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Netflix Orders Astronomy Club Variety Sketch Series

astronomy club, kenya barris, netflix, sketch comedy

Netflix Orders Astronomy Club Variety Sketch Series

The long running NYC based comedy group Astronomy Club will now be the latest sketch series on TV via Netflix, thanks to Kenya Barris. Barris struck a deal with Netflix to bring their sharp, yet silly sensibilities into a full-fledged series.

See Astronomy Club in action with one of the best sketches: A Meeting of Great Black Inventors.

Also, with this announcement that the world of sketch comedy on TV will be as diverse as it has ever been with Arturo Castro’s Alternatino, Robin Thede and Issa Rae’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, and now, Astronomy Club.

Barry, Russian Doll, Fleabag Make Out Big in This Year’s Emmy Nominations (and An Emmy for Megan and Schitt’s Creek Get Noms Too)

2019, comedy nominees, emmys

The 71st Primetime Emmys Nominations were announced yesterday and indeed Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag got its proper props for being one of the best comedies around today with 11 nominations. Barry continues to score noms with a very impressive nominations in its second season and Russian Doll scored real big on its first time out with 13.

Also, we’re glad to see that Hannah Gadsby’s groundbreaking comedy special Nanette got nominated (as it absolutely should have) and Megan Amram’s quest to “moneyball” her way into an Emmy with her meta web series “An Emmy For Megan” gets closer with a few more nominations this year.

Normally, we don’t do snubs, but, really though, Desus & Mero should have gotten nominated for the late-night-world-disrupting they’re doing over at Showtime.

Here’s a complete list of all the comedy nominees for this year’s Emmys:

Comedy Series

Barry (HBO)
Fleabag (Amazon)
The Good Place (NBC)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Russian Doll (Netflix)
Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Veep (HBO)

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)
Don Cheadle (Black Monday)
Ted Danson (The Good Place)
Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method)
Bill Hader (Barry)
Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek)

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)
Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll)
Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag)

Variety Talk Show

The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee (TBS)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
The Late Late Show With James Corden (CBS)
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS)

Variety Sketch Series

At Home With Amy Sedaris (truTV)
Documentary Now! (IFC)
Drunk History (Comedy Central)
I Love You, America With Sarah Silverman (Hulu)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Who Is America? (Showtime)

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Alan Arkin (The Kominsky Method)
Anthony Carrigan (Barry)
Tony Hale (Veep)
Stephen Root (Barry)
Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Henry Winkler (Barry)

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Anna Chlumsky (Veep)
Olivia Colman (Fleabag)
Sian Clifford (Fleabag)
Betty Gilpin (GLOW)
Sarah Goldberg (Barry)
Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)

Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

Matt Damon (Saturday Night Live)
Robert De Niro (Saturday Night Live)
Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Peter MacNicol (Veep)
John Mulaney (Saturday Night Live)
Adam Sandler (Saturday Night Live)
Rufus Sewell (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Jane Lynch (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Sandra Oh (Saturday Night Live)
Maya Rudolph (The Good Place)
Kristin Scott Thomas (Fleabag)
Fiona Shaw (Fleabag)
Emma Thompson (Saturday Night Live)

Directing for a Comedy Series

Alec Berg (Barry)
Bill Hader (Barry)
Harry Bradbeer (Fleabag)
The Big Bang Theory (The Stockholm Syndrome)
Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Daniel Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)

Writing for a Comedy Series

Alec Berg & Bill Hader (Barry)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag)
Maya Erskine & Anna Konkle (PEN15)
Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler
Allison Silverman (Russian Doll)
Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan (The Good Place)
David Mandel (Veep)

Directing for a Variety Series

Alex Buono & Rhys Thomas (Documentary Now!)
Derek Waters (Drunk History)
Paul Pennolino (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver)
Don Roy King (Saturday Night Live)
Jim Hoskinson (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)
Sacha Baron Cohen, Nathan Fielder, Daniel Gray Longino, Dan Mazer (Who Is America?)

Writing for a Variety Series

Documentary Now!
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Saturday Night Live
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Short Form Comedy or Drama Series

An Emmy For Megan
Better Call Saul Employee Training: Madrigal Electromotive Security
Hack Into Broad City
It’s Bruno
Special

Short Form Variety Series

Billy on the Street
Carpool Karaoke: The Series
Gay of Thrones
Honest Trailers
The Randy Rainbow Show

Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series

Abbi Jacobson (Hack Into Broad City)
Ilana Glazer (Hack Into Broad City)
Jessica Hecht (Special)
Punam Patel (Special)
Rosamund Pike (State of the Union)

Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series

Patton Oswalt (An Emmy for Megan)
Jimmy Fallon (Beto Breaks the Internet)
Jonathan Banks (Better Call Saul Employee Training: Madrigal Electromotive Security)
Ed Begley Jr. (Ctrl Alt Delete)
Chris O’Down (State of the Union)

Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)

Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live From Liverpool
Hannah Gadsby: Nanette
Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
Springsteen on Broadway
Wanda Sykes: Not Normal

Writing For a Variety Special

Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh
Amy Schumer Growing
Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live From Liverpool
Hannah Gadsby: Nanette
Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé
Wanda Sykes: Not Normal

Animated Program

Big Mouth
Bob’s Burgers
BoJack Horseman
Come Along With Me (Adventure Time)
The Simpsons

Short Form Animated Program

Love, Death & Robots
Robot Chicken
SpongeBob SquarePants
Steven Universe
Teen Titans Go!

Character Voice-Over Performance

Kevin Michael Richardson (F Is For Family)
Alex Borstein (Family Guy)
Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy)
Hank Azaria (The Simpsons)
Eric Jacobson (When You Wish Upon A Pickle: A Sesame Street Special)

For a complete list of nominees, go here. Winners will be announced on Sept. 22nd at the Emmys ceremony.

comedy festival, comedy shows, improv comedy, pack theater, sketch comedy, stand up comedy

If you’re not familiar with or been to or, more importantly, come to really dig what’s going at The Pack Theater over the last 4 years, you really ought to fix that.

A great way to do so is by going to PackCon, the annual celebration of the best of the best at The Pack Theater. Their favorite improv, sketch, stand-up, experimental comedy, and more will be on display for one giant day/night of comedy. That line-up will include Adam McKay, Kevin Dorff, Christina Gausas, Sean Conroy, Ryan Ridley, Stephnie Weir, Bob Dassie, James Adomian, Jackie Zebrowski, Henry Zebrowski, Tommy Blacha, Rob Haze, Annie Mebane, Nick Turner, Andres du Bouchet, Murderfist, Chopping Block, BioDome, Miles Stroth Celebrity All-Star Improv Set, Speedface, and more!

PackCon 4 will be taking place on Sat. Jul. 27th at The Pack Theater from 12PM-12AM???

There’s a good part of this PackCon4 that’s the nice price of Pay What You can, but there are specific shows that are $10. Get all the details for everything PackCon4 here.

Taika Waititi to Direct ‘Thor 4’

taika waititi, thor 4

Taika Waititi to Direct ‘Thor 4’

We guess Thor 4 was inevitable, so we’re glad to hear that Taika Waititi will return to direct the follow-up to Thor: Ragnarok.

Now that Taika’s set, we’ll be curious to see what he keeps Thor somewhat like Big Lebowski’s The Dude as he was in Avengers: Endgame. Whatever he chooses, we’re sure it’ll be fun.

Please Enjoy Catherine Cohen’s Network TV Debut on Late Night with Seth Meyers

catherine cohen, late night, look at me, musical comedy, seth meyers

Last night, Catherine Cohen got to show the world what many comedy circles around the country have gotten to enjoy for a few years now. Cohen performed one of her songs from her solo show, accompanied by Henry Koperski on piano, and showed off her wonderfully sarcastic panache and, of course, her voice as well.

So, please enjoy this lovely debut of Catherine Cohen on Seth Meyers here.

al jackson, can i kick it, comedy show, hip hop, hollywood, joe derosa, tone bell

Can I Kick It? first came around in the glorious days of Nerdmelt @ Meltdown (RIP). It was a comedy show the hysterically dissected hip-hop by riffing on music videos, revisiting “out there” deep cuts, and even live rap battles.

Hosts, all great comedians and hip-hop aficionados, Tone Bell, Al Jackson, and Joe DeRosa will be bringing all of this and more to Hollywood American Legion Post 43 (2035 N Highland Ave.) this Sat., Jul. 20th at 8:30PM.

Tickets are only $10 and you can (and should) pick them up here.

So, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach Will Write Warner Bros’ Barbie Movie

barbie, greta gerwig, noah baumbach

So, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach Will Write Warner Bros’ Barbie Movie

It’s rare that you’ll get an audible gasp-ish “What?!?” from us, but that’s definitely what happened when we read the headline for this annoucement.

The movie based on the landmark toy line, Barbie, has switched many hands over the last few years, but this is definitely both a far cry from when Amy Schumer was involved and the original toy itself.

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, who collaborated on some of the more celebrate indie comedies/dramedies in the last couple of decades (including Frances Ha and Mistress America), pose an interesting duo to take on a 2019, woke (which is what Warner Bros. is shooting for) Barbie movie. Baumbach isn’t an entire stranger to taking on big budget IP as he did pen Madagascar 3, but Gerwig and Baumbach together could potentially weave some magic here, not unlike Chris Miller and Phil Lord did with The LEGO Movie.

We hope that will be what happens here.

Nick Kroll Is Going on Tour Across North America

comedy tour, nick kroll, stand up comedy, tour

Whether you know Nick Kroll from Kroll Show, Big Mouth, and/or his own stand-up, you probably would like to know that he’s stopping by several cities across North America starting in September and going right up until the holidays start.

Dates are above and tickets go on sale this Friday at 10AM in time zones corresponding to each venue. Then, you’ll be able to snag your tickets at https://www.nickkroll.com/

VICELAND Is Taking Another Crack at Having a Talk Show with Danny Brown and “Danny’s House”

danny brown, danny's house, talk show, trailer, vice, viceland

VICE and VICELAND are dead set on figuring this talk show/late night thing out.

They had Desus & Mero, now enjoying their time at Showtime, and then they tried a wild experiment of a two-hour, completely live variety talk show with four hosts called Vice Live. That was unfortunately very, very short lived.

Now, their latest take on talk show will come from rapper Danny Brown in something that seems more akin to The Eric Andre Show, but slightly more grounded (as it happens at “Danny’s House” and the guests seem to be more in on what’s happening).

That said, it still looks more crazy and different than most other things in the late night/talk show world (a thing we’re always game for). See for yourself in the trailer for Danny’s House. If you’re into it, you’ll want to catch the series premiere this week on Aug. 14th at VICELAND.

characters, comedy show, frankie quinones, k town, los angeles, stand up comedy, wiltern

The rise of Frankie Quinones is something we’ve been really relishing for years now. Whether it be his characters like Creeper or Dress Up Gang or his own stand-up, Frankie’s comedy has always charmed us with equal parts heart and silliness.

This September, Frankie will be doing his own evening, presumably with his entire comedy arsenal, at the Wiltern. We’re pretty sure this will be the first big theater he’ll be playing in town and we’re damned sure you shouldn’t miss it.

Tickets start at $25 and you need to go them here.

Julio Torres’ My Favourite Shapes Trailer Shows Julio Sparing No Indulgence For His HBO Special

comedy central, experimental comedy, hbo, julio torres, stand up

Lots of folks are trying a lot of things with their comedy specials these days in order to, thankfully, mix things up, try something new.

Julio Torres has got something really, delightfully out there with his upcoming HBO special My Favourite Shapes with Julio literally commenting on his favorite shapes and forms. In fact, it might just be the most lavish presentation of shapes ever, which sounds pretty grand for a comedy special.

See for yourself in this trailer here, then look for the premiere of Julio Torres’ My Favourite Shapes on Sat. Aug. 10th on HBO.

Conan O’Brien’s Assistant Sona Movsesian Shines as Guest Filling In for Kumail Nanjiani

conan o'brien, sona movsesian

In an unexpected and likely historic episode of Conan (and that includes all the different iterations of Conan O’Brien’s tenure in late night), Kumail Nanjiani, the planned guest, was stuck shooting Silicon Valley due to some scheduling error and had to cancel last minute.

Since Conan only has one guest now, this presented a conundrum of what exactly to do. Thankfully, Conan had his assistant Sona Movsesian, a perfect balance for Conan’s antics and tomfoolery, sit down with him as the main guest. The interview ended up being the sort of cheeky and snappy back-and-forth that you’d hope get out of a late night interview, no matter who is sitting across from the host. See for yourself here.

So, we’ll be seeing more of Sona on camera, right? You can enjoy a lot more of this dynamic on the podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend as Sona joins Conan on every episode.

comedy show, drew droege, dynasty typewriter, happy birthday doug, los angeles, solo show

This brilliant play/solo show Happy Birthday Doug has Drew Droege as the titular character Doug, who is desperately trying to celebrate his 41st birthday amongst some “friends”. In fact, Drew plays Doug as well as all the other characters in a series of interconnected monologues that hilariously play off each other so well.

When we caught this, it was packed at Dynasty Typewriter, so you best get your tickets here for this latest performance, also at Dynasty Typewriter, on Tues. July 23rd at 8PM before they sell out again. Tickets are $20 now and $25 on the day of.

Ian Edwards’ Latest Special to Be a TED Talk Parody “IanTalk”

comedy central, comedy special, ian edwards, parody, stand up comedy, ted talk

We’ve always enjoyed the sharp and clever stand-up of Ian Edwards over the years and we’re delighted to see that he’s throwing a bit of a curveball with his latest special, IanTalk.

Presented by Bill Burr, Ian will be doing his material in the style of a TED Talk presentation, but with “ideas not worth spreading”. See exactly what Ian has up his sleeve in this trailer.

Then, look for the premiere of IanTalk on Comedy Central, this Saturday at midnight.

allie goertz, angel city brewery, arts district, comedy show, doughboys, dtla, jordan jesse go, live podcast, maximum fun, mike mitchell, nick wiger, summer boys of summer

The Jordan, Jesse, Go! podcast, one of the most enduring comedy podcasts around, will be finishing off their Summer Boys of Summer Tour with a jam packed evening. The hosts of the Doughboys podcast, Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger and Allie Goertz from Everything Is Coming Up Simpsons will be guests and there will be a mini version of the Story Break podcast right at the top of the show.

You’ll get to enjoy this very stacked evening all at the Arts District’s hip Angel City Brewery too.

You can get all of this for the nice price of $20. Do so before it sells out here.

“Art of Self Defense” Might Be the Dark Comedy of the Summer

bleecker street, jesse eisenberg, riley stearns, the art of self defense

To date, this might be the Jesse Eisenberg’s most perfect role. The terrified man desperately seeking to become what he fears in this offbeat, deliciously dark comedic morality tale (throw a bit of existential absurdity in there as well) is something Eisenberg truly shines as in The Art of Self-Defense. Additionally, Alessandro Nivola has a perfect turn as psycho villain sensei and so does Imogen Poots with her renegade protégé character.

This latest feature from writer-director Riley Stearns has bits of the quietly menacing humor that you might get from The Square or Computer Chess, making it all the more refreshing in this season of big-budget-tentpole fatigue. There are times you might wonder if you’re in a more sinister universe in the movie or if it’s a cheeky mirror of our own, which works to great comic effect.

Above all, The Art of Self-Defense scorches the idea of masculinity on so many levels. So, we’d say go catch whenever and wherever you can.

Oh yeah, The Art of Self-Defense comes out in limited release starting this weekend on July 12th. Find showtimes here.

Please Enjoy Beth Stelling’s Story on Kimmel About a Special Visit to Chippendale’s

beth stelling, chippendale's, jimmy kimmel live, stand up comedy

The charm of Beth Stelling knows no bounds. Even in telling a story about a sort of role-reversal at Chippendale’s, the famous male revue, in Vegas no less, Stelling comes off as so cool, calm, and collected in a subtly spellbinding way.

Also, this might be the first stand-up set shot and subsequently broadcast on Jimmy Kimmel Live from Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club in Vegas. So far, it definitely feels better than the stage back in Hollywood as it’s a traditional comedy club set up.

Anyways, please enjoy Beth’s wonderful set/story here.

charity benefit, comedy variety, dana gould, dr zaius, swing left

Yes, this is a charity benefit supporting the redo of a hotly contested election in North Carolina via Swing Left with the likes of Jane Lynch, Laurie Metcalf, and more for a stellar evening of comedy and music.

Also, the amazing Dana Gould will be hosting this whole Stand Up For America event as beloved Planet of the Apes’ character Dr. Zaius. That very well could be a show on its own that we’d also highly recommend you to go to, but you’re getting a jam packed night on top of that.

Tickets range from $50-$2700 (gets Host listing, VIP Benefits and a special recognition by Dr. Zaius for saving the planet). It might be steep, but it seems all worth the price of admission if you can afford it.

So, go get more details and tickets for Stand Up For America at The Satellite on Thurs. Aug. 8th here.

IMDB’s First Scripted Series to Be Animated Monster Therapy Comedy “You’re Not a Monster”

imdb, you're not a monster

IMDB’s First Scripted Series to Be Animated Monster Therapy Comedy “You’re Not a Monster”

There’s a whole bevy of voice talent here including Kelsey Grammer, Eric Stonestreet, Patton Oswalt, Joel Kim Booster, Amber Ruffin, Aparna Nancherla, Langston Kerman, Ellie Kemper, and more, which should make for a very confident first step forward for IMDB’s foray into original, scripted content.

The premise for You’re Not a Monster (from Frank Lesser and Lily Stuart Streiff) that seems to be Dr. Katz with touches of Monsters Inc. also has peaked our interest. We’ll be very curious to see what comes from its first sneak peek at Comic Con coming up.

So, we guess, everything (keep in mind that IMDB does stand for International Movie Database) will be making original content that you just might want to watch? You do know Mailchimp just launched Mailchimp Presents, right?

John Turturro’s ‘Big Lebowski’ Spinoff ‘Jesus Rolls’ Set for Early 2020 Release

jesus rolls, john turturro

John Turturro’s ‘Big Lebowski’ Spinoff ‘Jesus Rolls’ Set for Early 2020 Release

So, from the sounds of it, this will be Jesus Quintana’s own Lebowski-esque, quixotic tale.

We’re intrigued.

When Turturro has gotten behind the camera for the musical dark rom com Romance and Cigarettes, we’ve really enjoyed how much he swung for the fences. We hope that he does so again with Jesus Rolls. We’ll see if that happens in less than a year.

That being said, this is not being touted as a sequel, which has us curious about if The Dude will even make an appearance, though it’s definitely not a dealbreaker if he doesn’t.

comedy show, faded, los angeles, los feliz, stand up comedy

After breezy summer hiatus, Faded, one of LA’s premier backroom comedy shows, will be returning back to its weekly status this Friday with your lovely Faded crew of Mike Mulloy, Sean Jordan, David Gborie, Zak Toscani, Jamel Johnson, and Bri Pruett over at Blue Rooster Art Supplies.

As always, the line-up is secret (but it’s always good) and tickets are $10. Go get your tickets and get back into the groove of Faded here.

Please Enjoy Will Hines Desperately Trying to Eat a Sandwich in This Music Video for Joe Russo’s “PHÉR•BŎNEY LOVE THEME“

erin s murray, interpretative dance, joe russo, jonny look, music video, will hines

Well, Jonny Look does it again.

By “it”, we mean make another absurd, whimsical, and funny music video. We first saw this when he did it marvelously with the Fruit Bats last year.

This time around, he took the brilliant Will Hines and had him try to eat a sandwich, which proves difficult for indie jazz artist Joe Russo’s PHÉR•BŎNEY LOVE THEME. We won’t say anymore lest we ruin the mysterious charm (though we’ll note choreography is wonderfully done by Erin S. Murray).

Just let it wash over you and enjoy it here.

Robin Thede and Issa Rae’s “A Black Lady Sketch Show” Gets a Trailer

black lady sketch show, hbo, robin thede, trailer

Sketch comedy at HBO is getting a brand new look come Aug. 2nd.

That’s when A Black Lady Sketch Show, a sketch comedy show from Robin Thede and Issa Rae, premieres. Before now, Mr. Show and various shows created by and starring Tracey Ullman were what represented sketch at HBO.

Now, with a cast boasting Thede, Rae, Ashley Nicole Black, Gabrielle Dennis and Quinta Brunson along with guest stars Angela Bassett, David Alan Grier, Tia Mowry, Aja Naomi King, Lena Waithe, Patti Labelle, Amber Riley, Yvonne Orji, Loretta Devine, Gina Torres, Jermaine Fowler, Lil’ Rel, Deon Cole, Natasha Rothwell, Marsai Martin, Khandi Alexander, Laverne Cox, Yvette Nicole Brown, Larry Wilmore, and Kelly Rowland, A Black Lady Sketch Show will be a welcome new wrinkle in HBO’s comedy line-up.

Get a taste of what’s to come in this first trailer.

eli braden, haunting renditions, jackie tohn, jen kirkman, musical comedy

The best versions of some of the most infamous/overplayed/etc. songs in all of pop culture will be shown off once again by Eliot Glazer for his Haunting Renditions at Dynasty Typewriter this Friday.

He’s got quite the smashing line-up as well with Jen Kirkman, Jackie Tohn, and Eli Braden who will be joining Eliot in giving the most elegant arrangements for songs that maybe don’t even deserve it.

Tickets are $15 right now and $20 on the day of. So, you better go and get them here now.

The Righteous Gemstones, Danny McBride’s New HBO Series, Gets First Teaser Trailer

adam devine, danny mcbride, hbo, john goodman, righteous gemstones, trailer

Fans of Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals, and anything Danny McBride may rejoice as McBride is returning to HBO with his televangelist satire The Righteous Gemstones.

Set for its series premiere on Aug. 18th, it sure looks like McBride is back in full, lovable scoundrel form along with a perfectly cast John Goodman and Adam Devine. Together, they’re playing a scandalous televangelist family and you’ll probably want to set a reminder to watch when it debuts.

Get a look for yourself with the first teaser trailer for Righteous Gemstones here.