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Pop TV Orders “Mother Mary” Pilot Starring Betsy Sodaro as a Modern Day ‘Mother Mary’

January 14, 2020

betsy sodaro, mother mary, pop tv, rachel bloom

Pop TV Orders “Mother Mary” Pilot Starring Betsy Sodaro as a Modern Day ‘Mother Mary’

More props should be given to Pop TV for taking a chance on Schitt’s Creek and, as such, more credence should be paid to whatever is on their slate going forward.

For our money, a sitcom that stars the purely funny Betsy Sodaro (the mere sound of her voice and cadence has us giggling) as a millennial bestowed with “the Immaculate Conception” in a project developed by a stacked team of Sodaro, Rachel Bloom, Dan Gregor, and Casey Feigh could land anywhere and we’d be pretty excited for it.

So, Mother Mary with Sodaro landing a pilot order at Pop TV is pretty damn intriguing to us. Perhaps, it’s the next thing that Pop TV will focus on after Schitt’s Creek closes out as a series later this year.

President of Brazil’s Supreme Court Reverses Decision on Porta dos Fundos’ Controversial Gay Jesus Special “The First Temptation of Christ” and Allows It Back on Netflix

January 13, 2020

first temptation of christ, porta dos fundos

President of Brazil’s Supreme Court Reverses Decision on Porta dos Fundos’ Controversial Gay Jesus Special “The First Temptation of Christ” and Allows It Back on Netflix

Last week, it was such disheartening news to hear that Brazilian courts were banning free speech on the basis of Christians being offended, specifically about a satire depicting an alternative vision of Jesus Christ from Brazilian comedy group, Porta dos Fundos.

Thankfully, the President of Brazil’s top court has overturned the original decision claiming that one satire alone can’t undermine the values of a centuries old religion practiced by millions. The First Temptation of Christ will be thus allowed back on Netflix (and we’re sure a bunch more people are going to watch The First Temptation of Christ this time around just to see what all the controversy was about).

So, maybe Brazil hasn’t gone entirely too far right just yet?

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Will Host the 2021 Golden Globes

January 13, 2020

2021, amy poehler, golden globes, tina fey

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Will Host the 2021 Golden Globes

Ever since The Golden Globes started having hosts for their awards ceremonies, it certainly seems like a very Star Wars-ish arc has been taking place over the last several years.

Ricky Gervais invites some chaos every time he hosts The Golden Globes, making it an all out roast on his end. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler then balance that energy out with grace, poise, and endless cleverness to the ceremony and it might just keep going that way (especially considering that Fey and Poehler have already said that they were done hosting The Golden Globes years ago).

In any case, more Tina Fey and Amy Poehler together in this role, as they will be in 2021′s Golden Globes, is a net positive for all.

January 13, 2020

australian wildfire relief, benefit show, bootleg, comedy show, grown-ups 3, live read, tom scharpling

The well of comedy gold that flows from the imagination of Tom Scharpling (The Best Show on WFMU) never ends and never ceases to amaze. Just for the hell of it, he made an irreverent script for what he thought could be the third installment in the Grown-Ups franchise, the Adam Sandler and friends broad comedies that is pretty much just premised on reuniting old friends for some hijinks.

This Grown-Ups 3 will be live read later this month (Tues. Jan. 28th 8:30PM) at the Bootleg by what we’re sure will be a stellar cast in order to raise money in support of Australian Wildfire relief.

Tickets are starting at $15. Go get them for this special, one-off that supports a very, very good cause here.

From the Looks of This Trailer, “Better Things” Is Going to Make a Triumphant Return with Season 4

January 11, 2020

better things, fx, pamela adlon, season 4, trailer

All things considered, Better Things is not only the vulnerable, gritty story of a single mom attempting to live her best life with a boatload of kids that has garnered plenty of acclaim over three seasons. The story of the series itself is also one of a gritty struggle with Adlon making the best series that she can from the get go, as both the lead and co-creator, then having to deal with the other co-creator, Louis C.K., and his #MeToo fallout while keeping the show at such a high level.

It really is a triumphant dramedy in so many different ways and season 4 certainly maintains that feeling despite presenting Pamela’s Sam with a whole new set of challenges with dating apps, dream cars, etc.

See for yourself in the Better Things Season 4 trailer here, then look for it it premiere on Mar. 5th on FX.

“Whitmer Thomas: The Golden One” Will Premiere as an HBO Special on Feb. 22nd

January 10, 2020

comedy special, golden one, hbo, whitmer thomas

Whitmer Thomas took lots of risks and pushed himself to make one of the more truly unique hours of comedy we’ve seen in recent years with The Golden One. At the time that we saw it at The Satellite, he weaved deeply personal stories and original, satirical dark pop songs with, at the time, anime visuals playing in the background. It was otherworldly, yet clearly grounded with the heart of Whitmer’s stories.

We can’t wait to see what he did with the backing of HBO, which really had a hell of a 2019 for going experimenting with the concept of comedy specials (My Favorite Shapes, The Great Depresh, Live in Crenshaw). Thankfully, we will only have to wait until Feb. 22nd.

‘Atlanta’ Season 3 Set for Jan. 2021, Then Season 4 Later That Fall

January 10, 2020

‘Atlanta’ Season 3 Set for Jan. 2021, Then Season 4 Later That Fall

Though it will be quite the wait between season 2 and season 3 (s2 ended in May 2018 FYI), we have no doubt that Donald Glover is taking all the time he needs to dazzle and surprise us yet again with new episodes Atlanta the way we’ve been just over two seasons of mind and genre-bending dramedy.

Announced at the TCA Press Tour, the latest batch of Atlanta will be dropping a year from now.

Also, the facts of seasons 3 and 4 will be referred to as “Parts 1 and 2″ and some production taking place out of the U.S. leads us to believe that Glover has more than a few things up his sleeve.

When all is said and done, we won’t be surprised if Atlanta ends up being one of TV’s most ambitious and daring shows (that pulled it off) of all time.

January 10, 2020

karen, late late show, reggie watts

Opportunities to see Reggie Watts and his handpicked Late Late Show band “Karen” jam out in between Reggie riffing wherever his wondrous imagination takes him don’t come around too often.

Honestly, even if it did, you shouldn’t waste an opportunity to see Watts and Karen bring the best vibes, oscillating between music and comedy, the whole night.

So, snag tickets now for $20 (they’re $25 day of) to see Reggie Watts and Karen at Teragram Ballroom near DTLA at the end of this month, Thurs. Jan. 30th at 9PM.

Pedro Gonzalez Makes His American Late Night TV Debut on Colbert

January 9, 2020

colbert, colombia, late night, pedro gonzalez, stand up

We gave one of 100 best of 2019 slots to one Pedro Gonzalez because he was so damn good at crafting jokes regardless of him learning English as a second language.

Well, here’s Pedro doing just that very thing yet again on last night’s Colbert, so precise with misdirection and timing. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.

Please enjoy the set here.

R.I.P. Buck Henry, 1930-2020

January 9, 2020

R.I.P. Buck Henry, 1930-2020

The career of Buck Henry is an extremely rare one. Penning the groundbreaking The Graduate, hosting SNL in the early days, co-creating Get Smart, and writing the hysterical Barbara Streisand vehicle, What’s Up Doc?, comprise such a rich and varied career of all sorts of comedy in all different sorts of formats.

In that way, Henry was kind of ahead of his time, not pigeon-holing himself to any one sort of style, genre, or place. Thus, take a moment (or go watch any of his work) to pay homage to his memory as he passed away today.

Brazilian Judge Orders Removal of Porta dos Fundos’ Gay Jesus Christmas Comedy Special “The First Temptation of Christ” Setting a Dangerous New Precedent for Free Speech

January 9, 2020

first temptation of christ, free speech, porta dos fundos

Brazilian Judge Orders Removal of Porta dos Fundos’ Gay Jesus Christmas Comedy Special “The First Temptation of Christ” Setting a Dangerous New Precedent for Free Speech

Porta dos Fundos is a wildly popular Portugese language YouTube Channel that got a chance to make a very satirical Christmas special The First Temptation of Christ for Netflix where they depict Jesus having a secret gay boyfriend. From what clips we’ve seen, it seems to carry a light romantic comedy vibe to it, which makes the fundamentalist uproar just a little more shocking.

Christian and catholic groups in Brazil were furious at this satire and demanded that the special be taken down and Porta dos Fundos’ headquarters even got bombed with a molotov cocktail on Christmas Eve (thankfully, no one was injured and a guard was present to extinguish the fire). All of this seems eerily similar to fundamentalist responses to satirical depictions of the prophet Muhammad that the world has seen over the score of years.

A Brazilian judge ruled against Porta dos Fundos and ordered the special to be taken down for what he believes is the greater good or, more explicitly:

In his ruling, Abicair said the injunction “is beneficial not only to the Christian community, but to Brazilian society, which is mostly Christian.”

Well, the seeds of so much discord have just been planted here with this decision, not to mention the clear message that “you’re not allowed to upset the Christian faithful in Brazil lest you want to get your workplace torched,” being sent.

We won’t be surprised if we see a slight uptick in Brazilian comedians trying to find their way to America in 2020.

January 9, 2020

comedy show, food show, lindsay ames, los angeles, lyric hyperion, make that sandwich, silverlake

The endlessly creative and funny Lindsay Ames has been spending the better part of 2019 building the scrumptious web series Make That Sandwich where she makes some of the most delicious looking sandwiches that have ever been conceived.

To kick off 2020, Lindsay is not only doing some live sandwich making for a live edition of Make That Sandwich, but coupling it with live comedy by having comedians “help” her MAKE THAT SANDWICH. The line-up is pretty robust as you can see with Adam Conover from Adam Ruins Everything, Jade Catta-Preta, the new host of The Soup, the fantastic podcast Get Rick Nick, and wonderful comedian Jessimae Peluso.

Sounds pretty grand, no? For all of this, tickets are only $10 right now ($15 at door). Go snag some right now right here.

Please Enjoy Zach Woods Trying to Awkwardly Sell You on the Luxuries of a Space Cruise in Avenue 5 Promo

January 9, 2020

armando iannucci, avenue 5, hbo, zach woods

Armando Iannucci has used Zach Woods briefly, but very sagaciously over the years in both In The Loop and VEEP. Woods really has a knack for playing the sort of beautifully inept characters that Iannucci has founded his entire brand on.

Iannucci’s new HBO series Avenue 5 will see Woods in a much more substantial role that will allow Woods to get more in over his head than he has been in his past collaborations with Armando.

Just see how satisfying it is with Woods “attempting” to make a space cruise “sound” luxurious.

Avenue 5 will premiere next Sun. Jan. 19th on HBO.

“Supermarket Sweep” Revival with Leslie Jones Hosting Is Going to Series at ABC

January 9, 2020

abc, leslie jones, supermarket sweep

“Supermarket Sweep” Revival with Leslie Jones Hosting Is Going to Series at ABC

The sheer enthusiasm that Leslie Jones exudes about, well, anything that’s even remotely excited about is what really ought to be compelling with a Supermarket Sweep revival. There probably will be a camera on her at all times capturing her reactions to every second of action during the show.

We’re imagining the same sort of energy that Leslie brought to commenting on the Olympics will be found here on this new Supermarket Sweep that will going up at ABC.

Also, as far as game show hosts go, we’re confident that Leslie might Steve Harvey a run for his money for amount of .gifs made of her from an episode of the show.

Please Enjoy Kate Willett’s Network TV Debut on Colbert

January 8, 2020

colbert, kate willett, late night, late show with stephen colbert, stand up comedy

Kate Willett is another one of those cases where she is so damn funny and has been for such a long time and having plenty of specials and TV sets under her belt that we kind of can’t believe this set on last night’s Colbert was her first time on network television.

Yet, here we are. So, please enjoy another round of Kate’s smart, sex positive humor right here.

Mel Brooks Is Heading Up a Live Musical Adaptation of ‘Young Frankenstein’ at ABC

January 8, 2020

mel brooks, young frankenstein

Mel Brooks Is Heading Up a Live Musical Adaptation of ‘Young Frankenstein’ at ABC

To be honest, we were kind of wary of this headline because network television’s new obsession over live televised stage musicals isn’t always a sure bet, in our opinion, and, also, we didn’t get a hint of Mel’s involvement in it.

Now that we know Mel Brooks is thoroughly involved with the process of bringing his comedy classic Young Frankenstein up to be a live musical, we’re actually excited to see how crazy and meta Brooks will get and what hijinks he’ll try to pull off, especially because it’s live.

Details for this live Young Frankenstein musical telecast or any other details for that matter have yet to be announced (but we’ll let you know once we find out).

January 8, 2020

comedy show, dynasty typewriter, los angeles, sam jay, stand up comedy

The fearsome and hysterical comedy stylings of Sam Jay are coming back to LA for one special night at Dynasty Typewriter.

Jay currently writes at (and occasionally pops up on) SNL, but her stand-up is something to behold as it’s fiery as it is meticulously crafted.

Tickets are $15 right now and $20 on the day of. Save a few bucks and snag tickets here.

Watch Rob McElhenney Become an Ego Maniacal Game Designer in Trailer for “Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet”

January 8, 2020

apple tv plus, mythic quest, raven's banquet, rob mcelhenney, trailer

It’s hard to not watch this trailer for Apple TV+’s new comedy Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet and think of It’s Always in Sunny Philadelphia (it gets posted as a credit) and imagine the episode title reading “Mac Ruins a Video Game Franchise”.

What’ll be interesting to see here is how much of those It’s Always Sunny sensibilities stay intact for this series over at Apple TV+, who we’re sure are doling out big bucks to produce this show and snag the likes of McElhenney and company and are definitely a different beast than FX.

Also, it should be noted that Aparna Nancherla gets to show off how great she plays an apathetic employee once more. Hopefully, that happens plenty during the whole show.

Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet premieres on Apple TV+ on Feb. 7th.

Both JoJo Rabbit and Booksmart Score Writers Guild Awards Nominations

January 7, 2020

booksmart, jojo rabbit, nominations, writers guild awards

Both JoJo Rabbit and Booksmart Score Writers Guild Awards Nominations

Thus far this award season, it appeared as though, yet again, comedy films weren’t going to get much of a nod (as is always sort of the case).

JoJo Rabbit might be an exception to this notion for how much critical acclaim on all fronts that it has been getting, but Booksmart garnering a Writers Guild nomination is a very pleasant surprise. Booksmart should have been a bigger hit and we can only hope that it lives on to be enjoyed again and again over the years for how sincerely refreshing and satisfying and hopeful it was.

Truly, we love both films (they both made our 100 Best of 2019 list) and hope that they fare as well as they can against the likes of Parasite, Joker, Knives Out, and more.

January 7, 2020

bri pruett, comedy show, david gborie, faded, los angeles, mike mulloy, sean jordan, stand up comedy, zak toscani

Faded, one of LA’s favorite indie stand-up shows, especially on Fridays, is back for 2020 with a whole new location. They started in the supply room of an art supplies story, then moved to a belly dancing studio, and now, are moving to their most “conventional” venue thus far, the speakeasy-ish The Lounge on Melrose (7551 Melrose Ave.).

So, join Mike Mulloy, David Gborie, Sean Jordan, Bri Pruett, and Zak Toscani and their always stacked secret line-ups for a nice price of $5 in advance (limited quantities available) and their normal cost of $10.

The first Faded @ The Lounge on Melrose will be this Fri. Jan. 10th at 8PM (doors at 7:30PM). Go get tickets here.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Ramy Youssef Win for Comedy at 77th Golden Globe Awards

January 7, 2020

golden globes, phoebe waller bridge, ramy youssef

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Ramy Youssef Win for Comedy at 77th Golden Globe Awards

While the Hollywood Foreign Press Association still has a very foggy idea as to what should count as a comedy film (and still rope it in with musicals) for their Golden Globes Awards, we’re very glad to see that Phoebe Waller-Bridge scored Best Actress TV Series-Comedy and Best TV Series-Comedy for Fleabag and Ramy Youssef won Best Actor TV Series-Comedy for his eponymous dramedy Ramy.

While there won’t be a third season of Fleabag, it’s great that Phoebe Waller-Bridge is getting her just due now and also that Ramy is getting such acclaim on his first season.

FYI, here’s the full list of winners for the 77th Golden Globe Awards.

Please Listen to/Witness the Wild Story of Jamie Loftus’ My Year in Mensa

January 6, 2020

jamie loftus, mini series, my year in mensa, podcast

For what started off as a sort of stunt for a writing assignment, “a bit” if you will, the hysterical comedian/writer/animator/podcaster Jamie Loftus got herself into quite a quagmire by testing into the high IQ society known as Mensa.

A year of her life was thrown into a tizzy as she became the subject of ridicule from certain factions within Mensa, only to meet up with some of them and get surprised even further. Jamie recounts all of what happens as well as some of the history of Mensa and IQ tests in general in this podcast mini-series, My Year in Mensa.

The four episodes is as captivating as it is funny and illuminating not only about Mensa, but the idea of identity and being inclusive/exclusive. Give My Year in Mensa a listen wherever you listen to podcasts.

Justin Roiland Sets Claymation Series “Gloop World” Following the Lives of Blobs at Quibi

January 6, 2020

gloop world, justin roiland, quibi

Justin Roiland Sets Claymation Series “Gloop World” Following the Lives of Blobs at Quibi

If there’s anyone in the world to find a way to explore the emotions and complexities of two anthropomorphic blobs to the point where they can make a TV show about it, it would be Rick and Morty’s Justin Roiland.

Called Gloop World, Roiland will indeed delve into the lives of two blobs named Bob Roundy and Funzy. We only have this much info as to what Gloop World will entail, but this whole idea does make us think of that Terryfold song.

Also, count this as another very, very intriguing get for the still yet-to-be-launched Quibi. They only get more and more enticing every other week or so with a new, crazy acquisition to their slate.

January 6, 2020

allie goertz, clowning, courtney pauroso, international comedy, jet eveleth, los angeles, natalie palamides, randy feltface, silverlake, variety show

Stamptown, one of the premier brands of international comedy, is back in LA once more to present the prestige acts at places like Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Whether they’re yanks or from across a pond (or a giant pond), it’s a mind-bending variety night of comedy that has some of the best boundary pushing comedians around (Natalie Palamides, BriTANick, Courtney Pauroso, and, of course, hosts Zach [Zucker] & Viggo [Venn]).

Tickets are only $15 for Stamptown Comedy later this month on Fri. Jan. 17th. Go get ‘em before they sell out here.

The 100(s of) Best Things in Comedy We Were Witness To in the 2010s in No Particular Order

January 3, 2020

100 best, 2010s comedy, best 2010s comedy, best of 2010s

Full transparency here: this is just a list of all of our 100 best lists from 2011-2019 as a both a way to make some easy content AND ALSO give you look into the wildly vibrant and ever-changing tapestry that comedy in LA and elsewhere was for the last 10 years. We (and by “we”, we mean just one person) watch all of this (and so much more) comedy to make these lists and we hope you enjoy revisiting them as much as we do.

Looking through all of this does make us ponder the endless possibilities of what comedy will become in and throughout the 2020s.

So, here are the 100 Best Things in Comedy We Were Witness to in No Particular Order of: