TCB Debriefing 6/25/24-7/6/24: Brad Howe, Comedy Central, Scam Goddess, Good Cop Great Cop, Bando Stone and the New World, My Old Ass, Martin Mull, How to Die Alone, Jillian Bell, Jiminy Glick, Sam Morril, Wolves of Glendale, Fox Writers Incubator, Richard Lewis
1. Brad Howe came out with one of the weirdest, out-of-left-field, yet still delightful specials of 2024 (and that’s in a year with conceptual/alternative stand-up specials from Conner O’Malley and Hannah Einbinder). Live at the Legion lives in a sort of cinematic universe unto itself where Brad Howe is a townie attempting to make a comedy special at his local American Legion post. More of an extended sketch special than stand-up, the bickering between this version of Howe and the bar flies at the Legion is pretty damn fun and a wild reimagining of what a comedy special could and should be. Please enjoy Brad Howe: Live at the Legion here.
2. Comedy Central‘s website has been sunsetted as part of a move by Paramount to cut their losses (TVLine), which feels like Comedy Central’s days as a channel/network might be numbered. In fact, saying that is even strange in the era of streaming as it’s hard to say that a bunch of folks tune into Comedy Central rather than watch clips of The Daily Show on YouTube or stream Comedy Central content on Paramount+.
3. Laci Mosley‘s Scam Goddess is getting adapted for TV (Deadline). Fingers crossed that a long overdue year of Laci/Scam Goddess is coming very, very soon.
4. Good Cop Great Cop, one of our favorite sketch groups, is finally back and has found a video game that’s so much “deeper” than The Last of Us. Please enjoy it here.
5. Donald Glover‘s turn to comedic action/adventure is a more than refreshing update to a genre that, so far, is more Donald making his mark in genre flicks than trying to fit himself into a rigid box of Star Wars, criminal underworld, or, in the case of his latest movie, Bando & The New World, a post-apocalyptic creatures-feature. See how fun an ill-prepared pop star is in surviving annihilation with the trailer for Bando Stone and the New World here.
6. So many pull quotes for My Old Ass (written and directed by Megan Park) herald it as the coming age of comedy of this generation. Take a gander with the first trailer here with yet another perfect role for Aubrey Plaza and what looks to be star making movie for Maisy Stella. Whether or not My Old Ass will be a definitive coming-of-age comedy has yet to be seen, but we’ll bet that it’ll age better than Superbad.
7. R.I.P. Martin Mull AKA Gene Parmesan (and the perfect character actor in pretty much, well, everything–just check his filmography here), 1943-2024.
8. Onyx Collective made a lot of noise with UnPrisoned and are looking for another hit with their next comedy How To Die Alone, a series from and created by and starring Natasha Rothwell. Rothwell will play an JFK airport employee who goes from a near death experience to living life to fullest (so, kind of a spiritual sequel to her character on White Lotus).
9. Jillian Bell, who has been killing it in every role she’s had over the last few years including her star turn in Brittany Runs a Marathon, is going to make her directorial debut with Summer of 69 (Deadline). If there’s someone to make a coming-of-age comedy to remember, it might be Bell.
10. Jiminy Glick vs. Gil Faizon should be something that happens as evidenced by Nick Kroll try to be more ridiculous than Martin Short as Glick on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Watch and enjoy it here.
11. Classical style stand up is alive and well, complete with sharply cut suit and finely honed punchlines. Take a gander at the trailer for Sam Morril‘s latest hour special, You’ve Changed, here. Look for it on Amazon Prime come July 9th.
12. There might not be sweeter harmonies paired with more absurd premises and lyrics than the songs of Wolves of Glendale. Witness this claim in action for yourself on their Scorpion Train Tour between the US and the UK spanning the rest of the year. Dates/cities/tickets here.
13.. Congrats to Ronald Metellus and Kirsten Rezazadeh-Jacob for scoring the comedic spots on the Fox Writers’ Incubators (Deadline). Fingers crossed that this will result in a resurgence in strange comedies on Fox.
14. We’ll leave you with this: Want free tix to David Cross @ The Bellwether in LA on 9/21? Let us know and we just might be able to book you up.
