Issa Rae Continues Building Her Empire with Newly Ordered “Rap Sh*t”

February 12, 2021

Between having a critically acclaimed dramedy series at HBO, Insecure, entering its fifth season, your own management banner, ColorCreative, running your record label, Raedio, repping the NBA playoffs last year in their first promos since lockdown started, starring in big time comedies, hosting SNL, co-owning a beauty brand, and, very likely, more that we’re simply forgetting, Issa Rae very much has her own empire that she has built from the ground up.

You can add another HBO Max series (sidebar: Is everything HBO releases during the pandemic going to be branded with HBO Max instead of HBO?) to that empire as Rap Sh*t just got a series order. Rae herself is set to write the pilot as if she wasn’t doing enough already. The show will follow old high school friends reuniting to form a rap group, which will be a pretty great canvas for Rae if you remember moments like Broken Pussy from Insecure.

No one has been cast yet, but Rap Sh*t is set to start shooting in the summer. You can rest easy with whatever happens in the next season of Insecure knowing that this Rae series is also coming relatively soon.

Search Party Season 4 Has Set the Bar for TV Comedy in 2021

January 25, 2021

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It can be argued that we’re in strange, yet slightly familiar territory just a few weeks into 2021. Biden has succeeded Trump as POTUS and, while there are signs of Biden picking up where Obama left off, the threats of the ongoing pandemic and economic crises are keeping things plenty off-kilter.

Yes, there are very likely spoilers here, FYI.

In a similar vein, Search Party has gotten six episodes into its fourth season, now at HBO Max instead of TBS, and has lifted its own formula, turned it inside out, and really swung for the fences in how outlandish, dark, and absolutely, unapologetically absurd it’s willing to get (having Dory now go missing and being kept captive in a padded wall version of her apartment kept permanently lit for daytime). For that, it has unquestionably come out the gate for 2021 as the best comedy series thus far (and it’s going to be pretty hard to top).

The balance of the sinister kidnapping of Dory by Cole Escola’s brilliantly demented Chip and how satisfyingly ridiculous every single character is in the series (especially John Early’s Elliott Goss, both in attire and character arc as a turncoat conservative sellout) is something we’re left in awe of. Following the B-story of a mini-series adaptation of the events of the first three seasons Search Party with Meredith Hagner’s Portia playing Dory within these season 4 episodes ratchets up the hysterical bizarreness of the whole world even further. Often, you might be left breathless for how the show deftly shifts its tones, even better and more acutely than it has in the past, and how so much of the dialogue is so brashly funny.

It’s very clear that we’re still in dark times, but there are peculiar bits of light here and there and, for our money, this latest season of Search Party meets the moment we’re still stuck in and, most importantly, gives us something really damn good to watch on TV while quarantine continues.

Six episodes of S4 of Search Party are currently streaming on HBO Max and the final four are due out on Thurs. Jan. 28th.

See the Full Extent of Cole Escola’s Stalker/Captor in Season 4 of Search Party

January 5, 2021

News

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Just a week and a change from now, we’ll get another season of the hit thriller/dramedy Search Party and embark on a search for Dory who entangled everyone into searching in the first place.

Part of the reason that Dory is the subject of the search for this new season is that (we’d say SPOILER here, but watching the trailer for this season will also somewhat spoil the last three seasons, so there you go) she has been kidnapped by a deranged stalker played by the brilliant Cole Escola. This full season 4 trailer reveals a bit of how much Dory is in trouble (and maybe getting her comeuppance?)

We’re really looking forward to a few more of hours of lockdown being spent with Elliott, Drew, Portia, and Dory starting on Jan. 14th at HBO Max.

Search Party Season 4 Finally Has a Teaser

December 15, 2020

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Quarantine has lasted so long that we almost forgot a brand new season of the amazing dark comedy thriller series, Search Party, was on the horizon. It’s not on TBS anymore, so you’ll have to have HBO Max or “have access” to HBO Max, but the prospect of Dory now missing for this latest season has us really jonesing for this fourth season of Search Party to premiere already.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until Thurs. Jan. 14th, 2021 until we get our Search Party fix. Until now, we can obsess over this teaser that poses a whole new game for Elliott, Portia, Drew, and a Dory that might just be getting her long overdue comeuppance.

Conan O’Brien to End Late Night Talk Show in 2021, Start Weekly Variety Series at HBO Max, Continue Conan Without Borders at TBS

November 17, 2020

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The elder statesman of late night, Conan O’Brien is actually stepping away from the world of late night after nearly 30 years of being one of late night’s best voices. Announced today, O’Brien will end his run as a late night talk show host that spans Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, and now, Conan on TBS, in June 2021.

“In 1993 Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: ‘As soon as possible, get to a streaming platform.’ I’m thrilled that I get to continue doing whatever the hell it is I do on HBO Max, and I look forward to a free subscription,” says O’Brien.

If you’re already lamenting his exit, do know that so many of the best elements of all of his shows over the last several years will live on. Conan Without Borders, O’Brien’s global travel specials will continue to be made over at TBS and Conan will also embark on a new weekly variety series. We’d guess will feature so many of the bits, stand-ups, remote segments and more that have made Conan endure all these decades as one of late night’s best. So, Conan O’Brien will very much be continuing to do so much of what he does best.

Personally, we can’t wait to see what Conan will do with the freedom of being on a streaming platform like HBO Max as well as where else he’ll travel to for the travel Conan Without Borders specials.

Here’s Your First Look at Colin Quinn’s Drive-In Showcase Special “Colin Quinn & Friends: A Parking Lot Comedy Show”

November 10, 2020

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As drive-in shows were one of the first and only things that were afforded to live comedy in the pandemic, it was inevitable that there would be comedy specials produced from it. So much overhead goes into producing a drive-in show anyway that it only stands to reason that they would shoot the performance and try to do something with it.

Indeed, drive-in stand-up comedy specials are coming. Comedy Dynamics has a handful of them and then there’s Colin Quinn’s showcase of his favorite comics performing at a drive-in in Brooklyn. It’s aptly named Colin Quinn & Friends: A Parking Lot Comedy Show, perhaps highlighting how far live comedy has had to adapt in order to get some sense of normalcy (i.e. not doing stand-up on Zoom).

Today, Quinn released a trailer and gave us all the first look of Colin Quinn & Friends: A Parking Lot Comedy Show that will feature performances from Sam Jay, Marina Franklin, Dan Soder, Bonnie McFarlane, Chris DiStefano, Rich Vos, Robert Kelly, and, of course Colin Quinn himself.

If you haven’t been to a drive-in stand-up show (they are pretty expensive), you’ll get a taste of the history that has been made this year of comedians, very likely for the first time ever in history, performing to people in their cars who resort to honking and flashing their headlights to, hopefully, show appreciation for a bit.

Colin Quinn & Friends: A Parking Lot Comedy Show premieres on HBO Max this Thursday, Nov. 12th.

Can’t believe I accidentally leaked this trailer. “Colin Quinn & Friends: A Parking Lot Comedy Show” premiering this Thursday only on @hbomax pic.twitter.com/qEzNpQbv5k

— Colin Quinn (@iamcolinquinn) November 9, 2020

TCB Field Report Ep. 32: Chris Estrada & Making the Most Out of 2020

November 4, 2020

News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report

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LA scene favorite Chris Estrada was poised for a great 2020 before the pandemic took hold. Now, 8 months into lockdown, Estrada is, thankfully, still getting some great things that he deserves coming his way like a HBO Latino Entre Nos special premiering later this month. Estrada zooms with TCB’s Jake Kroeger about weathering the world throughout this year and keeping the flame of his comedy alive whether it be on Zoom, at an outdoors comedy show, or on his first stand-up special. Also, they dish “hot” takes on new series developments at ABC, Showtime, and Fox as well as representation for Latinx in comedy and the label of Latinx itself.

Follow Chris @chrisestrada85 on Twitter and @chrisestradacomic on IG.

Shout-outs: Bless The Harts, Bill Burr: Paper Tiger, Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning, and How To with John Wilson

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

Tiny Toons To Be Revived as “Tiny Toons Looniversity” with Erin Gibson as Showrunner

October 28, 2020

News

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(via THR)

While reviving animated IP is a very predictable trend (especially while live action series keep getting tripped by pauses due to COVID-19 outbreaks along with an increase in scheduling and budgetary issues), the prospect of the return of the Tiny Toons, a somewhat niche branch of the Looney Tunes animated universe, with someone like Erin Gibson at the helm is very surprising and enticing to us.

Gibson has not only been the co-host of one of the more beloved podcasts around, Throwing Shade, but has always been an incredibly clever, outspoken, subversive writer, comedian, and performer all the way back to when she used to play Michele Bachman in Funny or Die sketches.

Gibson has placed as showrunner and co-EP with Adventure Time’s Nate Cash for this new edition of Tiny Toons, Tiny Toons: Looniversity wherein the Tiny Toons gang will learn how to become “professional” toons. Both HBO Max and Cartoon Network ordered the series, but as to which will platform will get “dibs” or however it’ll work is TBD.

In any case, we have a feeling, because of who is in charge, that this might be another animated series that is initially geared towards children, but will have plenty to enjoy that’s just for the adults as well. That’ll be important since we are still stuck inside because of the pandemic and will still be for quite some time to come.

Sam Jay Is Getting Her Own HBO Late Night Talk Show

September 29, 2020

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We’ve said it before in so many ways and it bears repeating again: When it comes to voices in comedy being truly unfiltered, brash, honest, and hilarious, Sam Jay is one of the best around right now. So, we think it’s a great move on HBO’s part to give Sam her very own half-hour late night talk show where she’ll get to do her take on the world.

Per the premium cable network’s announcement today:

The UNTITLED SAM JAY PROJECT will be a weekly 30-minute late-night show in which Sam tackles the top trending topics in urban and world culture for the week – including race, politics, sexual identity, science, celebrity, religion, and more – and examines them from her unique and subversive point of view.

One can see from Sam’s Netflix special 3 in the Morning or even a recent appearance on Why Won’t You Date Me? with Nicole Byer that Jay’s show/perspective is something very special and unlike anything that has been or is currently on in late night.

Look for Sam’s show to premiere next year on HBO and HBO Max.

Get a Peek at “How To with John Wilson” the Latest Project/Scheme/Show Nathan Fielder Is Involved In

September 16, 2020

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Since the end of Nathan For You, millions of folks have been wondering what will be the next thing from the hysterically enigmatic Nathan Fielder that we all can obsess over. Sure, he’s fought anti-semitism via his outerwear company Summit Ice, but the next show that Fielder devises is what the general public is looking for.

Well, that time is just about here as How To with John Wilson is coming to HBO on Oct. 23rd at 11PM. The docu-series follows one John Wilson showing all of us how to navigate such a complex, often baffling city like NYC. Fielder is serving as executive producer on the series and that assuredly means that there will be plenty of twists and some sort of blurring between comedy and performance art.

From the looks of this teaser, there is a bit of Joe Pera Talks With You energy present here, but something tells us that there’s more sly subterfuge here and, like Nathan For You, it would appear that titular John Wilson is dealing with real referee supply store sales people, furniture cover specialists, etc.

Perhaps we’ll get a full trailer that will give us a bit more of a hint as what Wilson and Fielder have up their sleeve. If not, honestly, that’s fine too as it seems potentially very rewarding to keep the mystery up for as long as possible until the premiere.

Mo Welch’s Comic Strip “Blair” Sold to HBO Max

September 3, 2020

News

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(via Deadline)

For years, the very funny Mo Welch has not only dazzled stages with her stand-up, but she has also made a comic strip that she’s posted online called “Blair”, centered on Blair, an “antisocial icon”. Welch has even put a book together from the comic called, How to Die Alone: The Foolproof Guide to Not Helping Yourself.

Now, Welch is moving on up to potentially have Blair be on TV. With Chelsea Handler attached as an EP, Blair just got bought up as a project at HBO Max. We can only hope that it gets pick up to have an animated series that speaks to our collective feelings of being stuck in so many literal and figurative ways right now.

We’ll keep you posted if it gets a series order at HBO Max or elsewhere.

HBO Max Announces a New Trio of Specials from Colin Quinn, Phoebe Robinson, and Aida Rodriguez

August 21, 2020

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Hot off the heels on releasing four different stand-up specials yesterday, HBO Max has just announced three more (in addition to the back half of the Team Coco specials whose production got interrupted by lockdown).

One will be a drive-in special curated, directed, and headlined by Colin Quinn taped in Brooklyn. Quinn’s line-up has yet to be announced (but we’ll keep you in the loop)

Another one will be Phoebe Robinson’s debut special (done solo from Jessica Williams and 2 Dope Queens).

Lastly, Aida Rodriguez will have her very first hour special where she will get to put her brand of unfiltered, calls-it-like-she-sees-it comedy on its biggest stage yet.

This trio of specials is a more than solid addition to their comedy programming slate over at HBO.

We are pondering about one small thing: are there going to be those hybrid comedy specials done over at HBO and HBO will just use HBO Max for more conventional stand-up specials? We’ll just have to wait and see at this point.

Beth Stelling’s Debut Hour Special “Girl Daddy” Shows Beth at Her Best Yet

August 20, 2020

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Beth Stelling‘s debut hour special Girl Daddy exemplifies all the things that we’ve known and loved about Stelling for years and years. The magnetism of her stage presence is undeniable, she’s balanced in how silly/clever and how genuine/vulnerable she is, and we can’t help but want to just keep hearing her talking about whatever she wants to talk about.

Girl Daddy shows off all those qualities no matter how dark or how fun loving Beth goes with her stories and observations. Often, Stelling will switch between the two extremes in the same breath and do so flawlessly. In fact, she exudes nothing but a sense of command and confidence throughout this hour that make any sudden tonal shifts completely work. Also, Beth’s material really highlights the power and resilience of women through her experiences with men (both good and bad), her family, and the entire world, expertly accented by Beth’s unshakeable poise and calm.

Beth Stelling: Girl Daddy is now streaming on HBO Max and you really ought to go watch it ASAP.

Please Enjoy Trailer for New Buddy Road Comedy at HBO Max “Unpregnant”

August 12, 2020

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HBO Max seems to be coming with the goods to make up for the transition of HBO having a new arm and folding HBO GO and HBO Now into the exclusive streaming service. They’ve got Team Coco stand-up specials coming around the corner, a new season of Search Party on the horizon, and a new buddy road comedy, Unpregnant from director/co-writer Rachel Lee Goldenberg and writers Ted Caplan, Jenni Hendriks, William Parker, and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.

Starring Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira, there seems to the same sort of promise of a fun loving coming-of-age journey as Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart offered last year, though with more focus on getting an abortion rather than having one last chance at partying properly.

See for yourself in the trailer for Unpregnant here, then, if you dig it, look for it on HBO Max on Thurs. Sept. 10th.

Please Enjoy the Trailer for Beth Stelling’s HBO Max Special “Girl Daddy”

August 10, 2020

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Starting soon, HBO Max will start their roll out of their stand-up specials, continuing HBO’s expansion into the streaming space. Several months ago, Conan and HBO had struck a deal to produce a handful of comedy specials exclusively for the streaming service. They got to taping some of them, and then, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, interrupting any and all production.

Thankfully, the always splendid and delightful Beth Stelling got her special Girl Daddy in the can before all of that happened and will thusly be releasing her special next week on Thurs. Aug. 20th at HBO Max. A trailer for Girl Daddy was just posted today and shows off more of Beth’s signature undeniable warmth and sharp wit.

Give it a watch here, while you wait for next week to start streaming (you can and should also go watch/listen to everything else Beth’s done in the meantime; it’ll really make your day).

Trailer is here for my @hbomax special Girl Daddy pic.twitter.com/LCuVAQ1cp5

— Beth Stelling (@BethStelling) August 10, 2020

Team Coco’s HBO Max Comedy Specials Start Streaming Next Month; More to Come Soon

July 23, 2020

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Right before lockdown, Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco managed to shoot two hour long comedy specials, destined for HBO Max, from the amazing Beth Stelling and James Veitch. More specials that they had planned to shoot got postponed because of COVID-19 shutting down production right around their shoot dates.

Still, those special are set to start streaming on HBO’s newly minted HBO Max next month in an announcement made yesterday.

Also, hour specials from Chris Redd and Moses Storm that had been previously slated for production, along with shorter specials featuring the likes of comedians that you really ought to know already: Naomi Ekperigin, Solomon Georgio, Tommy Johnagin, and Ismo. The dates for when those will happen and subsequently released are TBA. We’re assuming that the nature of the dates will depend on how protocol on TV production with any sort of live audience might change (as that’s not really happening right now) over the next few months.

In any case, you have two new hour comedy specials that are coming in a few weeks from the HBO and Team Coco side of things rather than at Netflix, which is still pretty much on pace for releasing a comedy special every week.

HBO Max Orders Up Six Episodes of a Michael Che Sketch Series

July 14, 2020

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Announced today, sketch comedy has a new series on the way, effectively spun-off from the sketch comedy behemoth, Saturday Night Live. It’s untitled as of this moment, but the series is coming from SNL Weekend Update co-anchor Michael Che with SNL’s very own Lorne Michaels attached as an EP.

The series, which has gotten an order for six episodes will focus on such themes as “police brutality, unemployment, and falling in love” from a black perspective.

We’re glad to see another sketch series set to arrive, when there has been a scarcity of sketch comedy on TV (not to mention the cancellation of Astronomy Club on Netflix). The intriguing aspect of this is Che’s sketch series being at HBO Max as opposed to NBC on SNL. Is it going to take more risks and be bolder than SNL (which isn’t that hard to do these days). Supposedly, this series won’t be afraid to get controversial. To see how true that is, there will be a wait because, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic is as much a reality (arguably more so) than it was in March/April.

HBO Max Developing Aida Rodriguez Comedy with Tiffany Haddish Attached to EP

January 30, 2020

Uncategorized

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HBO Max Developing Aida Rodriguez Comedy with Tiffany Haddish Attached to EP

Of the lives of a comedian that you could explore in a sitcom, Aida Rodriguez sure has one hell of a life where she fought tooth and nail to get where she is now.

Just listen to her ep. of The Crabfeast and you’ll get a pretty get sense of how compelling her story is. Knowing that Haddish will be EP’ing and that Rodriguez will get to star and co-write this project that follows, “an Afro-Latina comedian (Rodriguez) who is trying to kick start a career while raising two very different teenagers on her own over multiple time zones,” has us pretty intrigued.

Additionally, HBO Max’s development slate just keeps getting more and more enticing.

HBO Max Orders an Unlikely Friendship Comedy Pilot From Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky & Mike Schur

January 28, 2020

Uncategorized

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HBO Max Orders an Unlikely Friendship Comedy Pilot From Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky & Mike Schur

The combination of Broad City alumni Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky and a significant portion of the forces behind The Good Place, creator Mike Schur along with that has a Vegas diva mentor an “outcast 25 year-old” seems to be the sort of thing that a lot of streaming services are looking for right now.

While this pilot order did come from HBO Max, we could see such a series get developed at Hulu, Quibi, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, etc. etc. All of that is too say that many streaming services are clearly aiming at younger cord cutter viewers that also have somewhat discerning taste in comedy. If that’s so across the board (in the realm of streaming), perhaps that means cheesy multi-cams will be no more? Only time will tell.

In any case, this pilot definitely is intriguing with very, very funny people in charge and we kind of can’t wait to see who they cast as the leads.

HBO Max Announces Stand-Up Specials from Tracy Morgan, John Early, Rose Matafeo, and Ahir Shah

December 4, 2019

Uncategorized

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HBO Max Announces Stand-Up Specials from Tracy Morgan, John Early, Rose Matafeo, and Ahir Shah

Well, well, well.

As Netflix announced today that it beat out HBO to keep Ali Wong in the fold, HBO swings back with their own exclusive stand-up special offerings that will be coming to their streaming service HBO Max next year. It’s a pretty intriguing slate thus far that includes comedy superstar Tracy Morgan, comedy star on-the-rise John Early, New Zealand comedy star making-her-way-stateside Rose Matafeo, and up-and-coming political English comedy star Ahir Shah.

We were actually wondering what would happen to this sort of segment in stand-up comedy as Netflix is currently in the business of doling out hours for comedy’s biggest stars and then giving who they think are up-and-comers (but are somewhat established, certainly enough for an hour special) 30 min. or 15 min. specials. Our hunch was that Amazon and other streaming services/networks like HBO Max would fill in this niche and it is certainly coming to pass. Amazon’s already put out hours from Alice Wetterlund and I Mom So Hard and, from the looks of this announcement, HBO is getting in while the getting is good.

HBO Max Announces 5 Comedy Specials from Team Coco, New Looney Tunes, and New Comedy Series from Elizabeth Banks, Issa Rae, and Mindy Kaling

October 30, 2019

Uncategorized

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As the world is on the precipice of Apple TV+, HBO is taking a big swing for their own streaming service, HBO Max, with regards to their comedy programming.

Just today, they made this flurry of announcements.

Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco will be producing five stand-up special, two of which will be with multiple comedians and three of which will be full hours (Deadline). A new batch of Looney Tunes (Deadline), a DC Universe series from Elizabeth Banks, a female rap group comedy from Issa Rae, and a coming-of-age-in-college sitcom from Mindy Kaling (Deadline) are all on the way.

If you’ve been following the trail of HBO Max, you know that this is only the tip of the iceberg for them. So, are you ready to cue Futurama’s most famous meme yet?