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bad dads, comedy show, father's day, game show, los angeles, marissa strickland, mary sasson, ucb

Mary Sasson and Marissa Strickland’s fantastic game show about fathers of comedy folks who don’t really come close to the mark only comes around every so often. However, just when Father’s Day is coming (June 17th), Bad Dads will definitely have a round to precede that.

So, the latest Bad Dads will be on Thursday, May 31st at 9:30PM at UCB Franklin. Tickets are $7 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.

Tig Notaro’s “Happy To Be Happy Here” Has One of the Best Closers in Recent Memory

comedy special, happy to be here, netflix, stand up, tig notaro

When Tig Notaro does stand-up, you can always count on Tig to playfully deconstruct various stories of her life at the moment in a low key, but thoroughly enjoyable fashion. In fact, she might be the best at doing so as exhibited in her latest hour that just dropped on Netflix, Happy To Be Here.

Tig is also pretty great at pranking the audience/crowd/viewer and keeping a prank going and going and going. From dragging a stool across the stage for a bit to falsely dismounting, she has a knack for innocently hooking the audience into a sense of “is-she-or-isn’t-kidding” and playing it out to maximum effect.

In closing this special, Tig does what will undoubtedly become one of her signature bits in this regard. In fact, as stated in the headline, it’s a legitimate closer in a stand-up special (unlike we’ve seen in quite some time) that might be the best in recent memory.

Go watch Tig Notaro: Happy To Be Here now on Netflix and see what we’re talking about.

Trailer for “Damsel” Hints at an Off-Kilter Western Romantic Comedy

damsel, magnet releasing, magnolia pictures, mia wasikowska, robert pattinson, zellner brothers

Well, The Zellner Brothers (David and Nathan), the minds behind the wondrous Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, have their next genre bending offering, Damsel, on deck.

From the trailer, the look and feel of a Western movie gets subverted by the almost quixotic journey of a young man played by Robert Pattinson to marry the love of his life played by Mia Wasikowska, despite her feelings to the contrary.

Oh yeah, the adorable tiny horse is almost some frosting of magical realism added to the whole ordeal. In short, we’re sold on going to seeing it as soon as we can.

See for yourself in said trailer, then look for Damsel in theaters on June 22nd.

aliya kamalova, anthony gioe, best friends show, blair socci, kim seltzer, los angeles, mano agapion, mary sasson, megan gailey, nick mandernach, open mike eagle, storytelling

The Best Friends Show, a quirky celebration of friendship, storytelling, and cake, is going to mark their third anniversary this Saturday at The Virgil.

Hosts and best friends Kim Seltzer and Aliya Kamalova will lead off an evening featuring stories from:
Blair Socci & Megan Gailey
Nick Mandernach & Anthony Gioe
Mary Sasson & Mano Agapion
and music from:
Open Mike Eagle

Tickets are $5 online and $6 at the door. Get advanced tickets here.

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

cameron esposito, hollywood, live taping, los angeles, me too, stand up, ucb, upright citizens brigade

This week, you can catch the one and only Cameron Esposito tape her latest hour of stand-up as well as see an hour of stand-up currently entitled “Cameron Esposito Presents: Rape Jokes”.

The twist here is, as you might have already read above, that this will be an hour of stand-up done from the perspective of a survivor of sexual assault.

Sincerely, if you’re in the LA area, you should make it out to this.

There are two tapings, 7PM & 9PM, on Thurs., May 24th at UCB Franklin. Get tickets 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.

Here’s Your First Look at “The Break with Michelle Wolf”

michelle wolf, netflix, teaser, the break

This Sunday, May 27th, Michelle Wolf will kick off her weekly late night series The Break with Michelle Wolf on Netflix complete with monologue, remote segments, bits, and an ultra fancy desk (in fact, it’s nicer than most late night talk talk show desks).

Of course, this is the second phase of Michelle Wolf dominating 2018 as she is just coming off of her spot on roast at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Also, we have a feeling that is the start of Netflix figuring out late night as they also have a weekly Hasan Minhaj show on deck too. We will all have to wait and see how true that notion is.

In the meantime, you can watch a teaser trailer for The Break with Michelle Wolf here.

Please Get Johnny Pemberton’s “Recorded For Quality Assurance”, An Entire Album of Trippy Prank Calls

cassette, comedy album, johnny pemberton, prank calls, sbi press, starburns industries

The act of actually calling people on the phone is something that happens less and less and, consequently, it’s something that’s less expected these days.

So, that might just be the perfect setting for a set of prank calls, especially for someone as marvelously subversive as Johnny Pemberton.

Indeed, Recorded For Quality Assurance is indeed a collection of prank calls that comes as a surprise from as many angles as possible. Johnny blindsides his callers, gets blindsided by a few of the callers, and even, in a way, blindsides you, the listener with the help of a few audio tricks up Pemberton’s sleeve. Also, it’s a lot of fun to know that he apparently calls all sorts of folks including a strip club manager to a customer service rep at Halliburton.

It’s a great listen and a reminder that calling people is a thing we can (and maybe should) still do in 2018.

Recorded For Quality Assurance is now available on iTunes, Spotify, and on cassette via SBI Press.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Renewed for Season Three by Amazon Before Season Two Premieres Later This Year

amazon, amy sherman palladino, marvelous mrs maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Renewed for Season Three by Amazon Before Season Two Premieres Later This Year

Amazon may not be cranking out shows like competitor Netflix, but it looks like they’ve placed some solid bets with their few shows as Marvelous Mrs. Maisel just won a Peabody Award (and a Golden Globe as well) with only one season having been released/aired.

Also, as Transparent will be coming to having its swan song soon, Amazon conveniently has its next face for its comedy brand ready to go.

“Joe Pera Talks With You” Premieres Tonight and Should Be the Only Thing You’re Watching/Doing When It’s On

adult swim, joe pera, joe pera talks with you

So often, shows claim to be “unlike anything you’ve seen before”, but Joe Pera Talks With You really does lives up to such a description. The kindness and innocent mischief of Pera has gotten to evolve into a “quasi-how-to show” that gets delightfully subverted by a narrative thread from Joe’s one-of-a-kind, weird, yet sweet sense of humor. It’s almost as if Mr. Rogers had a younger, stranger, but funnier brother. Again, it’s sincerely unlike anything else on TV.

Joe Pera Talks With You is simulteanously one of Adult Swim’s most wholesome shows (it’s almost entirely family friendly) and one of its best in recent memory.

With all of that said, Joe Pera Talks With You premieres tonight at midnight on Adult Swim.

comedy show, free show, ice cream, jak knight, k town, koreatown, langston kerman, los angeles, stand up, what's happening

You probably love ice cream. You probably love some alcohol too. If you’re reading this, we definitely know that you love comedy, especially served up live.

So, we thought as this is the case that you might want to know about a new stand-up show called Tasteful at the hip ice cream parlor in K-Town, Milk Tavern.

It’s hosted by the fun duo of Langston Kerman and Jak Knight and for their inaugural evening, they’ve got a tasty, pun intended, line-up of Quinta Brunson, David Gborie, Steph Tolev, Teddy Ray, Joel Kim Booster.

The first Tasteful is happening this Wednesday, May 23rd at 8:30PM. Oh yeah, we should mention that admission is FREE.

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.

comedy shows, guilty pleasure, hollywood, jimmy pardo, kyle kinane, los angeles

This latest edition of Guilty Treasure (Andy Wood and Bryan Cook’s show forcing folks to explain the songs they love to hate and then perform with a live band) has a killer line-up.

Namely…

– Jimmy Pardo (“Never Not Funny,” “Conan”)
– Kyle Kinane (“The Standups,” “Drunk History”)
– Erin Whitehead (“Bajillion Dollar Propertie$,” Wild Horses)
– Maxim Ludwig (Stagecoach Festival)
– Mike O’Connell (“Another Period,” “Idiotsitter”)

Even the idea of just finding out what their guilty pleasure songs are might be worth the price of admission ($10).

So don’t miss this Guilty Treasure this Monday, May 21st with doors at 7:30PM. Tickets are $10 and you can (and really 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.

Please Enjoy/Buy Emily Hillburg’s Cleverly Handpainted Satirical Vintage Plates and Cups

emily hillburg, handpainted, plates, satire, tea cups, vintage plates

Whilst perusing the LA County Store, we chanced upon Emily Hillburg’s devilishly fun vintage plates that she has handpainted on with “feminist AF” phrases and slickly placed eyepatches, cool cats, and blood, etc. Not only are they wonderfully painted, but a great way to recycle home goods.

They’re pretty damn fun to look at (which you can see at instagram.com/boytearsllc to the point that it’d be worth buying (a thing you can and should do here for plates and tea cups here).

Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon Are Bringing Cord and Tish Back to Cover Royal Wedding Tomorrow Morning

cord and tish, hbo, molly shannon, will ferrell

If you enjoyed Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon causing a ruckus at the Rose Parade earlier this year, they’ll be up to their hijinks yet again while covering the Royal Wedding via HBO at 7:45AM this Saturday, May 19th.

For our money, it’s a great reason to wake up early this Saturday and the best way to watch The Royal Wedding.

Trailer for Steve Martin and Martin Short’s Netflix Special Shows the Duo Trying to Mischievously One Up Each Other

An Evening You Will Forget For The Rest Of Your Life, comedy special, martin short, netflix, steve martin, trailer

Two comedy legends like Steve Martin and Martin Short sharing the stage like they never have before might be hard to imagine since both are beloved comedy superstars and have been so for decades.

Having both stars collide, as seen in this trailer, seems like a fun back-and-forth challenging each other as if they were hanging out at an intimate club, except they are in a massive theater.

Also, Jiminy Glick will be making a cameo as a great bonus for Martin and Short’s An Evening You Will Forget for The Rest of Your Life.

Look for the special to drop on Netflix in a week on Friday, May 25th.

best in show, hollywood, hollywood forever cemetery, lgbt center, los angeles, outdoor movie

On Friday, June 29th, you can watch the Christopher Guest classic Best In Show under the stars at The Hollywood Forever Cemetery AND support LA LGBT Center. There’s even a VIP package that includes a picnic basket.

Tickets range from $25-$150. Go 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.

First Ever Adult Swim Festival in DTLA Announces Line-up

adult swim, comedy festival, dtla, festival, los angeles, the row, the row dtla

It has been awhile since a big festival in LA has had some comedy, but, thankfully, the Adult Swim Festival is coming to the Row DTLA this October 6th & 7th to change all of that.

In addition to the bounce, fun, and attitude of Run The Jewels, Dan Deacon, and Big Freedia, you’ll get to see the comedy stylings of:

Ahmed Bharoocha
Jena Friedman
Jo Firestone
Joe Pera
Hannibal Buress
Nick Rutherford
On Cinema Live!

Here’s a video announcement (that just happens to be in stop motion animation).

Weekend passes are going for $230, but you can get an early bird price for a single day pass at $75.

Buy a pass and get more info here.

comedy show, darren trumeter, elyssa phillips, hollywood, los angeles, pack theater, sam brown, sketch comedy, timmy williams, trevor moore, whitest kids u know, zach cregger

This Saturday, May 19th, the audience at The Pack Theater will get to not only see The Whitest Kids U’ Know! (Zach Cregger, Sam Brown, Trevor Moore, Darren Trumeter, Timmy Williams), but will also get to sketches that they wrote that were rejected.

Sound like a great Saturday night? Of course, it does.

FYI, this is a one-time live event as far as we know.

As it’s at The Pack Theater, admission is “pay what you can”. The show starts at 9PM, but we urge you to get there and line-up early if you want in.

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.

And Here’s Your Chance to Win Tickets to Hot Tub on May 21st

ashley barnhill, comedy show, dave stone, DoLA, free tickets, greg barris, hot Tub, joe derosa, kristen schaal, kurt braunohler, los angeles, madison shepard, ramon rivas

Another Monday is coming and that means another hot serving of Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen is coming too.

Oh, that also means we got a pair of tickets for you to win! Enter here: http://thecomedybureau.dola.com/giveaways

Season 4 Trailer of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Tackles Robots, Sexual Harassment, and, of Course, Has Plenty of Smiles

ellie kemper, jane krakowski, netflix, robert carlock, season 4, tina fey, tituss burgess, trailer, unbreakable kimmy schmidt

Now entering to its 4th season on Netflix, we can’t help but notice how much of a well-oiled machine Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is at this point, which, unfortunately, doesn’t get to be the case for similar high concepts sitcoms on linear TV.

Being a single camera scripted show and staying pretty topical (#MeToo, AI) and making that all work is impressive. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has kept up that standard for three seasons and, according to this trailer, will likely live up to it again in this upcoming season.

Season 4 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt begins streaming on Netflix on May 30th.

Mike Judge Presents: Tales From The Tour Bus Renewed at Cinemax for Second Season, Will Focus on Funk/R&B This Time Around

cinemax, funk, mike judge, season 2, tales from the tour bus

Mike Judge Presents: Tales From The Tour Bus Renewed at Cinemax for Second Season, Will Focus on Funk/R&B This Time Around

Enough folks had fun seeing animated tales of some of the wildest acts that country music ever had thanks to Mike Judge’s Tales From The Tour Bus that we will all be treated to second round.

For the second season, as mentioned above, the focus will be on the tall tales of James Brown, George Clinton, etc. If Charlie Murphy’s stories of Rick James and Prince on Chappelle’s Show serve as any indication, there ought to be one heck of a season on the way.

So, however you do, make sure you get Cinemax before season 2 arrives.

R.I.P. Sadiki Fuller

rip, sadiki fuller

R.I.P. Sadiki Fuller

This past weekend, comedian Sadiki Fuller passed away from a massive heart attack. While we only saw Fuller perform a few times around town, he definitely had more to give us all comedically had he not passed away so suddenly. Fuller had come to LA by way San Francisco, growing up in Houston before that and was far along carving out his own path (which started off with being a Golden State Warriors mascot).

In any case, you can read Sadiki’s bio here and watch a few clips of him performing on YouTube.

Trailer for Never Goin’ Back Hints at a Great Indie Teen Comedy/Debut for Augustine Frizzell

a24, augustine frizzell, never goin back

While your local multiplex will be chock full of big budget, action adventure franchise movies, there ought to be plenty of a delightful indie/arthouse fare as an alternative to those who don’t want just a bunch of explosions in their movie going experience.

Augustine Frizzell’s debut feature Never Goin’ Back might just be one such indie, coming-of-age, buddy road comedy that follows two girls hellbent on having a good time at the beach in Texas. We have a pretty good feeling about how fun (and probably how .gif-able) this will be after watching the trailer.

In fact, it reminds another similar movie that we loved from a few years ago, Fort Tilden.

Look for Never Goin’ Back when it hits select theaters August 3rd.

dan harmon, dynasty typewriter, harmontown, ktown, live taping, los angeles, macarthur park, podcast, starburns, westlake

Boy oh boy, it’s been more than a few minutes since this happened, but Harmontown is coming back to doing a weekly live taping every Monday at Dynasty Typewriter at The Hayworth Theater.

The reconvening of Dan Harmon, Jeff B. Davis, Spencer Crittenden, and guests starts Monday, June 4th and tickets are going for $12.50.

Go get them here before they sell out.

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

Tenacious D to Return to the Stage and (Possibly) Release Latest Album “Post-Apocalypto” This Year

jack black, kyle gass, tenacious d

It has been six years since we last got a record for Jack Black and Kyle Gass, the comedic rock duo better known as Tenacious D.

The wait for said record might just be over as a tour will definitely and a new record might possibly happen later this year.

The tour has 10 dates thus far ranging from San Bernardino to Washington D.C. and tickets will go on sale this Friday morning. Watch the animated announcement here.

Perhaps, if all goes well, another Festival Supreme will happen 2019 or 2020?

Gimlet and Squarespace’s “Casting Call” Contest Is Looking for the Next Great Podcast

gimlet creative, open call, podcasts, squarespace, submissions

If you’ve got a great podcast idea, but are looking to be part of a network (and have a budget to produce it), Gimlet Creative and Squarespace’s Casting Call contest might just be the thing for you.

They’re having an open call for submissions for podcast ideas until May 21st.

If you enter, the following might happen:

Our panel of judges will join host Jonathan Goldstein to select three applicants to fly to New York and produce their pilots. At the end of the journey, one talented hopeful will be awarded a mini-series produced by Gimlet and maybe even a Squarespace sponsorship of their own—because is a podcast even a podcast without one?

Get more details and enter here.