• Events
    • Los Angeles Open Mics
    • Los Angeles Shows
    • New York Open Mics
    • New York Shows
  • Book A Tour
  • Venues
  • News
  • Podcast
  • About
    • About The Comedy Bureau
    • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Digital Wall of Trustees

roast

divider

Pick of the Day: Overheard LA Presents Roast of LA (in LA) 12/13

November 24, 2023
News
bourbon room, hollywood, los angeles comedy, overheard la, roast

It’s no mystery that LA, along so many of its gorgeous, sun-soaked facets, is inherently and thoroughly ridiculous. That’s part of the reason that @OverheardLA is so popular on IG. If you’re not familiar, get ready to deep dive on the very real fringes of LA’s characters that we wish we’re just made up for a Groundlings or UCB showcase.

That said, Overheard LA is culminating their focus into a live show, an entire Roast of LA, hosted by NYC comedy’s Stef Dag. Of course, having a New Yorker preside over a roast of LA isn’t entirely fair, so they’re going to have Angelenos do it (including some of the funniest people in the Greater LA Area).

ROASTING THE CITY OF ANGELS HOWEVER THEY PLEASE WILL INCLUDE:Anna Seregina
Babe Motel
Brian Bahe
Carmen Christopher
Connor Wood
Courtney Pauroso
Dylan Adler
Hannah Pilkes
Jared Goldstein
Joe Kwaczala
Luke Mones
Morgan Jay
Rachel Pegram
Rob Haze
Robby Hoffman
Vinny Thomas
Zach Zucker

This Roast of LA, set for Wed. Dec. 13th at 8PM at The Bourbon Room, might even top Randy Newman’s LA anthem “I Love LA” actually being a low key diss track. Tickets start at $25 a pop (plus 2 item min.). Go get ’em here.

Pick of the Day: Christian Science Theater 3000 (in NYC) 8/22

August 16, 2023
News
christian movies, nyc comedy, roast, satire

Christian conservatives have this idea that “traditional family values” are being attacked and, subsequently, have been hard at work at making movies that espouse this sort of projected victimhood. Largely, many of these movies are, in a manner of speaking, very bad, religion and politics aside. Overacted and filled with preposterous plots that might make one question how exactly are people interpreting the Bible, they are the sort of movies that are ripe for being sent up during a live screening.

That’s what Christian Science Theater 3000 (NOTE: not affiliated with any Christian Science Reading Room whatsoever) aims to do as the projected fear of God fearing boomers really keep making America take steps back to a simpler, yet clearly worst time. Many of NYC comedy’s best will be live-roasting Christian movies that you’ve probably seen or heard of on Reddit or caught passing glimpses of their movie posters, such as God’s Not Dead starring the former Hercules, Kevin Sorbo.

Join guests Sam Morrison and Sally Ann Hall and David Picolomini on Tues. Aug. 22nd at 8PM at Brooklyn’s Starr Bar to really ponder Sorbo’s pivot to “faith-based” movies and how sneaky Christian movies are now (indie box office hit Sound of Freedom counts, right?). Tickets are only $12.71. Go get ’em here.

Pick of the Day: Boast Rattle (in LA) 2/24

February 16, 2023
News
boast rattle, kyle ayers, los angeles comedy, roast

Long ago, in a time far before now, in the olden times even before the “pre-pandemic before times”, the brilliant Kyle Ayers had created a beautiful, hysterical, ridiculous show that inverted the entire idea of roasting on its head, Boast Rattle. Instead of comedians roasting each other with the most foul things they could write about the opposing comedian in a one-liner joke form, Ayers challenges the best comedians he can gather to compliment each other in joke form. The results are so inventive and clever and so damn fun (we’ll never forget Matt Ingebretson, co-creator of This Fool, working in a 9/11 joke into a compliment).

Well, it has been a long time, for a lot of reasons, since Ayers has gotten to put on a Boast Rattle show, but, thankfully, he’ll be doing one next week on Fri. Feb. 24th at 7:30PM at Lyric Hyperion. The line-up he has would be great at roasting, but definitely will be stellar at comedic complimenting. That’ll include Aparna Nancherla, Danny Jolles, Jared Logan, Kara Klenk, and Rob Haze.

Tickets are only $15 right now and go get them here right now.

Nikki Glaser to Host The Hall of Flame: Top 100 Comedy Central Roast Moments

March 11, 2021
News
comedy central, comedy roast, hall of flame, nikki glaser, roast, top 100

When it comes to comedy roasting these days, it’s pretty clear that Nikki Glaser is one of the best in the game and has been for the last several roasts put on by Comedy Central.

With Comedy Central going through their vault of their numerous roast specials for the upcoming “Hall of Flame” series, it’s subsequently pretty perfect that Nikki is hosting (and very likely adding her very own whipsmart commentary on the line-up of clips to be presented).

Starting Mon. Mar. 29th at 10PM, this “Hall of Flame” will be cherry picking 100 choice clips throughout their entire roasting history. Get a taste of what’s to come from Nikki and “the Hall” here.

 

June 12, 2018
Uncategorized
andrew dismukes, anna valenzuela, ca, chris fairbanks, daniel rugg webb, danielle perez, james franco, left coast, local elections, lyric hyperion, megan koester, roast, silverlake, state representatives

Just because Trump is a brat, doesn’t mean that he’s the only elected representative whose feet should be held to the fire by comedy.

So, the Left Coast podcast with Sara June is putting on a roast of reps at the state level here in good ol’ CA. The line-up with some of our favorites here in LA is more than up to task. 

Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at door. Get them ahead of time here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Watch Michelle Wolf Serve Up Blistering WHCD Performance and Teaser for Her Netflix Series “The Break”

April 29, 2018
Uncategorized
michelle wolf, netflix, roast, roast jokes, the break with michelle wolf, trump, whcd, white house correspondents dinner

While the Internet debates their biased nuanced takes on Michelle Wolf’s White House Correspondents Dinner remarks, forgetting that it has always been an unapologetic roast, we applaud Wolf for diving right into her set and not letting up for her whole 20 minutes with both poise and fury, especially since Trump skipped again, but clearly watched it on TV and whined about it on Twitter.  

Also, thanks for Wolf letting us know that you can drop the F-bomb, which she did twice, on C-SPAN. Let’s hope that becomes a time honored tradition at the WHCD. 

It’s a pretty great “trailer” of sorts for her upcoming weekly Netflix show The Break with Michelle Wolf.

By the way, it just so happens that Netflix just released an official teaser trailer for said show set for Sundays starting on May 27th. 

“Jeff Ross Roasts the Border” Premieres Tonight

November 16, 2017
Uncategorized
comedy central, dreamer, jeff ross, jeff ross roasts the border, roast
image

As other pressing issues are currently dominating the news, you might have, just for a moment, forgotten the issues of immigration to the U.S. and the wall that Trump was to build between here and Mexico.

To shine a line and humanize the issue and the people who are at risk because of DACA being in jeopardy, ICE raids, etc., Roastmaster General Jeff Ross is doing another one of his roast specials that heads to the bordertown of Brownsville, TX.

If you’re curious to see what Jeff do and how exactly he’ll be roasting whomever he roasts, you can catch Jeff Ross Roasts The Border tonight on Comedy Central at 10PM.

Listen to Full Audio of Andy Kindler’s JFL 2017 State of the Industry Address

August 3, 2017
Uncategorized
2017, andy kindler, jfl, ricky gervais, roast, stand up, state of industry

Listen to Full Audio of Andy Kindler’s JFL 2017 State of the Industry Address

In case you don’t know, Andy Kindler does a new hour every year roasting the whole industry of comedy at the JFL Montreal Comedy Festival.

It’s a time honored tradition and required listening. It is “Inside Baseball”, even by comedy nerd standards, but looking up references is kind of worth it for Kindler’s pointed, yet rambunctious dressing down of all of comedy.

Also, if you’re curious about the feud between Kindler and Gervais, it’s a main focus of this particular State of the Industry Address.

March 17, 2017
Uncategorized
andy erikson, candice thompson, cheap comedy, comedy roast, comedy show, disney, hollywood, leah kayajanian, los angeles, parody, riley silverman, roast, scout durwood

The latest Fictional Roast at the Nerdmelt Showroom is set for next Tuesday and will take on Disney Princesses.

Yes, that means the dais for this roast will be comprised of Disney Princesses. 

Roasting as princesses will be:
Scout Durwood
Kate Quigley
Andy Erikson
Candice Thompson
Riley Silverman
Jenn Sterger
Leah Kayajanian
Heidi Heaslet
Atsuko Okatsuka

Get tickets here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Alec Baldwin to Get an Old School Style Roast/Tribute on Spike TV

March 15, 2017
Uncategorized
alec baldwin, restrospective, roast, spike tv
image

There used to be a time, back in the days of Dean Martin, when comedic roasting was used to actually honor people rather than be a thin veil over verbally attacking someone who is widely and often criticized or even hated. 

This tradition of honorary ribbing is partially the idea behind Spike TV’s “One Night Only: Alec Baldwin” that will serve as a retrospective over Baldwin’s long, expansive career and as a classic roast. 

If you’re into this, probably like Trump will be, tune in on July 9th at 9PM on Spike.

Roast Battle II Kicks Off with New York Regionals Tonight

January 1, 2017
Uncategorized
brian moses, comedy cellar, comedy central, jay pharoah, jeff ross, jeremiah watkins, jp mcdade, lisa lampanelli, roast, roast battle, yamaneika saunders

Kicking off the year with carefully crafted, vicious sh*t talking seems to be somehow appropriate for 2017.

In that spirit, Roast Battle II headed to NYC for its first set of regional rounds and you can see what went down tonight at Comedy Central at 11PM.

Get a taste of it with this clip of Yamaneika Saunders vs. J.P. McDade.

Fusion, All Def Digital, and Merry Jane Are Roasting Snoop Dogg

December 7, 2016
Uncategorized
add, all def digital, comedy roast, fusion, martha stewart, merry jane, roast, russell simmons, seth rogen, snoop dog, snoop dogg smokeout, terry crews, tracy morgan

This might be a more fun roast than many of the high profile celebrity roasts over the last few years as Snoop isn’t widely annoyed by a bunch of people and plenty of friends will be roasting him. 

Fusion, Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital, and Merry Jane are teaming up to put a roast of the one and only Snoop Dogg cleverly called Snoop Dogg Smokeout.

From the press release: The Roast and Birthday Celebration Will be Hosted by Mike Epps and Feature a Lineup of Celebrities and Special Appearances Including T.I., Terry Crews, Martha Stewart, Sanaa Lathan, French Montana, LL Cool J, Seth Rogen, Tracy Morgan and More

The special event is set to be televised this Saturday, December 10th at 10PM. Here’s a fun promo that gets actually gets mogul Simmons in on the fun.

Watch Louis CK on Hillary (with Minimal Trump Bashing), the Prospect of Dancing, and Walking Around NYC with His Fly Down

November 2, 2016
Uncategorized
basic cable band, conan, dancing, hillary clinton, louis ck, roast, storytelling, team coco

When you see Louis CK on TV these days, expect a deeply human story born out of very simple, relatable embarrassment, an original angle on the zeitgeist, and comparisons that come out of a left field for comedic effect. Those are some of the big elements that have made him this balance between a grounded, organic comedian/storyteller/filmmaker while maintaining a bit of his absurdist flights of fancy.

He delivered on all three in his appearance on Conan last night starting of with a great case for Hillary Clinton being President sans very many digs at Trump and his supporters.

Then, he followed it up with a story about how he learned the value of honesty and openness through walking around the city with his fly down and open and then breaking down the idea of dancing, both as something that can empower and also promise someone a heartbreaking path in life.

If you use a bit of imagination, you can make this up as an episode of Louie to play out in your head.

So, as Tradition Dictates, Trump and Clinton Have to “Poke Fun” at Each Other at The Al Smith Dinner

October 20, 2016
Uncategorized
al smith dinner, donald trump, hillary clinton, roast

So, as Tradition Dictates, Trump and Clinton Have to “Poke Fun” at Each Other at The Al Smith Dinner

If you thought that the line between the presidential debates and the SNL parodies of the debates this year were already more blurred than ever, this will probably reach a whole new level of life and art imitating each other. 

During an election year, it’s customary tradition for the candidates to politely roast each other while only being separated by the seat of the Cardinal of New York, Timothy Dolan as part of the big charity event for children in poverty known as The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Center. 

It’s a private white tie dinner being held tonight and thus you won’t get to see it on TV. Still, rest assured that you’ll probably hear about it on social media this evening. One can only imagine that Clinton will want to come off cooler than her Pokemon GO joke (and she could do so by doing any of the thousands of jokes leveled at Trump over the last couple of decades) and Trump, having already stooped to childish and grotesque behavior in the debates, will likely espouse his godawful privilege even more with some tasteless one-liners and offensive act outs.  

That being said, the team at Full Frontal with Samantha Bee “got a fax from Julian Assange” that shows “Hillary’s speech/set list”. 

“Jeff Ross Roasts Cops” Premieres Tonight

September 10, 2016
Uncategorized
comedy central, jeff ross, jeff ross roasts cops, roast, roastmaster general

11PM on Comedy Central

Jeff Ross pulled off what might be his most daring roast yet with roasting the Boston Police Department.

We know that he pulled it off because he’s being doing the rounds on late night to tell the story. 

See what he did and how he did it tonight with the premiere of Jeff Ross Roasts Cops.

“The Roast of Rob Lowe” Airs Tonight

September 5, 2016
Uncategorized
ann coulter, comedy central, lowe roast, roast, roast of rob lowe

10PM on Comedy Central.

You’ve heard all the stories by now, so, tonight, find out how much of this was a Roast of Rob Lowe and how much it was also a roast of Ann Coulter. 

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog Visits Bernie Supporters at DNC

August 1, 2016
Uncategorized
bernie bros, bernie sanders, democratic national convention, dnc, hulu, roast, robert smigel, triumph the insult comic dog

Here’s another preview of Hulu’s upcoming Triumph’s Summer Election Special 2016 where Robert Smigel Triumph the Insult Comic Dog takes his turn roasting Bernie supporters who still stand with Bernie even though he’s already publicly endorsed Hillary. 

Watch it here, then look for the whole special next week, Thursday, August 11th.

10 or So Things You Should Be Excited About in Comedy From Last Week 6/12

June 12, 2016
Uncategorized
amber tozer, angie tribeca, basssem youssef, brodie reed, casual, chris gethard, comedy central, debt forgiveness, democracy handbook, fusion, hbo, hulu, john oliver, kelly ripa, key & peele, ladylike, lucas brothers, mtv, mulchtown, not safe with nikki glaser, roast, rob lowe, sober stick figure, tbs, vice principals

It’s pretty simple. Lots of great, important stuff happened last week in comedy. Like the title says, here are 10 (or so) of those things.

–Chris Gethard wanting to be Kelly Ripa’s sidekick

–John Oliver topping Oprah with nearly $15 million debt forgiveness giveaway

–Trailer for Bassem Youssef’s Democracy Handbook

–Second trailer for HBO’s Vice Principals

–This stand-up set from Brodie Reed

–Danny Jelinek and Chris Sartinsky’s “Mulchtown”

–The Lucas Brothers returning to The Tonight Show

–Comedy Central putting every Key & Peele sketch online 

–Angie Tribeca is back for season 2 at TBS, Casual is back for season 2 at Hulu, Not Safe with Nikki Glaser returns to Comedy Central, Ladylike premieres at MTV

–Comedy Central’s next roast will be of Rob Lowe

–Amber Tozer’s memoir Sober Stick Figure 

Comedy Central Is Roasting Rob Lowe, a Person Who Is in Comedy and Not at All a Controversial Figure

June 9, 2016
Uncategorized
comedy central, roast, rob lowe

Finally, Comedy Central is getting back to the original roots of comedy roasts with making it about “the ones we love”.

Donald Trump, David Hasselhoff, Justin Bieber, and Charlie Sheen have been the “guests of honor” of Comedy Central’s roasts over the last five years. Roasting those folks is more of an excuse to have YouTube comments get rewritten by professional comedians, who may or may not personally know who they’re roasting, and have that well-crafted hate dished out to those who are hated by a good percentage of people. That line-up is a far cry from the Dean Martin roasts that really put “roasting” on the map as a televised event where beloved celebrities with a sense of humor were roasted by many that were closest to them. 

So, it’s great to hear that Rob Lowe, formerly of Parks and Recreation and is a very beloved celebrity, will be the focus of the latest Comedy Central roast. Let’s hope the dais includes something like Aziz Ansari, Jimmy Kimmel, Amy Poehler, etc.

Here’s a Trailer for TruTV’s New Competitive Comedy Series “Comedy Knockout”

April 12, 2016
Uncategorized
comedy competition, comedy contest, comedy knockout, damien lemon, dave hill, jamie lee, jim norton, jordan carlos, kurt metzger, leonard ouzts, martin monroe, nick turner, roast, sarah tiana, trash talking, trutv

Want to see the likes of Dave Hill, Jamie Lee, Arden Myrin, Nick Turner, Leonard Ouzts, Sarah Tiana, Kurt Metzger, Martin Monroe, Jim Norton, Jordan Carlos, and more duke it out by talking trash to each other in front of a live audience?

Well, TruTV’s latest series might just be your thing. Comedy Knockout hosted by Damien Lemon features all of the above as well as dastardly punishment for the comics that get knocked out.

See it all for yourself in the trailer. 

Look for the series preimere on Thursday, April 21st at 10:30pm on TruTV.

Watch an Extended Preview of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’s 2016 Election Special

February 6, 2016
Uncategorized
2016 election, democratic debate, presidential election, roast, robert smigel, triumph the insult comic dog

Regardless of party lines or candidate affiliations, no one is safe from the roasting of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog/Robert Smigel. 

Just take a look at the havoc that they wreaked on the floor of a recent democratic debate.

Triumph’s 2016 Election Special starts streaming on Hulu this Monday on Feb. 8th.

Jeff Ross’ Latest Roast Jokes Will Be Going in The Film “The Comedian” Starring Robert De Niro and Jennifer Aniston

November 16, 2015
Uncategorized
jeff ross, jennifer aniston, roast, robert de niro, the comedian

(via Deadline)

We don’t know when the next Comedy Central roast is, so look forward to your next batch of burns from the Roastmaster General in this film.

The Comedian will follow Robert De Niro as a Don Rickles-seque comedian that becomes close with a woman played by Jennifer Aniston. There will be enough sections of actual roasting/stand-up, that the producers have brought on none other than Jeff Ross (which makes us wonder why the lead role isn’t described as a Jeff Ross type of comedian) to write jokes for De Niro to tell.

Not that anyone calls into question the authenticity of roast jokes in a narrative fiction film, but there definitely should be no doubt in this case. Also, they should be pretty damn good jokes.

Watch Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani Try to Roast Each Other at “The Meltdown”

July 21, 2015
Uncategorized
comedy central, jonah ray, kumail nanjiani, roast, the meltdown

Two best friends, who are successful comedians that started one of the best stand-up shows in the country that got made into a TV series in its second season, should be pretty good at roasting each other, right?

That’s “exactly” what happened when The Meltdown hosts Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani roasted each other on stage. 

Watch it here, then be sure to catch the latest episode of The Meltdown, tonight at 12:30AM.

“Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live at Brazos County Jail” Premieres Tonight

June 13, 2015
Uncategorized
brazos county, comedy central, comedy special, jail, jeff roasts criminals, jeff ross, roast, texas

11PM on Comedy Central.

Jeff Ross not only did stand-up in front of inmates at a jail in Texas, he also roasted them as well as have them on stage without any sort of restraints and chatted with them in and around the joint.

Off of those facts alone, you should watch latest special, Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live at Brazos County Jail.

Also, watching Ross roast people not because they’re infamous rather than mostly famous is very enticing.

Once again, tune in at 11PM tonight.

Get a Look at “Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live at Brazos County Jail”

June 3, 2015
Uncategorized
brazos county jail, comedy central, comedy special, inmates, jeff ross, prison, roast

Billed as a “Jeff Ross Adventure”, Jeff Ross really goes to a real prison and lets real inmates watch and hang with him for his latest comedy special “Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live at Brazos County Jail”. He even really roasts people who have done any number of things to land in a Texas prison. 

Watch this clip to see that we’re not making this up.

Then tune in to see the whole special on Comedy Central, Sat. Jun. 13th at 11PM.

Older News »

Recent News

divider

  • The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 257: Sam Walt Jones & Manifesting the Theatrical in Live Comedy - The undertaking of putting on a live comedy show can be a lot, but putting… Read More
  • Pick of the Day 5/7/25: Club Video (in NYC) 5/17 - The cool kids at Club Video are back at it again. That's to say they… Read More
  • Pick of the Day 5/5/25: The Frogtown Show 9th Anniversary 5/10 - Nothing quite like an anniversary for a wondrous monthly show to remind you of the… Read More

Sign up For The Newsletter

Copyright © 2020 The Comedy Bureau
All rights reserved