flattest place on Earth. 

Once they assembled a cast, it was time to assemble an audience.

Pep Rosenfeld: So the way it worked was that before the show I'd be there sellin' tickets. And we didn't have a bank account, so the money went in one-- in my boots. I wore cowboy boots then.

Andrew Moskos: He was eccentric.

Pep Rosenfeld: I was eccentric. I still am.

Andrew Moskos: I would go out on the s-- on the Leidseplein, which is a big square, and-- just tell people, "What are you doin' tonight?" "Oh yeah, well, we don't know." "Now you know. You're comin' to Boom Chicago."

Jon Wertheim: Can we just discuss-- you talked about the finances of this club being stored in his boot without irony. We just glossed over that as-- as a –

Pep Rosenfeld: One-- one time–

Andrew Moskos: Oh this is so funny. I-- I-- I-- I-- I was in my room after a show. It was evening, nighttime. I get a knock on the door. And Pep is over there and goes, "Yeah, I brought this girl home. And-- I don't know if I wanna leave her in the room with the boot." And he handed the boot over to me for safe keeping that evening.

Pep Rosenfeld: Business before pleasure.

Andrew Moskos: That's right.

Back in U.S. comedy circles, word spread. Josh Meyers, Seth's younger brother, and Ike Barinholtz were hired 25 years ago. 

Josh Meyers (on stage): I had extensions put in, Dad. 

Ike Barinholtz (on stage): Oh. My. God.

Josh Meyers (on stage): I'm sorry, Dad!

Today, Barinholtz is an actor in ascent, nominated for an Emmy for his role in the Apple TV show, "The Studio."

An early Boom Chicago comedy lesson: avoid cheap jokes. The references to the Cleveland Browns or the Olive Garden don't cut it.

Ike Barinholtz: When you get here and you're playing for 300 people or so and their, English isn't all their first language, you have to learn how to be bigger. You have to learn how to own a room and-- and make references that are a little more universal and deal with concepts and themes that someone from Australia or someone from Finland or someone from New Jersey can all relate to.

Josh Meyers: Yeah. I remember in an early show, I said I was gonna key someone's car. And then our director was like, "People don't know what keying a car is over here."

Ike Barinholtz: You mean (foreign language)?

Josh Meyers: (foreign language) here.

Brendan Hunt: If you happened to live here long enough to have, like, one or two Dutch words in your pocket, and could throw one Dutch word into your improv, you were a god to them.

Brendan Hunt (on stage): We want you to know that Americans aren't about hate, we're about love.

Brendan Hunt arrived to Boom in the late '90s. Like many other comedians, moving to Amsterdam sounded like a risky career move. Or maybe not. 

Brendan Hunt: When I was doing improv in Chicago in the late '90s, there was this thing called Boom Chicago that you would hear about. And it was sort of in hushed, mythical tones. Like, "Apparently they do improv in Amsterdam." "Amsterdam? You ever been there? You ever been there? You ever been there?" No one's ever been there. Like, wow, that's cool. But, I mean, no one would ever do it. Right? I mean, some people do it but we-- we can't do that, right? You'd be gone for a year, and our flourishing careers will be interrupted while-- where we're making $10 bucks a show-- twice on a Friday.

Then, as now, the 10 or so comedians in the troupe commit to one year minimum and are paid enough to make it a full-time job. Performing six shows a week means a lot of reps on stage, with little time to wallow after the inevitable rough nights.

Stacey Smith is in the current Boom Chicago troupe.

Stacey Smith: Our ensemble works together so often that we can, at intermission, also, like, discuss, like, what's working, what's not working, what kind of crowd are they, what are they resonating with, so--

Jon Wertheim: You do that?

Stacey Smith: Yeah. Absolutely--

Jon Wertheim: It's like halftime? It's like--

Stacey Smith: Well, because-- yeah, ex-- exactly like halftime.

Stacey also heads Boom's comedy academy, which teaches improv to more than 200 students. Improv has an unpredictability and reliance on teamwork that makes it the ultimate building block of true humor – less joke telling, than acting and reacting.

Stacey Smith: When you're working on a team, you do need to come in with the mindset that you're building that piece from start to finish as a unit.

Jon Wertheim: You wanna be the class clown, go do ten minutes on open mic night.

Stacey Smith: Yeah. Because we do believe that if you are a good improviser, then you already have the tools to be a good stand-up comedian.

To wit: Seth Meyers. In 2000, a touring show he developed with Boom caught the eye of "Saturday Night Live." He was offered a writing job. It was like a baseball player getting called up to the big leagues. 

It was also a Boom Chicago moment of arrival.

Seth Meyers: It was really special to know it was the sort of thing that made people want to see more of you.

Jon Wertheim: That was a great source of success. Right?

Seth Meyers: Totally.

Jon Wertheim: And you can draw a direct line to Boom Chicago.

Seth Meyers: 100%. 100% direct line.

So, too, for Brendan Hunt. At Boom, he became obsessed with European soccer. He and two other Boom cast members — Jason Sudeikis and Joe Kelly — began to develop a partnership. 

You don't need wise Coach Beard to tell you where this story is going.

Jon Wertheim: Does Ted Lasso happen but for Boom Chicago?

Brendan Hunt: No, I don't think Ted Lasso does happen without Boom Chicago. It opened us up to the view of Americans abroad, and like viewing yourself outside of your own home. You know, one of the rules of Boom Chicago was-- 'cause we'd make fun of-- of all countries, basically, but like the rule was we make fun of ourselves first. We earn it. And then we go out. 

The Boom Chicago footprint goes well beyond the five days of shows each week… 

In fact, one of Boom's biggest sources of revenue has long been global corporate events that braid banter with business. 

With annual earnings measured in the millions — no longer kept in a boot — the business formed in the '90s in a haze, well, booms.

In June, Boom Chicago held an alumni reunion. 

Brendan Hunt: From the back may we please have a suggestion of another object?

Audience: A can opener.

Brendan Hunt: A can opener! Sex with me is like a can opener… you're better off with the electric version.

Former cast members came back…

Jill Benjamin: Sorry, I kind of forgot your name again. What was it?

Seth Meyers: Joao.

Jill Benjamin: Oh! Joao! Like joie de vie?

Not just to reminisce, but to perform…

Ike Barinholtz: I'm so grateful for Jeff Bezos.

Peter Grosz: Yeah, me too.

Ike Barinholtz: I think it's cool that he's sending people up in space to work out their problems.

And, of course, rib each other on stage

Ike Barinholtz: I don't think you guys look alike.

Seth and Josh Meyers: Okay.

Ike Barinholtz: I don't.

Seth Meyers: Alright, you're the one.

Ike Barinholtz: I think you look like a Jewish orthodontist in upstate New York. And you look like you were born on a fjord.

Seth Meyers: Which of those two is handsomer?

Ike Barinholtz: Both handsome, one of you just might be more prone to stomach trouble.

All those laughs, from such an unlikely wind-up.

Jon Wertheim: We've heard people say you carry something from this place with you when you--

Ike Barinholtz: Yes.

Jon Wertheim: --leave, no matter what.

Ike Barinholtz: Yes.

Josh Meyers: Yeah.

Ike Barinholtz: Just don't put it in your suitcase. Fly home without it.

Produced by Michael H. Gavshon. Associate producers, Elizabeth Germino and Mimi Lamarre. Edited by Mike Levine.