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TCB Debriefing 5/4-5/9/24: The Office, Jon Stewart, Dropout Presents, David Cross, Sam Morrison, Cole Escola, Isabella Rossellini, Cate Blanchett, Alec Berg, SXSW, SNL

May 10, 2024
News
alec berg, cate blanchett, cole escola, daily show, david cross, dropout, greg daniels, isabella rossellini, jon stewart, sam morrison, sxsw, the office

1. As the annals of television and entertainment history will remember The Office as a cultural institution that spanned several generations of fans where many a sitcom has not, it shouldn’t come as an entire surprise that The Office, the U.S. version, is going to be revisited with a new paper based business and different cast (not to dissimilar to the dynamic that What We Do in the Shadows the series has to the original movie of the same name) (Variety). Greg Daniels will be back at the helm, but Domnhall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore are the only two cast members announced thus far. We’re going to take a wild guess and say they won’t be the Jim and Pam of this spinoff of the show.

2. If you’re a little distraught by Jon Stewart only hosting Mondays on The Daily Show, fret not. He’s going to also do a podcast called The Weekly Show (AP)

3. Dropout has been busy working in semi-secret with recording not one, not two, but several specials between Brennan & Izzy, Courtney Pauroso, The Big Team, Hank Green, and more. Take a gander at Dropout’s foray into the comedy specials game (following their massive success with absurdist improv game shows) here.

4. The one and only David Cross is starting his 40 plus city stand-up tour later this year, called The End of the Beginning of The End,  on 9/11, which, arguably, is kind of too perfect. Best go get tickets here while you still can.

5. Sam Morrison is upping the ante with his solo show that’s currently destined for Broadway by essentially by Beverly Hills’ exclusive playhouse, the Wallis Annenberg Center from 9/20-10/13 (Deadline). Sam is so damn funny that it’s worth putting up with going to Beverly Hills.

6. History will likely remember Cole Escola‘s version of Mary Todd Lincoln in Oh, Mary!, despite them not “doing” any “research”. Please enjoy Cole admitting that fact and more on Seth Meyers this week here.

7. It’s somewhat cryptic and yet, very much straightforward as to what cinema legend Isabella Rossellini has gotten herself into this time with Green Porno and Other Shorts. In any case, the contrast of her ever-calming voice and animals copulating is pretty damn funny. Take a gander at the trailer  for her Green Porno and Others Shorts here, then go watch it now on Mubi.

8. Is Cate Blanchett in a comedy/sci-fi era? She has Borderlands coming up after portraying the Nordic mythological figure Hela in the MCU and now, a sci-fi comedy Alpha Gang where she plays an alien invader from the folks that brought one of the strangest releases in awhile (well, since Everything Everywhere All At Once), Sasquatch Sunset (THR). If this is the case, we are more than ready for Blanchett to do more rounds of Hot Ones to promote it.

9. Lovers of Barry and Silicon Valley, rejoice in the coming of another Alec Berg co-created series (this one will be with Adam Countee). Coming to Hulu, will be Berg and Countee’s take on the world of Formula 1 racing, which ought to be refreshing, unflinchingly satirical take that seems to have a bit of a Succession streak to it (it follows a racing family dynasty). (Deadline).

10. SXSW is branching out to London next year (The Guardian) (i.e. they’re have a non BBQ edition of SXSW).

11. SNL is on the verge of its 50th anniversary, which will lead to a gigantic retrospective of the comedy monolith (and maybe a possibility of Lorne finally handing to the keys to, ummm, a Tim Robinson type)

12. We’ll leave you with this: Free Ben Schwartz tix on 10/5 anyone? E-mail us at thecomedybureau@gmail.com and we’ll see if we know some guys (it’s just one guy).

Silicon Valley Season 4 Premieres Tonight

April 23, 2017
Uncategorized
alec berg, hbo, kumail nanjiani, martin starr, mike judge, silicon valley, thomas middleditch, tj miller, zach woods
image

Just your friendly neighborhood reminder with this Daniel Clowes poster that one of HBO’s prestige comedies is returning for its 4th season tonight.

Tune in for season 4 of Silicon Valley tonight on HBO at 10PM (or stream it later on HBO GO or HBO NOW).

Bill Hader’s Hitman Comedy “Barry” Ordered to Series at HBO

June 2, 2016
Uncategorized
alec berg, barry, bill hader, hbo

(via Deadline)

This will be the first time that Hader stars, executive produces, writes, and directs.

Bill Hader will star in HBO’s latest comedy series that comes from both Alec Berg (who’s worked on many of your favorite comedies between Seinfeld to Silicon Valley).

Called Barry, Hader will be a hitman who has grown weary of the hitman life and finds his way into theater and becoming an actor. 

Comedy where a hitman is trying to transition into a new life sounds like rich territory for Bill and the supporting cast of Stephen Root and Henry Winkler should be icing on the cake here.  

HBO Orders Pilot of Bill Hader Hitman Comedy “Barry”

January 11, 2016
Uncategorized
alec berg, barry, bill hader, comedy pilot, hbo, hitman comedy

(via Deadline)

Bill Hader as a lonely hitman finding himself amongst theater folk in LA might just be good enough for a greenlight as far as we’re concerned.

While Veep and Girls are getting into their latter seasons, HBO is readying itself for its next few comedy series in the years to come. The Duplass Brothers’ Animals is set to premiere at the end of the month and adding a pilot of Hader starring in a hitman comedy sounds like a pretty great addition to their development slate.

The project, Barry, was co-written by Hader and Alec Berg, who we hope you know from Silicon Valley and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and we sincerely hope that it makes it air just to see what the two have cooking.

Festivus Was a Real Thing Created by a Seinfeld Writer’s Dad

December 17, 2015
Uncategorized
alec berg, dan o'keefe, daniel o'keefe, festivus, jeff schaeffer, seinfeld

(via Uproxx)

Though it wasn’t quite like the Festivus that we all have come to know and love.

Festivus is the holiday celebration that offers though that are put off by most other traditional holiday season celebrations incepted by Seinfeld several years ago. As it turns out, the celebration had source material in Seinfeld writer Dan O’Keefe’s father Daniel O’Keefe, which the imaginations of fellow writers Alec Berg and Jeff Schaeffer ran wild with. 

Daniel O’Keefe did made up the inclusive Festivus, which did have an airing of grievances, but a much more sobering vibe than the Festivus presented on Seinfeld as there were no feats of strength.

Point to truth being stranger than fiction.

Watch THR’s Roundtable Discussion with Showrunners of Transparent, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Black-ish, Silicon Valley, Togetherness, and Modern Family

September 7, 2015
Uncategorized
abc, alec berg, amazon, black-ish, hbo, jay duplass, jill soloway, kenya barris, modern family, netflix, robert carlock, silicon valley, steve levitan, the hollywood reporter, thr, togetherness, transparent, unbreakable kimmy schmidt

You can not only get into the headspace of many today’s top comedy showrunners, but what their headspace is like when they’re all in a room together.

Jill Soloway of Transparent, Robert Carlock of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Kenya Barris of Black-ish, Alec Berg of Silicon Valley, Jay Duplass of Togetherness, and Steve Levitan of Modern Family all came together to sit and chat at The Hollywood Reporter’s fascinating roundtable discussions about their shows and how they fit into the booming and constantly evolving landscape of television.

As you’ll see, there are plenty of the reasons that each one of these shows with these folks at the helm are successful.

Watch the hour long discussion here.

‘Silicon Valley’ EP Alec Berg Inks Rich Overall Deal at HBO

March 11, 2014
Uncategorized
alec berg, curb your enthusiasm, hbo, mike judge, overall deal, silicon valley

‘Silicon Valley’ EP Alec Berg Inks Rich Overall Deal at HBO

Mike Judge’s Silicon Valley doesn’t even premiere until next month and the executive producer Alec Berg already has an overall deal with HBO. 

Of course, he’s written/directed/produced at Curb Your Enthusiasm as more cache for this deal, but we think that this is still a good sign that you should watch Silicon Valley.

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