david jonsson – The Comedy Bureau

TCB Debriefing 4/14-4/19/24: The Office, Nikki Glaser, WGA Awards, Hacks, Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution, The Chair Company, David Jonsson

April 19, 2024

chair company, david jonsson, hacks, netflix, nikki glaser, queer comedy, the office, wga awards

1. So, one, the possibility of a new version of The Office from Greg Daniels and Michael Koman is coming closer and closer to fruition and two, this possibly new Office, will star Domnhall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore (Deadline). The enduring popularity of the U.S. iteration of The Office across generations almost definitively makes it more popular than previous sitcom monoliths like Seinfeld and Friends, but one has to wonder if a new Office is going to be like What We Do in the Shadows brilliantly spinning off the movie or more like Joey. The casting of Gleeson and Impacciatore is curious as it feels as though Scranton, PA will not be where this new Office will be set. Are they going back to the UK? Will it be in the EU? Maybe it’ll be in somewhere even more removed (Topeka, KS?). We probably won’t have to wait too long as we’re guessing this will be fast tracked through development.

2. Thank goodness we’re getting a new hour special from Nikki Glaser, who, for our money, has one of the best joke deliveries in comedy today. Coming soon to HBO will be her lovingly titled new hour, Someday You’ll Die, and you can see what we’re saying just in this trailer here. Look for the hour to premiere on HBO on May 11th (and presumably be on Max at the same date).

3. Comedy dominated the WGA Awards (i.e. won outside of the comedy specific categories) this year. The comedy winners are as follows:

Comedy Series–The Bear

Original Screenplay-The Holdovers

Adapted Screenplay-American Fiction

Episodic Comedy–Poker Face

Comedy Variety/Talk Series–Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Comedy Variety/Sketch Series–I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson

Comedy/Variety Special–Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love

Animation-The Simpsons

TV & New Media Motion Pictures-Quiz Lady

Thank goodness I Think You Should Leave is finally getting its due. See the full list of winners here.

4. One of the best comedies about stand-up comedy in quite some time, Hacks, with award worthy turns from Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder is finally returning for its third season. Behold its first trailer here, then look for .

5. Netflix is starting the corporate push for Pride Month early with the trailer for their doc about queer comedy pioneers, Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution, due out Jun. 18th. Take a gander at what will be important stories/history lessons from Todd Glass, Margaret Cho, Guy Branum, Bob the Drag Queen, and so many more here.

6. We were already sold on Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin’s HBO project, The Chair Company, by virtue of the fact that Robinson and Kanin, but this pilot has gotten even more intriguing with the addition of frequent John Early/Kate Berlant collaborator Andrew DeYoung coming on to direct and EP (Deadline).

7. From the ultra charming Rye Lane to making his very own show, things are coming up David Jonsson (Deadline).

8. We’ll leave you with this: Maybe Rob Schneider isn’t for anyone?

Rye Lane Could Very Well Be the Rom Com of 2023

April 4, 2023

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david jonsson, raine allen miller, rom com, rye lane, vivian oparah

The prospect of watching a new rom com in this day and age can often be an exploration of one’s guilty pleasures. Frequently formulaic and dependent on the beautiful A-list cast, romantic comedies, both on the big and small screens, represent more of a comfort food than an exciting, exuberant new take on the tropes and mechanisms of a rom com that might push the art of comedy of people falling in love forward.

Raine Allen-Miller’s zesty feature debut Rye Lane not only brings a surprising freshness to a rom com, but one that accomplishes that seemingly impossible task through effervescent simplicity. Just from the first sequence of the movie, you’re invited to a bustling, exuberant part of South London full of color and characters, which, is in of itself, a ride worth taking on your own. A neon color palate gets encapsulated in a lens that’s bordering on fisheye it’s so wide. The joyful look of Rye Lane gives echoes of Wes Anderson, though much more jubilant and free-spirited, and signals that you’re in for a special treat from Allen-Miller.

The spirited, yet scorned lovebirds, played so disarmingly by David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah, give an effortless pace to the love story. Nothing feels rushed or shoe-horned about their “meet cute” since the chemistry between the two is so undeniable. Also, they’re so realized as flawed characters that you forget that Allen-Miller is telling a mostly, classic kind of love story. The seams are hidden here with Jonsson and Oparah being one of the most naturally feeling pairings in romantic comedy that we’ve seen in recent memory.

Rather than having to be on a plane and getting emotive from watching a new romantic comedy on a tiny screen that otherwise feel stale, Rye Lane shines as a hopeful entry for the genre as well as Raine Allen-Miller, Davis Jonsson, and Vivian Oparah.

You can go see all of this yourself now as Rye Lane is streaming on Hulu.

Please Enjoy the Color and Pep in the Trailer for Upcoming UK Rom Com “Rye Lane”

March 20, 2023

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david jonsson, nathan bryon, raine allen miller, rye lane, searchlight, tom melia, vivian oparah

It’s not often that you think about the color palate of a rom com. If you actual do think about it, you might note that it’s often, like the story itself, very basic. The exciting, festival-buzzy UK rom com Rye Lane is going to break up the dynamic along with introducing a whole set of UK folks that you ought to remember (including director Raine Allen-Miller, writers Nathan Bryon & Tom Melia, and stars Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson).

From the trailer for Rye Lane, you can see that this isn’t really like any rom com that you’ve seen in the last ten years and there’s a certain zest and snappiness that recalls, perhaps, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (minus all the video game and graphic novel elements).

Take a gander for yourself here, then look for it on Hulu come Fri. Mar. 31st.