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Pick of the Day: The Frogtown Show (in LA) 1/22

January 14, 2022
News
emily maya mills, erin lennox, frogtown show, jared goldstein, jermaine fowler, johnny pemberton, los angeles comedy, michael joyce, mitra jouhari, noah gardenswartz, stand up comedy

Inch by inch, show by show, there are things in live comedy that are indeed happening after the bummer of the holiday break and the quiet nightmare that Omicron has been. Despite more cancelations and postponements happening and more inevitably coming (Largo has continued to stay dark beyond just their initial two weeks of postponements), you might be delighted to know that the beloved outdoor stand-up show Frogtown Show @ Spoke Bicycle Cafe is returning back to it’s bi-weekly (2nd & 4th Saturdays) schedule this month.

On Sat. Jan. 22nd at 7:30PM PT, the magical patio of Spoke Bicycle Cafe will host hosts Erin Dewey Lennox, Emily Maya Mills, and Jared Goldstein as well as their very first 2022 line-up, which is stacked per usual. They’ve got Jermaine Fowler, Mitra Jouhari, Johnny Pemberton, Michael Joyce, and Noah Gardenswartz.

Tickets start at $5 (plus 2 item min.) and you really ought to snag them up before they sell out here.

SF Sketchfest Will Return in a Year

January 14, 2022
News
comedy festival, sf comedy, sf sketchfest
Thanks to the Omicron and Delta variants of COVID-19, SF Sketchfest had to postpone their in-person shows for another year. It was awful news after the year that 2020 and 2021 had been and the boatloads of levity that the gigantic annual comedy festival brings to any and all that are in attendance.
So, SF Sketchfest is foregoing trying to schedule something for later 2022 and opting to have their next in-person edition happen in 2023 when they would normally have it both for safety and venue availability reasons. Specifically, Jan. 20th-Feb. 5th, 2023 is when SF Sketchfest will rise again and, hopefully, the pandemic will be under much more control by then.
In regards to what current ticket holders might be able to do, the organizers of SF Sketchfest have advised, “…to hang on to their tickets as the festival reaches out to each and every ticket holder as soon as possible with new dates, details and options.” 
You can keep a close watch on any new updates (maybe an online satellite show of some kind?) at sfsketchfest.com.

This Year’s WGA Awards TV Comedy Nominees Pick Up Where Other Awards Have Been Lacking

January 13, 2022
News
comedy nominees, wga, writers guild awards

If you follow us, you’re probably well aware of our love for Hacks and What We Do In the Shadows, I Think You Should Leave and how it’s truly a shame that they’re not the perennial frontrunners for comedy awards (even if Hacks has only done one season thus far) that they clearly are.

Thankfully, this year’s Writers Guild Awards are fixing a lot of what has been lacking in the comedy realm during awards season with this latest round of nominations. Hacks gained nominations for both Comedy Series (along with a very deserving What We Do in the Shadows) and New Series (a suddenly crowded field thanks to Yellowjackets and Loki).

Additionally, the guard of late night and sketch seems to be finally changing a bit. Yes, SNL, Conan, and Last Week Tonight are still in the running, but the funnest duo in late night, Desus & Mero, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, and How To with John Wilson are getting well deserved slots in these categories.

In fact, the entire breakdown for the comedy nominees is pretty refreshing as new comers Reservation Dogs, Only Murders in the Building, White Lotus, Tuca and Bertie, and PAUSE with Sam Jay all garnered WGA Awards nominations today. We suppose that this fresh look would even include the new entry from an old perennial comedy frontrunner of yesteryear, Jon Stewart and his new Apple TV+ series, The Problem with Jon Stewart (a leaner version of The Daily Show with Jon in a t-shirt rather than a suit).

Take a gander at the whole list of this year’s WGA Award TV Comedy Nominees, then look to hear/see the winners on Mar. 20th (maybe there will be an in-person ceremony by then?). Oh yeah, feature length nominees will be announced on Jan. 27th.

COMEDY SERIES

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Written by Larry David, Steve Leff, Carol Leifer, Jeff Schaffer, Nathaniel Stein; HBO/HBO Max

Hacks
Written by Lucia Aniello, Joanna Calo, Jessica Chaffin, Paul W. Downs, Cole Escola, Janis E. Hirsch, Ariel Karlin, Katherine Kearns, Andrew Law, Joe Mande, Pat Regan, Samantha Riley, Michael Schur, Jen Statsky; HBO/HBO Max

Only Murders in the Building
Written by Thembi Banks, Matteo Borghese, Rachel Burger, Kirker Butler, Madeleine George, John Hoffman, Stephen Markley, Steve Martin, Kristin Newman, Ben Philippe, Kim Rosenstock, Ben Smith, Rob Turbovsky; Hulu

Ted Lasso
Written by Jane Becker, Ashley Nicole Black, Leann Bowen, Sasha Garron, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence, Jamie Lee, Michael Orton-Toliver, Jason Sudeikis, Phoebe Walsh, Bill Wrubel; Apple TV+

What We Do in the Shadows
Written by Jake Bender, Jemaine Clement, Zach Dunn, Shana Gohd, Sam Johnson, Chris Marcil, William Meny, Sarah Naftalis, Stefani Robinson, Marika Sawyer, Paul Simms, Lauren Wells; FX Networks

NEW SERIES

Hacks
Written by Lucia Aniello, Joanna Calo, Jessica Chaffin, Paul W. Downs, Cole Escola, Janis E. Hirsch, Ariel Karlin, Katherine Kearns, Andrew Law, Joe Mande, Pat Regan, Samantha Riley, Michael H. Schur, Jen Statsky; HBO/HBO Max

Loki
Written by Bisha K. Ali, Elissa Karasik, Eric Martin, Michael Waldron; Disney+

Only Murders in the Building
Written by Thembi Banks, Matteo Borghese, Rachel Burger, Kirker Butler, Madeleine George, John Hoffman, Stephen Markley, Steve Martin, Kristin Newman, Ben Philippe, Kim Rosenstock, Ben Smith, Rob Turbovsky; Hulu

Reservation Dogs
Written by Tazbah Rose Chavez, Sydney Freeland, Sterlin Harjo, Migizi Pensoneau, Tommy Pico, Taika Waititi, Bobby Wilson; FX Networks

Yellowjackets
Written by Cameron Brent Johnson, Katherine Kearns, Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, Liz Phang, Ameni Rozsa, Sarah L. Thompson, Chantelle M. Wells; Showtime

 

ORIGINAL LONG FORM

American Horror Story: Double Feature
Written by Brad Falchuk, Manny Coto, Ryan Murphy, Kristen Reidel, Reilly Smith; FX Networks

Mare of Easttown
Written by Brad Ingelsby; HBO/HBO Max

Midnight Mass
Written by James Flanagan, Mike Flanagan, Elan Gale, Jeff Howard, Dani Parker; Netflix

Them: Covenant
Written by Christina Ham, Little Marvin, David Matthews, Dominic Orlando, Seth Zvi Rosenfeld, Francine Volpe; Prime Video

The White Lotus
Written by Mike White; HBO/HBO Max

ANIMATION

“An Incon-Wheelie-ent Truth” (Bob’s Burgers)
Written by Dan Fybel; Fox

“Loft in Bedslation” (Bob’s Burgers)
Written by Jameel Saleem, Fox

“Must Love Dogs” (Family Guy)
Written by Daniel Peck; Fox

“Planteau” (Tuca & Bertie)
Written by Lisa Hanawalt; Cartoon Network

“Portrait of a Lackey on Fire” (The Simpsons)
Written by Rob LaZebnik & Johnny LaZebnik; Fox

“The Star of the Backstage” (The Simpsons)
Written by Elisabeth Kiernen Averick; Fox

EPISODIC COMEDY

“All Sales Final” (Superstore)
Teleplay by Jonathan Green & Gabe Miller, Story by Justin Spitzer; NBC

“Alone At Last” (The Great)
Written by Tony McNamara; Hulu

“Enlightened Dave” (Dave)
Written by Luvh Rakhe & Lee Sung Jin; FX Networks

“Episode One: True Crime” (Only Murders in the Building)
Written by Steve Martin & John Hoffman; Hulu

“F*ckin’ Rez Dogs” (Pilot) (Reservation Dogs)
Written by Sterlin Harjo & Taika Waititi; FX Networks

“Pilot” (The Wonder Years)
Written by Saladin K. Patterson; ABC

COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES

Conan
Head Writer: Matt O’Brien Writers: Jose Arroyo, Glenn Boozan, Daniel Cronin, Andres du Bouchet, Jessie Gaskell, Skyler Higley, Brian Kiley, Laurie Kilmartin, Todd Levin, Levi MacDougall, Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter, Frank Smiley, Mike Sweeney; TBS

Desus & Mero
Writers: Daniel “Desus Nice” Baker, Josh Gondelman, Robert Kornhauser, Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez, Robert A. McRae, Heben Nigatu, Mike Pielocik, Julia Young; Showtime

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Writers: Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Greg Iwinski, Mark Kramer, Daniel O’Brien, John Oliver, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Chrissy Shackelford, Ben Silva, Seena Vali; HBO/HBO Max

The Problem with Jon Stewart
Head Writer: Chelsea Devantez Writers: Kristen Acimovic, Henrik Blix, Rob Christensen, Jay Jurden, Alexa Loftus, Tocarra Mallard, Robby Slowik, Jon Stewart, Kasaun Wilson; Apple TV+

COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

How To with John Wilson
Written by: Alice Gregory, Michael Koman, Conner O’Malley, Susan Orlean, John Wilson; HBO/HBO Max

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
Writers: Zach Kanin, Tim Robinson, John Solomon; Netflix

PAUSE with Sam Jay
Writers: Emmy Blotnick, Ryan Donahue, Zack Fox, Megan Gailey, Robin M. Henry, Sam Jay, Langston Kerman, Jak Knight; HBO/HBO Max

Saturday Night Live
Head Writer: Michael Che, Anna Drezen, Colin Jost, Kent Sublette
Senior Writer: Bryan Tucker Weekend Update Head Writer: Pete Schultz, Weekend Update Writers: Megan Callahan-Shah, Dennis McNicholas, Josh Patten, Mark Steinbach  Supervising Writers: Alison Gates, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Streeter Seidell  Writers: James Anderson, Dan Bulla, Steven Castillo, Mike DiCenzo, Billy Domineau, Alex English, John Higgins, Steve Higgins, Martin Herlihy, Vannessa Jackson, Sam Jay, Erik Kenward, Tesha Kondrat, Dan Licata, Lorne Michaels, Ben Marshall, Jake Nordwind, Jasmine Pierce, Gary Richardson, Ben Silva, Emily Spivey, Will Stephen, Celeste Yim; NBC

That Damn Michael Che
Head Writer: Michael Che; Writing Supervised by: Gary Richardson; Writers: Rosebud Baker, Reggie Conquest, Godfrey Danchimah Jr., Calise Hawkins, Kevin Iso, Sam Jay, Matt Richards, Wil Sylvince; HBO/HBO Max

COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS

43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors
Written by Dave Boone; CBS

Drew Michael: Red Blue Green
Written by Drew Michael; HBO/HBO Max

Full Frontal Wants to Take Your Guns
Head Writers: Kristen Bartlett, Mike Drucker Writers: Samantha Bee, Pat Cassels, Sean Crespo, Mike Drucker, Miles Kahn, Chris Thompson, Holly Walker, Alison Zeidman Writing Supervised by Joe Grossman, Sahar Rizvi Special Material by Michael Rhoa; TBS

The Tony Awards Presents: Broadway’s Back!
Written by Dave Boone Special Material by Amber Ruffin, Marc Shaiman, Daniel J. Watts, Scott Wittman Opening Number by Amber Ruffin, Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman; CBS

Yearly Departed
Head Writer: Bess Kalb Writers: Karen Chee, Akilah Green, Franchesca Ramsey, Jocelyn Richard; Prime Video

 

For the entire 2022 WGA Awards TV nominees, read up on Deadline here.

Nick Vatterott’s Absurdist Comedy Special “Disingenuous” Proves You Don’t Have to Be Honest in Comedy

January 13, 2022
News
absurdist comedy, comedy dynamics, comedy special, disingenuous, nick vatterott, stand up comedy

The notion that the best comedy being sourced from pure honesty is quite a popular one and has been for the last several years. It’s a notion that comes with plenty of merit as a confessional or an incredibly personal type of observational comedy being the ticket for many of the most famous and popular comedians of right now (Jim Gaffigan, Ali Wong, Kevin Hart, Marc Maron, Iliza Shelsinger to a name a few).

However, that notion can be a bit misguided as absurdist comedy, especially the kind descended from Andy Kaufman, doesn’t have very much to do with telling much of an objective truth if any truth at all and can be some of the funniest things we’ve ever seen. The comedy dare lie in the sheer absurdity of the presentation and execution and one Nick Vatterott does so exquisitely with his new hour special that’s aptly named Disingenuous.

Vatterott is mastered at his commitment to bits and taking the tiniest irksome details and blowing them out of proportion to the nth degree. He is part of what seems like a handful of stand-up comedians that come from a more sublimely ridiculous side of things (Brent Weinbach, Sam Simmons, Anna Seregina/Kyle Mizono if you need some more). See it for yourself when Nick checks his set list on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

On Disingenuous, Vatterott bends and re-shapes the traditional form of a stand-up comedy special not only with cutting in between sets in different venues in different cities, but having a farcical B-story-esque narrative running throughout the hour. The silliness abounds with abandon here, but trust that Nick’s method to his madness is precisely measured and carefully sharpened. It’s just the start of 2022 (and this special came out at the very end of 2021), but it might be one of the most original hour specials of either year.

Disingenuous is now streaming on VOD or on audio platforms almost anywhere. Please get into it and enjoy here.

 

Pick of the Day: The Nonsemble Presents: The Month Long Ham Festival (in LA) Starting 2/20

January 13, 2022
News
Araceli Lemos, david gordezky, dean evans, Emily Maverick Shankman, experimental comedy, Frankie Halbiger, Joe Pisanzio, los angeles comedy, Magi Calcagne, performance art, the elysian theater, Woody Curry, Zack Reimers

As we stand at the precipice of the middle of January with very little to show for it, February seems to be the month to look forward to when things won’t be canceled or postponed all the time.

So, one should look forward to the ever changing performance art clowning showcase that will be The Month Long Ham Festival coming to The Elysian on the 3rd Sundays of the month. According to the Nonsemble, a collective of comedy folks from the clowning-side of things, they’re going to attempt “26 original works of performance art” in just an hour. We’re sure that’s going to be the sort of the grand and hilarious chaos that we’ll need when it’s safer to go to things.

The NONSEMBLE includes: Dean Evans, Magi Calcagne, Emily Maverick Shankman, Zack Reimers, Frankie Halbiger, Joe Pisanzio, Araceli Lemos, Woody Curry, and David Gordezky.

Get your tickets to the first installment of The Month Long Ham Festival on Sun. Feb. 20th at 7PM PT at The Elysian at $12 a pop here.

The Worst Person In the World Is Coming to America Feb. 4th

January 12, 2022
News
joachim trier, neon, us release, worst person in the world

While we did have considerably more time to watch as many indie dramedies and broad, would-be-big-release broad comedies, there were still a few films of that ilk that, for a litany of reasons, got plenty of buzz, but we didn’t get to catch in 2021. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn was one from Europe and Joachim Trier’s genre bending awards contender The Worst Person in the World was another.

Trier, seemingly from the headlines of reviews, melds rom com with grief-stricken drama and some trippy flashes of ethereal flights of fancy. Most folks stateside haven’t gotten a chance to see how that mix all plays out, but will so very soon as the U.S. release of The Worst Person in the World will begin on Feb. 4th. Check showtimes (and hopefully lower COVID-19 numbers) to see where it’s playing near you.

In the meantime, you can watch the trailer again and again here and ponder if this part 500 Days of Summer turned inside out and Take This Waltz with a sense of humor as well as if the actual “worst person in the world” is already in America.

 

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 94: Casey Feigh & Walking Into a Dive Bar to Do Improv

January 12, 2022
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
aziz ansari, bob saget, casey feigh, goldbergs, improv comedy, long form improv, netflix, snl

Long form improv, pretty much at any level, almost exclusively happens in black box theaters as they just happen to be the perfect set up for a team to improvise comedic scenes out of “thin air”. The enduring pandemic has not afforded such spaces with ease as was had in 2019 resulting in improvisers having to, well, improvise. Casey Feigh leads off one of the only weekly improv shows in LA, which used to have dozens upon dozens a show per week, Holy Sh*t Improv, currently housed at long standing Silverlake watering hole, The Silverlake Lounge.

It’s kind of a challenge to do live comedy in any bar where the main bar and the main stage are in the same room, but Feigh, a veteran improviser/comedian, sees his way past any of the challenges through the community he fosters with the very best improvisers in and around the once improv-saturated Los Angeles comedy scene. Casey joins TCB Field Report to chronicle trying to run one of the only recurring improv shows during a pandemic.

Also, “hot” takes on a new SNL podcast, Aziz Ansari’s upcoming new Netflix special, and more.

Follow Casey @caseyfeigh on Twitter and IG and Holy Sh*t Improv @holyshitimprov on IG

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and KT

Human Resources, Big Mouth’s Otherworldly Spin-Off, Gives First Look

January 12, 2022
News
big mouth, human resources, netflix, teaser

Arguably, the last season of the raunchy, yet vulnerable coming-of-age animated comedy Big Mouth, was a big set-up for the spin-off Human Resources that focuses in on the world where all the monsters and creatures that are in charge of human emotions/feelings/thoughts/fears/anxieties/insecurities come from. Hormone Monsters, Shame Wizards, Love Bugs, etc. and their bureaucratic and nuanced adventures will drive a whole new facet of what will inevitably the Big Mouth Cinematic Universe.

You can get your first sneak peek as to what that will entail with Human Resources‘ “recruitment teaser” and wonder what the Moai head manger-esque character will be called (Logic Liason?)

Look for the series premiere of Big Mouth‘s Human Resources on Fri. Mar. 18th on Netflix.

Behold the Trailer for The Bob’s Burgers Movie

January 11, 2022
News
bob's burgers, bob's burgers movie, trailer

We don’t want to speak for everyone, but the Belcher family was a big part of making it through the strictest part of quarantine. Binge watching through every single season of Bob’s Burgers from start to finish was a genuine escape when such a thing seemed so rare during these apocalyptic-ish times.

The prospect of a feature length episode of Bob’s Burgers had been in the works for awhile now (although what does awhile even made during these times, right?), but the day for a Bob’s Burgers Movie is finally fast approaching as this just posted trailer reveals. On May 27th, The Bob’s Burgers Movie will hit theaters exclusively across the country and we’ll all be treated to the Belchers in a larger than life form.

We can’t wait to see what Burgers of the Day that Bob “dreamed” up for the movie.

Get a taste of what’s to come with the Bob’s Burger Movie trailer here.

Betty White’s Dean Martin Celebrity Roast Will Stream Later This Month

January 11, 2022
News
800 pound gorilla, betty white, celebrity roast, comedy roast, dean martin

Amidst looking up several various clips and stories of the legendary Betty White, you might have noted that she was the honored guest of a Dean Martin Celebrity Roast. That was back in time (the seventies) where roasts were actually honoring people with friends rather than being a dressed up excuse to have very good comedians be mean to celebrities that have become popular enough to inspire a significant percentage of haters.

Well, you probably won’t find the whole thing streaming anywhere (or even on a DVD?), but, thanks to 800 Pound Gorilla Records, they’ll be streaming the entirety of Betty’s edition of The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast on their YouTube Channel. Starting on Mon. Jan. 17th at 3:30PM PT/6:30PM ET, you’ll get your chance to honor White as she would have turned 100 and see her be honored for the comedy legend was/is/will continue to be.

Here’s a trailer to bring you back into the world of those classic roasts here.

Pick of the Day: 15th Annual 50 First Jokes *RESCHEDULED* (in NYC) 2/18

January 11, 2022
News
2022, 50 first jokes, alison leiby, anthony devito, brooklyn, chanel ali, Charlie Bardey, Devon Walker, dina hashem, emmy blotnick, George Civeris, john f o'donnell, kate willett, kenice mobley, martin urbano, Max Wittert, nyc comedy, petey deabreu, rojo perez, sam taggart, shalewa sharpe, Sonia Denis, stand up comedy, tom thakkar

Well, we had already highlighted NYC’s 50 First Jokes for 2022 as a #pickoftheday already, but that was when it was set for this month right as the year had started. Well, The Bell House had scheduled it before it knew how Omicron would overtake the world and spark a whole new series of outbreaks that would force the good majority of live comedy to go dark for most of December 2021 and January 2022.

Unlike some other shows that were slated for Jan. 2022 and opted to cancel altogether, 50 First Jokes is still happening, but will be doing so for the first time in its storied history in February, specifically on Fri. Feb. 18th at 8PM ET at The Bell House. That will very likely mean that everyone’s “first” joke(s) of 2022 will be much sharper than if they had only gotten a week to work on it (even though it’s a perennial good time).

Thankfully, the host is still John F. O’Donnell and the line-up is still stacked with NYC Comedy’s best and brightest including: Alison Leiby, Anthony Devito, Chanel Ali, Charlie Bardey, Devon Walker, Dina Hashem, Emmy Blotnick, George Civeris, Kate Willett, Kenice Mobley, Martin Urbano, Max Wittert, Petey DeAbreu, Rojo Perez, Sam Taggart, Shalewa Sharpe, Sonia Denis, and Tom Thakkar. More TBA!

Tickets are still available at $15 and hopefully, Omicron will have subsided enough so that we won’t have to write about this being rescheduled again. Oh yeah, it should go without saying at this point in the pandemic that proof of vaccination is required for entry.

Go snag tickets here.

R.I.P. Bob Saget, 1956-2022 (and our very nice, little run-in with him)

January 10, 2022
News
bob saget

By this point, you’ve read plenty about the accomplishments and exploits of star comedian, Full House’s Danny Tanner, and the original America’s Funniest Home Videos host, Bob Saget.

Saget sadly passed away this weekend, though, thankfully, no complications from drug abuse or foul play are suspected. Whether they were close to him or simply just fans or even just people he was nice to, people are memorializing him and notably mentioning his kindness.

In fact, his real, in-person kindness would almost subvert how blue he was on stage.

When we had just begun in comedy in what seems like an entirely different era (12 years ago), we had no idea what a “bringer show” was and had been roped into doing one that was being produced by a third party at The Comedy Store. We didn’t know that the show was going to have over 20 comics on the show and that there were going to place you on the line-up based on how many people you brought. A friend of ours brought 6 friends and they kept his group hostage for the whole show (otherwise, a third of the audience might have wisely left after an hour or so). It was the sort of hard lesson that one has to go through to learn it.

That said, a bright spot on the evening was the presence of Bob Saget who  just happened to be hanging out in and out of the hallways of The Store. It’s not uncommon for someone of Saget’s fame to just drop in at any of the shows there, but he treated any of the oversized line-up of comics in the green room with basic decency and respect, which many a comedy podcast about hell gigs will tell you is often not the case.

On top of that, he didn’t do a long set, which is seemingly perfunctory for big time drop-ins on a comedy show these days. The show already had far too many comedians doing at least 3 minutes and tiring out the audience half way through and he just did a nice, tight set, maybe just 5-7 minutes, and then graciously exited.

There are an egregious amount of things in comedy, especially in those first few years, that make you question your desire to do it and your faith in yourself to keep going night after night. Bob Saget’s being kind at a time and place when it would seem he didn’t have to be was a nice break from the worst of those comedy salad days.

So, may Bob rest in peace at 66.

Pick of the Day: Jes Tom: Less Lonely (in NYC) 2/12

January 10, 2022
News
jes tom, nyc comedy, stand up comedy, union hall

We put Jes on our 100 Best Things in Comedy of 2021 We Were Witness To in No Particular Order and, thusly, you shouldn’t miss out on any chance to see them. Their current hour is a pristine work of stand-up that’s so timely coming from Jes as one of the funniest people around who happens to be non-binary, yet so universal in its finding connection and love at this time and place that very much feel like the end of all things.

Jes’ hour Less Lonely is playing at Brooklyn’s Union Hall right before Valentine’s Day on Sat. Feb. 12th at 7:30PM ET at Union Hall. Please go get your tickets now and we can hope that Omicron will have died way down by then.

Wes Anderson’s Next Film Will Be Adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Wonderful Story Henry Sugar & Six More

January 7, 2022
News
henry sugar, netflix, roald dahl, wes anderson

(via Deadline)

The charming anthology-ish movie The French Dispatch and its winding and intertwined stories seems to have set the new path for Wes Anderson. Anderson has just signed on to adapt Roald Dahl’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar & Six More, a collection of short stories from the iconic Dahl, some of which are autobiographical.

Not only will be there a few stories that Wes will be adapting from the book, but the titular story feels particularly at home in oeuvre of Wes Anderson. That particular tale follows Sugar gaining the knowledge of some sort of clairvoyance from stealing a mystical book, winning fortune from gambling, becoming aghast at the concept of money, attempting to give those to more unfortunate, but then having to deal with certain organized criminal elements that he won his money from. We can see all the symmetry and the nuanced precision and specificity of Anderson’s screwball comedy sensibilities in a story such as that one and we can’t wait to see how he brings Henry Sugar (and whatever other stories he chooses) to life. We’ve already been treated to the Anderson treatment of a Dahl story with the stop motion animation adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Perhaps The Boy Who Talked to Animals and Lucky Break will be the other stories? Those seem the most Anderson-ish as well.

Reportedly, Benedict Cumberbatch will play Sugar and this is part of Netflix’s goal of developing projects from The Roald Dahl Story Company, so you’ll be able to stream it (in case going to the movie theater is going to be a precarious activity from now on).

Pick of the Day: Varietopia with Paul F. Tompkins (in LA) 3/6

January 7, 2022
News
lodge room, paul f tompkins, varietopia

Paul F. Tompkins‘ shows, wherever they may be and whatever wonderfully semi-improvised format he’s doing, have always been hot tickets here in LA and his first 2022 show on Sun. Mar. 6th is no exception. Paul originally had an in-person Varietopia lined-up for this Sunday at the Highland Park’s lovely Lodge Room, but, as with most every other comedy show right now, it has gotten postponed to the aforementioned 3/6 date.

As the race begins to reschedule all the shows and happenings that were lined-up for Jan. 2022, the race to snag up tickets for them has also started and, in some cases, gone at a full tilt sprint.

The late show is already sold out, but there are tickets for the early 5:30PM PT show. It’s a Sunday, so hopefully it won’t be too hard for you to swing a show happening around then, but trust that the everlasting hilariousness of Tompkins is worth it. Tickets are $20 and we hope it’s not sold out before you try to buy some right here.

Andrew Sleighter Delivers the First Stand Up Set (on TV) for 2022

January 6, 2022
News
andrew sleighter, james corden, late late show, late night, reggie watts, stand up comedy

At the dawn of 2021, the prospect of late night was much different, well, actually, slightly different than it is now. Most shows didn’t have a live audience and there was a good majority reliance on doing interviews via Zoom or some other teleconferencing platform. While Fallon and Seth Meyers both caught COVID-19 in the last few weeks, late night is pushing forward somewhat as it once did, featuring stand-up comedians doing short sets included.

The slickly funny Andrew Sleighter starts off stand-up comedy for 2022 with their first televised set and, unlike in 2021, it’s not on a boat or on a rooftop, but on a big, fancy soundstage with a live audience. Omicron is refueling the pandemic, which we’re very much still in, but Sleighter gives a great take on his quarantine epiphany: millennials’ horrid financial health compared to their actual health.

Give Sleighter’s/2022’s first set a watch on The Late Late Show with James Corden here.

Pick of the Day: Clown Zoo (in LA) 1/12 (@ Old LA Zoo) 1/29 (@ Elysian)

January 6, 2022
News
bill o'neill, chad damiani, christina catherine martinez, clown zoo, clowning, Corey Podell, courtney pauroso, elysian, Ian Braschie, jim venable, juzo yoshida, los angeles comedy, max baumgarten, natalie palamides

This first week of 2022 has been greeted with daily cancellations and postponements of all things of all shapes and sizes. So, we’re doing our darnedest to find what to look forward to in the coming weeks (that hopefully doesn’t get canceled or postponed either).

Clown Zoo, the outdoor comedy juggernaut (made our 100 best list again), faithfully served the LA area on Wednesday afternoons to provide one of the most fun, ridiculous live shows of this whole pandemic. The abandon and chaos with which they do an outdoor, traditional mask show is one of the surefire comedy bets we can always count on. They (and by they, we mean Natalie Palamides, Courtney Pauroso, Corey Podell, Chad Damiani, Christina Catherine Martinez, Max Baumgarten, Ian Bratschie, Juzo Yoshida, Bill O’Neill, and musical accompaniment by Jim Venable) are making a triumphant return for 2022 this month!

On Wed. Jan. 12th at their coveted time of 12:30PM PT, Clown Zoo will reconvene for their standing weekly show at the Old LA Zoo in Griffith Park (still outdoors and still socially distanced) and, as a new and thrilling entry in 2022, the Clown Zoo bunch will be going indoors at The Elysian for a monthly show starting Sat. Jan. 29th at 8PM PT (proof of vaccination and masks required).

The Wednesday show is still FREE, but you can (and very, very much should) snag your tickets for Clown Zoo Presents for $20 right here right now before they very likely sell out.

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 93: Joel Mandelkorn & Oof, It’s 2022

January 5, 2022
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
betty white, joel mandelkorn, john bowman

It’s technically a new year even though 2020 feels like it’s still happening. So much live comedy has already gone dark at the top of the year making the rest of 2022 feel uncertain to say the least.

That said, there was a bunch of great comedy things in happened in 2021 as captured in our actual-end-of-year list. We have Joel Mandelkorn, indie comedy producer extraordinaire, as one of the best authorities on the happenings in comedy, in for this week’s TCB Field Report to scratch the surface of what was great in comedy last year and break down what’s there to look forward to, if anything, in 2022 comedy. Also, RIP Betty White and John Bowman.

The 100 Best Things in Comedy We Were Witness To in No Particular Order

Follow Joel @cleftclips on Twitter and IG and listen to Haunt the Johnsons on Audible.

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and KT

Pick of the Day: Justin Elizabeth Sayre: Assorted Fruit (in NYC) 2/20

January 5, 2022
News
joe's pub, justin sayre, nyc comedy, queer comedy, variety show

While The Grammys just got shuddered again by COVID-19, it’s very likely that you’ll still be able to enjoy the whimsically refined comedic stylings of Justin Elizabeth Sayre. They’ve been one of our favorite folks to weave something equally bewitching and hilarious ever since we chanced upon catching them at UnCabaret years ago.

So, they’ll be at the helm of NYC”s latest queer variety show called Assorted Fruit! that we trust that Justin will curate with masterful taste. It’ll live at the beloved Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater in NYC and start off on Sun. Feb. 20th at 9:30PM ET with the queer splendor of Charlene Incarnate, Jon-Michael Reese, and more.

Tickets are $25 and you really ought to go get them here. Please note that proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or negative COVID-19 test no older than 72 hours are required.

Pick of the Day: UnCabaret (on Zoom) 1/9

January 4, 2022
News
beth lapides, erin foley, jamie bridgers, Judy Gold, julia sweeney, justin sayre, mitch kaplan, virtual comedy

Welp, it’s another week (or few weeks more like it) of many live, in-person comedy shows going dark due to the current COVID-19 surge that will no doubt be bolstered by Christmas and NYE.

Thus, it’s a great time to remind you all that virtual comedy didn’t complete die out even though you very well might have checked out from it over a year ago. Also, there are a handful of folks that really figured out and managed to curate a great show on Zoom. One such show has been and still is legendary alt comedy show, UnCabaret. They’ve been doing a virtual edition of their show for a long stretch of the pandemic then opted to alternate between in-person and virtual when creator/host Beth Lapides took to the stage once more in 2021.

So, if you’re looking for some live comedy to look forward to that’s definitely happening and won’t risk your health with getting infecting with the Delta or Omicron variants of COVID-19, look no further than this Sun. Jan. 9th at 7:30PM PT for the latest virtual edition that will feature the likes of Julia Sweeney, Erin Foley, Jen Kirkman, Judy Gold, Justin Sayre and Jamie Bridgers as well as Beth and UnCabaret’s band leader, Mitch Kaplan, and their very tight house band.

RSVP for this Sunday here; admission is free, but they do take donations.

Pick of the Day: Dina Martina: Chariots of Failure (in LA) 1/27-2/6

January 3, 2022
News
dina martina, los angeles comedy

We made it to 2022, somehow, and, though we’re still in the turbulence of 2021 and 2020, there are things to look forward to that will kick this year off with a proper bang (tentatively). One of those things is the return of Dina Martina to Silverlake’s Cavern Club Celebrity Theater (attached to Casita Del Campo).

Dina is an otherworldly drag performer and something that will jolt your senses in a hysterically devil-may-care way as the self-styled “Second Lady of Entertainment”. The song and dance and ensemble of Martina are simultaneously subversive, surreal, and just downright hysterical and something that we dearly missed for the last two years (at least).

Dina will be doing a run of Chariots of Failure from Thurs-Sun. from Jan. 27th to Feb. 6th. Tickets are $33.85 and are selling out quick. Go get them here.

The 100 Best Things in Comedy We Were Witness To in No Particular Order of 2021

January 2, 2022
News

Believe it or not, just like we made it through 2021, there were 100 things in comedy that we loved that happened through this mostly wretched year (same as in 2020). Truth be told, we probably wouldn’t have made it through 2021 without these things and much love to all of them for being a collective life raft through the last 365 days.

Again, this is our 100 favorite things in comedy from 2021 in no particular order:

  1. Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar-If there were a time where we could use carefully crafted pure absurdity, it was this past year (and, well, the year before that and the year before that too). Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo delivered in the Airplane! of our time, Barb & Star.
  2. Danny Jolles: Six Parts-Jolles’ shows off the polish, shine, and craftsmanship of his extremely keen observations in a wonderful display of classical stand-up with 2021 sensibilities. All of its done in a beautifully non-traditional way in six different locations, none of which are some sort of gigantic theater paid for by Netflix.
  3. James Adomian’s Mike Lindell & Alan Watts-Adomian’s mastery of characters, especially those that operate on the perimeter of society, has not lost a step as Jimmy Kimmel Live hit him up repeatedly as My Pillow Founder Mike Lindell and James fully improvised as self-made mystic, Alan Watts.
  4. Search Party S5-This is a little unfair as season 5 hasn’t technically premiered yet, but we did get a special sneak preview of the first episode and the chaos that Search Party has risen to is funny in a way that answers the question, “How the hell are they going to top Dory getting kidnapped by a psychopath?”
  5. Shiva Baby-Emma Seligman’s feature length debut with a breakout performance from Rachel Sennott gives Curb Your Enthusiasm a run for its money in anxiety driven comedy centered around a Jewish character.
  6. Back to Life S2-Daisy Haggard’s second season takes the torch from season 1 in being one of the best written comedies in all of television that doesn’t get nearly enough praise (the other being What We Do In the Shadows)
  7. A Bathroom Book for People Not Pooping or Peeing but Using the Bathroom as an Escape by Joe Pera, illustrations by Joe Bennett-This book both doubles as a product for its intended purpose and a glaringly funny book about the emotional baggage we take to the bathroom with us that you don’t need to be in the restroom to enjoy.
  8. Kenice Mobley’s late night debut set on The Tonight Show-the very beginning of stand-up being reintroduced to late night started with very non-traditional sets done outside, because of COVID-19, and Mobley rose to the occasion (quite literally as she was on a roof) with a brilliant first late night set.
  9. Joe Kwaczala: 21 for 21-This is Kwaczala’s follow-up to 31 for 31 that raised money for East Hollywood Mutual Aid and brought the wonder of dozens of novelty honks into our lives.
  10. Jes Tom-Whether you need a comedic entry point to understanding non-binary identity or you want to hear whipsmart, slyly delivered material that proves that being “with the times” doesn’t hinder comedy, Jes is the comedian you need to go see. They also, in their material, have the best advice on sex that applies to everyone.
  11. Who Wants $2.69? with Martin Urbano-Urbano achieved a rare feat of taking a hit virtual comedy format and make it work in person. Urbano’s almost too-sly-for-its-own-good game show is so well written that you almost don’t care if people get the answers right.
  12. Addie Weyrich as Ted Cruz with Amnesia-Weyrich’s frustration with the Texas senator led her to this fever dream of a bit that has her interact with the audience as Ted Cruz, Memento style, trying to figure out who the hell they are at the discretion of an audience (that probably are not Cruz-heads to begin with).
  13. Nori Reed-Nori’s set throughout this year where she deftly put the audience on with “not telling a joke” has been a joy to watching all throughout 2021 (whenever it was safe enough to go see).
  14. Indefensible with Jena Friedman-Friedman continues to put forth work that is both crucial to cultural dialogue regarding malignant societal issues that’s necessary to have (in this case, murder) and amazing comedy that stares down the people she’s punching up at.
  15. Louis CK protest-Even though it he’s barely shown any sort of personal grievance for his crimes, Louis CK going back into the world to do stand-up as if everything’s (relatively) fine is getting normalized. When he played a quiet night at the Improv last year, there was a protest by mostly comedians not so quietly reminding Melrose Ave and a live-stream audience that this shouldn’t be normal. Also, everyone’s speech was a pretty damn funny set too.
  16. Zach Zucker & Stamptown-To our knowledge, there is no other regularly occurring comedy variety extravaganza that regularly plays LA & NYC and the UK to bring audiences, whether they’re in a backyard or in a proper theater, a grand whirlwind of characters, clowns, stand-ups from across the world.
  17. Dylan Adler-Dylan’s musical acrobatics are just one facet of his amazing act. It truly is just frosting on the cake of his honest, vulnerable, deeply personal (and slightly absurd) comedy.
  18. Hannah Pilkes-Pilkes was already on her way up in LA before she moved to NYC with her charmingly unhinged characters. From we saw last fall, she’s on the rise, and deservedly so, in and throughout the NYC scene.
  19. The Elysian-Kate Banford and many of the former stalwarts of the Lyric Hyperion from the before times have revived an old playhouse into one of LA’s most exciting, daring, and inventive comedy venues. It gives us hope for 2022 and beyond in LA.
  20. Holy Shit Improv-in the art form of comedy, long form improv might have had the hardest time of all in regards to trying to return to performing on stage in person, especially with the still uncertain fate of UCB hanging in the balance. Casey Feigh and company have made a DIY home at Silverlake Lounge that has brought many of LA’s very best improvisers to do what they do best in a dive bar.
  21. Clown Zoo-One of the greatest successes in outdoor comedy was Juzo Yoshida, Corey Podell, Courtney Pauroso, Max Baumgarten, Christina Catherine Martinez, Bill O’Neill, Ian Bratschie, Natalie Palamides, and Chad Damiani, (and live musical accompaniment from Jim Venable) gathering together every Wednesday at the Old LA Zoo in Griffith Park to do the wildest improvised mask show ever.
  22. Hannah Einbinder‘s bit about testifying in Congress as a baseball coach and Trees in LA-Einbinder has really upped the precision with her writing and performance, which we already loved. That has become more evident with the amount of detail, depth, and fervor about how she couldn’t help but testify in Congress as little league coach and how much LA city planners of years past screwed up with the trees they chose to plant throughout the Greater LA Area.
  23. Robin Tran-Robin Tran really arrived in 2021 via just being her non-stop funny self on stage, taking down Chappelle a few notches, and being one of the few Twitter accounts that make it worth still being on Twitter.
  24. Emily Wilson-we only had to hear the sweet melodies, catchy hooks, and sweet, sweet satire of Emily Wilson a couple of times to know that we’re on board for whatever the hell she wants to sing about (including impulse buying small gifts for yourself)
  25. Tim Platt‘s Three Nights of Wedding Speeches-Platt put together a handful of nights that curated NYC’s very best to do a character out-of-left field giving some sort of wedding speech at Life World. It was so fun that we almost missed in-person weddings that were postponed because of COVID-19 for a second.
  26. Sean Patton‘s Abortion Bit-We’re well aware that we’re shouting out a man for a bit about abortion, but Sean’s bit is just that good. Go see him live the next chance you get to see it (we wouldn’t dare to try to write it from memory here and present it out of context).
  27. Sara Schaefer‘s Evening at the Haha Hole-The extremely talented Sara Schaefer loves to do miniatures and, in this time of the pandemic, has built a miniature replica comedy club with all the accoutrements she affectionally called “The Haha Hole”. Schaefer then preceded to do virtual shows while puppeting dolls accompanied by the voices of actual comedians doing stand-up . Then, right before this latest period of shows going away, Sara did a live, in-person version of this show at The Elysian that was such a hysterical trip where the audiences got to see comedians live on stage, the Haha Hole being controlled by Sara and company, and a screen where the miniature action was projected live on screen. This made for golden moments including when Robin Tran made fun of the white doll audience member in the Haha Hole for not reacting to any of her material.
  28. Rory Scovel improvising his whole set live at Largo-We saw what Rory was capable of in his docu-special Live Without Fear when performing 1000% improvised stand-up. Getting to see Rory do it up close was as special as you could ever imagine it to be.
  29. James Austin Johnson‘s debut on Saturday Night Live-It has been quite some time since someone so perfect for SNL was given the canvas to play with on Saturday Night Live right from the get go. James Austin Johnson’s debut was very much that and JAJ shined beautifully.
  30. Roy Wood Jr.-Even in seeing Roy work out his latest hour for Comedy Central at Caveat, Roy proved that he is flat out one of the best comedians we have working today and certainly one of the funniest voices on The Daily Show (even if he’s not the host).
  31. A.J. Holmes: Yeah, But Not Right Now-Holmes’ musical solo show revels in his virtuoso multi-instrumental abilities and goes as deep as it can come to show off the human condition through his flawed relationships through extremely clever songwriting.
  32. Grace Freud & Merry Goodnight-There was a beautiful few weeks in 2021 where Steven Kreager, Kate McCarthy, Andrew Friedman, and Grace Freud found the tiniest backyard they could find in Highland Park and put on one hell of a midnight variety show (even the powerpoint presentations were something of the most delightfully bizarre things we’ve ever seen).
  33. Sean Devlin’s Airports, Animals.-Devlin’s debut comedy album is delivered in such a literally calming and measured voice that you, upon initial listening, might not catch on to how subversive, radical, and funny Devlin’s comedy really is.
  34. Atsuko Okatsuka’s Corden set-Atsuko ascent into comedy stardom continues and this splendid set on The Late Late Show is more proof of that/long overdue.
  35. Valley Heat-While we admittedly took a sabbatical from podcasts for most of the pandemic to listen to sad music, the going-ons of the Rancho Equestrian District in Burbank, CA, complete with a litany of local ads that utilize full length original rock songs for jingles, in Christian Duguay’s universe known as Valley Heat were a necessary exception that is one of the best scripted podcasts we’ve ever heard.
  36. Ziwe on Showtime-Ziwe conquered 2020 with Baited on IG Live and then did the very same with an eponymous show on Showtime. She manifested her own iconic status because, well, Ziwe is just that damn good.
  37. Too Soon Comedy after 9/11-The exhaustive documenting of the journey of comedy touching on 9/11 from 9/11 itself to now is illuminating on almost every level. Julie Seabaugh and Nick Fituri Scown made one of the best docs of 2021, let alone in comedy.
  38. Maria Bakalova getting an Oscar nomination-Bakalova’s star-making performance in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm earning an Oscar nomination is a move that shows that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is doing at least one thing right.
  39. Ester Steinberg: Burning Bush-Comedians weren’t ever supposed to do stand-up to people who were in their cars in an open parking lot, but Ester absolutely killed in her debut special taped last Summer at the Rose Bowl in such a non-ideal environment.
  40. Bo Burnham: Inside-Bo Burnham’s return to making music inside after becoming an acclaimed filmmaker was one of the very few specials made during the pandemic that will very much stand the test of time.
  41. Jo Firestone: Good Timing-The endearing charm of Jo Firestone teaching old folks how to do stand-up and then having them do a showcase live is the sort of heartwarming yet mischievous comedy that we live for.
  42. White Lotus-Mike White manages to one-up his satire of humanity on Enlightened with the gorgeous dramedy that is White Lotus.
  43. Patti Harrison on Kimmel-the shell shock of the pandemic made most late night interviews more awkward than they already were in the before times. Patti rose above and nailed a late night interview that regales us all with why Patti is sadly banned from Twitter forever.
  44. Megan Stalter‘s Human By Orientation HBO Max special-Stalter’s devil may care antics on stage were captured by HBO in their Human By Orientation queer-centric series and it was a big treat to see Meg comically direct an audience on what seemed like the top of a parking structure somewhere in LA.
  45. What We Do in the Shadows S3-Any awards that have take consideration for comedy at all should be ashamed at themselves for not properly honoring TV’s best pure comedy at every possible opportunity. Season 3, just like season 2 was at the start of the pandemic, was a saving grace for when it aired this year.
  46. Graham Kay’s set on The Tonight Show-we were thrilled to see that Graham’s wit and edge have survived fully intact to this side of the pandemic for a great set, in-person, on The Tonight Show.
  47. Sampson McCormick-McCormick’s entire presence, inviting Southern drawl included, is so pleasantly disarming. Together, it all ratchets up the humor of all his stories and experiences navigating life in the South as a gay black man.
  48. Scout Durwood’s Comedy Electronica Vol. 2-Durwood’s follow-up to Comedy Electronica Vol. 1 gets darker and more existential and juxtaposes that with the sheen of electronica-forward pop music serving as a great answer of how to make great comedy without a live audience in this time.
  49. The Big One-there’s a new comedy house in LA, mostly comprised of very funny Chicago transplants. From the start, they’ve already got an amazing comedy house show that keeps LA’s long standing house comedy show tradition alive and well. *photo by @justoffthesix
  50. Hacks-For our money, Hacks is the best look at the inner workings of stand-up depicted in a TV series in addition to having Jean Smart making herself a household name once again and putting Hannah Einbinder in the spotlight for a career making role. Also, Meg Stalter steals pretty much every scene she’s in.
  51. Ben Roy’s Take That Sandwich-Roy’s first album since COVID-19 hit is a much needed one as Roy’s expertise in drawing the comedy out of sheer darkness is near unparalleled.
  52. Alex Falcone’s Colbert set-Let this debut late night set be remembered for both its tight jokes and unshakeable take on “the friend zone”.
  53. The George Lucas Talk Show-Though Connor Ratliff and company didn’t live-stream GLTS as much as they did in 2020, it was still the undeniable juggernaut live-stream event whenever it decided to pop up to do some deeply ambitious marathon of some kind on Planet Scum Live.
  54. The Neil Hamburger Event-Neil Hamburger returned to stage this year at Zebulon, since his long time home of The Satellite has sadly disappeared, and is better than ever with Neil riffing a bit with his special guests as opposed to just doing very blue one-liners about bands and celebrities.
  55. Petey DeAbreu-The mere presence of Petey means that there is a damn good party happening and his unflappable sense of fun should be even more treasured than it already is.
  56. Andrés du Bouchet’s Poseidon’s Retreat-the extensive and fantastical character work by Andrés du Bouchet did not fail us during lockdown. Du Bouchet, one of the few performers that could put out a great piece of comedy album/special without a live audience, released this studio comedy album that featured his peculiar, but marvelous monologues and our perspective on radio ads for casinos are changed forever.
  57. Ten Year Old Tom-Steve Dildarian’s latest animated series shows that Bart Simpson isn’t the only animated 10 year old who can get in a bunch of trouble and have it be a laugh riot.
  58. The Other Two S2-Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider offer up more evidence that they are some of the best comedy writers around with one of the best casts (Drew Tarver, Heléne Yorke, Molly Shannon, and Ken Marino) with their second round of The Other Two.
  59. Humour Resouces with Jon Dore-Jon Dore being reimagined as an HR rep for “comedy” as a whole is very ingenious as a concept, but the actual execution of it is a testament to Dore’s comedy chops and ability to pretty much never break.
  60. Sophie Buddle’s Corden set-Buddle is poised to be Canada’s next great comedy export and it starts with this set on The Late Late Show
  61. PEN15 S2, Part 2-The pandemic cut into the middle of the production and release of season 2 of PEN15, but the wait was more than worth it. Anna and Maya, once more, had us all intensely laughing and crying at carefully measured cringe humor and then masterfully tugging at our heart strings at the very same time.
  62. Zach Zimmerman-The polish and zippiness of Zach’s sharply drawn observations about his life and times during COVID-19 makes you almost forget the fact comedians largely had to not perform live in front of people for over a year and might have lost a step or two. His powerpoint about his anti-vax mother is a perfect example of why comedy about the pandemic and virus are not only necessary, but healing.
  63. Femmedy Trio-the harmonies and folksy arrangements of Dahlya Glick, Stacey Hardke, and Gabi Van Horn are the lure that brings you in for precocious feminist-leaning anthems. It was a pleasure to hear them once more at the Yard Theater right before shows went dark again.
  64. Goopy with Anna Seregina and Kyle Mizono-Anna and Kyle might very well be one of the best duos in comedy right now, end of discussion. Their freewheeling sense of fun and penchant for organized chaos made for what will be the only holiday play we’ll tolerate (we’re not big fans of the holiday season at TCB, FYI).
  65. Naomi Ekperigin‘s new half hour-Of the half hours that Netflix just put out with the third season of The Standups, Naomi is an absolute must-see. Ekperigin’s frustration derived from this time feels universal and is channeled in such hilarious way.
  66. All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks-The most genius of comedic geniuses wrote a memoir and that’s pretty much all you need to know.
  67. The kid from C’mon C’mon-Woody Norman has a beyond stand-out performance as Jesse in Mike Mills’ latest film C’mon C’mon. He stands tall next to the one and only Joaquin Phoenix the whole time, which has to be a rare feat for adults to even pull off. Though not really a comedy or even a dramedy, so many of Woody’s moments had us doubled over laughing in the theater.
  68. Jessica Watkins’ docu-special: SPECIALish-Capturing the process of creating, developing, making comedy will always be elusive to a great degree. Watkins walking across America in an attempt to make a comedy special and then, subsequently, making a documentary about that gives that rare look into the ephemeral nature of not only trying to write jokes, but the creative process as a whole, especially when processing trauma.
  69. John Oliver’s Sex Blanket prank–Last Week Tonight has made it their business to put their money where their very sarcastic mouth is and their sex blanket prank on local TV outlets to show the ease with which to buy quality air time for a non-vetted product was one of their very best.
  70. Babs Gray’s If I Did It-Babs’ album is one of a handful of releases in 2021 that was recorded in the before times and then released in the thick of the pandemic. Gray blends her fondness for being unabashedly silly with personal truths in a hysterical hour that will be a great listen even though we’ll never live like it’s 2019 ever again.
  71. Michael Cruz Kayne-NYC’s Cruz Kayne first dazzled us up on the roof of a parking structure even though he’s a very decorated, award winning comedy writer. His balance of being prickly and sincere and smooth in his delivery of personal material won us over right then and there.
  72. Brody Stevens Day-The City of Los Angeles has deemed August 18th or 8/18 as Brody Stevens Day, one of the most beloved figures in the LA comedy scene. #818forever.
  73. Search Party S4-The fourth season of Search Party doesn’t even closely resemble season 1 and yet, Search Party creators, Charles Rogers and Sarah Violet Bliss, still maintain the same mysterious allure of this rare comedic thriller series while upping the stakes to the nth degree.
  74. Blair Socci’s Corden set-The voice of Blair Socci holds such power that you can’t help but be enthralled with her every word. Just watch this set and you’ll know.
  75. Don’t Look Up-Adam McKay’s latest work as an auteur might be his darkest and most outlandish yet (only because it hasn’t come true thus far). This impending doom comedy that’s (barely) an allegory for the rampant denial of science throughout the U.S. finds howling laughs in the stark absurdity of people ignoring clear and present danger that they can see with their own two eyes.
  76. Fern Brady: Power & Chaos-This debut special from Scotland’s Fern Brady continues the grand Scottish comedy tradition of being clever in the darkest way possible.
  77. Jim Gaffigan: Comedy Monster-Gaffigan serves up his edgiest special yet that spices in bits of the reality we’ve been faced with in 2020 and 2021 amongst more of his signature jokes about his gigantic family and food.
  78. How To with John Wilson S2-season 2 of How To With John Wilson somehow manages to be more human than the first round of the series. Wilson focuses his lens on his own personal journey both in past and present, often resulting in an altered future punctuated by the perfect visual punchlines.
  79. Jacqueline Novak: Get on Your Knees-Long long ago, when COVID was, at best, a non-sense word, we saw Novak work out her hit solo show Get on Your Knees before it became the sensation it was clearly destined to be. Seeing it again on Largo’s Coronet stage was amazing on so many levels as Novak has just as much (maybe even more) jubilation with performing Get On Your Knees than we remember and the lyrical beauty of her diction and syntax still, after all the time that passed since we last saw it, be so poetic and funny at the same time.
  80. Mentally Al-Josh Edelman might have had one of the best portraits of a brilliant comedian that gets in their own way that has ever been put into a documentary.
  81. Wellington Paranormal-Stemming from the movie What We Do In the Shadows and the hit spin-off TV series on FX, this spin-off series from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi follows the police side of things while all this paranormal hijinks run amok with the same ingenious sense of humor as the other parts of this WWDITS cinematic universe. That said, we actually hope this is truly the makings of a WWDITSCU.
  82. The Mitchells vs. The Machines-Credit to Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe for blending the terror of the singularity and artificial intelligence becoming the end of the human race into an adorable family comedy, rivaling anything Disney Pixar put out in the last year or so.
  83. Sarah Squirm’s The Sarah Vaccine-Before officially being credited as Sarah Sherman on Saturday Night Live, Sarah Squirm created her most hysterically grotesque work to date with The Sarah Vaccine, which, we really hope, was the main thing that got her on SNL (and that she’ll get to do something like that on the show soon).
  84. James Acaster: cold lasagne i hate myself 1999-Acaster’s best hour yet puts the old comedy guard in the UK (and elsewhere) in check, especially when it comes to the prospect of finding comedy in compassion versus punching down. Yet again, it’s another hour of comedy that we saw worked out pre-pandemic that has blossomed into something even more exciting and comedically satisfying than we remember.
  85. River Butcher’s Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootleg-River Butcher changed their name a few times throughout the pandemic, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is a must-listen to album, especially when it comes to jokes about being non-binary.
  86. Chris Gethard: Half My Life-Though Gethard has made a career out of being a podcaster via Beautiful Anonymous, Half My Life shows that Gethard’s bones are still in comedy. This special that possibly takes cues from the structure of Sandler’s 100% Fresh and Attell’s Road Work is a wonderful (and very funny) love letter to stand-up comedy (and hopefully the reason that Chris will keep doing it for years to come).
  87. Brian Simpson-The combination of the minimalist presence and writerly comedy of Simpson reminds a bit of Dave Attell, but Brian sets himself apart by even going further into very cogent observations in a magnificently obsessive way. Go see his half-hour on Netflix if you haven’t done so repeatedly already.
  88. Tig Notaro: Drawn-Animating stand-up bits has been done for years, but an entire special was not a precedent that had been set until the trailblazing Tig Notaro opted for it with her hour special this year, Drawn. The pandemic made animation a more optimal choice for all of television, but the very choice animation style and direction suited Tig’s storytelling and wry delivery perfectly.
  89. The One and Only Dick Gregory-Gregory is a pioneer as a comedian, activist, and black artist. He’s all of those together and separately and could have a documentary just covering those facets of his life separately. This Showtime deep dive doc does a spectacular job highlighting why his name should be more common in conversation when discussing the all time greats of comedy.
  90. Limbo-The timely story of seeking asylum from Syria gets superbly accented by writer/director Ben Sharrock with all the strangeness of small town life in Scotland.
  91. The Super Bob Einstein Movie-physical comedy icon Bob Einstein AKA Super Dave Osborne gets lovingly memorialized by his closest friends and contemporaries in this HBO comedy doc. If you’ve not had the chance to go on a YouTube deep dive of Bob Einstein or only have seen him on Curb Your Enthusiasm, watch this to gain full appreciation of the breadth of Einstein’s comedy career.
  92. Abbott Elementary-Quinta Brunson balances her less-than-ideal personal experience at an underfunded public elementary school with the sort of humor that lovingly highlights why we need to put more money into education ASAP.
  93. Notes from the Bathroom Line-Amy Solomon assembled so many of comedy’s funniest women to make for one of the best collections of written comedy work in recent memory.
  94. It Never Ends by Tom Scharpling-the life and times of Tom Scharpling in this memoir are a great example of how the paths to comedy greatness are infinite and can almost never be foretold (mostly because they’re so damn windy and all over the place).
  95. The Glendale Room-Sean Casey might have created the coziest comedy venue in existence with the adorably book-accented (and we mean book-accented) and intimate Glendale Room.
  96. Laurie Kilmartin’s Corset-By Zoom, drive-in show, or impromptu outdoor venue, Kilmartin kept her comedy chops as sharp as they’ve ever were in pre-pandemic times and this album is a testament to Kilmartin being one of the best comedians we’ve got, especially when the times we live in are undeniably dark.
  97. Alice Hamilton-On an almost seemingly random weekday night at an overly hip taco shop, we got to see Alice for the very first time dish out her acutely and deftly written jokes on race and class while also de-escalating the tension brought from a massively drunk heckler and have been enjoying seeing her deservedly pop up on nearly every stage in LA ever since.
  98. Ladies Who Ranch-Together, Kelly Cooper, Sophie Zucker, Maya Sharma, Caroline Yost, and Caitlin Dullea are not only a multi-faceted comedy troupe that dazzles when doing either improv or sketch as Ladies Who Ranch, but are, for our money, the NYC group to watch closely right now.
  99. Joy Ride with Bobcat Goldthwait & Dana Gould-Part stand-up special, part live tour doc, part couples therapy, alternative comedy giants Bobcat Goldthwait and Dana Gould make one hell of a concert film following their tour together that just happened under the wire of lockdown from COVID-19.
  100. I Think You Should Leave S2-Tim Robinson has solidified his place in sketch and absurdist comedy history with showing what he could do when giving free reign to do sketches about coffin flops and complicated shirts for men.

Pick of the Day: Everything is Terrible! (in LA & NYC) 2/3 & 2/26

December 31, 2021
News
bell house, brooklyn, everything is terrible, experimental comedy, nyc comedy, performance art, video art

The last two years have been some of the worst on record for everyone alive right now (if they are not actually, in fact, the very worst). The hours are ticking away in America to greet 2022 and the normal sort of routine fanfare that comes with New Year’s Eve is, at this point, unsurprisingly not at the fever pitch that it has been in, perhaps, 2014.

With that in mind, perhaps the thing to look forward to is video and performance art collective Everything Is Terrible! going on tour with slicing, dicing, and mashing up all the weirdest bits of DVD and VHS ephemera they could possible find into a hilarious, mind-bending, absurdist dream scape. This specific outing by EIT, The Kidz Klub Tour, will be grinding up the best of media from decades past that was engineered for kids, but has not aged all that well.

Also, above everything else, isn’t it fitting to look forward to something called Everything Is Terrible (though rest assured the show will be an amazing trip fantastic through the overlooked nostalgia of our youth and not literally terrible). EIT will be stopping through both LA and NYC this February (so, it’ll likely still happen).

Everything Is Terrible’s The Kidz Klub Tour will hit the Lodge Room in LA on Thurs. Feb. 3rd at 8PM PT with tickets for $22 and the Bell House on Sat. Feb. 26th at 7:30PM ET & 10:30PM ET with tickets for $20 a pop. Go get them now while everything still feels terrible and make yourself, consequently, feel a little less terrible.

R.I.P. Betty White, 1922-2021

December 31, 2021
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betty white

The Golden Girls, Hot in Cleveland, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show only scratch the surface of Betty White’s long and storied career in comedy and television. Of course, from those three shows alone she has gained an iconic status in the U.S. and abroad for her subversively wholesome appeal.

It was that appeal that saw her become one of the most sought after game show panelists, rise from the ranks of radio as an 8 year old to being beloved on TV for decades upon decades, and even become an honorary mayor of Hollywood. In fact, she has the distinction of holding the Guinness World Record for Longest Television Career by a Female Entertainer. To say that she paved the way for so many women that came after her on stage and screen, might be underscoring her importance to the history of entertainment.

Today, Betty White passed away, just before 2022 arrived, at the age of 99. Take some time to revisit her vast filmography. Her legacy is beyond well intact and should remain that way, especially as the popularity of The Golden Girls lives on with new generations, especially queer ones, a la The Golden Girlz.

Pick of the Day: Dylan Adler: Hit That Track (in NYC) 2/18

December 30, 2021
News
caveat, Dylan Adler, musical comedy, nyc, nyc comedy, stand up comedy

We might have told you before (and we will definitely tell you again in our best 100 year end list) that Dylan Adler is one of the funniest people that we got to see for the very first time in 2021. His vulnerable, personal, dark, physical (and often musical) comedy had us doubled over when we first saw it on a rooftop in DTLA earlier this year and it’s imperative to us that you go catch Dylan wherever he’s playing. Thankfully, for New Yorkers, that’s all over town all the time (and perhaps in LA in January).

Adler is actually doing his very own full length show that is a treat that no one in around the NYC’s LES should miss. Hit That Track will have Dylan headline Caveat on Feb. 18th at 7PM ET (so, hopefully that’s far enough from the reaches of this recent COVID-19 surge) and tickets are only $15.

Go get them right here right now and enjoy looking forward to something in mid February rather than worry about Valentine’s Day.

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