Julia Louis-Dreyfus Inks Overall Deal at Apple TV Plus
While it’s been a bit of clunky start for Apple TV Plus, this is a huge get for them and we can only hope that Apple makes good on putting their money on Julia Louis-Dreyfus and that Julia will get to EP and star in something(s) that will usher in what could be considered a third golden age of JLD (the other two being Seinfeld and Veep).
A Steve Martin & Martin Short True Crime Comedy Series Ordered Up at Hulu
Steve Martin, Martin Short, and a third will be a trio of friends that are obsessed with true crime (curious to see if they drop a murderino reference for that) and discover that they’re in the middle of developing true crime story.
We’re pretty sure that Steve Martin and Martin Short together again would make any premise work, but it’s intriguing to see the legendary comedy duo tap into the zeitgeist and get in on the world’s current fixation on true crime. Will their be echoes of Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid or will it be something a little more grounded and darker. It’s not clear at this point, but we’ll be intrigued to see what is clearly a big get for Hulu whenever this begins streaming.
Hank Azaria Is Stepping Down from Voicing Apu on The Simpsons
Hank Azaria has actually been willing to step down from voicing Apu for over a year now (as said during a Colbert appearance), but his exit from the character was officially announced today. While this decision was collectively made by Azaria and the heads of The Simpsons, the future of the character has yet to be known.
Much of the controversy behind Azaria voicing Apu came when Hari Kondabolu released his groundbreaking documentary The Problem with Apu in 2017, which sought to bring to light a conversation about race and representation in media.
As you probably guessed, Hari had something to say about today’s news and tweeted the thread below.
It’s interesting to think of The Simpsons, a series that has been very prescient about so many things over decades of being on the air, is now taking a step to address their own problematic element of their show. What lies ahead will be even more intriguing and perhaps, the legendary show is set on a fascinating new direction.
Will Menaker, Matt Christman, Felix Biederman, Amber A’Lee Frost, and Virgil Texas together have created one of the most beloved series of political comedy in recent memory with their podcast Chapo Trap House. Their fiery, satirical commentary has earned them one hell of a following as well (they are probably the top earners on Patreon).
As such, you shouldn’t miss when Chapo Trap House stops into LA at Highland Park’s Lodge Room on Tues. Feb. 25th at 7PM & 10PM. Tickets are $25-$28. You can (and very much should) get tickets here and here respectively before they sell out.
While at over 150 episodes and 14 seasons deep, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia stands as sort of a marvel in a day and age where making it to even six seasons as a TV series is considered to be rarefied air. The dark sitcom that started so bare bones that it often shot multiple episodes simultaneously has built a veritable empire and certainly launched the careers of Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, and Kaitlin Olson as well as brought Danny DeVito into a whole new wonderfully despicable role.
To hear that McElhenney say that they’ll keep it going so long as people watch is interesting as the simplicity of “the gangs” dynamic leaves a wide open canvas for so many storylines and arcs. Just imagining what season 25 or 30 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia does have us curious and, if McElhenney makes good on his word, maybe they’ll beat out Gunsmoke’s record of 480 episodes.
The Favourite really blew up the notion of what a period piece could be and how subversively comedic and raunchy you could be within what had previously be a very rigid sub genre of film and TV.
Tommy McNamara co-wrote The Favourite with Deborah Davis and is now at the helm of another satirical reimagining of a power female historical figure, Catherine the Great. The series is being called The Great and will definitely take liberties to twist the knife for comedy’s sake from moment to moment.
McNamara was careful to point out that The Great does play with facts, saying the show is accurate in various spots but, “we’re not trying to make a historically accurate document.” (via Deadline)
For now, there is only this announcement teaser, but you can get a sense of what McNamara has up his sleeve with Elle Fanning as Catherine the Great.
On a separate note, is this the start of McNamara creating various works that are titled only by superlatives and are dark comedies of historical figures, particularly of women?
Look for The Great to premiere on Hulu come Fri., May 15th.
One of the most chic, epicurean nights of comedy in all of Los Angeles happens every now and again with Amuse Bouche. Artisanal food and comedy mix and mingle and the beautiful Virgil Village setting of MELODY.
This Feb. edition of Amuse Bouche, as you can see, is stacked with treats from the likes of Jonathan Whitener, Ryan Costanza, Kristen Schaal, Rory Scovel, Ian Edwards, and, of course, host Karl Hess from Yelling About Pâté.
The idea that you’re getting all of this for only $35 is pretty wild and a deal that you definitely should not pass up on.
Get your tickets before they sell out (and, trust us, they do sell out quick) here.
HBO’s latest comedy special will continue their exploration of pushing comedy specials into, well, new territory. Whitmer Thomas, a comedian that charmingly wears his heart so prominently on his sleeve, has such an hour for HBO with The Golden One and will be blending original songs, original stand-up, and intimate vignettes of his personal life and family that 110% wonderfully informs all of his comedy.
Having seen Whitmer start at open mics here in LA, we’re truly marveling at seeing that this is where he has evolved to comedically. So, we’re very excited to see what he carefully and lovingly crafts with an entire HBO special.
Get a peek of all of this in Whitmer Thomas: The Golden One’s trailer here, then look for it to premiere on Sat. Feb. 22nd at 10PM on HBO.
The mind of Kyle Ayers is, for our money, something to behold. His curiosity, his vulnerability, courage, and, of course, his uncanny comedic intuition are all things that have given us such big laughs over the years.
His very first late night set, this debut on last night’s Conan, showcases all of those facets of Kyle in the best, most present way on top of being a killer late night set.
Please, please, please enjoy his set here and stay in the loop for whatever Ayers is doing.
As an endlessly curious mind, David Huntsberger and his comedy really dig into and questioning the human experience, especially when it comes to the science of it all and the limits of what we know about the universe. So, you can only imagine that he’s going to do something really trippy in taping a comedy special (FYI, he’s going to do “something” really cool with “VR”).
You really ought to see what Huntsberger got cooking for the taping of his comedy special at Dynasty Typewriter this Sunday. Tickets are $15 in adv. and $20 day of.
However, we can get you in for free so long as you e-mail us at thecomedybureau@gmail.com about wanting to go to David Huntsberger’s stand-up comedy special taping.
Terry Jones was a member of the one of the most renowned comedy troupes of all time, Monty Python. His work alongside Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, and the late Graham Chapman will very likely stand the test of time comedically and as a cultural artifact of both the 20th and 21st centuries.
Jones unfortunately succumbed to complications from a form of dementia that he had be battling with for years. Terry did manage to complete work voice work on an animation project The Land of Sometimes before his time came to an end.
You never really need an excuse to watch any and all of Monty Python (Flying Circus, Holy Grail, Meaning of Life, Life of Brian, so on and so forth), but today would be a pretty grand day to revisit revolutionary absurdist comedy in honor of Jones.
Ron Lynch’s Tomorrow! is, in our opinion, a treasured comedy institution in LA comedy. For over 15 years, Lynch has been made Tomorrow! a destination every Saturday, late at night, for a wild, unpredictable, rambunctious, fun, hysterical comedy variety show.
For a very long time, the show happened at the turn of midnight, hence “Tomorrow!”. Now, the turning to the next day is still part of the show, but Ron Lynch’s Tomorrow! starts at 11PM these days at the Lyric Hyperion, still for only $5.
So, for those of you who aren’t quite as much of a night owl as we are, you can not have to stay out as late to catch the magic of Ron Lynch’s Tomorrow!
This week’s line-up is particularly special including wondrous sketch, musical, clowning, and stand-up comedy. Keep yourself in the loop about this week’s and every Ron Lynch’s Tomorrow! on Facebook and Instagram.
For the most part, interviews on late night talk shows are highly produced (i.e. a producer figures out what stories and bits the guest should do before hand) and, at this point in time, especially if you watch even a little bit of late night, you can often suss out the transparency of how artificial the chat between host and the guest is.
Every now and again, the mold gets broken by a great guest and, if the host is nimble, perceptive, and sharp enough, the conversation will not only be real, but incredibly engaging, funny, heartfelt, and so much more.
Stephen Colbert’s interview with John Mulaney last night was one such lovely conversation and, we think, CBS put the whole thing up on YouTube for you to enjoy. So, please enjoy Mulaney and Colbert’s charming back-and-forth that definitely went way deeper than whatever was pre-arranged (assuming that there were any notes for Colbert to reference at all) here.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Newly Minted Production Company Will Be Called Wells Street Films
The big thing to note her is that Phoebe Waller-Bridge, as part of her big overall deal at Amazon, has set up a production company and has decided to name it Wells Street Films. It’s a name that you ought to keep in the memory bank as we have no doubt that Waller-Bridge will be having several irons in the fire very soon (on top of the many irons she already has in said fire) and probably continue to push the boundaries of comedy as an art form and genre and tone.
Again, keep an eye out for anything from Wells Street Films.
Really, any chance you can get to see Jenny Slate, Max Silvestri, and Gabe Liedman individually should be taken immediately.
Above that, it should be mandatory to see the three of them assemble for their long running, yet occasional (because they’re busy making big time specials, shows, etc.) Big Terrific at Largo where it’s a night of stand-up and stories from Jenny, Max, and Gabe.
Thankfully, there’s one coming up, right after Valentine’s Day, on Sat. Feb. 15th at 8:30PM at Largo. Tickets are $30 and you really ought to get them here.
In stand-up comedy, so much of crowd work is dependent on how quick a comedian can be on their feet. There is also a great deal of finesse involved as well. How perceptive one comedian can be from moment-to-moment can be the difference between unraveling into utter chaos and delightfully riding right up to that line.
Moshe Kasher takes great care to not only be as quick as can be with his razor sharp wit and ribbing audience members just the right amount on his new album Crowd Surfing Vol. 1, but he achieves his goal of making it engaging and captivating for us listeners that weren’t at this particular taping. He succeeds in capturing that lightning in a bottle that is stand-up crowd work by letting audience members tell stories and then slickly threading his commentary throughout. It’s a clever move on Moshe’s part by letting audience stories sort of anchor the “crowd work experience” and then cutting loose with his magnificent blend of high and low brow references, phrasing, and graceful delivery/cadence.
Best of all with Moshe Kasher: Crowd Surfing Vol. 1: A Crowd Work Experience, you can enjoy hearing some truly top shelf riffing with the crowd and have zero worries of being made fun of.
Moshe Kasher: Crowd Surfing Vol. 1: A Crowd Work Experience is available now wherever you get/listen to/stream your comedy albums.
Several years ago, a music video for a track entitled “NYC Bitche$” by one Awkwafina somehow found its way into one of our recommended feeds. Brash, loud, and silly, we really dug it and was curious was to come of rapper Awkwafina. Perhaps, something that was a little more expansive to the tone and attitude was in store for the nascent rap star?
You might very well know that Awkwafina AKA Nora Lum ascended into film stardom via Ocean’s 8 and The Farewell and now, her own semi-autobiographical series Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens premiered on Comedy Central this week. The series itself, from watching the pilot, makes good on the sort of bold, fun spirit we had first seen out of Awkwafina all those years ago.
Awkwafina really gets to shine as herself and it’s pretty damn fun to watch. So, get into the pilot, which Comedy Central was nice enough to put on YouTube, then make a reminder that new episodes of Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens airs Wednesdays at 10:30PM on Comedy Central.
Fiona Landers’ solo show Funeral Bouquet so floored us when we saw it several months ago at Lyric Hyperion. We’re still thinking about how much it affected us with big laughs and pulling our heart strings taut by reimagining some of the darkest parts of Fiona’s life. Landers has continue to develop the show and now has enlisted Alison Agosti, one of our favorite comedy writers and storytellers, helping her to further fine tune and hone the show.
This show is already pretty amazing and we have no doubt the next set of performances will be very special too. With all of that in mind, you should most certainly go witness this hysterical, moving, heartbreaking, enrapturing solo show Funeral Bouquet over its next few dates:
@ Lyric Hyperion Tues. Jan. 28th 7PM $10
@ UCB Franklin Thurs. Feb. 13th 7PM $7
Last Friday, Carmen Lynch showed yet again that she can really craft and deliver a hilarious classic late night set on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Callbacks, misdirection, and overall great joke structure and delivery are all on display here in addition to the charm of Carmen’s low-key persona and incredibly expressive eyes (used marvelously to comedic effect).
So, please enjoy Carmen Lynch’s latest late night set here.
Titmouse Animation Signs Overall Deal at Netflix
Netflix has done quite well with its adult animated series offerings including Big Mouth, BoJack Horseman, and F Is For Family.
So, they’re dipping their toes deeper into the adult animation pool with this overall deal with Titmouse Animation, the studio behind Big Mouth as well as the upcoming trippy adult animated series, The Midnight Gospel (that just so happens to be set to stream at Netflix in the not so distant future).
As far as we can see, Netflix really wants to be a 1-for-1 synonym for television, though the proliferation of streaming services is making this goal of TV domination a whole lot harder. At the very least, Netflix can dominate little pockets here and there and they definitely have become one of the dominant players in the adult animation space along side Adult Swim and Fox.
In any case, we’re very very curious to see what Titmouse comes up with under this deal and how much they’ll push the envelope.
The magic, mystery, and dankness of High Priestess is finally back! Hosts Sara June and Bri Pruett curate an enrapturing evening of comedy, witchy-ness, tarot, and cannabis. It’s a night for all the senses to be sure as well as a hearty laugh.
They’ve got a new home at the Atwater Village shop A Love Bizarre (3042 Glendale Blvd.) and they’ll be having their first 2020 show there on Sat. Feb. 8th at 7:30PM (doors 7PM).
Thus far, they’ve got a grand line-up of:
Giulia Rozzi
Jenny Yang
Nori Reed
Kimberly Clark
Rachel Scanlon
All of this wonder at High Priestess will only cost you $5 right now ($8 at door). You can (and very very much should) get your tickets here.
Your favorite cannabis fueled comedy variety show @imtooeffinghigh is back this weekend!
AND we have a couple free tickets that you could win! Sign-up for our mailing list at thecomedybureau at gmail for a chance to make those tickets yours!
The combination of Broad City alumni Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky and a significant portion of the forces behind The Good Place, creator Mike Schur along with that has a Vegas diva mentor an “outcast 25 year-old” seems to be the sort of thing that a lot of streaming services are looking for right now.
While this pilot order did come from HBO Max, we could see such a series get developed at Hulu, Quibi, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, etc. etc. All of that is too say that many streaming services are clearly aiming at younger cord cutter viewers that also have somewhat discerning taste in comedy. If that’s so across the board (in the realm of streaming), perhaps that means cheesy multi-cams will be no more? Only time will tell.
In any case, this pilot definitely is intriguing with very, very funny people in charge and we kind of can’t wait to see who they cast as the leads.
The Last Podcast on the Left gang has taken their celebrated expertise in true crime/horror/comedy and distilled into a brand new book, aptly titled The Last Book on the Left: Stories of Murder and Mayhem from History’s Most Notorious Serial Killers (hardcover available Apr. 7th). Not only will they recount the history of serial killers in their uniquely hilarious way, but their will be accompanying illustrations as well.
To mark the occasion of releasing their first book, Marcus Parks, Ben Kissel, and Henry Zebrowski are embarking on a Last Book Tour on the Left, which will have a stop in LA at the historic Orpheum Theatre in DTLA on Sun. May 3rd at 8PM. Truly, any chance you get to catch Last Podcast on the Left in any context is a chance you should very much take.
Tickets are going for $29-$49+ right now and you really ought to go get your tickets now before they sell out. Do so here.
Wes Anderson’s Latest ‘The French Dispatch’ Release Date Set for July 24th
For all the beauty, symmetry, warmth, candor, humor, delightful peculiarities of a Wes Anderson movie, it’s something that we’d really like to see right now as we enter the thick of an election year.
We have no doubt that this movie that recounts stories from a fictional American magazine from fictional French city that boasts a cast of Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Lea Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothee Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson will be everything that you’re looking for in a Wes Anderson movie.
Our mind swirls as to what all of these elements together will look and feel like and we almost can’t wait (though we will) for July 24th.