Mary Beth Barone’s daring PSA/talk show Drag His Ass: a f*ckboy treatment program about f*ckboys and how to get off of them (both literally and figuratively) was one of our favorite things that we saw in 2019.
So, naturally, we’re going to tell you to go to the latest edition of Drag His Ass, which is perfectly right before Valentine’s Day. Get tickets here.
It’s truly hard to put on a festival in LA proper as there’s so much comedy that happens every night of the week that’s worth checking out. As such, Los Angeles only has a big festival every now and again.
Thankfully, the Southland Comedy Festival is kind of leaning into the wealth of talent in the LA comedy scene by not only having SCF shows at many of the major clubs around town, but also some of our favorite indie spots as well (including The Blind Barber, The Comedy Bunker, and Bar Lubitsch). There will be plenty of great shows, and, if you can manage it, you can capture a good cross-section of what stand-up comedy is like in LA.
Here’s a small promo for the festival that slickly shows you what they’re up to.
This inaugural edition of The Southland Comedy Festival is happening across several venues in LA from Tues. Jan. 7th-Sat. Jan. 11th. and passes are going for just $49-$59. If you’re digging this, get more details, passes, etc. here.
OK, enough of this holidays non-sense. Let’s get back into the swing of things (your regularly scheduled great live comedy all around LA that is).
The first Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen @ The Virgil (you know, one of the best shows in LA) of 2020 is this Mon. Jan. 6th and, per usual, they have a stellar/stacked line-up (Hari Kondabolu’s in town and The Cooties are making the rounds for this edition) and, per usual, it’s at 8PM sharp and, again, per usual, it’s $5 right now and $8 cash at the door.
Go get your tickets (and show up at or before 7PM if you want a seat) here.
OK, 2019′s officially over and we’ve wrangled our 100 truly favorite things in and around comedy (and it really spans all of comedy) that are not ranked whatsoever. It’s just like the title says and, it’s, as it is every year, quite long, so we won’t waste any more time with this intro.
Oh, in case you forgot and/or curious and/or need a quick refresher, here’s our 2018 list.
1. Rory Scovel Live Without Fear-This documentary follows Rory Scovel and his journey through six nights of completely improvised hour sets. In a single word, it’s inspiring. You see the way Scovel truly connects the audience and keeps it that way through his indelible charm and endless curiosity. The near unbelievable story of the Relapse Theater in Atlanta is also beautifully threaded in the doc as well. The clips of the improvised performances capture the magic that stand-up comedy can be that’s absent from the majority of comedy specials. You should be required to see this whenever and wherever it comes if you have any level of interest in comedy at all.
2. Naomi Ekperigin-From her own stand-up, to her podcast with husband Andy Beckerman, Couples Therapy, and her writing across TV, and everything else she does, Naomi is such an thoroughly commanding, yet delightful presence that we love seeing every time anywhere (and she should already be way bigger of a star already).
3. Cait Raft’s Presentation on “Bradley Cooper’s a Star Is Born Takes Place in an Alternate Reality Where 9/11 Never Happened”-Witnessing the imagination of Cait Raft up close was a privilege for us. This amazing dissection of the zeitgeist left us in stitches and with our mouth agape for how thoroughly it proved its point.
4. Corporate Season 2-The second season of the ultra dark workplace comedy delivered once again on its hysterical nihilistic satire that’s so prescient, yet still so unbelievably funny.
5. Mom-Prov Presents Family Therapy-Improviser Izzy Roland was daring enough to have her mom and her grandmother, both of whom are also in showbiz, to join her on stage for one of the most madcap, fourth wall-breaking, entertaining improv shows we’ve seen all throughout 2019.
6. Jena Friedman-So, this year, Jena delivered yet again with her subtle delivery and calm demeanor that hides her absolutely killer jokes. The follow-up to her Adult Swim special, Soft Focus, upped the ante with an interview of a gun-toting John McAffee and her brilliant Conan set about everyone’s true crime obsession.
7. Brendon Walsh’s Afternoon Delight-This last year, Brendon Walsh let everyone know that he was and still is one of the best at pulling prank calls, which is so much harder now than it was even ten years ago. This live show actually has Brendon place live prank calls in between stand-ups and the ride you go on is absolutely thrilling.
8. Jacqueline Novak’s Get on Your Knees-Novak’s solo show has more than earned its spot as an Off-Broadway show with bringing such an exquisite, almost never before seen comedic sensibility to the topic of blow jobs.
9. #F*ckF*ckJerry-Props to Vulture Senior Editor Megh Wright for sparking the fire to take out the egregious social media accounts of F*ck Jerry that just lifted jokes from comedians all across the Internet without pay or attribution.
10. Lorelei Ramirez-We’ve known distantly about Lorelei Ramirez for so many years, but seeing them up close was a breathtaking experience that had us laughing so hard. Their artistry in comedy that gracefully borders on performance art and even horror is absolutely inspiring.
11. Aaron Urist-Denver’s Aaron Urist is such a killer joke writer and joke teller and has been for years. We just were reminded about that with his burning bush joke during his latest LA trip.
12. Booksmart-Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut was not only a reinvigorated take on movies that specifically hone in on the end of high school, but also had a sincerely hopeful vision of the future generation. We hope that Booksmart finds its way to the top of the coming-of-age comedy films pantheon.
13. Rachel Mac on Lights Out-One of the highlights of Lights Out with David Spade is how unfiltered and raunchy they let comics get during their sets on the show. Rachel Mac took that amount of comedic license and thrived in getting into the nitty gritty about her last teaching job.
14. What We Do In The Shadows-The FX TV adaptation of the seminal Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement film in 2014 exceedingly succeeds in nailing the comedy of minutia in the world of the undead that also happens to be in a (somewhat) grounded reality.
15. PEN15-Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle’s vision of 2000 and their performances as teens were so spot on that PEN15 would deserve acclaim just for that. However, the heart of this show made its humor stand out in an ever crowded field of coming-of-age comedy.
16. Tiffany Haddish’s Black Mitzvah-A lot has happened for Tiffany Haddish since her last special (she’s a legit A-list celebrity now), but it’s clear that she is still her unapologetically positively, life loving self. This special is evidence of that, especially with her bit about her New Year’s show that she got undeserved flack for.
17. Straw Men-Lindsay Adams, Danny Palumbo, and Sam Wiles (and producer Kimmie Lucas) put on what is our favorite imagining of a comedic debate that we’ve seen thus far. The encouragement to make the most ridiculous, baseless arguments and being transparent about the whole thing is a golden goose of comedy.
18. The ending of Gloria Bell-Well, we can’t very well give away the ending to this English language dramedy remake from Sebastián Lelio that has Julianne Moore shine as bright as she has ever shone before, but just know that we stood out of our seats, applauding what she did to John Turturro right at the end.
19. I Think You Should Leave-Tim Robinson’s unflinchingly absurd sketch series unequivocally has many of the best sketches of 2019. The hot dog costume and Mexican restaurant sketches will have us busting up through, very likely, the next decade.
20. Les Miz and Friends-Bonkers (and we mean that in the best way possible) doesn’t begin to describe how wild this meta and great this puppet and human hybrid take on the theater institution of Les Miserables. The sheer cleverness on every level is awe-inspiring.
21. Dave Ross’ The Only Man Who Has Ever Had Sex-Ross has been a longtime favorite of ours for the contrasting bounciness and darkness of his comedy. His debut album captures this dichotomy perfectly.
22. Nikki Glaser: Bangin’-Nikki Glaser’s first Netflix hour special started off with a bang, pun intended. Her frank, but heartfelt exploration of all facets of sex is so damn funny that Glaser gets away with being as blue as she wants.
23. Super Dating Simulator-This live, interactive version of various Japanese video game dating simulators is one of the more innovative and surprisingly charming things we saw this year. Creator Sam Weller did a bang-up job not only making a video game work as a stage show, but doing so with a very off-beat sub-genre of video games
24. Emmy Blotnick’s Party Nights-Blotnick’s latest album shows Emmy at the peak of her delightful observational powers. The concept of a “Self-Potato” is just priceless.
25. Tammercise!-Folks in comedy are getting all sorts of clever these days to redefine traditional formats and disciplines and push the art form forward. Madeline Wager does this exquisitely with a solo show of a woman unraveling that doubles as legit aerobics class.
26. The Cherry Orchard w/Chad Damiani and Jet Eveleth-Damiani and Eveleth explore a new angle on postmodern clowning by supposedly doing a Chekov play going through dress rehearsal without any of the players knowing what they’re supposed to do. The back and forth between the live direction and the tomfoolery on stage is truly hysterical.
27. Bake Stuff with Lindsay LIVE-It’s about time for a comedic cooking show that actually does teach you a wonderful recipe and also explores and resolves(?) childhood trauma. Lindsay Adams’ Bake Stuff with Lindsay, which we indeed saw live, accomplishes all of that and inspires all those watching to cook through their feelings.
28. Shalewa Sharpe’s So, You Just Out Here?-Shalewa imbues homespun wisdom with marvelously colorful descriptions all throughout this very satisfying album.
29. The Amazing Johnathan Documentary from Ben Berman-The Amazing Johnathan’s life story is pretty captivating as is. The story about Ben Berman trying to tell his story amidst several other people trying to tell his story is absolutely engrossing and is somehow all true.
30. Julio Torres’ HBO special “My Favorite Shapes”-Torres’ special is simultaneously one of the most daring and silly hour specials in recent memory and his elevation of prop comedy to a whole new level is to be commended.
31. The Underculture with James Adomian–James Adomian has been one of comedy podcasts’ most in-demand and bright shining stars. It comes as no surprise that his own podcast that revs up all his characters has some of the best, most dynamic, absurdist interviews in political and pop culture satire.
32. Daniel Van Kirk’s Thanks Diane/Together Tour-Van Kirk’s first, complete hour that he both toured with and released as an album is so impressive with how deftly Dan manages a balance of sincerity and mischief from wire-to-wire.
33. Conan in Greenland-Conan marvelously turns his travel specials series Conan Without Borders on its head by attempting to buy Greenland based off of Trump’s stupid tweets.
34. Mary Beth Barone’s Drag His Ass: A F*ckboy Treatment Program–Mary Beth Barone’s live show exploration into her dating life is illuminating and hilarious throughout, but the actual interview that she does live with a “f*ckboy” is transcendent.
35. Obvious Plant’s Carnival of Toys-Jeff Wysaski AKA Obvious Plant really outdid himself this year in his quest to permeate everyday reality with a satirical twist. He not only made a whole line of custom toy figures that satirize pop culture on so many levels, but opened up a whole pop-up museum for several days to exhibit them in all of their bizarre glory.
36. Sports Without Equipment with Coach Keith Alejo-This Dress Up Gang sketch is one of those ideas that are simple, yet so out-of-left-field. Literally, they take sports without equipment to its funniest conclusion.
37. #Squatmelt–Howard Kremer’s desire to keep the spirit of The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail alive has evolved into its own very special thing in the form of a DIY stand-up comedy show/walking tour that periodically migrates around LA.
38. Catch-22-Trying to adapt such a monumental literary work like Catch-22 is almost a fool’s errand, but writers Luke Davies and David Michôd do a smash-up job for not only bringing Heller’s immortal words to life, but also sticking the landing for all the darkly absurdly comical moments that run rampant throughout the story.
39. Get Rich Nick-Even if they didn’t have the fantastic banter, riffs, and asides from the very funny duo of Nick Turner and Nick Vatterott, this podcast that explores how to make money real quick is one of the best new podcasts of the whole year. Fortunately, Nick and Nick’s humor runs rampant through every episode and makes Get Rich Nick engrossing and makes you actually laugh out loud.
40. MK Paulsen-The comedy of MK Paulsen can be faster than a bullet, but as satisfyingly silly as a gun that shoots a flag with the word ‘bang’ on it. Every time we see him do stand-up, it’s a fun, rollicking ride that’s equal parts offbeat whimsy, clever wordplay, and an agile sense of timing and play.
41. Father Figurine by Matt Kazman-The dour faces of the family in this dark comedy short play to the highest comedic effect perfectly. A dead patriarch and an apathetic family make for some of the best dry humor in 2019.
42. Funk Shuffle-Danny Cymbal, Dennis Curlett, and Michael Gardner comprise Funk Shuffle, an improv group that manages fly freer and more untethered than almost any other improv group that we’ve ever seen. They make their defiance and experimentation with improv forms really work due to the trio’s unflinchingly playful spirit.
43. Gary Gulman’s The Great Depresh-Gulman, as one of comedy’s premier craftsman, of course, delivers an hour of stellar comedy with this special. He also manages, this time around, to destigmatize depression and, in general, be hopeful. That particular comedy trifecta is such an impressive feat that very few can accomplish.
44. Greener Grass-The scope and ambition of Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe’s directorial debut hints at some really special things to come from them in the future. Their absolutely demented, pastel drenched absurdist vision was a shocking delight through and through.
45. Jenny Slate’s Stage Fright-Slate’s best comedic strength is her unshakeable vulnerability. This hour special lets Jenny present that trait as intimately as she has ever presented it and gives an in-depth look as to where that hilarious vulnerability comes from.
46. Heather Anne Campbell swatting a baby out of someone’s hands in an improv scene-At this point, it should come as no surprise that Heather Anne Campbell is one of our absolute all-time favorite people in comedy and thus, she kind of just ends up making it on this list annually on her own someway, somehow. This year, during a performance of her improv group, Heather and Company, we laughed as hard as we’ve ever laughed at Drew DiFonzo Marks initiating a scene by rocking a baby back and forth and then, Heather insanely swatted it out of his hands and stomped on it. It sounds ludicrous, but trust that Heather made that so unbelievably funny.
47. Adam Cayton-Holland’s Happy Place-Cayton-Holland’s live solo show based on his critically acclaimed book of the same name pulls off oscillating between cleverly wrought and self-aware comedy and some of the most heartbreaking stories you’ll ever hear about his late sister. Holland’s focus and calm make it all miraculously blend together.
48. The Authorized Unauthorized My Favorite Murder Musical-In the world of unauthorized musicals about things that you wouldn’t really think about being adapted into unauthorized musicals (it’s a bigger ever-burgeoning world every month it seems), the staged reading of this My Favorite Murder-inspired musical that we saw was phenomenal. The full stage production to come in 2020 will undoubtedly be something really great.
49. Pedro Gonzalez-Pedro’s jokes are so expertly written and crafted that you forget that he immigrated to America as a teenager from Colombia and learned English as a second language.
50. Garry Starr Performs Everything-UK comedian Garry Starr’s solo show is a genius send-up and celebration of theater as a whole. The physicality and the sheer madness of the whole show are so thoroughly hysterical.
51. Kira Soltanovich-We just want to take a moment to appreciate the agility of the comedy of Kira Soltanovich. Not only does Kira play any room or any show as far as we’ve seen, but her drive is just unstoppable (see ep. of The Honey Dew).
52. Mike Birbiglia’s The New One-Though it seems almost too routine that Birbiglia comes out with a new hour special that garners tons of acclaim for its ornate and complex and, ultimately, very satisfying tapestry of stories, Birbiglia delivers exactly once again with one such solo show/special on fatherhood.
53. Michelle Buteau-We saw Michelle headline just a few months ago at Dynasty Typewriter and were reminded of just how good Buteau is. She combines being heartfelt, having a fun bit of attitude, and an absolute command of the stage in such a beautiful way.
54. Gareth Reynolds’ Riddled with Disease-Many folks know how great Gareth is from his madcap riffing on The Dollop, but Reynolds shows he is fantastic with a sharp, hilarious, yet still fast-and-loose-feeling hour.
55. Sara Schaefer’s LIVE LAUGH LOVE-Sara, above most folks working in comedy today, goes to great lengths to be considerate, inclusive, and vulnerable in her comedy and it’s so, so wonderful because of that. This album is yet another great example of that mix.
56. Sean Patton’s Scuttlebutt-Sean Patton’s latest album is a fantastic note to any and all that Sean is, hands down, one of the best comedians ever to spin a yarn (and also share some damn fine true stories) and deserves way more accolade and attention for that now and going forward.
57. Matt Rogers’ Have You Heard of Christmas?-Rogers had quite a 2019 in putting culture on notice, but his queer and subversive holiday musical extravaganza might be one of the best pieces of holiday themed comedy of all time.
58. The Chris Gethard Show with Robby Hoffman-Not only does Robby Hoffman keep the punk rock, conventions-be-damned spirit of TCGS alive, but she makes it so much her own and lets her hilarious, domineering persona transform the show into another very special, unique round of controlled chaos.
59. The taping of Eddie Pepitone’s latest special-Eddie’s sound and fury and his irreverent stream-of-consciousness-seeming comedy were flawless in this latest hour. Everyone in attendance, including ourselves, were in stitches for the whole taping. Props to director Steven Feinartz for one of our favorite looks of a special that we saw last year (which you’ll all get to see soon in 2020).
60. Eric Dadourian’s closer on Nebraska 2-Dadourian is always all in for the sake of a real bold, imaginative bit and, as such, pulled off one of our favorite closers of the year on his very first full length album.
61. Jessica Kirson: Talking to Myself-Kirson’s hour special on Comedy Central really let Jessica cut loose and let her showcase her stand-up expertise. From the way that Kirson contorts her face to her deep well of voices/characters to razor-sharp quick wit to, of course, her signature asides to herself, Jessica really kills it in this hour.
62. Brody Stevens-Long live the “jock doing performance art” comedy (one of our favorite descriptions of Brody’s comedy by his dear friend Zach Galifianakis) and may he rest in peace. Yeeeees! Enjoy It!
63. Byron Bowers on Colbert–Byron Bowers and his clever, yet sincere, dark, vulnerable comedy put up one of our favorite late night sets this year. From the opening to his frank jokes about his dad make us think that it’s just a little crazy that this is his network TV debut.
64. Desus and Mero on Showtime-With the upgrade of being on Showtime, Desus Nice and The Kid Mero are having the most fun in late night with the freshest voices and format (and they’re able to pull that off with only being twice a week).
65. Fleabag Season 2-creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge assuredly has more masterpieces ahead of her, but managing to top herself from one masterpiece season of dark romantic dramedy with another one is something that deserves all the accolades and awards that it has gotten.
66. Kenny DeForest on Corden-Kenny dismantles toxic masculinity so incisively through the whole set that he most certainly earns all the applause breaks he gets the whole way through.
67. Josh Gondelman’s Dancing on a Weeknight-Gondelman is often thought of as one of the best, sweetest people in comedy. This latest album, for all of its being clever and genuine, is proof that he indeed really is that sweet and funny.
68. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 3-The perennial prestige comedy from Amy Sherman-Palladino earns its keep by having some of the best writing (it’s almost impossible to write jokes that are contextualized for the 50s/60s and make them actually funny for 2019 audiences) and also being one of the most gorgeous looking shows in all of television.
69. Nick Ciarelli and Brad Evans-Whether it be pulling pranks on Twitter, their plethora of hysterical sketches doing an impression of Jack FM on shows around town, or their monthly live sketch character showcase Atlantic City, Nick and Brad are a damn fine comedy duo and have been for quite some time.
70. Caitlin Gill’s Major-It’s quite the magic trick to make an hour of comedy that’s entirely clean and have it being clean not be a thought that you’re thinking about at all when listening or watching it. Caitlin Gill spectacularly does just that with this album as Gill can make all of her earnest rants, imagery, and observations work in any way that she needs to.
71. 97.9 The Rat Race–Ben Roy’s satirical reimagining of a morning radio “zoo crew” is so spot on, then gets real twisted to make this one of the most surprising and rewarding podcasts of 2019.
72. Mike Lane’s Picture Frames-This short film from Lane heightens the idea of remembering those you love after they’ve left this mortal coil to such a ridiculous level every step of the way (and is more and more enjoyably unpredictable the further it goes).
73. Paige Weldon on Corden-Paige’s upbeat self-deprecation is just hard to resist and it makes the best impression in this late night set on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
74. The Righteous Gemstones-Danny McBride’s latest HBO series that darkly and comically dissects the South might be his most ambitious yet, but, of course, he nails it. The constant suspense perpetuated by hysterically tragic characters in the world of televangelists is profound.
75. My Friend Chuck-Comedic erotica author Chuck Tingle (one of the absolutely most unique voices and cadences we’ve heard in awhile) and friend McKenzie Goodwin celebrate their friendship every week for a podcast that’s preposterously funny and, also, more heartwarming than almost anything we’ve heard or seen.
76. Joey Clift’s Telling People You’re Native American When You’re Not Native Is a Lot Like Telling a Bear You’re a Bear When You’re Not a Bear-Clift makes such biting, pun intended, commentary with this short film/PSA that is also so playful that the message about Native identity will undoubtedly stick with you.
77. Megan Gailey’s My Dad Paid For This-Gailey strikes a wonderful balance of charm and attitude and fervent desire to burn down the patriarchy. Such a mix accents her very delightful observations about herself and the world around her in this marvelous debut album.
78. Robin Higgins as Baby Yoda at Tournament of Nerds-Higgins might have made one of the best, first attempts at Baby Yoda cosplay. She also, for what’s supposed to be a roast-style competition between fictional/pop culture characters, perfectly imagined how Baby Yoda would roast someone while maintaining Baby Yoda’s sweetness that has captured the hearts and minds of the Internet.
79. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote-Terry Gilliam went through hell, did a few laps, and came back over several years to get this meta-quixotic tale about reimagining the legendary novel Don Quixote made. The finished film, for us, was worth the wait.
80. Jo Firestone on The Tonight Show-Jo’s sense of play is so pure and present that it’s kind of irresistible. Combined with a perfect amount of self-deprecation, Jo really delivered a terrific set we’ll probably never get tired of.
81. Paul Rudd continues his time honored tradition of playing that one clip of Mac & Me on Conan-Rudd evolves the arc of this long running bit on Conan where, instead of playing a clip of what he’s on Conan to promote, he plays the same exact clip of the universally panned alien comedy Mac & Me. We all know what’s coming and yet, without the benefit of surprise, Rudd’s annoyance of Conan still keeps on being so damn funny.
82. Billy on the Street featuring Reese and Mariah-This year, we were lucky enough to get two instantly classic episodes of Billy on the Street with Reese Witherspoon and Mariah Carey that gave us our fix for our obsession with Billy Eichner yelling at strangers on the streets of NYC.
83. The Dollop England & UK-As Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds embarked on an entire England & UK tour of The Dollop, they thought it prudent to do a mini-series specific to Great Britain and did a smashing job making fun of British history. The Cyril the Swan episode is particularly brilliant.
84. Lost Moon Radio-The live musical sketch comedy theater troupe (Lost Moon Radio truly lives up to such a description) marked their 10th anniversary and put on an absolutely fantastic “Summer Block Party” this year that both showed that they still got their ingenious musical sketch comedy chops.
85. Nate Bargatze’s The Tennessee Kid-The calm with which Bargatze pervades all of his comedy is part of what makes it beloved by nearly any and all that see or hear Bargatze’s stand-up. That’s such the case now that Nate gives updates to stories from previous specials on this latest hour.
86. Beth Stelling on Kimmel-Every detail of this set on Jimmy Kimmel Live is pretty stellar. That includes Beth, in general, for her warm demeanor, smile, and cleverness, the Chippendale’s story, Beth’s mom being there in the crowd, and, of course, the surprise guest at the end.
87. Liz Climo’s Please Don’t Eat Me-This illustrated book is just the latest in a long line of uber-adorable and genuinely-funny-for-all-ages books from Climo. Liz seems to have quite the knack for making unlikely animal friendship jokes.
88. John Hodgman’s Medallion Status-Hodgman’s journey through the various statuses of airline privilege/celebrity is a superb serving of existential humor, done up with Hodgman’s painstaking attention to the exactly right details.
89. Jane Curtin’s 2019 New Year’s Resolution “My New Year’s Resolution Is To Make Sure The Republican Party Dies”-Said during a CNN interview with the SNL alum, this was the first thing to make us heartily laugh in 2019.
90. Alex Kavutskiy’s Squirrel-Kavutskiy’s short film dives into the concept of forgiveness unlike we’ve really seen and, as is Kavutskiy’s style, is so darkly spellbinding and so pointedly funny at the same time.
91. Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show-The long running comedy troupe known as Astronomy Club really ran with their chance to do a full-fledged sketch series on Netflix. They’re so endlessly clever on in their sketches, especially when it comes to the subjects of identity and oppression, and pack in so many jokes and sight gags that you’ll definitely want to watch it more than once so you don’t miss anything.
92. Dolemite Is My Name-Eddie Murphy seems poised to make a real return to comedy (and stand-up comedy in particular) and this marvelous biopic of comedian and blaxploitation star Rudy Ray Moore AKA Dolemite is the perfect way to start.
93. Anna Drezen on Corden-Drezen has such a perfect sense of farce and misdirection and puts on a beautiful display of those two things from start to finish in this set on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
94. BUTT’s Yoda themed dating app sketch-This sketch is so prescient of the resurgence of the world’s current (baby) Yoda obsession. Also, while this is so absurd with its deep dive into various Yoda fan art and cosplay, Joe McAdam and Chris Stephens’ take on dating apps is so sharply and deeply funny.
95. Mel Brooks Unwrapped-The never ending bit of attempting a documentary between Mel Brooks and the BBC’s Alan Yentob is yet another display of the true, unquestionable genius of Mel Brooks.
96. 50 First Stephs-The amazing, hysterical Steph Tolev kicked off 2019 with a show where 50 or so of her compatriots and contemporaries did various impressions and characterizations of her. Part roast, part loving tribute, part amazing showcase of the depth of creativity in LA comedy, Tolev’s night for herself was something really special.
97. The Bongo Hour with Sandy Honig and Peter Smith–Honig and Smith brought their wild variety show that featured such wonderful bits, characters, drag, and burlesque to LA and showed, truly, how much better life is when you’re fluid about nearly everything.
98. How Did This Get Played?-Hosts Nick Wiger and Heather Anne Campbell and their take on the “worst and weirdest” video games do their namesake, the beloved How Did This Get Made?, proud. Even if you’re not a gamer, the way they dissect the most bizarre video games ever made along with Heather and Nick’s chemistry is very, very enjoyable.
99. Joe Pera Talks With You Season 2-This second season of Joe Pera’s unique talk-to-the-viewer series is so calming that the comedic twists sneak up in the most delightful way possible. There is a certain beauty to Pera’s show that makes us want to have Joe Pera Talks With You playing on a loop in a contemporary art museum.
100. John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch-John Mulaney does “it”, yet again. “It” being releasing another hour of comedic brilliance that’s so markedly different than whatever he did before, yet, somehow still stamped with an indelible mark of Mulaney’s comedy of obtuse hyper-specificity.
As 2020 has officially arrived, we think the perfect show to first hip you to for this year (and decade) is the run of shows that the one and only Gary Gulman is doing at Largo at the Coronet Theatre next week.
Gulman is on his Peace of Mind following his beautiful HBO special The Great Depresh and continues to be one of the best examples of what a comedian should be these days.
The Jan. 10th date is sold out, but Wed. Jan. 8th and Thurs. Jan. 9th still have tickets available. You can get them for $37 a pop here and here, respectively.
If there was a perfect way to remember 2019, it would be an irreverent, mad dash showcase of the worst jokes that many of LA’s best told throughout the year.
Lucky enough hosts Barbara Gray and Dave Child are, once again, doing 50 Worst Jokes at Silverlake Lounge to revel in the burning garbage pile of 2019 in the way that it absolutely should be remembered.
Admission to 50 Worst Jokes is FREE. Get more details and updated line-ups for the show here.
Kevin Hart’s Netflix docu series intends to show Kevin confronting his past and present and future via tons of footage from all years of his life (and plenty of the present day non-stop, go-go-go, lifestyle he keeps up now).
Seeing Kevin get vulnerable and diving into his past is pretty intriguing, especially in how his mother and father have informed his life these days. Also, the sheer scale at which Kevin Hart runs his entertainment empire is pretty damn captivating. Balancing, stand-up, running his own comedy brand Laugh Out Loud, starring in movies, hardcore workouts, his family, recording podcasts/doing radio, and so much more, we’ve perhaps never got inside look of the life of one of the biggest draws around that happens to be a comedian.
Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up is now streaming on Netflix.
The verve of one Brody Stevens, who we unfortunately lost this year, will always live on in the millions of people that got to witness him, his spirit, his comedy, and all of his plethora of catchphrases.
Any opportunity to pay tribute and remember Brody should always be taken and thusly, you should find your way to this special event An Evening to Celebrate the Comedy of Steven Brody Stevens that honors Brody’s memory, premieres a YouTube channel for Brody (Yes! You got it!), and raise funds for the charitable organization Comedy Gives Back that seeks to aid comedians who are in dire straits with their mental or physical health and can’t afford help.
So, please go get your tickets for An Evening to Celebrate the Comedy of Steven Brody Stevens here.
For our money, one of the much more intriguing offering from Apple’s streaming service Apple TV Plus is an American immigrant anthology series that will come from the pens of Kumail Nanjiani, Emily V. Gordon, and Lee Eisenberg (The Office).
Kumail and Emily of course not only were a couple that co-ran The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail for years, but really shot themselves into the spotlight by writing the beautiful and very funny The Big Sick based on how they met.
Little America will follow several different immigrants and their experience in arriving and living in America for all the different sorts of things that could mean and this trailer hints at the series having the sort of the great heartfelt, dramedy vibe of The Big Sick.
See for yourself in the trailer for Little America and then look for it on Apple TV Plus on Jan. 17th.
The notion that the title Garry Starr Performs Everything seems ambitious, if not a little ridiculous of course. However, this solo show that he does is indeed so all encompassing of how amazingly funny Starr is in every facet of comedic performance, especially with his knack for physical comedy/clowning.
We don’t want to give too much away as we’d like for Garry Starr Performs Everything to take you as much by surprise as possible (though you should know this is definitely an adult show), but we will say the way he satirizes theater as a concept is flat out brilliant.
Garry Starr Performs Everything is going up again at the Lyric Hyperion on Wed. Feb. 5th at 9PM. Tickets are $10 and you very much should get them here.
Leading up to its release, John Mulaney’s latest work, a “traditional” children’s musical TV special called “John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch”, really had us pondering how much would this be for kids and how much this would be subversively and meta-textually be for adults.
We are not kids here at TCB and haven’t been for quite some time, so we can’t speak to their reception of it (we suspect the very charming performances by the kids here would indeed delight other kids), but boy-oh-boy, John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch is so, so damn funny to us grown-ups.
Mulaney and co. do their due diligence and including all the traditional trappings of a children’s special with musical numbers, fun, loose choreography, and colorful, interactive interstitials. However, several threads of hilariously bizarre self-awareness (i.e. Mulaney making fun of the fact that he and his very hyper specific sense of humor are making a children’s special) that run rampant throughout the Sack Lunch Bunch. The absurdity of the premise is even twisted further with both genuine moments (the kids of the Sack Lunch Bunch earnestly discussing their fears) and the inclusion of other perfectly out-of-place guests like Richard Kind, David Byrne, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Even the interstitials get their own weird twist with trivia that almost no kid (and maybe some adults) today would know.
Somehow, Mulaney has outdone himself yet again with John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch, which is quite the feat following his stand-up specials and Oh, Hello. In fact, if Lorne Michaels ever steps down from SNL and John’s up for it, Mulaney now has got our vote for running SNL.
John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch is now streaming on Netflix. Go watch it and bring yourself some joy.
All of those dates were all around the country, but didn’t quite have an LA date.
Well, that is until now.
Rory, Nick, and Freddy will be doing an exclusive preview show at the Virgil on Mon. Jan. 6th at 10PM (following Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen). Tickets are $5 in adv., $8 at door (cash only) and you really ought to go and see what sort of tomfoolery these three got planned for the rest of the country’s Tool fans.
Get tickets here.
There is an entire brilliantly funny season of a Dress Up Gang TV series that has yet to be seen and one can only hope that one day the general public will get to revel in how it’s potentially even more “about nothing” than Seinfeld.
In the meantime, you can and very, very much should enjoy the chill, offbeat, silly vibes of The Dress Up Gang’s delightful Christmas Special “Post Holiday Blues: A Christmas Special” here.
Ramy Youssef Signs Overall Deal With A24
A24 is essentially a golden brand these days that carries an air of serious artistic credibility and respect with whatever they work on.
Thus, it’s pretty amazing to see them bring in a comedian for an overall deal. Of course, Ramy Youssef has garnered a ton of acclaim for both his stand-up and TV series Ramy that boldly explore what it’s like to be Muslim in American these days in a peak-TV, dramedy/enrapturing storytelling kind-of-way.
There is a certain cinematic quality to what Ramy does and this collaboration with one of the most beloved studios of today has us excited to see what they come up with.
FYI, Ramy’s already got two shows in the works, one of which will delve into the life of disabled people like Ramy did for Muslims.
Basically, some of the best improvisers in town will not only be in town, but will be doing one of the daftest forms of improv ever conceived and we’re down for it.
Will Hines, who we love for intentionally doing bad guitar solos with a great backing band, indeed will be doing improv with boxing gloves and perhaps questionable British accents (and one legit one) as play off of the UK’s Boxing Day the day after Christmas and we’re sure this will be a wonderful offering of top shelf silliness.
For our money, Boxing Day Improv at UCB Franklin is the perfect follow-up for that post-Christmas haze. Get tickets here.
Most love letters don’t come in the form of a comedy album. In fact, it’s hard to think of any hour of stand-up comedy being a love letter to anything (save for Blake Wexler’s album of voicemails from Todd Glass).
Leave it to Chris Gethard, the comedian who likely wears his heart on his sleeve more than anyone else in comedy, to dedicate an album something he loves deeply, his home state of New Jersey.
This album, Taylor Ham, Egg, and Cheese is indeed chock full of Jersey intricacies, references, and name checks greeted with hollers and applause. Gethard flexes the depth of his Jersey identity here, but, to the Jersey uninitiated, you don’t feel lost throughout. The sheer love that he has for the place, the people, and the way his experiences with the two shaped him into the punk rock sweetheart comedian that he is today emanates through every bit and becomes the core of the humor. No one really loves Jersey quite like Gethard and he shows how beautiful of a thing that is.
If you’re looking for some sweetness in your comedy, please listen to and enjoy Chris Gethard’s Taylor Ham, Egg, and Cheese here or on Spotify.
When it comes to making a holiday TV special, you could just have a bunch of great comedians/storytellers share their holiday memories/do bits (and some stripped down version of a Christmas standard) or you could have jaunty recipes and tips for the perfect holiday party.
Thanks to Jay Larson, we could have our Mid-Century Modern Gingerbread House (a real thing that Larson makes in this special) and eat it too (i.e. enjoy the comedic stylings of Jesus Trejo, Debra DiGiovanni, Dan Soder, Lara Beitz, and Nick Thune and music of Suzanne Santo). Always the crafty, clever one, Larson made an all-in-one sort of half-hour holiday special that celebrates (and subtly roasts) this time of year.
Please enjoy it at your leisure, for free, here.
It has been a minute since the duo behind Off Book: The Improvised Musical Podcast, Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino, have gone out just as The Zach and the Jess to do whatever musical comedy they damn well please (improvised, scripted, or otherwise).
Thankfully, they’ll be kicking off 2020 with a night at Silverlake’s The Satellite with a fantastic collection of musical comedy from the likes of Demi Adejuyigbe, Erin and Melissa, The Sloppy Boys, and even Zach and Jess’ “emo group” Every Place I Cry.
It’s absolutely one of the first must-see shows for next year.
The Zach and The Jess at The Satellite is set for Tues. Jan. 21st at 8:30PM. Snag your tickets now for $8 here.
Schitt’s Creek has been such a wondrous hit for Pop TV. For five seasons, the journey of the Roses family has organically built a very loyal following. Going into it’s sixth and final season, it seems there seems as if there will be some quite sweet moments as the Roses’ humanity finds a bit more of the way to the surface.
Also, Moira’s looks in this season are so fierce that we hope folks make her a go-to costume for Halloween next year.
See all of this for yourself in Schitt’s Creek sixth and final season trailer here, then look for final season premiere on Tues., Jan. 7th 9PM on Pop TV.
A series description of, “…a spacecaster with a malfunctioning multiverse simulator who leaves the comfort of his home to interview beings living in dying worlds,” is certainly as “out there” as Netflix has ever gone; maybe even more so.
The minds of Pendelton Ward, the creator of Adventure Time, and the everpresent-ly trippy Duncan Trussell created what they’re calling The Midnight Gospel and we’re already on board from just the logline. If anything, we’d love to see what beautiful imagery is dreamed up from a premise that has touches of Welcome to Night Vale and Rick and Morty in it.
Look for The Midnight Gospel to arrive in 2020 on Netflix.
Michelle Wolf and her comedy will always persevere. That seems to be the spirit of her latest special Joke Show, which began streaming on Netflix last week.
Though she was the last comedian to host the White House Correspondents Dinner (they have a historian do it now so Trump can be less whiny?), Wolf continues to put forth stellar writing in her stand-up that really dances around the “line”, a thing she has quite the penchant for. It’s a great reminder that comedy’s time honored tradition of not having “sacred cows” (even if the same sacred cows keep getting knocked down a peg) can still work in 2019.
Also, somehow, we feel like this is a tangentially a great reminder that Trump’s a wimp and can’t take a joke and that Wolf should be more lauded for never backing down.
A monthly Jen Kirkman live talk show at the Hollywood Improv Lab where Jen gets to talk as candidly and unfiltered as she so pleases?
Yes, that’s what’s happening and we can’t wait for it to start. The first Real Talk with Jen Kirkman is set for Thurs. Jan. 9th at 8PM with special guest Ione Skye (from Say Anything of course).
Tickets for Real Talk with Jen Kirkman are $10 and you can (and should) go get them here.
It’s pretty clear that Conan O’Brien and Sona Movsesian will be one of the great late night duos as their dynamic as boss and assistant is just naturally so very, very funny. That’s quite a feat considering that Conan already has an all-time great late night duo between him and Andy Richter.
This actual meeting with a TBS Human Resources representative is just classic. Please enjoy this Team Coco gift to us all here.
The idea of recording an hour of comedy has greatly evolved over last handful of years, whether it be a special or an album. Nick Youssef has opted to take a more personal, more raw take on it by recording and releasing material more frequently at ease in the form of EPs under the title “White Hot Fire”.
White Hot Fire 3: Into the Gray represents the third in this series that really has a feel of a comedy bootleg, so to speak. As such, you get a real satisfyingly gritty performance full of asides and riffs and crowd work to the point where you kind of feel immersed in Youssef’s detailed, colorful observations. Also, Nick gets real into the thick of his own psyche, warts and all, and digs up some real gems. On top of all of that, Nick is so good, as always, at weaving together his material pretty seamlessly that makes the record run so smoothly.
White Hot Fire 3: Into the Gray dropped this week and is available on Apple Music, Spotify, or wherever you listen to comedy albums.
Not only is one of the cornerstone’s of the original National Lampoon’s brand, The National Lampoon Radio Hour has officially relaunched today, there’s another bonkers fast paced, absurdist sketch comedy podcast, a truly hard thing to pull off in a space that so much relies on being not scripted.
The new National Lampoon Radio Hour gets to be steered by the likes of:
Cole Escola (Emmy-nominated At Home with Amy Sedaris, Difficult People)
Jo Firestone (Adult Swim, The Tonight Show)
Brett Davis (Andy Kaufman Comedy winner, Podcast For Laundry)
Alex English (The Rundown, Night Train)
Maeve Higgins (Maeve in America: Immigration IRL, 2 Dope Queens)
Aaron Jackson (UCB, The Opposition)
Rachel Pegram (The Week Of, Don’t Think Twice)
Lorelei Ramirez (Comedy Central: Up Next, Pervert Everything)
Meg Stalter (Vulture: Up-and-coming Comedian of the Week, The Meg Stalter Show)
Martin Urbano (Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central).
There are two episodes up now, exclusively on Spotify and they have every bit of that National Lampoon irreverence, but rebooted from a 2019/2020 perspective. Definitely, they go for territory SNL could never touch and it’s pretty damn fun for that reason.
So, go get into the National Lampoon Radio Hour on Spotify now.