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TCB Debriefing 9/12/23: Young Love, Ridiculousness Unionizes, Simpsons, CK Doc
September 12, 2023
News
louis ck, rebel wilson, ridiculousness, simpsons, union strong, young love

1. Spun off from Matthew A. Cherry‘s Oscar winning short film, Hair Love, Young Love follows the same family, but in full length animated series form, complete with Issa Rae and Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi) as the lead voices. Issa has made her footprint in almost every space in entertainment and she has just added animated TV show to her the list. Take a gander at Young Love‘s first official trailer here, then look for it on Max on Thurs. Sept. 21st.

2. They took a vote and, surprise, surprise, Ridiculousness‘ staff have officially unionized (THR). Wouldn’t it be great if Dyrdek had to take time to acknowledge that, perhaps with some appropriate clips of the WGA strike.

3. With the unveiling of this trailer, The Simpsons is on the threshold of their 35th season, set to premiere on Sun. Oct. 1st. Apologies for elder millenials and Gen-Xers that felt a pang of their age just now.

 

4. Thanks to Greenwich Entertainment, a doc about Louis CK‘s sexcual misconduct appropriately called Sorry/Not Sorry is getting distribution in North America (Deadline). Hopefully, they release before CK has another hour special.

5. How many more years need to pass before all comedy is referred to by our collective parents and extended family as “skits”?

Pick of the Day: The Simpsons Bailout: Rebooting an American Family (in LA) 9/11
August 31, 2023
News
experimental comedy, los angeles comedy, simpsons, the elysian

In its 34th season and having its very own theme park, The Simpsons has left its indelible stamp on civilization for several generations to come. That said, its latter years have been troubled with figuring its place in the ever-changing zeitgeist, especially with the emergence of other highly satirical adult animation shows such as BoJack Horseman and Rick and Morty.

Also, they really let handled the controversy surrounding recurring character Apu (a caricature of an Indian man being voiced by Hank Azaria) pretty poorly, even after Azaria volunteered to step down.

With that in mind, Laura Jacoves has created a show, The Simpsons Bailout: Rebooting an American Family, centered on jolting The Simpsons back towards the irrefutable significance from its pitch perfect satire that it delivered for so many years. On Monday, 9/11, at 9:30PM at the Elysian, LA’s home of boundary pushing comedy, Laura and company will be doing their own bailout of The Simpsons.

Esteemed performances/art/etc. to come from:

  • David Brown
  • Colin Burgess
  • Brett Davis
  • Bridey Elliott
  • Mitra Jouhari
  • Kaye, Loggins
  • Molly Bounds
  • Maggie Brennen
  • Conor Donahue
  • Simeon Kondev
  • Katie Lane
  • Branson Reese

At the very least, your curiosity has to be peaked, even if you haven’t watched The Simpsons in years. That’s actually part of why you should spend $15 to see what everyone has up their sleeve at this show. Get tickets right here.

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 150: Bill Oakley & Bringing Back Mission Hill
February 8, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
adult animation, ai seinfeld, bill oakley, mission hill, rick and morty, simpsons

Renowned comedic mind and self-made food celebrity Bill Oakley (Simpsons, Futurama, Portlandia, Steamed Ham Society) joins TCB’s Jake Kroeger for this week’s TCB Field Report to talk through the changing decades of satire, especially when it comes to adult animation. More importantly, Bill is revisiting Mission Hill, his unfortunately short lived series co-created with Josh Weinstein after their time at The Simpsons, and currently touring it throughout theaters in the U.S. with an entirely new 4K restoration.

Also, “hot” takes on Simpsons episode being dropped in Hong Kong, AI Seinfeld going dark, and the future of Rick and Morty.

Follow Bill @thatbilloakley on IG and join in at The Steamed Ham Society at patreon.com/steamedhamssociety

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and KT

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 88: Dave Ross & Rededicating Yourself to Comedy
December 1, 2021
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
dave ross, jake kroeger, pen15, simpsons

Dave Ross is pretty much as cherished of a fixture in the LA comedy scene as one can be. Holy Fuck, WOMEN, Suicide Buddies, What’s it Called, and, of course, Good Heroin are just a few of the things that Dave has made over the last decade and change and left an indelible mark in comedy. So, Ross joins the Field Report this week to talk his mental/emotional/spiritual journey in both coming up in comedy in the 2010s and coming back to it out of lockdown. This conversation really spotlights the artistry in comedy and the sort of dedication and humility (on top of being funny) that comedy really requires.

Also, “hot” takes on PEN15, The Simpsons on Disney+ in Hong Kong, and more.

Follow Dave @davetotheross across socials.

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and KT

The Simpsons’ Aspect Ratio Fixed at Disney Plus So Sightgags Won’t Be Cut Out
May 21, 2020
News
aspect ratio, disney plus, simpsons

(via Variety)

Cultural touchstone animated comedy The Simpsons began airing when TV and broadcast technology was a far cry from where it is now. Thus, it was created and distributed in the 4:3 aspect ratio without any the thought that visual jokes might get cut out when aspect ratios would change for higher definition TV in the future.

The arrival of The Simpsons at Disney’s streaming service Disney Plus brought up this very issue as almost no new content is in 4:3 and translating the format to 16:9 indeed cropped out many of the visual gags that are signature part of The Simpsons as well as stretched. Today, Disney Plus, after suffering the ire of Simpsons fans, announced that it would be reverting back to the original aspect ratio as to preserve the integrity of The Simpsons back catalog, which lives exclusively at the streaming service now.

As the streaming services amass more and more content, specifically entire classic sitcoms as far back as the 60s, we’ll be curious to see if this will continue to be an issue. If so, will a “horizontal letterbox” become a thing?

Hank Azaria, The Voice of Apu on The Simpsons, Says He’s Willing to Step Aside from Apu to Include South Asian/Indian Voices
April 25, 2018
Uncategorized
apu, colbert, hank azaria, hari kondabolu, late show, problem with apu, simpsons

With everything that The Problem With Apu, the documentary by Hari Kondabolu, has pointed out, then the in-episode response from The Simpsons, the resulting remarks and suggested resolution on the controversy from Hank Azaria who has voiced Apu Nahasapeemapetilon for decades is kind of beautiful.

Watch it here.

The Simpsons Tried Their Hand at Addressing the Issue Raised by Hari Kondabolu’s Documentary “The Problem With Apu”
April 9, 2018
Uncategorized
hari kondabolu, problem with apu, representation, simpsons

The Simpsons Tried Their Hand at Addressing the Issue Raised by Hari Kondabolu’s Documentary “The Problem With Apu”

If you’ve seen Hari Kondabolu’s doc “The Problem with Apu”, you’d know that one of The Simpsons’ longest running supporting characters, Apu, is voiced by Hank Azaria, a caucasian actor. This mark against the legendary TV series has flown under the radar for decades really until Hari’s documentary. 

Last night’s episode attempted to address the issue of representation by effectively saying that The Simpsons now see the problem with Apu though it wasn’t a problem for them for so many years and aren’t exactly what sure to do about it at this moment. Kondabolu isn’t thrilled with this response since it really doesn’t offer any solution, but only a recognition of the issue he raised.

So, this cultural impasse remains with no definitive resolution coming at a specified date. However, that does make Hari pretending to be the voice of Hank Azaria on a god mic at his live shows even more poignant and hysterical. 

If you want to watch The Problem With Apu, you can get it on iTunes here.

Hari Kondabolu’s Documentary “The Problem with Apu” Premieres Tonight
November 19, 2017
Uncategorized
documentary, hari kondabolu, simpsons, trutv, tv special
image

Tonight, Hari Kondabolu will take a cue from Adam Conover from Adam Ruins Everything and present the problematic nature of Apu, the Indian Simpsons character voiced by famed white voice actor, Hank Azaria.

The Problem with Apu premieres tonight on TruTV and, given how the last year has really hit the point home that one should listen to groups that are underrepresented, misrepresented, or oppressed, you should give it a watch.

This Latest Simpsons x Robot Chicken Couch Gag Has a Fun Poke at “South Park”
February 16, 2017
Uncategorized
cartoon network, comedy central, fox, robot chicken, simpsons, south park

All sorts of crossover happens here between different shows, networks, and animated media between The Simpsons, Robot Chicken, and a not-so-subtle nod to South Park.

Even The California Raisins also get in the multi-verse chaos in this brand new Simpsons couch gag.

Watch it here.

Annie Awards Nominations Announced and Zootopia Leads Big Time
November 28, 2016
Uncategorized
adventure time, annie awards, bojack horseman, finding dory, nominations, simpsons, venture bros, zootopia

Annie Awards Nominations Announced and Zootopia Leads Big Time

Zootopia scored 11 nominations to be exact.

The Annie Awards, the big time, awards ceremony honoring the highest achievement in animation just announced this year’s nominations and Zootopia has emerged as a clear favorite.

On top of that, the nods to more grown-up fare like The Simpsons, BoJack Horseman and Venture Bros are nice to see. All ages shows like Adventure Time and Finding Dory, perhaps unsurprisingly, gained nominations as well.

We’ll see if Zootopia can make good on its 11 nominations when the winners are announced February 4th.

The entire list of Annie Awards nominations are listed at the link above.

Peter Serafinowicz Dubs Donald Trump with the Voice of Homer Simpson
October 1, 2016
Uncategorized
donald trump, dub, homer simpson, mash-up, parody, peter serafinowicz, simpsons

As Homer Simpson is a beloved animated character for nearly three decades on television and Donald Trump is a real-life, figurative black hole of idiocy, bigotry, and privilege, we get how this mash-up dub from Peter Serafinowicz is sort of unholy.  

Still, if there is anyone that shouldn’t be in charge of nuclear power in the real world, Trump is in the top 10, which is probably subconscious reason of why we still enjoy this parody video plenty. 

Fox’s Comedy Block of Bob’s Burgers, The Simpsons, Son of Zorn, Family Guy, and Last Man on Earth Returns Tonight
September 25, 2016
Uncategorized
amy schumer, bob's burgers, comedy block, family guy, fox, last man on earth, season premiere, series premiere, simpsons, son of zorn

Also, remember that Amy Schumer guest stars on the season openers of Bob’s Burgers, The Simpsons, and Family Guy tonight.

Bob’s Burgers (season 7 premiere) 7:30PM
The Simpsons (season 28 premiere) 8PM
Son of Zorn (series premiere) 8:30PM
Family Guy (season 15 premiere) 9PM
Last Man on Earth (season 3 premiere) 9:30PM

Fox’s primetime Sunday comedy block, slowly, but surely, keeps growing.

The Simpsons Make “Adventure Time” Couch Gag To Kick Off Season 28
September 22, 2016
Uncategorized
adventure time, couch gag, fox, matt groening, pendelton ward, season 28, simpsons

Season 28 of The Simpsons is only a few days away (Sunday, September 25th at 8PM on Fox) and to start off the season big, they’ve made their very first couch gag in the style of another highly regarded animated series, Adventure Time.

From the characters to the music, The Simpsons do another crossover couch gag right (not that it should surprise anyone at this point).

Watch it here.

‘The Simpsons’ To Air First Hourlong Episode, Taraji P. Henson & Keegan-Michael Key Guest Star
August 8, 2016
Uncategorized
first, fox, hour long episode, simpsons, tca

‘The Simpsons’ To Air First Hourlong Episode, Taraji P. Henson & Keegan-Michael Key Guest Star

After 28 seasons, a full-length feature movie, and a theme park, The Simpsons will have somehow aired its first hour long episode at the beginning of 2017. 

This kind of makes you wonder what else is on The Simpsons’ bucket list. Bart and Lisa growing up over the course of a season? Another whodunit? 

“How To Make Your Own Simpsons Couch Gag” Couch Gag by Michael Socha
May 19, 2016
Uncategorized
couch gag, diy, how to, ikea, michal socha, parody, simpsons

One of the more imaginative Simpsons ‘Couch Gags’ to ever be drawn comes from accomplished animation director Michal Socha. For that, Socha featured a fever dream trip though the body in a very dark, stylized way. 

Socha was just invited back and made an über clever couch gag that shows you how to make a Simpsons Couch Gag a la an IKEA instruction manual.

Hopefully, you can take a cue from this “guide” and make a couch gag with more ease than it takes to put together some of IKEA’s furniture.

Here Is Homer Simpson Answering Questions for East Coast Feed of The Simpsons’ Live Episode
May 17, 2016
Uncategorized
fox, homer simpson, simprovised, simpsons

Homer Simpson really did answer questions live this past Sunday on the latest episode of The Simpsons. 

Here’s a clip from the East Coast feed, which not only features off-the-cuff, in character answers, but also features plenty sight gags in the background and foreground in case something went awry.

We’d definitely be curious to see if they could pull of a whole episode doing this.

That Live Episode of “The Simpsons” Is Happening This Sunday
May 9, 2016
Uncategorized
ask homer, fox, simpsons, simpsons live

Homer Simpson will be taking questions live for three minutes at the end of the episode for both the East and West coast broadcasts.

This Sunday, May 15th at 8PM PST/EST, The Simpsons will break new ground by having the animated Homer Simpson take questions live on air. 

Specifically, “To ask Homer Questions LIVE, Fans can Call (888) 726-6660 on Sunday, May 15, from 8:00-8:30 PM ET and  8:00-8:30 PM PT”.

Sorry to all those in Central and Mountain time zones for, yet again, not getting your own individual broadcasts for such a special event.

Fox To Have a Paley Center Special That Will Honor Animated Characters Like Bart Simpson
October 26, 2015
Uncategorized
bart simpsons, fox, h jon benjamin, mickey mouse, mike judge, nancy cartwright, paley center for media, pamela adlon, seth green, simpsons, spongebob squarepants, tom kenny, tv's funniest animated stars, yeardley smith

(via The Wrap)

It’s going to be called “TV’s Funniest Animated Stars: A Paley Center for Media Special”

Mickey Mouse to SpongeBob SquarePants to The Simpsons and several other legendary cartoon characters will be the focus of a Fox TV special put together by The Paley Center for Media. The likes of H. Jon Benjamin, Nancy Cartwright, Mike Judge, Seth Green, Pamela Adlon, Tom Kenny, Yeardley Smith, and more will chat about their various animated characters that they’ve helped put on the map.

Hopefully, they’ll do some sort of bit with some of the characters like Human Giant did all those years ago with t-shirt cannons.

Louis C.K. Takes Someone To Bow at a Broadway Play, Sarah Silverman Confronts Auction Winners as Her Parents, and Plenty Of Night of Too Many Stars Prizes Still Up For Grabs
March 9, 2015
Uncategorized
brodway, jon stewart, judd apatow, louis ck, night of too many stars, roast of justin beiber, sarah silverman, simpsons

Last night’s Night of Too Many Stars on Comedy Central was one wild, raucous, probably NSFW ride all in support of autism programs. 

Such things as Louis C.K. taking an auction winner to take a bow at a Broadway play they weren’t in and Sarah Silverman confronting other auction winners like she would confront her parents all really happened.

Though the special is over, you can still support the charity via donation here or through entering into contests to win tickets to the last taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, tickets to The Roast of Justin Beiber, having a Vine video directed by Judd Apatow, be drawn into The Simpsons, or have a White Castle slider named after you.

If you were honest with yourself, you’d probably just pay and enter these contests without supporting any charity, so get on donating/entering now.

“Grand Budapest Hotel”, “Louie”, “Last Week Tonight”, “High Maintenance” More Win at WGA Awards
February 15, 2015
Uncategorized
awards, golden globes, grand budapest hotel, high maintenance, how i met your mother, last week tonight, louie, louis ck, simpsons, wga

The 2015 WGA Awards were handed out last night and the field of winners seems to be raising the least amount of snub talk this awards season. This might have something to do with critical powerhouses like Grand Budapest Hotel and Louie won as well as well-received upstarts like Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and High Maintenance on Vimeo winning statues.

Here’s all the comedy winners for this year’s WGA Awards:

–The Grand Budapest Hotel, Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness-Original Screenplay
–Louie, Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.-Comedy Series, Episodic Comedy
–High Maintenance, Written by Katja Blichfeld & Ben Sinclair-Short Form New Media
–The Simpsons, “Brick Like Me”, Written by Brian Kelley-Animated
–Last Week Tonight, Writers: Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner-Comedy/Variety (Including Talk)-Series
–71st Annual Golden Globes Awards, Written by Barry Adelman; Special Material by Alex Baze, Dave Boone, Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Jon Macks, Sam Means, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Mike Shoemaker-Comedy/Variety-Music, Awards, Tributes-Specials
–How I Met Your Mother, Written by Dan Greenberger-On-Air Promotion (TV, New Media, or Radio)

See the full list of winners here.

“Rick & Morty” Working on a Simpsons Couch Gag
October 23, 2014
Uncategorized
adult swim, couch gag, rick and morty, simpsons

(via Den of Geek)

The iconic “Couch Gag” in the opening of The Simpsons has become its own show of sorts with hundreds of variations and plenty of series crossovers including one with Game of Thrones, another one with Robot Chicken, one by Hayao Miyazaki, and one by Don Hertzfeldt.

Now, the best new animated series to hit TV, Rick & Morty, is getting their own Simpsons couch gag in an upcoming episode according to a NYCC announcement.

That only makes our mind wander as to what Rick Sanchez would do with the power plant, taking on Mr. Burns, etc. Surely, a portal to another dimension will be involved.

FXx’s Queue’s Up Another Simpsons Marathon, This Time With a Music Theme
September 10, 2014
Uncategorized
fx, fxx, hollywood bowl, marathon, simpsons

(via Variety)

FXx’s recent Simpsons marathon was a pretty big success and they’re not letting up. Tomorrow night, they will run a 4 hour Simpsons marathon that will featured the music themed episodes starting at 8PM on FXx. 

Yes, to answer your question, this marathon is also being run in conjunction with The Simpsons Take Over the [Hollywood] Bowl.

FXx’s Marathon of Every Simpsons Ever Starts at 10AM Today
August 21, 2014
Uncategorized
fxx, marathon, simpsons

In less than 30 minutes from when this post was written, FXx will be embarking on their Simpsons programming streak by airing every episode of the legendary animated series back-to-back-to-back-and-so-on all the way until Sept. 1st.

Here is a schedule of when each episode will air to guide you through this.

So, maybe you want to use some of your vacation days now. 

The Simpsons To Have Bob’s Burgers Cameo in Family Guy Crossover and The Futurama Crossover Slated for November
July 21, 2014
Uncategorized
bob's burgers, family guy, fox, futurama, simpsons

(via Entertainment Weekly)

On top of their being a crossover episode with Family Guy after a decade of being hit animated series on Fox, The Simpsons will have a cameo from the titular Bob of Bob’s Burgers in the very same episode.

The Simpsons’ other big crossover, the one with Futurama, is going to air on Nov. 9th that will indeed feature the voices of the Futurama cast. 

The Simpsons are really going for the fences with this season and we can’t wait to see it.

The Simpsons Casts Will Forte in Role That’s Been a Long Time Mystery
June 20, 2014
Uncategorized
king toot's music store, moe's tavern, simpsons, will forte

The Simpsons Casts Will Forte in Role That’s Been a Long Time Mystery

In the Simpsons universe, the proprietor of King Toot’s Music Store, the establishment right next to Moe’s Tavern, has never been seen, but that’s going to change in the upcoming season.

Will Forte has been cast as the owner of King Toot’s. So, naturally, given The Simpsons comedic strategy with neighbors, King Toot’s and Moe’s should have plenty of fun in an all out rivalry, despite selling different products. 

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