For us, Chase Bernstein just has irresistible understated charm and it is clearly emanating throughout this whole set, that just happens to be her late night debut (also, glad to see that A Little Late with Lilly Singh is having stand-up).
Enjoy Chase’s set here.
The freshest show in late night, Desus & Mero (truly, no one is doing it up in late night like Desus Nice and The Kid Mero), will be back for a second season at Showtime come this February (Mon. Feb. 3rd to be more specific).
Congrats to them and we can’t wait to see what they try to get away with a whole other season ahead of them.
Hannah Gadsby is returning to the Ace Hotel in DTLA for an exclusive engagement and bringing her latest hour Douglas along with her on Sat. Feb 22nd for two shows 6:30PM & 9:30PM.
Normally, tickets for Gadsby sell out almost instantly here in LA, but, lucky for you, these dates don’t go on sale until tomorrow morning 11/22 at 10AM PST with pre-sale code “COMEDY”. Tickets will run you $39.75-$59.75.
Set a reminder/alarm/etc. for tomorrow and go get those Hannah Gadsby at the Theater at the Ace Hotel here.
We don’t believe in destiny or fate or any sentient force guiding the direction of humanity.
However, we’re pretty sure that presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders getting to sit down and have an in-depth conversation with James Adomian’s stellar impersonation of Bernie Sanders was inevitable and supposed to happen in this universe (or any theoretical universe or dimension that one could possibly imagine).
Thus, for a very special episode of Adomian’s wonderful podcast The Underculture, the actual Bernie and James’ Bernie really got to the nuances of percentages, hand waving, free college tuition, and all the other hits. It truly is a magical conversation that you can watch video of here from Forever Dog or, if you really want to blow your mind, listen to the Underculture podcast episode and get lost in which Bernie is which (because James’ impression is just that good).
FXx’s experimental anthology series Cake invites plenty of the most exciting voices in animation, comedy, etc. to make some really stellar short form pieces.
Courtney Pauroso, Ian Bratschie, Christina Catherine Martinez, Chad Damiani, Natalie Palamides, Bill O’Neill, Juzo Yoshida, and Max Baumgarten all make up many of the most frequently featured and oh so talented performers at the magical Lyric Hyperion Theatre along with artistic director Phil Burgers/Dr. Brown at the helm.
This damn fine troupe got to do a portion of Cake, which centers, quite literally, around two pink doors and they’re pretty great. Start off with this morsel here.
Giulia Rozzi so expertly gets away so much innuendo on her latest late night set on Conan and it really should be commended. In fact, she might just have our favorite joke about baby wipes (that is also probably one of the dirtier ones we’ve ever heard).
So, go please enjoy her set here.
The nominees for all of the Grammys were announced this morning covering dozens and dozens of categories including one for comedy.
Thus, the nominees for Best Comedy Album are as follows:
For “Best Comedy Album”, the Grammys deem that their consideration for the award must contain “…at least 51% playing time of new recordings. It would also seem, from this field of nominees for 2019, that you have your album derived from a highly publicized and televised comedy special and have to be amongst the most famous comedians working right now.
All these specials (and do remember that these were specials first and albums afterwards) certainly sparked a lot of conversation (both good and bad) and have a lot of notoriety that way. With that in mind, is this the way to be in contention for a Comedy Grammy these days?
Right now, actually just recording a great comedy album isn’t enough.
Anytime Sean Patton rolls into town, really anywhere in the Greater LA area, we feel obligated to notify you of his presence as his mastery of stand-up and storytelling should never ever be missed.
So, such is the case now with Sean having a date at the Irvine Improv just before Christmas rolls around (and we bet he’ll be playing shows in town around that town too).
For now, if you want to guarantee that you’ll get to see him do an hour, nab a $15 ticket (plus 2 item min.) for this Irvine Improv date on Dec. 19th here.
Christina Catherine Martinez and her pop-ins into frame here are magical. The ad alone should be the selling point for the car, no matter the condition of the actual car, right?
See for yourself in her DIY used car ad here.
Allen Strickland Williams’ ‘Unmatched’ in Development at Quibi
Once more, Quibi scores another bleeding-edge cool comedy project, this time from Allen Strickland Williams with a show about rebelling against a perfected dating app for the sake of sexual freedom and personal agency.
Coupled with the debut of his half hour special at Comedy Central, Williams is having a pretty swell November.
Let’s hope that Unmatched makes it to series to see what ASW has up his very fancy sleeves.
The (somewhat) unbridled, beautiful chaos of Late Late Breakfast is back for a special one-night-only event deep in the Valley, all the way in Canoga Park.
For the uninitiated, Late Late Breakfast combines the obstacles of absurdist game show with stand-up comedy by having comedians attempt to tell their jokes while having to play volleyball with the crowd, fitting in their jokes between choruses during a karaoke sing-a-long, etc.
This time around, the comedians daring to take the Late Late Breakfast plunge will be:
Langston Kerman
Christine Medrano
Jordan Doll
Katrina Davis
Rachel Weeks
Rivers Langley
Pallavi Gunalan
Cindy Aravena
Nadav Fleisher
Jessica Singer
Chris Crittenden
& more TBA!
as well as hosts, Tyler Jackson & Danny Maupin
This latest edition of Late Late Breakfast will happen on Fri., Dec. 6th at 8PM. Admission is free, but donations are accepted! Get more details here (FYI, they’ll probably post address on or near day of as it is a backyard show).
A literal stones throw from Skid Row, this beautiful #NightofaThousandQueers happened with so many of the best LGBTQ comics killing one right after the other. (at In Heroes We Trust)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5BycJ2AsNh/?igshid=1gab4nq2m1jf8
Up until very recently, Armando Iannucci pretty much wheeled and dealed in devastatingly funny political satire with In The Loop, Veep, The Thick of It, Death of Stalin.
This latest HBO series sees one of most brilliant comedic voices of our time take on something more in the realm of sci-fi. Avenue 5 follows a space cruise (kind of like the one in the Fifth Element) for the ultra-wealthy and how things, of course, go awry. Also, Hugh Laurie gets to be a series regular again as well as the apparent head of this space cruise named Avenue 5. Thus far, we’re on board for whatever this will end up being.
See for yourself in this teaser, then be thankful you only have to wait until January to see the premiere.
Naomi Ekperigin’s Medical Family Sitcom “The Turners” Gets a Script Commitment with Penalty at ABC
Naomi Ekperigin is without a doubt one of our favorite comedians out there today. We’ve said it so many times and we’ll keep saying it because she is just that good.
So, hearing that a single camera, based-on-a-true-story comedy that she wrote about a multi-generational family of doctors suddenly having to all work together is pretty grand news to us (and we hope to you too). We sincerely hope that this gets to make it through development hell to TV to see both Ekperigin’s name in big lettering on network television and what she great things she would do at the helm of a sitcom.
For us, Straw Men has time and again proven that some of the best* debates are ones where the debates are pushed to be as childish as possible.
They’re back once again for another round of beautifully petty-as-can-be presentations at UCB Sunset on Fri. Nov. 29th at 9PM at UCB Sunset.
Forget about Black Friday and spend your $12 going to one hell of a live comedy show featuring the intentionally ludicrous arguments of Dave Ross, Will Miles, Debra DiGiovanni, Nick Ciarelli, Brad Evans, Chris Charpentier, and Sarah Sherman as well as hosts/and very judgy debate judges Lindsay Adams, Danny Palumbo, and Sam Wiles.
*by “best”, we mean best in a comedy context where no real change is going to be enacted or threat of social change is imminent
Go get tickets here.
With the proliferation of streaming services that never seem to end, Nick Ciarelli and Brad Evans offer up what it might be like (and what might actually happen) with what Google’s streaming service would be like.
Nick and Brad show off what would be a great episode of Black Mirror as well as their mastery of making satirical lists. Enjoy Google Drive Deluxe here.
So, Lights Out with David Spade has worked in stand-up into their late night slot at Comedy Central and, it would seem, really letting the comics go blue.
Rachel Mac offers up a really great, hysterical set here that definitely wouldn’t make it past censors on nearly any other late night show that would feature stand-up.
Mac herself dives into the nightmare that can be teaching affluent kids for some real comedy gold.
So, please watch and enjoy Rachel Mac’s set on Lights Out with David Spade here.
This is one of the more insane things you’ll see all year long as Jon Gabrus and guests do an actual power hour on stage as an annual special edition of his High and Mighty podcast done live on stage. The 60 shots of beer taken every minute on the minute provide for truly unforgettable moments that will you get through Thanksgiving (if that’s a thing you’re dreading).
Go get tickets for the High and Mighty LIVE Power Hour at UCB Sunset on Nov. 27th before they sell out here.
Not that there’s a real traditional road to and through stand-up comedy these days, but Daniel Van Kirk’s road there has certainly been circuitous and he’s all the better for it. Thanks Diane, his debut comedy album, is the great summation of Van Kirk’s years of comedic excellence in playing characters (including one of the best Mark Wahlberg impressions around), podcasting (Pen Pals, Dumb People Town, Hindsight), and incredibly earnest storytelling.
This hour (derived from his Together Tour) is a magnificent, fully realized piece of postmodern comedy. As opposed to a stitched together hour of bits that make up several comedy specials/albums (including some very good ones), there’s a clear intentional thematic and formalistic arc on Thanks Diane that is very satisfying and unlike nearly everything we’ve listened to or seen in recent memory. Daniel does weave through stories and experiences in his life, as he is a spectacular storyteller, but he also has such a great feel for oscillating in front of and behind the fourth wall with the crowd. It’s an immersive, trenchant, and hysterical journey topped off with a touch of lovable chaos.
Daniel Van Kirk’s debut album Thanks Diane comes out this Friday, Nov. 15th, but you can (and absolutely should) pre-order it now (and get a track in advance) here.
Perhaps, you didn’t get the chance to catch Mike Birbiglia’s latest show that has played Broadway, toured the country, and had an extended run here in LA at the Ahmanson.
Lucky for you, all you’ll need to see it come Tues. Nov. 26th is Netflix as Birbiglia taped it, somewhat in secret, as a special already.
As it explores both pros and cons of becoming a parent, it should be the perfect thing to watch before Thanksgiving. Get a taste of what’s to come in this trailer.
This will sell out pretty quick, so we’ll keep this short. The one and only Ali Wong has added dates to her Milk & Money Tour for the Long Beach Convention Center on Feb. 1st at 7PM & 10PM.
If you didn’t get a chance to catch her for the row of weekends she played at the Wiltern, then you have another shot to catch her in 2020. Pre-sale tickets are now available with the code “COBRA” and you better snag them quick here.
Sure, you know Dan Soder as Mafee on Billions, but we hope you also know that Dan contains multitudes in characters, voices, and life experience.
You’ll get a chance to see a more whole Dan Soder with his wonderfully titled, upcoming HBO special, Son of a Gary. In fact, Soder’s special might just stand out on HBO as it seems like it’ll be mostly just a straightforward comedy special in contrast to HBO’s exciting row of comedy special experiments (most of which we really enjoyed) over the last year and a half or so.
Get a taste of what’s to come with Dan Soder: Son of a Gary with this trailer, then look for its premiere on Sat. Dec. 7th at 10PM on HBO.
The National Lampoon Radio Hour represented one of the many cornerstones of National Lampoon during their ascent into comedy history. It was a sketch comedy radio hour that reveled in National Lampoon’s devil-may-care sense of humor at the time and featured the likes of Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and more.
Now, with the revival of National Lampoon in the works as you read this, the National Lampoon Radio Hour is coming back with a grand cast 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)
We’re all about that line-up and this preview shows us they’ve got something real fun cooking up over at Forever Dog (where this new iteration of the National Lampoon Radio Hour as a podcast will live). Listen and get a nice, great taste of what’s to come here.
‘Full Frontal With Samantha Bee’ Renewed at TBS for Fifth Season
This renewal at TBS will definitely mean we’ll get to see Samantha Bee and company do their thing through the 2020 election and, potentially, be in a world post-Trump?
It almost sees like a world of infinite possibilities for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (and all of late night for that matter) if that indeed happens (well, depending on who gets elected).
So, Matt O’Brien has devised a way to have comedians act out a scene with a green screen, then finish a video with a background suggested by the audience before that comedian finishes a normal stand-up set.
For us, it sounds like some beautiful chaos and something you should definitely check out (especially with a great line-up of Julia Hladkowicz, Johnny Pemberton, JB Ball, Andrew Johnston, Steph Tolev).
This madness will be called Green with Matt O’Brien and happening on Fri., Nov. 22nd at 10:30PM at UCB Sunset. Tickets are $7 and you ought to go get them here.