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Jamie Lee Developing Subversive Rom Com ‘The Girlfriend’ Over at Freeform
January 29, 2019
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freeform, jamie lee, the girlfriend

Jamie Lee Developing Subversive Rom Com ‘The Girlfriend’ Over at Freeform

The romantic comedy genre is beginning to get turned inside out these days and we’re on board for it. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has gained acclaim from the get-go by re-examining gender roles and stereotypes to catchy songs from every genre and there’s a feminist answer to Kevin Can Wait called Kevin Can F*** Himself in the works at AMC.

To add to that, the whipsmart Jamie Lee is now writing her own unique, dark rom com that follows the girlfriend of a husband who is the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance (kind of like Emily Ratajkowski in Gone Girl, right?). Seeing this sort of woman’s story beyond her being a usually one-dimensional character along with Lee’s impeccable comedic writing will undoubtedly be fascinating. 

So, we hope this gets a greenlight at Freeform.

HBO Orders A Black Lady Sketch Show from Robin Thede with Issa Rae Attached as EP
January 29, 2019
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a black lady sketch show, hbo, robin thede, sketch comedy

HBO Orders A Black Lady Sketch Show from Robin Thede with Issa Rae Attached as EP

With anthology series being all the rage, late night hosts more often betting on games for their segments over anything else, and the shuddering/shrinking of many comedy content farms, sketch comedy is currently going through a bit of, shall we say, dry spell.

Perhaps, Robin Thede (you should know her from The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and her own show on B.E.T. The Rundown) and Issa Rae will be turning the tides.

Of course, Saturday Night Live is still trudging along because, well, tradition? HBO also has Tracey Ullman’s Show and IFC has Baroness Von Sketch Show, but outside of the occasional indulgence of late night writers on Conan, Seth Meyers, and Corden and pre-taped segments on Full Frontal and Last Week Tonight, sketch comedy needs a bit of resuscitation. 

Thede’s A Black Lady Sketch Show will star her, written by her, and feature mostly black female performers and writers with special guests. With an HBO touch, perhaps it’ll be a sketch comedy show that fill that void. There are no dates currently set, but we hope this will make its premiere sometime in 2019.

You Can Now Stream “Soft Focus with Jena Friedman 2” Over at AdultSwim.com
January 28, 2019
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jena friedman, now streaming, soft focus

You Can Now Stream “Soft Focus with Jena Friedman 2” Over at AdultSwim.com

We believe that Jena Friedman is creating masterworks of satirical comedy for our times with these Soft Focus specials and you’re really doing yourself a disservice if you’re not watching them.

Just off the idea of having a VR game that gives a woman’s perspective to men and interviewing John McAfee because the former software security head is running for POTUS again should be enough to peak your interest

Anyways, you can (and should) watch the latest Soft Focus with Jena Friedman for free at your convenience right here.
January 28, 2019
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comedy show, comedy special, eddie pepitone, k town, live taping, los angeles, stand up, westlake

We sincerely hope that Eddie Pepitone goes down in comedy history as one of the greats. Pepitone is a truly electrifying performer that somehow makes every performance special and enthralling even if you know some of the material by heart.

Thus, you should definitely be in the room when his latest special is being taped next month at Dynasty Typewriter. There are two shows on Sat., Feb. 16th, 8PM & 10PM, that you can attend. Also, Dana Gould will be featuring and Caitlin Gill will be hosting, which might just be more brilliant comedy than we all deserve.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and you can and very much should get them here and here respectively

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

Jo Firestone Shouts Out Mamma Mia 2 and Also Delivers Another Great Late Night Set
January 27, 2019
Uncategorized
fallon, late night, stand up, tonight show

Jo Firestone, always one to eschew from convention, prefaced her set on the last Tonight Show this past week with some “praise” for Mamma Mia 2. Then, she went into her set with her signature charming offbeat style for a great set that makes you want to hear Jo kind of talk about anything and everything.

Please enjoy it here.

Please Enjoy Adam Newman’s Latest Late Night Set on Corden
January 26, 2019
Uncategorized
adam newman, james corden, late night, stand up

Adam Newman’s snappy delivery and pep, despite being very self-deprecating, are almost tailor made for doing stand-up on late night. Whatever late night talk show he’s on, the punchlines hit fast and hard and, unsurprisingly, he kills it with the crowd at Corden (we think we can even hear Reggie laugh in the background).

So, please enjoy his Adam’s from last night’s Late Late Show here.

Count the New “Soft Focus with Jena Friedman” as The First Great Comedy Special of 2019
January 25, 2019
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adult swim, comedy special, jena friedman, soft focus
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Jena Friedman already dazzled us with the daring, nail-bitingly hilarious first Soft Focus special at Adult Swim that, amongst many wonderful things it pulled off, found a way to make the man nicknamed the Cannibal Cop uncomfortable.

This next Soft Focus special ups the ante and expertly and satirically covers sexual harassment in gaming and interviews one of the more controversial figures of our time, former security software entrepreneur John McAfee about his new 2020 presidential campaign (Note: he did have a failed 2016 presidential bid).

We don’t want to give anything away really as Friedman’s uber-clever style of twisting-the-comedic-knife in these situations deserves a full surprise. We will say that Jena has quite the knack for subtly letting her subjects not only have enough rope to hang themselves, but make sure that the knot that they hang themselves is just right and so damn funny the whole way though. Honestly, we enjoyed this more than Who Is America. 

We sincerely hope leads to a full-fledged series or feature length project or just something that allows Jena to make more things like this as she has for so many years. 

So, this new Soft Focus with Jena Friedman premieres tonight at midnight on Adult Swim and you should absolutely make plans to watch it.
January 25, 2019
Uncategorized
animation, hollywood, titmouse

Renowned (just look at those credits above) animation house Titmouse is having their annual let-the-animators-do-whatever-they-want night next month at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. It’s truly beyond your wildest imagination especially because of the short-form nature of all the ideas.

Tickets are $12 and you can (and very much should) get them here.

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

Amazon’s First Stand-up Special Will Come from Jim Gaffigan
January 25, 2019
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comedy special, jim gaffigan, stand up

It’ll be Jim Gaffigan’s 7th special (which will be called Quality Time), but it will be Amazon’s first original comedy special. It’s definitely a shot across the bow from Amazon to Netflix and what a shot it is.

This entry into the comedy special arena by Amazon was inevitable (and in that regard, you should expect a stand-up special from Apple before too long). What will be interesting to see is if Amazon would possibly pick up where Netflix has been slacking in the new and emerging comedians and giving them hours where the streaming giant is just doling out 15 min. specials these days.

Also, this move leads to this question: where the rest of the Gaffigan’s special will live going forward? We guess that all depends on how that special does on Amazon.

Oh, lastly, we won’t be surprised if there is Amazon product integration with Gaffigan doing a food joke and being able to buy that food on Amazon or banner ads popping up.
January 24, 2019
Uncategorized
andy daly, comedy show, hollywood, jerry minor, jess mckenna, los angeles, matt walsh, mo gaffney, rich fulcher, sasheer zamata, variety show, zach reino

Looks like the Inner Sanctum at UCB Sunset (which we’d like to note can feel more intimate than the main stage next door at times) is having more stacked shows these days. 

Presented by UCB co-founder Matt Walsh, Dodo’s Retirement Party will be a variety show as well as a tribute to “Dolores (Dodo) Portencasso” as she retires from “Corn Products”. Oh yeah, the line-up just happens to be, as we mentioned before, pretty damn stacked (see flyer above).

Tickets for this show next week are $12 and you can (and should) get them here.

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

Conan O’Brien Takes Noted Italian Food Expert Jordan Schlansky to Olive Garden
January 24, 2019
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conan, jordan schlansky, olive garden, team coco

For those that have been following ongoing saga of Conan O’Brien and Jordan Schlansky, you might remember that this whole thing started from Conan taking Jordan out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant several years ago. Immediately, Conan discovered their magical dynamic of Jordan sounding and looking like a somewhat realistic human android and Conan testing his patience to the nth degree and the rest is Team Coco history.

Their latest trip together brings all of it full circle as Conan forces dinner on Jordan at the Olive Garden, one of the last places on earth that Jordan would probably ever eat.

Please enjoy it here.

R.I.P. Kevin Barnett, 1986-2019
January 23, 2019
Uncategorized
kevin barnett, rip

Kevin Barnett passed away yesterday at the age of 32 while down in Mexico. The cause for his death has yet to be determined and announced.

*UPDATE*-After an autopsy report, Kevin’s cause of death on Jan. 22nd in Tijuana, as reported by E! News was “Non Traumatic Hemorrhage, caused by pancreatitis”. His body has yet to be returned to his family back in the U.S.

Though he is now gone at such an early age, he did so much in comedy in such a very short time. 

Between his stand-up, co-creating Rel, writing for several other TV shows, the Round Table of Gentlemen podcast, and many other things that bear Barnett’s name, there was so much more that he could have done because he undoubtedly going to have a long, thriving career in comedy. 

So, if you have the time, go down your Internet rabbit hole of choice to see all of his many works.
January 23, 2019
Uncategorized
comedy show, hannah gadsby, los angeles, stand up

Yep, the one and only Hannah Gadsby will be playing Dynasty Typewriter from Feb. 26th-Mar. 9th. Specifically, she’ll be playing Feb. 26th, 27th, and 28th and Mar. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, & 9th. 

Tickets are $25 in adv. and $30 on day of (but they’ll probably sell out FYI). Go get them quick here. 

Well, we don’t really need to say anymore here. Go on and get your tickets because, again, they’ll probably all sell out (maybe even today).

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

The Zack and The Jess’ “Calendar Album” Is One Great Way to Get Through 2019
January 22, 2019
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comedy album, jess mckenna, musical comedy, zach reino
image

Zach Reino and Jessica McKenna have dazzled you with their musical comedy talents for years now with series, live shows, and, most recently, their celebrated improvised musical podcast Off Book. 

For 2019, it looks they’re going by The Zach and The Jess and have released an entire concept album called The Calendar Album that gives you their uber-clever songwriting and beautiful harmonizing for any time of the year. They even cover holidays that don’t normally get their own dedicated song. With that said, Zach and Jess have raised the bar for any recording artists that make an album just for the holidays and no other time of year.

We also love that they recommend, “…the correct way to listen to it is 1.5 songs per month.”

So, please get and enjoy The Calendar Album here or wherever you get your music. 
January 22, 2019
Uncategorized
comedy show, jacqueline novak, john early, los angeles, silverlake, stand up

The marvelous Jacqueline Novak (just watch this late night set to see what we’re talking about) is in town and also doing a run of her hour at Lyric Hyperion all throughout next week. 

Also, John Early apparently will be there to “praise” the hour after it’s performed. 

Knowing all of that, we have a pretty strong feeling that this might sell out, so you best get your tickets here now.

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

The New, 1/2 Hour Conan Premieres Tonight
January 22, 2019
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conan, tbs, team coco
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Conan O’Brien and company is setting himself apart tonight from the late night pack and making late night history by going to a half-hour format and focusing more on comedy (as well as dropping his renowned house band).

It’s the sort of shake-up that late night really needs and we sincerely can’t wait to see what he has up his sleeve (which might even be a denim or leather jacket rather than his very fine suit that he’s been wearing for decades).

Tune in to the new Conan at 11PM on TBS tonight.

Comedy Sketch Group Butt Is Currently Doing a 12 Hour KISS-Themed Livestream to Promote Their Non-Kiss-Themed Show Next Month
January 22, 2019
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butt comedy, chris stephens, joe mcadam, KISS, livestream, sketch comedy
image

Butt, the sketch comedy duo of Joe McAdam and Chris Stephens, are masters of being sublimely and hilariously daft. 

In this spirit, they are promoting their upcoming show at Dynasty Typewriter on Sat. Feb. 9th at 10PM by doing a 12 hour livestream from 8AM PST-8PM PST that is themed around the classic rock band KISS. 

Thus far, they’ve done a KISS cam on Hollywood Blvd., attempted to play KISS’ video game (yes, there is one), got a video of Bam Margera attempting to be Gene Simmons to promote the show, and try to figure the perfect way to get a shout out from Gene Simmons. Again, they’d like to reiterate that their live show will have nothing to do with KISS. 

In short, it’s a pretty great way to have some beautiful absurdity and stupidity in your life for today.

So, watch the livestream on Twitter @buttguys here and go get tickets for their Feb. 9th in LA at Dynasty Typewriter at the Hayworth Theater show here.

Better Things Season 3 Trailer Really Seems to Offer Better Things (On TV) Come This February
January 21, 2019
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better things, fx, pamela adlon, season 3, trailer

A lot has happened between season two and the upcoming season three with Better Things considering Louis C.K.’s involvement with the show and what has happened to him within that time (i.e. his fall from grace and losing almost every project he was working on).

Despite all of that, Pamela Adlon is marching on very confidently with the show and it seems from the trailer that she’s offering up a very promising third season that will follow a critically acclaimed second season.

See for yourself in this very enjoyable S3 trailer here, then look for Better Things’ S3 premiere on FX on Thurs., Feb. 28th.

Conan O’Brien and Team Coco Get Their Own Proprietary Color at Pantone “Team Coco Orange”
January 21, 2019
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conan o'brien, orange, pantone, team coco

Apparently, this is the first color that has ever been made for a comedian and his brand over at Pantone, the renowned company for colors.

See for yourself here.

Not only are Conan O’Brien, Team Coco, and TBS making history by streamlining Conan to a half-hour and making it more comedy focused, but they’ll have an official color, and a very fun one to boot, to go with it. Pretty sure the rest of late night would have some dark, moody color as their official color. The contrast between orange and what would likely be indigo definitely reflects the difference in tone between Conan and his other late night counterparts.

By the way, the new, revamped, leaner Conan premieres tomorrow at 11PM on TBS with Tom Hanks as the guest.
January 21, 2019
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comedy show, comedy store, gareth reynolds, jay larson, josh wolf, kelsey cook, owen smith, pranks, storyelling, sunset strip, weho

Sure sounds like Jay Larson and company will share stories of their best, most outrageous, epic pranks with this special evening of comedy and storytelling at The Comedy Store’s Belly Room. We’d bet that you’ll both wonder how they got away with it to tell you the tale and be glad that you’re not part of the story.

Get your tickets (note: there is a 2 drink min.) for the 23rd here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more at www.thecomedybureau.com.
January 20, 2019
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beverly grove, beverly hills, bob odenkirk, comedy show, david cross, largo, stand up, weho, with bob and david

Bob Odenkirk and David Cross are taking the stage together once again (remember Mr. Show and With Bob & David?) and doing so for three nights at Largo, Fri. Mar. 22nd-Sun. Mar. 24th at 8:30PM.

Per usual, their “FRIENDS FROM SHOWBIZ” will be guests on the show as well.

 Tickets are $45 and you best get them here, here, and here respectively quick before they inevitably sell out.

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

Megan Koester’s Debut Album “Tertium Non Datur” Is As Fearless It Could Be and We Love It All The More For That
January 19, 2019
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ast records, comedy album, megan koester, stand up
image

Megan Koester might have just raised the bar in fearlessness in comedy. This debut album Tertium Non Datur (translates from Latin to “Third Party”) puts everyone on notice, especially when it comes to comedy and the patriarchal non-sense that has pervaded throughout the art form’s entire existence, with Megan’s fiercely unapologetic, meta, layered bits and asides. 

The spirit of this album truly speaks to the punk rock ethos that comedy is supposed to have, but without any victim blaming or shock-for-shocks-sake that some edgy comedians might make the mistake of doing. After enjoying the seemingly off-the-cuff ride Koester took us on, we were left with a certain thrilling feeling of what Koester might do or say next or even what might happen when certain people hear this album. It has been quite some time since we felt that way.

We also love that this might be the first comedy album that comes with a Thesaurus so that you aren’t lost on any of Megan references.  

Tertium Non Datur is available now from AST Records and you can and very much should get it here.   

Blythe Roberson’s “How To Date Men When You Hate Men” Delightfully Unpacks the Forces That Make Dating Terrible
January 18, 2019
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blythe roberson, how to date men, how to date men when you hate men, humor book, relationships
image

Though it’s territory that many people have traversed for several years, there still seems to be plenty of pesky mystery when it comes to the notion of dating and relationships. It’s almost like something else is at work to keep that “dating is hard” maxim feel so true to everyone.

How to Date Men When You Hate Men by Blythe Roberson takes on the task of questioning and picking apart the forces, institutions, and bits of pop culture that have pigeon-holed so many folks into thinking dating has to be this certain circle of hell. Roberson, who regularly contributes to The Onion and The New Yorker, accomplishes this feat by presenting all the complex layers of dating in a way that’s sharp, enlightening, and incisively funny.

Go read a great excerpt at The New Yorker and/or the beginning of the book on Amazon.

If you’re digging it, you can go get How To Date Men When You Hate Men here or on Amazon or wherever books or sold.

OK, Early 2000s (Pre-9/11) Nostalgia Is Coming Soon with This Trailer for “PEN15″
January 18, 2019
Uncategorized
anna konkle, hulu, maya erskine, pen15

The turn of the millennium and, subsequently, the year before 9/11 happened, saw a world that was pretty ridiculous. Looking back, perhaps the excesses of the time (remember what TRL was like in 2000?) were a result of Y2K not happening and people thinking everything was pretty alright. 

Well, that time was almost twenty years ago and, perhaps, ripe for a nostalgic single camera series about it. Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle’s PEN15 looks to be a pretty strong candidate (even if you’re nostalgic for the year 2000) for this role as evidenced by this trailer.

Both Erskine and Konkle created the series and play teen versions of themselves, which all seems promising. 

If you’re into it, look for all of episodes of PEN15 to start streaming on Hulu starting Feb. 8th.
January 18, 2019
Uncategorized
dramedy, long form improv, some kinda monster

For years, we’ve enjoyed Some Kinda Monster’s improv extravaganza known as Dramedy. On one show, some of the best teams around town improvise based off carefully curated, out-of-context TV and film drama clips. Then, Some Kinda Monster themselves does a wonderful improvised episode of Law & Order.

They’re about to a last show at the venue where they started, The Clubhouse in Los Feliz, (they’re keeping their UCB slot FYI) and, as such, will be stacking the line-up with a whole bunch of our favorite teams as follows:

SOME KINDA MONSTER **performing Law and Order**
Jacquis Neal, Dan Prevette, Kara Luiz, Skot Phillips, Noah Holcomb, Christine Renaud, Ryan Coil, Emily Dahm

ROCOCO
Jake Sprague, Lilan Bowden, Ego Nwodim, Londale Theus Jr, Cody Kopp, Heather Woodward, Hillary Anne Matthews, Dhruv Uday Singh, Rose O’Shea

TOLEDO REP
Johnny Meeks, Joel Spence, Suzi Barrett, Tricia McAlpin, Eugene Cordero, Billy Merritt, Timm Sharp, Julia Meltzer, Talia Tabin

WHITE WOMEN
Carl Tart, Lamar Woods, Ishmel Sahid, Ify Nwadiwe, Ronnie Adrian

As always, admission for shows at The Clubhouse are donation based. 

You best make sure you get there early as it will probably be standing room only. Get more details here.

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

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