Recent News

Throughout the last year and two months, we’ve done our best to make sure to both not further the transmission of COVID-19 and stay on the ball of live comedy that was happening, almost all of which has been virtual. For many, including us, it has been a frustrating time to figure out comedy like it has never been figured out before.

Since the vaccination rollout is continuing to move forward, we will, you’ll be happy to know, start listing some outdoor shows/mics as we once did.

That said, we will still be taking the safety regarding the pandemic (which isn’t over) into consideration when curating in person shows/mics in addition to our normal curated taste.

When sent in-person events, we will be thinking about any or all of the following:

-Is it outdoors?
-Are you checking for vaccination cards/negative COVID-19 test that’s less than 48 hours old?*
-How will be people be socially distanced?
-Will there be signage for distancing/precautions?
-Are there measures for contract tracing?
-Are you ticketing this event (even if it’s free) or doing advanced sign-up/sign-up ahead of time if it’s an open mic?
-If running an open mic, do you have have slot/performer limit? If so, what is it?
-What are plans for entrances and exits, both for audiences and performers?
-Will face coverings/masks be required or encouraged (especially if there’s food or drink available/being sold)?
-What will the protocol be for using mics/mic stands/etc. for performers?
-What is the “green room” situation for performers/staff?
-Will there be a COVID officer/point person checking in on social distancing and masks?
-Is there clear language about accountability in regards to something like getting infected with a virus?
-Are performers being compensated (especially if it’s a ticketed show)?

*NOTE: temperature checks do not account for asymptomatic carriers of the virus

Feel free to e-mail us here or tag us @thecomedybureau on socials for listing consideration at The Comedy Bureau.

Note, at this time, doing shows indoors still seems a little rushed to us and we’ll be holding off a little while longer. Please, for the benefit of us all (whether you want live comedy to come back to its dark, cramped quarters), stay safe and healthy and get vaccinated if you haven’t done so already.

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

Yes, Funny or Die has just got bought up by someone who will likely have buildings and streets named after them, Henry R. Muñoz III.

To a good lot of you, it’s news that Funny or Die is even still around. The undeniable hub that is YouTube and the proliferation of short form content on other platforms like Vine, Snapchat, Tik Tok, Instagram, and Twitter obviously ate into what FoD used to be the center of over the last few years.

In 2007, before viral video was a widespread term in the collective unconscious, a just launched curiosity of a site, Funny or Die, had just posted The Landlord wherein FoD co-founder Will Ferrell pleads with his landlord who just happens to be his innocent, pure-as-the-drive-snow daughter.

From there, Funny or Die become quite the go-to place for short-form edgy comedy and content. Some of the best minds in sketch comedy worked there for a spell, which made for one of our all time favorite sketches, Gungan Style. In fact, it earned such a reputation in that regard that brands big and small looked to the sharp FoD staff to create viral content for them.

With the rise of all the aforementioned places for content and too much branded content, Funny or Die’s star began to fade. They tried several things to stay relevant (remember when they tried a platform where comedians could get potentially paid for jokes they would write?), the film brother and sister companies of FoD, Gary Sanchez and Gloria Sanchez (also co-founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay), fared better in recent years. Additionally, as you might have noticed, Adam McKay has become a critically acclaimed satirist with his recent filmography (Vice, The Big Short) in place of being hands on at FoD.

So, that leaves us to wonder as to what Muñoz III will do exactly with the once exalted brand with Ferrell staying on in an advisory capacity. In the past decade, one can see the likes of National Lampoon and even the cult favorite Super Deluxe get revived very briefly only to left in limbo or get dissolved yet again. Muñoz III has said:

“I understand the responsibilities of owning a brand like Funny Or Die and I am excited to work with our team to make sure we have the resources we need to develop funny, original and diverse new content. I also understand the importance of being one of the very few Latinos in a position like this in the entertainment industry and I will do my best to make my community, our industry and our country proud as we move forward.”

That is encouraging to hear, but the turnover in comedy is quite quick these days (i.e. Quibi didn’t even last a year). Let’s hope that he shakes it up the way the rest of comedy is being shaken up like it very much needed to be.