• Events
    • Los Angeles Open Mics
    • Los Angeles Shows
    • New York Open Mics
    • New York Shows
  • Book A Tour
  • Venues
  • News
  • Podcast
  • About
    • About The Comedy Bureau
    • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Digital Wall of Trustees

News

divider

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
News
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.

SF Sketchfest 2022 Postponed Due to COVID-19 Surge

December 30, 2021
News
covid closure, postponed, sf sketchfest

Over the last few weeks, you’ve probably seen and heard about live shows, performance venues, and awards shows canceling or postponing due to this most recent surge of the Omicron and Delta variants of COVID-19. There have been outbreaks not only amongst live comedy all across the country, but nearly all of live performance has been severely affected and has temporarily gone dark as a result.

SF Sketchfest always happens in January, which puts this festival, one of the biggest comedy festivals in the entire world, in potential reach of this latest surge in COVID-19 cases. Without any sort of advance knowledge of when numbers will trend down to safe-ish levels, the organizers of SF Sketchfest posted their postponement announcement just a few hours ago.

We have no doubt that this was a tough decision as SF Sketchfest had to got to a virtual one-day festival for 2021 and was geared up for an exciting three weeks of finally getting to be back in person and having the hundreds of shows and thousands of comedians performing for multitudes of audiences in and throughout the Greater SF Area.

SF Sketchfest founders Cole Stratton, David Owen and Janet Varney aim to maintain as much of this current line-up as possible and are looking for dates in the (hopefully) not so distant future. Stay tuned @sfsketchfest on Twitter and @sf_sketchfest on IG for further updates.

2022 Festival Update: pic.twitter.com/3BL2Ct6iLW

— SF Sketchfest (@SFSketchfest) December 30, 2021

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 92: Sam Varela & 2022 Electric COVID-loo

December 29, 2021
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
covid protocol, don't look up, joe rogan, licorice pizza, sam varela, vaccine mandates, virtual comedy

As 2022 approaches, there’s a lot on the horizon, despite everything in live performance going dark for a few weeks at least, if not several. Thankfully, Sam Varela, one of the best people in comedy, joins again to not only break down the situation that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has brought to comedy, but highlight the ongoing importance of her virtual stand-up show, Self-Care Comedy, that has been going weekly for almost a year and still has strong regular audience as well as that there is no going back to any sort of element of 2019 ever again. For whatever we have to look forward to in 2022 with the pandemic still well in place, Sam and TCB’s Jake Kroeger attempt to see what’s ahead (and talk a lot about Adam McKay’s brilliant Don’t Look Up in the process).

Also, hot takes on the boycott of Licorice Pizza, Joe Rogan postponing a 4/20 show because he doesn’t want to obey any vaccine mandates, and more (including world politics and astrophysics even though this is a comedy podcast).

Follow Sam @naked_comedy on Twitter & @nakedcomedy on IG and please get tickets to Ever’s The Tops! top surgery fundraiser on 1/7 @ The Elysian. Stay tuned to Self-Care Comedy every Tuesday at 7PM PT/10PM ET here.

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: Tinder Live! with Lane Moore (Livestream) 12/30

December 29, 2021
News
lane moore, moment house, tinder, tinder live, virtual comedy

As cases of COVID-19 are still on the rise once more from both the Omicron and Delta variants, the air of caution that you might have had months ago pervades every moment again. Thus, you are likely thinking twice or thrice about doing certain things that had you gather with folks indoors (hopefully vaccinated and masked).

So, virtual comedy, though out might have thought it died out, is still around (that’s a pretty good thing, no?) and luckily, the amazing Lane Moore is going virtual for her latest Tinder Live (the smash hit improvised comedy experience where Lane and choice panelists go through Lane’s Tinder profile and matches and have nothing but chaotic fun) over at Moment House this Thurs. Dec. 30th at 6PM PT/9PM ET.

Tinder Live! f*ck this f*cking virus is not only set for a fun night in on New Year’s Eve Eve, but will be available for replay for 72 hours after it streams. Tickets are $20 (and $60 if you want some rad merch from Lane). Go get your tickets right now so you won’t have to worry about whether you should go out or not.

This Teaser Atlanta Season 3 Is Slightly Less Mysterious Than the Last One

December 28, 2021
News
atlanta, donald glover, fx, season 3

Part of the allure of Atlanta is never knowing quite what to expect. The very DNA of the show defies having any sort of formula or tone or main character and has made some of the best television this side of the millennium.

So, with a highly anticipated, long awaited season 3, we’re all beset with the conundrum of wanting any sort of details on what lies ahead for Paper Boi and Earn’s trip to Europe, but knowing full well that there’s way more to this season than a rising star rapper having their first European tour as shown with the very first teaser of this season.

All that said, here’s a bit less of a cryptic look at this season here. Oh yeah, the wait for new Atlanta will be over on Mar. 24th.

Pick of the Day: Stamptown (in NYC) 1/27 & 1/29

December 28, 2021
News
asylum nyc, brooklyn, jack tucker, nyc comedy, stamptown, union hall, zach zucker

We’re not quite back at March 2020 in terms of live comedy being completely shut down, but there is a dreadful similarity to this week and the last couple, no?

To remedy that, let’s look further into the future for things that we were so glad that are back when lockdown lifted and will be thrilled to see once more (hopefully) in a few more weeks. Those include such things as one of comedy’s wildest shows, Stamptown. One of the only internationally traveling comedy showcases that rounds up clowns, sketch folks, stand-ups, musical comedians, and more genre defying comedic performers to do some of the wildest things anyone has seen on stage.

Currently, host/ringleader Zach Zucker/Jack Tucker is in the UK, but will be returning to NYC for two shows in January. Specifically, Stamptown will be at Union Hall on Thurs. Jan. 27th at 7:30PM ET & The Asylum NYC on Sat. Jan. 29th at 9:30PM ET. The line-ups aren’t announced yet, but you can rest assured that it will be jam packed with comedians you need to see as it has been for years.

Tickets are $20 a pop ($15 for Union Hall right now) and you can and should get them here and here respectively.

Pick of the Day: The Tops! A Top Surgery Fundraiser for Ever Mainard (in LA) 1/7

December 27, 2021
News
alysia brown, danielle perez, ever mainard, fundraiser, la comedy, libbie higgins, Meg Stalter, naomi ekperigin, nori reed, solomon georgio, stand up comedy, tony soto, top surgery

The weird week between Christmas and NYE has begun and on top of there being little going on and the little that was going on getting canceled due to Omicron, one has to wonder if there’s any hope to bring into 2022.

Well, one thing you could do is bring hope to the hysterical Ever Mainard and their upcoming top surgery so they can fully realize themselves as the amazing non-binary person and splendid comedian that they are. They’ve got a massively stacked line-up for their The Tops! A Top Surgery Fundraiser for Ever Mainard slated for Fri. Jan. 7th at 8PM at The Elysian with the likes of:

  • Meg Stalter
  • Libbie Higgins
  • Nori Reed
  • Naomi Ekperigin
  • Solomon Georgio
  • Lindsay Adams
  • Danielle Perez
  • Silver Lake Icon, Tony Soto
  • Alysia Brown

Ever will be presiding over hosting duties and it should be a good time (fingers crossed that it still gets to happen). In any case, you should buy a ticket to support Ever (oh yeah, there will be a bake sale to boot) for $20 and you can do so right here right now.

The Only Holiday Greeting You’ll Ever Need from The Righteous Gemstones

December 25, 2021
News
adam devine, danny mcbride, edi patterson, hbo, righteous gemstones

Jesse, Judy, and Kevin Gemstone do their holiday gift card better than anyone, no matter what holiday you observe during the holiday season. Please enjoy it and share it here.

Also, go binge both seasons of The Righteous Gemstones after you watch Elf, A Christmas Story, Die Hard, or whatever your holiday movie of choice is. It’s the way to get in our version of the holiday spirit.

 

Netflix’s The Standups Gives Its First Look of Season 3

December 23, 2021
News
brian simpson, dusty slay, janelle james, mark normand, melissa villaseñor, naomi ekperigin, netflix, stand up comedy, standups

Naomi Ekperigin, Dusty Slay, Mark Normand, Melissa Villaseñor, Janelle James, and Brian Simpson make up for a well-rounded of class half-hour specials that Netflix is putting out as a way to roll into 2022. Luckily, Netflix just got these taped before Omicron took hold and all live stuff had to be put on hold for some minutes.

Who know what we’ll even look like on the other side of this particular variant of COVID-19, much less the other side of the pandemic, but we are very glad to see the likes of these six get to put out a tight new half-hour of material to a live, in-person audience. Truthfully, we’d rather see them all do an hour, but we’ll take what we can get. We have no doubt that they’ll all get to an hour if they want as they do, almost exclusively, kill it on stage.

We were fortunate enough to catch Naomi and Brian work on their particular half-hours and can confidently say that you’re in for something special and should make binging The Standups your big to-do on Dec. 29th when it streams on Netflix.

Get a taste of what’s to come with The Standups Season 3 trailer here.

Pick of the Day: NYE Mega Comedy Show 2022 (Live-stream) 12/31

December 23, 2021
News
andrew michaan, atsuko okatsuka, brent weinbach, Caleb Hearon, maria bamford, moshe kasher, natasha leggero, nye, virtual comedy

Welp, the normal big Bay Area NYE comedy bash put on by Natasha Leggero and Moshe Kasher won’t happen again in person because of Omicron, but, at the very least, it’ll still happen. Natasha and Moshe are opting to do it virtually and have yet another amazing line-up of some of the best comedians in the entire country.

You’ll actually, probably to ring in 2022 with more comedy fans than you would have gotten to if you were to see this in person.

This edition of NYE Mega Comedy Show will have:

Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite, Big Mouth)
Atsuko Okatsuka (TheLate Late Show)
Caleb Hearon(Variety’s Comics to Watch)
Natasha Leggero (Another Period, Endless Honeymoon Podcast)
Moshe Kasher (Netflix, Endless Honeymoon Podcast)
Andrew Michaan (Podcast But Outside, I Think You Should Leave)
Brent Weinbach (Gangster Party Line, Comedy Central)
You can get access to the livestream on YouTube for $15 and then be part of the VIP Zoom audience for $25, all done through Nowhere Comedy. The festivities begin at 8:30PM PT/11:30PM ET on Dec. 31st and they’ll do a countdown from CST. Get your tickets at tinyurl.com/2022megashow.

HBO Dedicating a Doc to Bob Einstein with “The Super Bob Einstein Movie”

December 22, 2021
News
bob einstein, documentary, hbo, hbo max, super bob einstein movie

It would seem, right now, that perhaps HBO and Showtime are going toe-to-toe over in-depth comedy/comedy adjacent docs covering anything from Dick Gregory, Charlie Chaplin, The Comedy Store Cosby, Sesame Street, and more. It shouldn’t be any mystery that we are absolutely here for as many comedy docs as the two premium cablers want to make.

Cue in this latest Bob Einstein documentary at HBO Max.

Physical comedy, especially the sort cut from the cloth of Jackass, might not be the same without Bob Einstein. More famously known as Super Dave Osborne, the always-in-over-his-head daredevil, or Marty Funkhouser on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Einstein’s stature and outlandishness left his stamp on comedy and made him beloved, especially some of the most iconic figures in comedy (even while his brother Albert Brooks had his very own gigantic legacy in comedy).

Thus, Larry David, David Letterman, Steve Martin, Jerry Seinfeld, Susie Essman, and many more came out of the wood work to take part in a documentary special dedicated to the life, times, and memory of Bob Einstein, The Super Bob Einstein Movie.

See what’s to come with the trailer here, then look for The Super Bob Einstein Movie on HBO Max on Tues. Dec. 28th at 9PM on HBO Max.

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 91: Rebecca Drysdale & Changing with Change

December 22, 2021
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
emmys, lorne michaels, rebecca drysdale, snl

Rebecca Drysdale has not only been one of the best all around comedy folks that we know with writing on Key & Peele and having the longest running UCB Cagematch record with Hebecky Drysbell (partnered with Heather Anne Campbell), but is the founder of the magical DIY-as-can-be comedy venue The Clubhouse, which has thankfully survived to this side of the pandemic (and will need your help to continue to survive on this Kickstarter). She joins in with Jake Kroeger and TCB Field Report this week to talk how doing punch up for superheroes was her salvation after having one of the Tonight Show’s shortest stints of being a head writer and getting into the nitty gritty philosophy of doing comedy as a career. It’s the sort of beautiful conversation where time just faded away.

Also “hot” takes on Lorne Michaels potentially retiring from SNL, Emmy rule changes for comedy and drama, and more.

Support the Clubhouse’s reopening Kickstarter ASAP here: kickstarter.com/projects/clubhouseisback/clubhouse-phoenix-rising and follow Rebecca @beckdrys 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

Pick of the Day: Russell Howard (in LA) 4/8 & 4/9

December 22, 2021
News
dynasty typewriter, los angeles comedy, russell howard, stand up comedy

International superstar touring UK comedian Russell Howard was actually slated to do a whole run of shows in LA at Dynasty Typewriter in spring 2020. You know that didn’t happen and we all headed indoors to explore what virtual comedy was like.

With the Omicron variant sparking several closures of public gatherings and indoor events across the world for, at least, the rest of the year, one can only look to further in the future for an assured (probably) return, once more, to indoor comedy shows at proper venues.

So, Howard rescheduled the show far, far in advance in 2022 to get ahead, at the time, of anything might happen with the ever evolving pandemic (like the Omicron variant of COVID-19). He has four shows lined-up for Friday Apr. 8th and Saturday Apr. 9th both at 8PM PT & 10PM PT. We’re not the betting types, but we’re pretty sure that these shows will happen and the high energy, sharply funny, and positive energy of Howard is something you could probably use right now.

Go buy tickets at $25 a pop for Howard’s late shows on those dates since the early shows have already sold out.

 

Search Party Finds Dory Starting a Cult in Season 5 Trailer

December 21, 2021
News
alia shawkat, charles rogers, cults, hbo max, jeff goldblum, john early, john reynolds, meredith hagner, sarah violet bliss, search party

It has been far too long since the last season of Search Party to see what the hell they were going to do for the final season. In truth, any moment longer than the last frame of season 4 felt too long (especially as it seems like we’re going back into some sort of lockdown again due to Omicron).

Thankfully, season 5 is just a few weeks away and this latest look at the fifth and final season is especially juicy and ripe for the daring, often unhinged (in a great way) satire that Search Party has become. After trying to find and rescue various characters over the seasons, it looks as though Dory is lost yet again, but not in the physical sense so much as lost herself in leading a cult (and partnering with a dubious Jeff Goldblum) in the process.

If you thought that John Early’s Elliott pretending to be a Gay Republican conservative news pundit or how Dory was kept captive by a psychopath was wild, it would seem this season has a lot more in store and might just be as crazy as what the real world is (yet thankfully, very fictional).

Get a taste of what’s to come with the season 5 official trailer here, then look for the series to begin streaming on HBO Max come Fri. Jan. 7th.

Kim Jong-un Bans Laughing (and Happiness in General) in Honor of 10th Anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s Death

December 21, 2021
News
kim jong-un, north korea

(via The Guardian)

When it comes to honoring the dead, more often than not people naturally find themselves in a state of reflection, which is why the anniversary of someone’s death or a national tragedy is a “day of observance” rather than a holiday. Certainly, one doesn’t need to set up some government mandate that commands people be sad “in honor” of a noted figure’s passing from this mortal coil.

Well, whiny child dictator/Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un has decided that he actually does need to enforce people’s sadness in honor of his father, Kim Jong-il, the Supreme Leader of North Korea before him, and his death 10 years ago to the day. Jong-un has just issued an official ban of laughter in addition to alcohol and any sort of general sign of happiness for a period of 11 days as a proper time of mourning.

It’s the latest missive from the petulant despot that is intended for his subjects to take him with the utmost seriousness, but is so overly absurd that one can only laugh at him for the idea of banning laughter. It’s not too dissimilar from Jong-un’s neighbor, Xi Jingping, outlawing depictions of him as Winnie the Pooh, which inevitably invites only more ridicule and roasting. Even when Kim Jong-il died, the way that people cried was so performative that it seemingly almost borders on laughing.

In the context of comedy, it’s so beautifully ironic that such a ban can’t be feasibly enforced across the board and, for whatever it’s worth, there has to be a contingency of North Koreans that are laughing in private or, at least, to themselves about how surreally obtuse this all is (when they’ve gotten a spare moment from fearing for their lives). There’s an undeniable performance quality to

Someday, someone from this regime will end up doing some type of comedy, specifically about their time in North Korea and we’re sure it’ll be illuminating as much as it’ll be hilarious.

Pick of the Day: Nore Davis’ 5th Stand-Up Album Recording (in NYC) 1/29

December 21, 2021
News
album recording, brooklyn, live taping, nore davis, ny comedy, stand up comedy, union hall

If there was ever an uplifting voice of comfort in comedy that also kept it completely honest and vulnerable and, most importantly, so very hysterically funny, there would be a very tiny short list with the name Nore Davis clearly on it.

For the dozens of times we’ve seen him live and all the hours/specials/albums we’ve heard/seen, Nore has been a constant in offering a rare hopeful outlook threaded through his deftly crafted material and undeniable charm and finesse on stage. His comedic artistry even shined through on Zoom, the rare feat during this time of COVID-19, and he made a thoroughly enjoyable album via Zoom.

So, that said, you shouldn’t miss his latest album recording (it’ll be his fifth one) at Union Hall on Sat. Jan. 29th at 7:30PM ET & 10PM ET when, one can only hope, the current Omicron surge will have subsided. Get tickets for $20 here.

Showtime’s Latest In-Depth Comedy Doc Will Be W. Kamau Bell’s We Need to Talk About Cosby

December 20, 2021
News
bill cosby, docu series, showtime, w kamau bell

Perhaps, as a titular nod to 2011’s We Need To Talk About Kevin, W. Kamau Bell has put together an entire docu-series exploring the mythos of Bill Cosby and the tragic reveal of the monster that he really is. Bell looks to explore how we’re supposed to even move forward with the knowledge that he perpetrated his sex crimes for decades and we wouldn’t believe it because he was proverbially “America’s Dad”, especially if you’re a middle aged black comedian right now.

This will be the latest in the line of documentary deep dives into the history of comedy, no matter how dark or real the territory is, by Showtime. Impressively, they’ve recently had docs on Dick Gregory and Charlie Chaplin and The Comedy Store and, from the looks of it, they’re going to keep pushing in that direction, which we’re, of course, on board for.

Get a look at We Need to Talk About Cosby and why the title is still so relevant with the series teaser here. Look for the premiere on Showtime on Jan. 30th.

Pick of the Day: Girl God (in LA) 1/15

December 20, 2021
News
april clark, girl god, Grace Freud, los angeles comedy, sketch comedy

Most venues, bars, theaters are opting to go dark in LA and NYC for, seemingly, the rest of the year. Thus, we’ve got to look to next year for some sort of light of a future comedy show to catch at this stretch of that ever present, metaphorical tunnel.

So, earlier in the fall, Girl God (Grace Freud and April Clark) served up their special brand of “hot trans dykes who do dumb shit on stage” (that’s their very own description of their act) to NYC for a taping. Coming Sat. Jan. 15th at 10PM PT, LA will get the Girl God treatment at The Elysian with an exclusive performance that ought to be the sort of absurdist start to 2022 we all need.

Do not miss on the brilliantly daft antics of Freud and Clark and go get your tickets for $16 right here right now (and hope that shows aren’t cancelling or postponing a month from now).

« Recent News
Older News »

Recent News

divider

  • The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 288: Sydney Kane & Tragedy Plus Time as a Musical - When doing the alchemy of taking heartbreak and turning it into comedy, it often manifests… Read More
  • The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 287: Maggie Winters & Embracing All Sides of Live, Laugh, Love - As the volume of comedy specials released increases at an exponential rate, one really must… Read More
  • The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 286: Chris Colthurst & Better Living Through Improv - Taking a cue from San Diego's biggest annual happening, Comic-Con, Chris Colthurst is paving a… Read More

Sign up For The Newsletter

Copyright © 2020 The Comedy Bureau
All rights reserved