NEW YORK (AP) — To hear comedian Derek Waters tell it, the idea for ‘‘Drunk History’’ came about when ‘‘New Girl’’ actor Jake Johnson had a few drinks and was trying to tell him a passionate anecdote about the late singer Otis Redding.

‘‘He was trying to tell me that Otis Redding knew he was gonna die. I didn’t really buy the story,’’ Waters said in a recent interview, ‘‘but he was so passionate about it and he wasn’t able to articulate everything. I just kept picturing Otis Redding reacting to this guy (Johnson) telling a story about how he knew he was gonna die and I thought, ‘That would be cool to reenact.'’’ (Redding was killed in a plane crash in 1967.)

Soon after, Waters and director Jeremy Konner were making Internet shorts. They filmed actor Mark Gagliardi getting drunk and reciting a historical story that was a bit messy because of the alcohol. A celebrity would then act out the story, complete with hiccups, slurring or other signs of an inebriated storyteller.

The videos were posted to the website FunnyorDie.com in late 2007. Celebrity participants included Johnson, Michael Cera, Nick Offerman and Ryan Gosling....