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Melissa McCarthy to Star in Human and Puppets Murder Mystery Comedy “The Happytime Murders”

happytime murders, henson alternative, jim henson, melissa mccarthy, puppets

Melissa McCarthy to Star in Human and Puppets Murder Mystery Comedy “The Happytime Murders”

If Spy was any indication, this might be the next big hit for McCarthy as it has plenty of opportunity for big physical comedy gags and expletive laden burns. That’s in addition to the novelty of having an R-rating and puppets, from Henson Alternative no less, go together.

This being the case, we’re curious to see where exactly this movie will land with the R-rating. For instance, would their murderer perhaps be a leader of a small cult trying to start a race war? How gruesome can the puppet murders be?

It might be too early to tell, but we’d bet that fans of No, You Shut Up! with Paul F. Tompkins might be thoroughly intrigued by this as well.

On This Star Wars Day, Check Out What’s Happening Elsewhere a Galaxy Far, Far Away with “Outer Rim”

fan film, may the fourth be with you, outer rim, parody, star wars, star wars day, thomas wood

The galaxy in which Star Wars takes place always seem to be at war with some sort of Empire-Rebellion dynamic.

That being said, we’re betting trillions of beings inhabit said galaxy just trying to live their lives.

Writer/director Thomas Wood and Dave Ross and Steve Hernandez gives us one of those stories just in time for Star Wars Day with Outer Rim.

The Future of Seeso Doesn’t Seem So Bright as Evan Shapiro Steps Down as Head of Seeso

evan shapiro, seeso

The Future of Seeso Doesn’t Seem So Bright as Evan Shapiro Steps Down as Head of Seeso

Currently, the only thing confirmed is that Shapiro will be stepping down.

However, there are plenty of murmurs and whispers that, after everything that’s already in the pipeline for this year premieres, Seeso might just close up shop altogether.

That would be an incredibly pity as so much good programming is on Seeso like Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, Take My Wife, plenty of stand-up specials, access to some of the best British and Aussie comedy out there, Hidden America with Jonah Ray, My Brother, My Brother and Me, and way more.

If Seeso does indeed get the ax, one has to wonder where all this content will go and, more importantly, if a new Seeso-ish streaming service or network will take its place, possibly from some other media conglomerate. Adult Swim, TruTV, and TBS can only take on so much more on their already very full plates and yet, there is plenty of Seeso original content that should have a home somewhere.

In any case, Seeso is still up and running for 2017 and you should watch as much of it as you can while you can.

The Chris Gethard Show Moves to TruTV and Will Go Back to Broadcasting Completely Live

chris gethard, tcgs, the chris gethard show, trutv

While Ryan Seacrest will join Kelly Ripa in greeting America in the morning despite Chris Gethard’s very earnest pleas for that gig, Chris Gethard and gang will be returning for a nice, big new season at a new network.

After spending some time at Fusion, TCGS will now move on to TruTV (honestly, it’s a better fit) for 16 episodes.

Best of all, Gethard will get to do what made TCGS great by broadcasting the show live. It’s not “live to tape” like so many live TV shows. It will be aired as it’s happening and few in the world are as great as handling that controlled chaos as well as Chris Gethard.

Look for the new season The Chris Gethard Show at TruTV in August.

bob baker, downtown la, dtla, juggling, lindsay benner, marionette, pam severns, variety show, vaudeville, women in vaudeville

Women in Vaudeville will be a great evening, lead off by the very talented Lindsay Benner, offering up a female variety showcase of puppets, acrobatics, juggling, marionettes and more at the historic Bob Baker Marionette Theater.

Tickets are $20 and you can (and should) get them and more details here.

Donald Glover’s Atlanta to Stream Exclusively on Hulu

atlanta, hulu, streaming

Donald Glover’s Atlanta to Stream Exclusively on Hulu

Ahead of the season 2 premiere in 2018, you’ll be able to stream the first, award winning season of Donald Glover’s Atlanta on Hulu.

All seasons of the show will stream at a time after they air as well making this a great get for Hulu. So, make sure you have access to Hulu somehow if you don’t already.

Soon, there will be big bidding wars for streaming rights and securing rights to shows like Atlanta are just the beginning.

A New Norm Macdonald Special Is Coming to Netflix Next Week

comedy special, gossip, hitler's dog, netflix, norm macdonald, stand up, teaser, trickery

It’s been almost 6 years since Norm Macdonald’s last special, Me Doing Stand-Up.

Macdonald, as you probably know by now, likes to take his time to craft his bits and the wait is really worth it.

Fortunately, next Tuesday, on May 9th, you’ll get his latest hour “Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery” streaming on Netflix.

Jordan Peele Just Scored a First Look Deal at Universal Pictures

first look deal, jordan peele, universal pictures

Jordan Peele Just Scored a First Look Deal at Universal Pictures

Peele will get to develop all sorts of films under his Monkeypaw Productions banner with Universal Pictures.

The possibilities are seemingly endless here with the breakout success of Get Out and Jordan’s notoriety gained with Key & Peele.

From hearing this news, we’re imagining the two valets from Key & Peele just going back and forth imagining what Jordan could end up making with this lucrative, high-powered deal.

The House from “A Christmas Story” Now Available to Stay in as a Hotel

a christmas story, cleveland, hotel, museum, ohio

The House from “A Christmas Story” Now Available to Stay in as a Hotel

The Cleveland house was meticulously decorated to resemble the house from the classic Christmas movie, “A Christmas Story”, as a museum.

Now, for $495 a night or ($1995 a night during peak holiday season) you can stay in the house on the private third floor loft and live out the movie as opposed to watching it a dozen or so times on Christmas Eve on cable TV.

That’s right, you can book it year round and indeed have Christmas in July.

Get more details and book it here.

alison wong, benefit, comedy shows, james adomian, lgbt center, lgbtqia, los angeles, nicole byer, oscar montoya, quick and funny musicals, thomas dale, ucb

As we stand at the precipice of POTUS potentially signing an executive order on the currently misguided idea of “religious liberty”, a benefit for something like the Los Angeles LGBT Center might be important.

Thankfully, UCB is throwing such a benefit show called Something Gay! this coming Monday, May 8th at UCB Sunset with a fantastic line-up.

Go get your tickets as soon as you can here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Moby Played a Vegan Version of ‘Big Game Hunter’ on Talk Show the Game Show

big game hunter, casey schreiner, guy branum, karen kilgariff, moby, parody, trutv, vegan

Talk Show the Game Show shows how to make a late night game that is not only very clever and fun, but also guest-specific.

Please enjoy what might be the most badass version of Moby you’ve ever seen in this clip from Talk Show the Game Show with Guy Branum.

Maria Bamford’s New Special “Old Baby” Delightfully Continues Her Mission of Inclusivity, Understanding, and Acceptance

maria bamford, netflix, old baby, stand up, stand up special

Over the years, Maria Bamford has done comedy specials in theaters and in her house in front of her parents. However, she hasn’t done both in the same special until now.

In fact, Old Baby, her new special that is now streaming on Netflix, shows Maria doing stand-up in front of a bench, at a movie theater, at a bowling alley, in a nice, big theater in DTLA, and more.

All of this, as far as we can see, lines up with Maria’s life-affirming comedy as it is bringing people from all walks of life, literally, together to enjoy Maria’s expert repertoire of characters and brilliant comedic distillation of her world view, farts and all.

Go enjoy Old Baby now and you just might feel better about the world for a little while.

Watch Trailer for “The Big Sick”, The Rom Com Based on the Real Life Love Story of Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon

amazon, big sick, holly hunter, judd apatow, kumail nanjiani, michael showalter, ray romano, trailer, true story, zoe kazan

Two protagonists from disparate worlds coming together, against all odds, to fall in love is an oft used formula in the world of romantic comedies.

However, a lot of the time, many of those stories are purely fiction and the verisimilitude takes you out of it.

The Big Sick, written by comedy power couple Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon about how they really did come from very different walks of life, under unusual circumstances, and fell in love, living happily ever after.

Watch the trailer and you’ll see the truth ring in their story as presented in what might be this Summer’s comedy hit.

Look for The Big Sick to come out in limited release on June 23rd and in wide release on July 14th.

ben schwartz, east hollywood, indie, late night, lauren lapkus, los angeles, los feliz, lyric hyperion, nick kroll, open mike eagle, paul f tompkins, silverlake, ted tremper, Tim baltz, virgil

NYC’s own wonderful indie late night show Running Late with Scott Rogowsky is back in LA this week and next. As you can see above, he’s got plenty of great guests including Paul F. Tompkins, Ben Schwartz, Eddie Pepitone, Lauren Lapkus, and more.

So far, Rogowsky has got three dates at The Virgil and you can tickets are now on sale for Friday, May 5th, Saturday, May 6th, and Sunday, May 7th. If you get the tickets in advance, it’ll cost $7. At the door, it’ll be $10. He also has a date locked down at the Lyric Hyperion Theatre & Cafe on May 10th that you’ll want to keep a close eye on for tickets.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

WGA and AMPTP Reach Deal Avoiding Another Strike and Late Night, Your New Favorite Comedies, and More Actually Won’t Be Brought to a Grinding Halt

amptp, deal, wga, writer's strike

WGA and AMPTP Reach Deal Avoiding Another Strike and Late Night, Your New Favorite Comedies, and More Actually Won’t Be Brought to a Grinding Halt

Past the deadline when the previous contract had expired, the WGA and AMPTP did indeed agree on a deal that prevented a strike (which was made to seem inevitable in the days leading up to this) from happening.

If you remember from a decade ago, Conan O’Brien was spinning a ring on his desk as a segment, The Office was never quite the same, and the whole of the industry biz was shaken as a result of the last WGA Strike for both creators and consumers to a degree no one had anticipated.

Thankfully, your favorite peak TV, bashing Trump for whatever he said that day, and a new comedy that’s perhaps waiting for word on more episodes ordered on the back end are now all safe. It might be hard to appreciate the gravity of this as it the worst scenario was avoided, but you should have, at the very least, a brief, demonstrative sigh of relief.

Now, go back to worrying about all the “other stuff” (North Korea, Obamacare, the Wall, civil unrest in Europe and South America, POTUS seeming dumber than ever, ISIS, etc. etc.).

Toni Erdmann Dominates German Lola Awards

lola awards, maren ade, peter simonischek, sandra huller, toni erdmann

Toni Erdmann Dominates German Lola Awards

While not getting any love at the Oscars or BAFTAs, the fantastic dramedy Toni Erdmann picked up six Lola Awards (Germany’s version of The Oscars) last week. That includes well deserved wins for best director, best screenwriter, best actor, best actress, and best editing.

If you haven’t seen Toni Erdmann, it’s possibly one of the most heart warming R-rated comedies in recent memory and hopefully this awards sweep will convince you to give it a watch soon.

Watch Samantha Bee Roast Presidents Throughout Decades in Past and in Alternate Futures for Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

bill clinton, clinton, fdr, full frontal, nixon, not the whcd, presidential roast, reagan, samantha bee, tbs, whcd

Though the administrations of Nixon, FDR, Clinton, Reagan, Wilson, JFK, Truman, and more didn’t get the barbs of a White House Correspondents Dinner of the 21st century, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee made sure to dream up what that might be like for the #NotTheWHCD event this weekend. Bee was in proper period comedian attire and had plenty of references we hope you don’t have to look up.

Also, looking to the future, Bee and co. imagined, at the end of that segment, what a White House Correspondents Dinner would be with Pence as the POTUS (assuming Trump is out of office soon) or what an alternate future WHCD would be had Hillary Clinton won last year’s election.

Overall, Bee made good on having an alternative to the WHCD, though Hasan Minhaj did an amazing job as WHCD host, and, additionally, raised over $200K for the Committee to Protect Journalists. Perhaps, a new annual tradition has been born?

bunheads, demi adejuyigbe, dtla, gilmore guys, kevin porter, live comedy, live podcast, regent theater

The popular podcast, The Gilmore Guys, has been working their new off-shoot, Bunhead Bros, where they focus on the short lived TV series, Bunheads.

They’ll actually be taping a live episode next week at The Regent Theater, 448 S. Main St in DTLA.

You can (and should) get your tickets here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

cheap comedy, comedy shows, free comedy, improv, los angeles, open mics, sketch, stand up

Comedy Crawl and Open Mic Run all updated for next week (5/1/17).

Check our listings at www.thecomedybureau.com

Hasan Minhaj Delivers (and Then Some [and Even More]) as Host of 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner

cnn, daily show, free speech, msnbc, trump, whca, whcd, white house correspondents association, white house correspondents dinner

It was only a year ago that Hasan Minhaj was at a different podium as host of the RTCA Dinner (the “JV nerd prom”?), delivering a set that was both unapologetic in its clever barbs as well as heartfelt in its message.

Most RTCA Dinner hosts don’t get to graduate to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner the very next year. Then again, these are times that are often without precedent.

Hasan Minhaj, as we’ve seen him do time and time again as a stand-up, storyteller, and a correspondent on The Daily Show, dished out his finely detailed jokes last night with a certain brutal grace and was more on point than several WHCD hosts before him. Had this been the Obama Administration, we think Hasan might have not had trouble following him like other comedians have had over the years.

Don’t be surprised if Hasan ends up getting his very own show soon from this performance.

Thus far, Trump has not tweeted about the happenings of the WHCD dinner directly, but we can imagine that it might include something like “Sad!” a few dozen times.

So, for free speech, for free press, for comedy, and for all of our sanity, you now might want to watch and enjoy Hasan at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

andy daly, baron vaughn, comedy shows, eastside, free comedy, free shows, john ross bowie, julianne smolinski, katie aselton, los angeles, los feliz, rider strong, silverlake, stephen falk, storytelling, the virgil

Public School Stories is always a storytelling show worth catching, but this latest edition for May is particularly stacked with your favorite folks from You’re the Worst, Boy Meets World, MST3K, Review, Legion, and more.

It’s free to attend, but you can RSVP here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’s Not The White House Correspondents Dinner Is Tonight

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Tonight, tune in at 10PM on TBS or 8PM PST on a Twitter livestream (with a 6PM PST red carpet) for Samantha Bee and Full Frontal doing their own White House roast, The Not The White House Correspondents Dinner.

Nothing like this has been really done as other presidents, even Bush, show up to the White House Correspondents Dinner and make that spectacle enough for the weekend.

It would be great to see if the ratings for both Sam Bee’s Not The White House Correspondents Dinner and the actual WHCD with host Hasan Minhaj got “fantastic ratings”, partially because Trump wasn’t there.

dear white people, justin simien, netflix, now streaming

This is just a friendly reminder that you might want to (if you’re not already doing so) binge watch the new Netflix series, Dear White People, that everyone else is binge watching.

All the episodes started streaming yesterday.

bel air, beverly glen, festival, los angeles, puppets, sherman oaks, west la

Tomorrow is time for the Skirball Cultural Center’s annual Puppet Festival. All throughout the center, puppeteers for all sorts of audiences will be performing from 10AM-4PM

General admission is $12 and you can (and should) get your tickets here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com

Aidy Bryant Shares the Story of Her Out-of-Nowhere Marriage Proposal from Conner O’Malley

aidy bryant, conner o'malley, engagement, late night, marriage, proposal, seth meyers

Long time couple Aidy Bryant from SNL and comedy madman Conner O’Malley are now engaged.

While on last night’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, Aidy recounted the unusual way that Conner proposed, which, if we think about it, is probably how a lot of comedians end up proposing.

Also, keep in mind that the guy in this man on the street video is the Conner popping the question in this story.