“Super Serious” Offers an Oral History of LA Indie Stand-Up Scene in a Gorgeous Coffee Table Book

It’s unclear as to exactly what was going on in 2010 in LA comedy, but it was the starting point of almost everything that makes it special now (well, right before COVID-19 struck anyway). The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail started around then, WTF with Marc Maron was picking up steam and kickstarted LA’s comedy podcast explosion, and even we had our humble beginnings around then. Also, so many indie comedy shows popped in and around LA giving the LA comedy scene the sort of connective tissue that it was missing years prior.

One such show is The Super Serious Show and, as they’ve kept their high flying variety show going for a decade between a handful of unique, wondrous venues around LA, they’ve seen the ebbs and flows, the new, the old, the highs, the shifts, the rumblings, the lows, and everything in between that has been going in the venerable indie LA comedy scene, especially when it comes to stand-up. Thus, Super Serious Show co-creator and portrait photographer Mandee Johnson assembled a lovely and exhaustive oral history of the comedy scene here in LA, accented by her signature polaroid portraiture of the hundreds and hundreds of performers that have stepped on The Super Serious Show stage. Contributors to this special oral history entitled Super Serious: An Oral History of Los Angeles Independent Stand-Up Comedy include Hasan Minhaj, Rory Scovel, Anthony Jeselnik, Karen Kilgariff, Baron Vaughn, Dave Anthony, Andy Kindler, Natalie Palamides, Kristen Schaal, Ron Funches, Reggie Watts, Rachel Bloom, Dana Gould, Eddie Pepitone, Cameron Esposito and dozens more.

If you’re as obsessive about comedy as we are, it’s definitely a must have for your coffee table (or whatever table you have). Super Serious: An Oral History of Los Angeles Independent Stand-Up Comedy is available for pre-order now and will be released on Aug. 18th from Andrews McMeel Publishing. Given how there are plenty of shipping delays for non-essential items these days in the U.S., best to put your order in now. Get more details and get your copy here.

Fun news alert: We have a BOOK!

Super Serious: An Oral History of Los Angeles Independent Stand-Up Comedy is available for pre-sale NOW!

Learn more: https://t.co/XRUUsXZ7Xq @mandeephoto @AndrewsMcMeel @_triangle_house #SuperSeriousShow #SuperSeriousBOOK pic.twitter.com/F9GZunTsYZ

— Super Serious Show (@seriousshow) July 14, 2020

HBO Max Orders Up Six Episodes of a Michael Che Sketch Series

July 14, 2020

News

hbo, hbo max, lorne michaels, michael che

Announced today, sketch comedy has a new series on the way, effectively spun-off from the sketch comedy behemoth, Saturday Night Live. It’s untitled as of this moment, but the series is coming from SNL Weekend Update co-anchor Michael Che with SNL’s very own Lorne Michaels attached as an EP.

The series, which has gotten an order for six episodes will focus on such themes as “police brutality, unemployment, and falling in love” from a black perspective.

We’re glad to see another sketch series set to arrive, when there has been a scarcity of sketch comedy on TV (not to mention the cancellation of Astronomy Club on Netflix). The intriguing aspect of this is Che’s sketch series being at HBO Max as opposed to NBC on SNL. Is it going to take more risks and be bolder than SNL (which isn’t that hard to do these days). Supposedly, this series won’t be afraid to get controversial. To see how true that is, there will be a wait because, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic is as much a reality (arguably more so) than it was in March/April.

Pick of the Day: Piff the Magic Dragon: Live from Las Vegas 7/24 & 7/31

July 14, 2020

News

city national grove of anaheim, comedy magic, livestream, piff the magic dragon

International comedy magic sensation Piff the Magic Dragon, one of the rare acts that can simultaneously give both kids and adults one hell of a show, will be doing three exclusive live shows this month, live-streamed directly from Las Vegas, presented by the City National Grove of Anaheim. He’ll be in his own home studio in Vegas (that’s plenty socially distant from whatever is going on The Strip) over Zoom and the show will be “interactive”, which is intriguing enough of itself to see what Piff has up his signature dragon costume.

Here’s a promo of what that actually might be:

Piff The Magic Dragon: Live From Las Vegas is set for July 24th at 7PM PT/10PM ET and July 31st 7PM PT/10PM ET & 9PM PT/ET. Tickets are $35.75 per device/household and you can (and should) go get tickets here.

Please Get and Enjoy Alex Edelman’s New Hour Until Now

July 13, 2020

News

800 pound gorilla, alex edelman, stand up

Currently, there is a distinction between American comedy and comedy in the UK and Australia. Specifically, the difference respectively comes with mixing a melting pot of various short sets and extended bits versus a prevalence towards storytelling and thematically crafting an entire hour from the get go. Alex Edelman is one of a handful of comedians that actually straddles both worlds, especially since he’s an American comedian that frequently and successfully plays in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival quite a bit along with the rest of the UK.

Edelman’s latest hour Until Now is another testament of the melding of short form observational comedy with the influence of having done more solo show-esque performances overseas. Alex has plenty of very honed, punchline filled observations on this album, but the thorough exploration of the millennial mindset is very well organized and effective. Edelman gives a hysterical, three dimensional picture of the world that millennials are brought in and the highs and lows of how they deal with said world whether it’s entitlement or being too progressive for past generations (or maybe even for each other). This spirit especially gets delightfully captured with his story about graduating college and how misinterpreted a moment to oneself can be taken out of context.

So, go get, listen to, and enjoy Alex Edelman’s Until Now, fresh from 800 Pound Gorilla, here.

Pick of the Day: Comedy Crossing 7/17

July 13, 2020

News

animal crossing, chris bryant, experimental comedy, jenny yang, stand up comedy

Comedy Crossing, Jenny Yang and Chris Bryant’s stand-up comedy show done in the wildly popular game Animal Crossing and streamed on Zoom, has itself gotten so popular that they’ve sold so many tickets that they had to expand their Zoom capacity to accommodate (more than once).

So, even though they don’t have their line-up officially announced for their next date (we have no doubt that it’ll be chock full of fantastic comics from around the country as all of their previous shows have been), this Friday, July 17th at 7PM PT/10PM ET, you ought to reserve your tickets sooner rather than later.

UPDATE: Line-up is Adam Conover, Laurie Kilmartin, and Ify Nwadiwe along with Jenny Yang and Chris Bryant

Go do that right now right here.

Below is a note about the RSVPs from their last show, FYI.

View this post on Instagram

we have gotten several emails…so to clarify pls read. LETS TAKE A NAP TIL 6:45 PM PACIFIC STANDARD TIME AND PREPARE OUR BODIES FOR THE FUN AND CUTENESS. it'll all work out.

A post shared by Jenny Yang (@jennyyangtv) on Jul 3, 2020 at 4:17pm PDT

Ramy Renewed for Season 3 at Hulu

July 10, 2020

News

hulu, ramy, ramy youssef, renewed, season 3

Over the past year, Hulu has done quite a bit to establish itself as a contender in the ever more saturated world of prestige TV. The Peabody and Golden Globe Award winning Ramy is one of the series that has raised the profile of their comedy programming slate to get into the conversation that HBO, Netflix, FX, and Amazon usually dominate.

Ramy Youssef has really given everyone a wholly unique look into the life of being a young Muslim in the 21st century in America and the multitude of nuance in, out, and around his world in the past two seasons.

So, with all of that in mind, Hulu is doing the sensible thing and ordering up a third season of Ramy. We do think that Youssef’s penchant for taking stories to unusual, sometimes uncomfortable places will probably result in doing an episode or some episodes about COVID-19 and we have no doubt that, if he does, it’ll very likely be something revelatory.

🙏🏽 🏀 https://t.co/HHbd5cp0Cz

— ramy youssef (@ramy) July 9, 2020

Desus & Mero and Jon Stewart Have a Bit of a Heart to Heart About Doing Late Night Comedy in the Face of Tragedy

July 10, 2020

News

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The first part of this full interview (approximately the first six minutes) with Jon Stewart on Desus & Mero is one of the better, more frank conversations about the purpose and philosophy of comedy when times of strife, tragedy, and horror strike.

As we are beset with all three very acutely every single day of the pandemic, doing a recurring late night talk/satirical news show is as tricky as it has ever been. What can you do to talk about the world and lift spirits? How up would you even be given the the weight of the world already being unbearable, but getting heavier every few hours or so? Stewart and Desus & Mero relate their experiences with The Daily Show and this current time that’s a maelstrom of so many awful things all at once to get to some answers to those questions.

Please watch and listen to here

Netflix Is a Joke Fest Is Cancelled for 2020

July 10, 2020

News

comedy festival, los angeles, netflix, netflix is a joke, netflix is a joke fest

It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion than any sort of big festival that had been slated for most of 2020 is getting cancelled or, at best, postponed to 2021. That includes the inaugural run of Netflix’s big time comedy festival Netflix Is a Joke Fest that was going to be one of the notable comedy events that Los Angeles was going to be home to in quite some time.

Originally, Netflix Is a Joke Fest was going to happen just over a month after lockdown went into effect in Los Angeles. Then, it was postponed for later this year without very many other details. Now, as LA has suddenly turned into a hot spot for COVID-19, the streaming giant announced their decision to nix the festival entirely on this go around. Full refunds will be issued unlike other major festivals that have cancelled like SXSW, but as to what else might happen with Netflix Is a Joke Fest is a mystery at this point.

In fact, Netflix added in their announcement, “We will come back with something extra special, but until then, please stay safe.”

For the rest of the 2020 for comedy in LA, there are some shows that are lined up in October, but it’s best to think of those as tentative at this point.

Woke, the TV Series Based on Artist Keith Knight, Gets Its First Teaser

July 10, 2020

News

hulu, keith knight, teaser, woke

The journey of Keith Knight, a noted political cartoonist, to where he is today with his work was already pretty timely before 2020. Yet, it’s even more timely than ever as there does seem to be a worldwide awakening that’s here to stay to how deep and embedded divisions between race really are.

So, Hulu has a series following that very journey with Woke. It, of course, follows a black cartoonist who gets “woke”/radicalized after being racially profiled by the police. As it’s focused on an animator, reality does get bent in more ways than one and there are echoes of the sort of magical realism of Sorry To Bother You. Starring Lamorne Morris as Keef, this series seems to reckon with everything that’s in upheaval right now (except for COVID-19).

See a bit of Woke for yourself here, then look for all episodes to begin streaming on Sept. 9th.

Pick of the Day: Who Wants $2.69? with Martin Urbano

July 10, 2020

News

game show, martin urbano, planet scum

Chris Gethard’s virtual comedy network Planet Scum has added a brand new show to their weekly rotation. They now have a game show with the oh-so subversively clever Martin Urbano. Even in the name of the show, you can see how mischievous Urbano is as he’s calling it Who Wants $2.69?.

It’s a trivia show that Urbano will have comedy folks on as guests, but you can play along with the show from wherever you watching. Martin has always been so stellar with misdirection and wordplay in his comedy and that definitely figures into the trivia in Who Wants $2.69? that he’s personally come up with.

So, tune in and get into what will likely be one of the rambunctious trivia live-streams on the Internet on Mondays at planetscum.live at 5PM ET/8PM ET.

Comic Con Is Going Virtual This Year, Will Still Have Plenty of Comedy Panels, and Will Be Free

Something the size of world famous, annual San Diego Comic-Con obviously isn’t going to happen this year due to the pandemic. However, rather than just outright postponing, Comic-Con is going to try for virtual editions of their renowned panels that reveal insider info and details from creators and talent of movies, TV, comic-books, etc.

They’re calling it Comic-Con@Home and it’ll stream from Jul. 22nd-26th and, best of all, it’ll be free (or maybe not waiting to get into Hall H is better?). This virtual edition of SDCC will include panel discussion from What We Do In the Shadows, Bob’s Burgers, The Simpsons, Solar Opposites, Robot Chicken, Archer, Crossing Swords, Duncanville, Upload, The Boys, Superstore, Adventure Time, Infinity Train, Phineas and Ferb, Bless the Harts, American Dad!, Family Guy, Looney Tunes, and Bill & Ted Face the Music.

Look through the entire Comic-Con@Home schedule and get details on how to stream all of these events here.

Pick of the Day: Abortion Fundraiser Online Comedy Show

July 9, 2020

News

abortion, benefit show, clare o'kane, dsa, francesca fiorentini, jourdain searles, kate willett, pittsburgh, rachel mccartney

Though the Supreme Court did just make a recent decision in favor of abortion, there, as with everything right now, is still plenty of work to do in letting women not have their bodies legislated.

Thus, great comedians from all around the country including Francesca Fiorentini, Clare O’Kane, Jourdain Searles, Kate Willett, and Rachel McCartney are virtually assembling from coast to coast in collaboration with the Pittsburgh DSA Socialist Feminist committee to raise money for the Western PA Fund for Choice (@WPAFund4Choice). This fund actually services abortion access to Western PA, West Virginia, and Ohio, FYI.

This Abortion Fundraise Online Comedy Show is set for Fri. July 10th at 6PM PT/9PM ET and ought to be both worthy of your time and money for a great cause. They’re asking for $10 donation, but you can give what you can. Get more details/RSVP here.

Watch Laurie Kilmartin Recount Her Live-tweeting the Passing of Her Mom to COVID-19 on Conan

July 9, 2020

News

conan, laurie kilmartin, team coco

Recently, comedian/writer/podcaster Laurie Kilmartin sadly had to experience the loss of her mother to COVID-19. Already, Kilmartin has spoken candidly and made some of the best jokes and books about the passing of a loved one (the book is Dead People Suck) when her father succumbed to lung cancer.

During the passing of her mother, Laurie tweeted updates and jokes as a way to both process what was happening in real time and give a more visceral glimpse of how COVID-19 steals life away from someone. As with so much of Laurie’s humor, it was dark, hysterical, and incredibly poignant.

Last night, Laurie got to further detail the entire ordeal on Conan and maintained the poise, vulnerability, and sharpness that always made her one of our favorites. Please watch her interview here.

Phobe Robinson to Launch Her Own Imprint, Tiny Reparations Books, at Plume

July 8, 2020

News

phoebe robinson, plume, tiny reparations

(via Deadline)

The publisher Plume is taking their partnership with comedian/one of the 2 Dope Queens, Phoebe Robinson a few steps up. Robinson had her book You Can’t Touch My Hair published there and, announced today, will be having her own imprint at Plume that she’s calling Tiny Reparations Books. With that imprint at her disposal, she’ll utilize to give an opportunity for more diverse voices in both fiction and non-fiction.

This launch of Tiny Reparations Books perhaps comes at an opportune time as Robinson has live dates she lined-up in a few months, some of which are in LA, but no live show is really set in stone these days given the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. and the continued non-existence of a vaccine.

In any case, whatever Phoebe has planned for Tiny Reparations Books ought to be something to really watch for, especially since you’re probably doing plenty of reading of BIPOC books already.

Pick of the Day: The Mads Love Movie Riffing 7/21

July 8, 2020

News

ed wood, frank conniff, glen or glenda, the mads, trace beaulieu

The Mads, otherwise known as Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff (that you’d otherwise know from MST3K) are going to doing what they do best and presenting a riff over a classic “best worst” movie, Ed Wood’s Glen or Glenda. Together, they very well might be the most experienced movie riffers that rip apart sub par movies offering in-movie commentary today. They were planning on doing this in person on one of those big ol’ tours that so many performers used to go on. Alas, that’s pretty much postponed until 2021.

Still, The Mads are pushing forward with a private YouTube livestream edition of The Mads Love Movie Riffing that’s set for Tues., Jul. 21st at 5PM PT/8PM ET (there will be a Q&A as well). Tickets are $10 (partial proceeds will go to NAACP Empowerment Programs) and you can (and should) go get them here.

Older News »

Recent News

“Super Serious” Offers an Oral History of LA Indie Stand-Up Scene in a Gorgeous Coffee Table Book

HBO Max Orders Up Six Episodes of a Michael Che Sketch Series

Pick of the Day: Piff the Magic Dragon: Live from Las Vegas 7/24 & 7/31

Please Get and Enjoy Alex Edelman’s New Hour Until Now

Pick of the Day: Comedy Crossing 7/17

Ramy Renewed for Season 3 at Hulu

Desus & Mero and Jon Stewart Have a Bit of a Heart to Heart About Doing Late Night Comedy in the Face of Tragedy

Netflix Is a Joke Fest Is Cancelled for 2020

Woke, the TV Series Based on Artist Keith Knight, Gets Its First Teaser

Pick of the Day: Who Wants $2.69? with Martin Urbano

Comic Con Is Going Virtual This Year, Will Still Have Plenty of Comedy Panels, and Will Be Free

Pick of the Day: Abortion Fundraiser Online Comedy Show

Watch Laurie Kilmartin Recount Her Live-tweeting the Passing of Her Mom to COVID-19 on Conan

Phobe Robinson to Launch Her Own Imprint, Tiny Reparations Books, at Plume

Pick of the Day: The Mads Love Movie Riffing 7/21