debra digiovanni

There has has to be a lot of ingenuity in making any sort of content throughout the pandemic (that isn’t over yet). Necessity being the mother of invention has led to tons of Zoom comedy, but also given us some genuinely funny shows such as Baited with Ziwe on Instagram Live.

Another such show that attempted to deal with the creative conundrum of COVID-19 and very much succeeded is the new CBC comedy series, Humour Resources starring Jon Dore and created by Adam Brodie, Dave Derewlany, and Dore. With the obstacle of so many things having to rely on the front facing cameras for any sort of human interaction, Dore stars as an alternate universe version of himself that has retired from stand-up comedy and chooses to become an HR representative for all of “Comedy” (if all of comedy was housed under one umbrella corporation).

The show is centered around Dore having HR meetings of all shapes and sizes with beloved Canadian and American comedians including Sarah Silverman, Courtney Gilmour, Dave Merheje, Nikki Glaser, Casey Corbin, The Lucas Brothers, Tom Green, Ronny Chieng, DeAnne Smith, Scott Thompson, Sophie Buddle, Eric Andre, Debra DiGiovanni, Arthur Simeon, Rory Scovel, Kyle Brownrigg, Aisha Brown, and Reggie Watts. Even though it’s technically an HR meeting, this feels like Dore’s über clever version of how he would do a late night panel interview if he were given the slot for a talk show.

Thus, there’s a delightful mix of The Office and Conan throughout, especially since Dore has to deal with a quietly chaotic suburban home life while trying to maintain the appearance of a professional member of a Human Resources department. For awhile, if you were in the U.S., you couldn’t really watch it freely, put Just For Laughs is graciously streaming episodes for free on their YouTube channel, releasing them one by one.

At the accommodation of your very busy schedule, you can (and should) enjoy Humour Resources here.