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Aasif Mandvi’s Satirical Muslim Family Sitcom “Halal in the Family” Seems More Important Than Ever

November 17, 2016

aasif mandvi, halal in the family, muslim, parody, satire

Aasif Mandvi’s Satirical Muslim Family Sitcom “Halal in the Family” Seems More Important Than Ever

This web series was released awhile ago and won a Peabody Award, but given how fighting Islamophobia is, for some reason (potential Muslim registry, anyone?), now more important than ever, Aasif Mandvi’s Halal in the Family is a nice satirical reminder that we have more in common with each other than we don’t.

Oh, also, it’s so darkly funny on top of all of its social commentary. Watch, enjoy, and share.

November 17, 2016

eddie pepitone, jen kirkman, laurie kilmartin, solomon georgio

Jen Kirkman’s dysfunctional holiday show is definitely the show to really get into the holiday season this year. Laurie Kilmartin, Eddie Pepitone, Solomon Georgio, and more will be performing as well making for a pretty great evening.

Tickets are $20 with a 2 item minimum and you can (and should) get them here.

Watch Dana Gould, Master of Comedic Timing, Perform His Latest Set on Conan

November 16, 2016

comedic timing, conan, dana gould, late night, stand up, team coco, timing

Of the many subtleties in comedy, timing is one of the most important ones. It’s hard to nail down and master as it’s fluid and intuitive and different, to varying degrees, every time you tell a joke.

The great Dana Gould, per usual, performed his latest set on Conan with flawless timing and sharply written jokes that have such beautiful, unexpected turns.

Watch a master at work here.

Billy on the Street Sends an Important Message to America with “Immigrant or Real American?” Game

November 16, 2016

billy eichner, billy on the street, immigrant or real american, satire

Billy Eichner cleverly proves yet an important point through his on-the-street, pop culture trivia game show about who are some of the best people in our country.

See if you catch what it is here (Note: it should be pretty obvious).

Audible Channels Presents a Whole Boatload of New Premium Audio Content Including The Comedy Show Show, Hold On, Sounds Like America, and Bedtime Stories for Cynics

November 16, 2016

amazon, bedtime stories for cynics, comedy show show, eugene mirman, hold on, jim gaffigan, john mulaney, lewis black, maria bamford, nick offerman, rob delaney, roy wood jr, stand up, storytelling, will arnett

If you’ve heard a podcast or two, you’ve probably heard of Audible, the service where you can listen to audio versions of books.

Well, as that worked out for them, they’re now getting into the original programming game via the new Audible Channels subscription service.

They’ve got plenty of great stuff including The Comedy Show Show presented by Will Arnett featuring high concept comedy shows (i.e. Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction) around the country, Hold On with Eugene Mirman that’s an in-depth storytelling show, Sounds Like America featuring stand-up performed from around the country, straightforward stand-up comedy on Limelight, and Bedtime Stories for Cynics with Nick Offerman.

Featured guests on all of these shows include Jim Gaffigan, John Mulaney, Mike Birbiglia, Maria Bamford, Kurt Braunohler, Jackie Kashian, Roy Wood Jr., Rob Delaney, Michelle Buteau, TJ Miller, Todd Barry, Beth Stelling, Ron Funches, Gilbert Gottfried, and way more.

If you have either a subscription to Audible or Amazon Prime, you get all of this for free.

If you want to get into any or all of this (and it sounds like a good idea), get more details here.

Patton Oswalt Will Host WGA Awards for Second Time

November 16, 2016

patton oswalt, wga awards, writers guild of america

Patton Oswalt Will Host WGA Awards for Second Time

We’re glad to see that Patton is back.

Come February 19th, Patton Oswalt will once again take up duties as host of the Writers Guild of America Awards. This particular awards ceremony affords a little more latitude since it’s not televised, which should make for some damn fine jokes from Patton.

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Renewed by TBS Through 2017

November 16, 2016

full frontal, samantha bee, tbs

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Renewed by TBS Through 2017

Samantha Bee will be as crucial as ever to have around over the next few years.

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee just got re-upped by TBS through next year and will move to Wednesdays at 10:30PM still right before Conan.

Look for the 2017 run of the show to kick off on January 11th, which should get you fired about before a certain inauguration.

Rabbit Hole with Jay Larson and Rory Scovel Will Be Replacing The Meltdown with Jonah & Kumail

November 16, 2016

baron vaughn, bridey elliott, holllywood, jay larson, joe mande, kate berlant, live comedy, los angeles, meltdown comics, nerdmelt, rabbit hole, rory scovel, stand up, the meltdown with jonah and kumail, todd glass

One of the most revered weekly stand-up shows in the country, The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, ended its 6 year run last month, which included three seasons as a TV series on Comedy Central.

Naturally, the 8:30PM slot at Nerdmelt where Meltdown took place was going to be filled in by something given Meltdown’s status as a flagship show at the theater.

In two weeks, you will all have a very exciting and worthy show filling in with Rabbit Hole with Jay Larson and Rory Scovel produced by Nerdmelt’s Caitlin Durante. Larson and Scovel are two of our favorites and this show will be in good hands as you can see with our thoughts on Jay’s recent album Human Math and Scovel’s latest Conan set.

In the inaugural show, Kate Berlant, Todd Glass, Bridey Elliott, Joe Mande, Baron Vaughn, and a surprise guest will be performing. It should go without saying that it’ll be a hell of a show and something that will get us all through the next few years and beyond.

Tickets are $10 and are available now here.

You can keep up with Rabbit Hole on @therabbitholela on Twitter, @therabbitholela on Instagram, and on Facebook.

Divorce and Insecure Are Renewed for a Second Season at HBO

November 15, 2016

divorce, hbo, insecure

Divorce and Insecure Are Renewed for a Second Season at HBO

That also describes the state of the country right now.

HBO’s latest comedies, Divorce and Insecure, just got picked up for their season, which should play nicely opposite the other end of HBO’s comedy line-up with Veep and Silicon Valley.

Selfsgiving May Be What You Want to Do This Thanksgiving

November 15, 2016

above average, jackie jennings, parody, satire, selfsgiving, thanksgiving

Whomever you voted for or whether you voted or not, many Americans are heated at each other, to say the least.

Some time to cool off is definitely needed (even though we all have to come together at some point) and perhaps a Selfsgiving might be a better option for Thanksgiving this year.

Watch Above Average explain what Selfsgiving is here.

Conan O’Brien and Elijah Wood Desperately Try to Understand Any of What’s Happening in Final Fantasy XV

November 15, 2016

clueless gamer, conan o'brien, elijah wood, final fantasy xv, team coco

Of all the games that Conan O’Brien has played on Clueless Gamer, it would seem that Final Fantasy XV has been the most befuddling. That’s saying something considering the premise of the series is that he is befuddled by all video games.

Also, there’s a fun, real life twist at the end of this episode that Conan has never had to deal with before.

Watch Conan and Elijah Wood attempt to make sense of what’s going on in the latest installment in one of gaming’s longest running franchises here.

Billy on the Street Returns Tonight for Season 5

November 15, 2016

billy eichner, billy on the street, trutv

Billy Eichner is returning to television later this evening everyone.

10:30PM tonight, Billy Eichner returns, mic in hand, running around NYC to quiz people in the face and more for the season 5 premiere of Billy on the Street.

It’s going to be a hell of a season as you can see in this promo.

November 15, 2016

amanda brooke perrin, anthony jeselnik, characters, hollywood, jermaine fowler, live comedy, los angeles, los feliz, matt ingebretson, natalie palamides, short film, silverlake, stand up, super serious show, whitmer thomas

Per usual, The Super Serious Show is going to be a really good time.

Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. You can (and should) get them here.

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

Poster by Barry Blankenship.

Queen of Sh*tty Robots Simone Giertz Makes a “Pussy Grabs Back Machine”

November 14, 2016

pussy grabs back machine, simone giertz

Simone Giertz processed her grief at the U.S. election results in one of the best ways she knows how: making sh*tty robots.

Being inspired by Trump’s “Pussygate Tapes”, she created a robot that would have the pussy, so to speak, grab back. It’s clever, inspirational, and also, as it turns out, functional.

Watch it and get a brief bit of solace here.

Watch Trailer for Michael Che’s Netflix Special Michael Che Matters

November 14, 2016

comedy special, hour special, michael che, michael che matters, netflix, stand up, trailer

Going into Thanksgiving is going to be dicey this year. We’d say skip if you can.

Whether that’s possible or not, at least you’ll have a Michael Che stand-up special to look forward to.

Here’s the trailer for Michael Che Matters. It starts streaming on Netflix on November 25th.

November 14, 2016

famous quotes, quote, stephen colbert

You can’t laugh and be afraid at the same time.

Stephen Colbert

Amazon Renews Tig Notaro’s One Mississippi for a Second Season

November 14, 2016

amazon studios, one mississippi, tig notaro

Announced today.

Tig Notaro’s series One Mississippi that is somewhat based on her life with Tig playing a version of herself will be getting another round on Amazon Studios. The strategy to aim for dramedy at Amazon seems to be working out and thus they’ll keep anteing up.

Brett Gelman Says He Has Severed Ties with Adult Swim Due to Their Treatment of Women

November 14, 2016

adult swim, brett gelman, dinner with, tv

Brett Gelman Says He Has Severed Ties with Adult Swim Due to Their Treatment of Women

Given Adult Swim head Mike Lazzo’s comments on hiring women along with having an alt-right comedy show coming up, Brett Gelman will be taking his “Dinner with…” specials elsewhere.

Unless Adult Swim changes their tune soon with their actions, this might be only the beginning of the fallout between the niche comedy network and its talent.

November 14, 2016

cinefamily, comedy show, comedy variety, fairfax, guy branum, jackie kashian, jermaine fowler, kyle mizono, live comedy, los angeles, natalie palamides, short film, solomon georgio, stand up, steve agee, super tight, video art

Tickets are $15 and you can (and should) get them here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows/events as well as open mics and maps are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com.

John Oliver Says F 2016

November 14, 2016

f 2016, john oliver, last week tonight, trump

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’s entire season finale dealt with, as to be expected, the results of this year’s U.S. presidential election being a win for Donald Trump.

If you’ve been to a live comedy show this whole week or watched late night or SNL, you’ll notice it’s unavoidable to talk about as it’s the only thing on anyone’s mind (no matter if you supported Trump or not). Many comedians on television do skew left, so many monologues and segments took a slightly more solemn tone that had a tinge of Sully Sullenberger’s call to brace for impact on that fateful Flight 1549.

One should note that a joke being told “too soon” can also apply to the person telling the joke as they might have not properly processed their own emotions after such a tragic event.

That being said, as far as we’ve seen, comedy, by and large, fulfilled its main priority in bringing laughter amidst all the anxiety/shock/grieving/crying/coping/etc. (and we’ve seen a few comedians crying on stage this week during their set). This is all in the liberal bastion of Los Angeles, by the way, where the air definitely hangs heavy still throughout the entire city.

Whether it be Stephen Colbert live on election night or Solomon Georgio demanding to take the stage on a show that was all but cancelled due to a Trump win being eminent or Emily Heller at a show that was supposed to celebrate a Hillary Clinton victory and was a show for solidarity in defeat, they did get to the jokes and got the job done. It wasn’t easy in the face of so much terrifying uncertainty of a Trump Administration, but they pulled it off spectacularly anyhow. These moments are where comedy just goes beyond being a clown and is shown as the art form that can bring people together and put them at ease.

John Oliver does just that with this week’s entire episode of Last Week Tonight by going through the election in a slightly sober tone, but ultimately bringing us together over just how much 2016 sucked. Indeed, there is a silly unity in telling the year 2016 to “f off”.

FYI, HBO has the courtesy of putting the whole, as opposed to portion of it, on YouTube for your convenience. Watch it here.

Enjoy Oren Brimer’s Short Film “See You Around”

November 13, 2016

courtney pauroso, george basil, josh ruben, megan neuringer, oren brimer, pete holmes, see you around, short film

We got to see this gem from Oren Brimer (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Pete Holmes Show) last night and it’s good bit of sharply written, rom com fun. Josh Ruben, Pete Holmes, Courtney Pauroso, George Basil, and Megan Neuringer round a pretty swell cast in this short film.

Watch and enjoy See You Around here.

Andrés du Bouchet Wins Bet and Shows Off His Sexy Dinosaur Drawings on Conan

November 13, 2016

andres du bouchet, conan

Here is some straight up, pure, unfiltered silliness from the brilliant Andrés du Bouchet.

No further explanation will be given as it isn’t needed.

This Dave Chappelle Monologue and Sketch with Chappelle’s Show Characters Almost Makes for a Whole Episode of Chappelle’s Show

November 13, 2016

chappelle's show, dave chappelle, snl, walking dead

If you just watch this Walking Dead parody with popular Chappelle’s Show characters and the opening monologue with Dave Chappelle doing stand-up, you’re only a few minutes short of a full episode of Chapelle’s Show.

This doesn’t make up for having Trump on, but seeing Chappelle back in old form is still pretty great.

November 13, 2016

cameron esposito, irvine, irvine improv, lgbtq, live comedy, orange county, stand up

Cameron Esposito was already, in our minds, one of the most important voices in comedy right now. Now, her voice is even more crucial than ever on top of being damn hilarious.

She’s playing the Irvine Improv on Thursday, November 17th at 8PM. Tickets are $20 with a 2 item minimum. You can get (and should) get them here.

Comedy Crawl All Updated for Next Week 11/13/16

November 13, 2016

comedy shows, improv, live comedy, los angeles, sketch, stand up

Comedy Crawl All Updated for Next Week 11/13/16

It looks like live comedy shows will continue to exist next week and beyond.

We got them all listed for the greater LA area for you to enjoy/cope with/etc.