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Netflix Secures Worldwide Rights to Next Four Movies from The Duplass Brothers
February 22, 2018
Uncategorized
jay duplass, mark duplass, netflix, ray romano

Netflix Secures Worldwide Rights to Next Four Movies from The Duplass Brothers

We wondering what The Duplass Brothers were up to after having a long dalliance with television over at HBO.

With Netflix’s ability to release a movie simultaneously in well-over 100 territories, don’t be surprised to see more and more indie auteurs, especially in the comedy space, find their way to Netflix.

By the way, one of these films includes a bromance comedy with made-up sports starring Ray Romano, which definitely has our interest peaked.

You Can Now Watch “Soft Focus with Jena Friedman” at AdultSwim.com and Marvel at Jena’s Viciously Funny Satirical Special
February 20, 2018
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adult swim, jena friedman, soft focus

You Can Now Watch “Soft Focus with Jena Friedman” at AdultSwim.com and Marvel at Jena’s Viciously Funny Satirical Special

There are great echoes of the field pieces of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in this special, which shouldn’t come as a surprise as Jena used to produce said field pieces there. 

What is amazing about Soft Focus is how Jena is so calm in her delivery the entire time (as if she has ice running through her veins), maximizing the awkwardness and absurdity of the interviews she set up. From that calmness, there comes an almost tangible, metaphorical twisting-of-the-knife in her conversations with real folks (that might need a bit of a metaphorical knife twisting to be honest). No matter how dark it gets, we still find ourselves laughing heartily.

So, please watch Soft Focus with Jena Friedman, which, we hope, will become a show itself very soon.

image

Jim Gaffigan Will Release His Next Stand-Up Special on His Own
February 20, 2018
Uncategorized
comedy special, jim gaffigan, stand up

Jim Gaffigan Will Release His Next Stand-Up Special on His Own

It has been awhile since a big time comedian released their own comedy special independent from networks and streaming services. 

Luckily, Jim Gaffigan will be releasing his sixth hour special by himself via various digital platforms/marketplaces and, given his appeal across several different demographics, we’re betting that’ll both do well. 

Also, we’d be curious to see if Gaffigan gets a little more experimental since he’s releasing it on his own.

Lena Waithe’s Queer Comedy ‘Twenties’ Comedy Gets Pilot Order at TBS
February 16, 2018
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Lena waithe, pilot order, tbs, twenties

Lena Waithe’s Queer Comedy ‘Twenties’ Comedy Gets Pilot Order at TBS

From Master of None to The Chi to this latest project, Lena Waithe has made huge leaps and bounds into a name that you need to know in TV and comedy as well as a voice that you need to hear. 

We can only hope that TBS orders Twenties to series to see what Lena’s comedy about a queer black girl figuring life out in 20s will look, sound, and feel like.

Jeffrey Tambor Will Officially No Longer Be Part of ‘Transparent’
February 15, 2018
Uncategorized
amazon, jeffrey tambor, jill soloway, transparent

Jeffrey Tambor Will Officially No Longer Be Part of ‘Transparent’

Following the internal investigation at Amazon of harassment claims against Tambor, Jill Soloway and Amazon have decided that Tambor’s behavior “could could not be justified or excused under scrutiny,” in a statement to Deadline. Thus, they have decided to sever ties between him and Transparent, the award winning series of which he plays the lead role of Maura Pfefferman.

This is a sign that #MeToo is far from slowing down and the idea that sexual harassment, misbehavior, misconduct, assault, etc. will now have actionable and immediate consequences.

The fate of the show itself has yet to be officially determined, but if they could pull off replacing Kevin Spacey in All The Money in the World with Christopher Plummer, then we’re sure they’ll be able to figure something out.

iO West Will Be Closing Its Doors Next Saturday
February 14, 2018
Uncategorized
comedy theatre, hollywood, io west, live comedy, los angeles

iO West Will Be Closing Its Doors Next Saturday

“From Charna Halpern:
“Dear iOWEST It breaks my heart to announce that after almost 25 years, I have to close the doors to iOWest. Our last night will be Saturday, Feb 24th. iO Chicago is strong and this is still your home. Love to you all, Charna Halpern."”

While it’s unfortunate to see another LA comedy-dedicated venue/school go away, iO West still has two weeks worth of shows to check out. See our calendar for our picks or take a gander at their entire schedule here.

Alan Partridge to Return to BBC with ‘This Time With Alan Partridge’
February 13, 2018
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alan partridge, steve coogan, this time with alan partridge

Alan Partridge to Return to BBC with ‘This Time With Alan Partridge’

Years from now, Steve Coogan’s two characters that will stand out from his career will be himself from those Trip movies and, of course, his DJ/host creation Alan Partridge. 

Coogan has been playing Partridge for a quarter century now and BBC One is looking to extend that run even further with a six-part series where Alan co-hosts a weekday show This Time.

As he is back on TV rather than radio, you can completely expect things to go even more off the rails for Partridge than they normally do. 

We can only hope that this series makes its way to the U.S. in a timely manner.

Conan O’Brien’s Next #ConanWithoutBorders Stop Will Be in Italy with Very Special Guest Associate Producer Jordan Schlansky
February 13, 2018
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conan, conan in italy, conan without borders, italy, jordan schlansky, team coco

Conan O’Brien’s Next #ConanWithoutBorders Stop Will Be in Italy with Very Special Guest Associate Producer Jordan Schlansky

Well, here’s a wish that has been granted that we didn’t even know we wanted.

Conan O’Brien is taking the infamous Jordan Schlansky to Italy, which just so happens to be one of Jordan’s favorite places on earth, and they’re seeing how long they can tolerate each other amidst beautiful architecture, fine dining, and everything else Italy has to offer.

If you need a refresher of why this is important milestone in the canon of Conan O’Brien’s late night history, please refresh your memory/enjoy yourself with an entire Team Coco page dedicated to the remote segments involving Jordan Schlansky here: http://teamcoco.com/jordan

Veep, Will & Grace, Last Week Tonight, and SNL Win at 2018 Writers Guild Awards
February 12, 2018
Uncategorized
hbo, last week tonight, nbc, snl, veep, wga, will and grace, writers guild awards

Veep, Will & Grace, Last Week Tonight, and SNL Win at 2018 Writers Guild Awards

More specifically, the comedy winners of the 2018 Writers Guild Awards are

Comedy Series
Veep, Written by Gabrielle Allan, Rachel Axler, Ted Cohen, Jennifer Crittenden, Alex Gregory, Steve Hely, Peter Huyck, Erik Kenward, Billy Kimball, David Mandel, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Dan Mintz, Lew Morton, Georgia Pritchett, Will Smith; HBO – WINNER

Episodic Comedy
“Rosario’s Quinceanera” (Will & Grace), Written by Tracy Poust & Jon Kinnally; NBC – WINNER

Comedy/Variety Talk Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner, Ben Silva, Seena Vali; HBO – WINNER

Comedy/Variety Sketch Series
Saturday Night Live, Head Writers: Chris Kelly, Sarah Schneider, Bryan Tucker, Writers: James Anderson, Kristen Bartlett, Jeremy Beiler, Neal Brennan, Zack Bornstein, Joanna Bradley, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Anna Drezen, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, Nick Kocher, Michael Koman, Dave McCary, Brian McElhaney, Dennis McNicholas, Drew Michael, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Katie Rich, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Will Stephen, Kent Sublette, Julio Torres; NBC Universal – WINNER

At some point, there ought to be a category for podcasts or, at the very least, ad copy/reads for podcasts. 

You can get a full list of the winners here.

Michelle Wolf Is Getting Her Own Late-Night Show on Netflix
February 12, 2018
Uncategorized
late night, michelle wolf, netflix

Michelle Wolf Is Getting Her Own Late-Night Show on Netflix

In the way that 2017 was the year of Netflix getting specials from Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, and Amy Schumer, 2018 seems to be the year that Netflix will be getting into late night/talk shows in full force with David Letterman’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale, and now, a late night show from fast rising star Michelle Wolf. 

Just in a few years, Wolf has hopped from Late Night with Seth Meyers to The Daily Show while propelling her stand-up career all the way to an HBO special, Nice Lady.

Exact specifics (including the show’s name) of Wolf’s show have yet to be announced, but we have a pretty good feeling that this is going to work out quite well for Michelle and Netflix.

Comedian (and Former Inmate) Ali Siddiq Did His Upcoming Special “It’s Bigger Than These Bars” at a Prison
February 10, 2018
Uncategorized
ali siddiq, comedy central, comedy special, it's bigger than these bars, stand up

Comedian (and Former Inmate) Ali Siddiq Did His Upcoming Special “It’s Bigger Than These Bars” at a Prison

In this trailer, you can see that Ali Siddiq does indeed return to a prison to perform for those incarcerated like he once was. Obviously, this will have a much different feel than Jeff Ross’ roast special that happened at a prison as Siddiq spent more than few years behind bars.

By the way, if you haven’t seen Ali’s This Is Not Happening story, please watch it right away here.

Enjoy that until Ali’s special “It’s Bigger Than These Bars” premieres on Friday, Feb. 23rd on Comedy Central.

Facebook Orders Dramedy Series Starring and EP’d by Elizabeth Olsen
February 9, 2018
Uncategorized
dramedy, elizabeth olsen, facebook watch, kit steinkellner

Facebook Orders Dramedy Series Starring and EP’d by Elizabeth Olsen

A year ago, some of you may have scoffed at the idea of Facebook and Apple putting out original productions to stream exclusively on their platforms, but an Elizabeth Olsen dramedy series coming to Facebook Watch is far from anything to scoff at.

The series has almost no official details at this point other than the creator and writer is Kit Steinkellner and 10 half-hour episodes have been ordered. 

That being said, based off of Facebook’s interest comedy leading them to reviving Nicole Byer’s Loosely Exactly Nicole and streaming Chris Fleming’s special Showpig, we’re imagining this show will be distinctly different than the other dramedy fare that you would see elsewhere.

HBO Orders New Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner Series “Camping” Adapted from Julia Davis’ UK Series of Same Name
February 8, 2018
Uncategorized
adaptation, camping, hbo, jenni konner, julia davis, lena dunham

HBO Orders New Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner Series “Camping” Adapted from Julia Davis’ UK Series of Same Name

Looks like HBO has gone long enough without a new episode of something from Dunham and Konner (the pair brought you six seasons of Girls).

Jennifer Garner is set for top billing in this series that will center on a camping trip between family and friends gone awry.

Here’s a promo of the original Camping from the UK (try and imagine the Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner version of it)

Kumail Nanjiani, Emily Gordon, Lee Eisenberg and Alan Yang Are Developing an Immigrant Anthology Series “Little America” for Apple
February 8, 2018
Uncategorized
alan yang, apple, development, emily gordon, kumail nanjiani, lee eisenberg, little america

Kumail Nanjiani, Emily Gordon, Lee Eisenberg and Alan Yang Are Developing an Immigrant Anthology Series “Little America” for Apple

Some of the minds behind The Big Sick, Master of None, SMILF, and The Office are coming together to make a series that will effectively show a quilt of the immigrant experience with, of course, their magical, timely touch.

It’s still early to call this a win for Apple right out the gate, but we believe this is definitely a big get for them over all the other networks and streaming services.

L.A. Public Library Membership Now Gets You Access to Niche Streaming Service Kanopy
February 6, 2018
Uncategorized
kanopy, la public library, los angeles, streaming service

L.A. Public Library Membership Now Gets You Access to Niche Streaming Service Kanopy

While Netflix does have access to pretty much everything, they don’t have streaming rights to everything. 

That’s where other streaming services have come in amassing their own special collections of movies, TV shows, etc. in order to entice you to subscribe.

The LA Public Library has now partnered up with Kanopy, which allows you to stream plenty of documentaries, indie, and foreign movies that you can’t stream on Netflix (you can order a DVD and wait if you’re still into that). 

Such titles that popped to us include: 
Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Charade starring Audrey Hepburn
Dave Made a Maze
Le Weekend
Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator
Computer Chess
Buster Keaton’s The General
Oscar Winning Short Films

If you have a LA Public Library card, then you get access to all of this for free, FYI. It may have been awhile, but maybe you should get one?

Chris Hardwick Rebrands ‘Nerdist Podcast’ as ID10T and Will No Longer Have It Affiliated with Nerdist Industries
February 2, 2018
Uncategorized
chris hardwick, id10t, nerdist

Chris Hardwick Rebrands ‘Nerdist Podcast’ as ID10T and Will No Longer Have It Affiliated with Nerdist Industries

Apparently, Nerdist, as operated by Legendary Entertainment, and Chris Hardwick have grown to a point where they are parting ways amicably.

It is a little crazy to see the namesake of one of the biggest podcast networks around and biggest podcasts in general has opted out into something else. Hardwick insists that his podcast that will known be known as ID10T will essentially be the same podcast with the same folks working on it that will just have a different home. 

The effects and aftermath of this move have yet to be seen (the first episodes of ID10T haven’t even dropped yet), but they’ll undoubtedly be some reverberations in the podcasting world and the Nerdist brand. 

Armando Iannucci’s Next Project Will Be a David Copperfield Movie
February 2, 2018
Uncategorized
charles dickens, david copperfield, personal history of david copperfield

Armando Iannucci’s Next Project Will Be a David Copperfield Movie

Really, Armando Iannucci could make a great movie about either David Copperfield.

That being said, he’s not doing a movie about the magician that’s currently dealing with sexual assault allegations. 

We’re very curious to see what Iannucci does with the celebrated Charles Dickens character in this latest project entitled “The Personal History of David Copperfield”. It’ll be a modern take on the Copperfield story, so maybe it’ll have much more profanity laced jokes than in the book?

“Soft Focus with Jena Friedman” and “Eric Andre Does Paris” Specials to Premiere on Adult Swim on Feb. 18th
January 29, 2018
Uncategorized
adult swim, eric andre, eric andre does paris, jena friedman, tv special

“Soft Focus with Jena Friedman” and “Eric Andre Does Paris” Specials to Premiere on Adult Swim on Feb. 18th

Accomplished and darkly hilarious multi-hyphenate Jena Friedman is getting to do a “human interest” comedy special at and Eric Andre returns to Adult Swim next month. 

We hope that you’d know Jena from her great last special/album “American C*nt” or her plethora of work that includes Letterman, The Daily Show, and so much more. If you do, you’d probably know that this special will very likely be as sharp and biting as anything satirical on television. 

Odds are that you’ve seen Eric Andre (or at least a .GIF of him) destroying one of his many desks on The Eric Andre Show. Essentially, Eric will do what he’s been doing in the U.S. on his show, but in Paris, France

So, don’t miss them.

Soft Focus with Jena Friedman will premiere at Midnight Feb. 18th followed by Eric Andre Does Paris at 12:15AM.

Even Though Russia Has Banned the Release of “Death of Stalin”, a Moscow Theater Screened It Anyway and Police Then Raided the Theater
January 26, 2018
Uncategorized
armando iannucci, death of stalin, moscow, police raid, russia

Even Though Russia Has Banned the Release of “Death of Stalin”, a Moscow Theater Screened It Anyway and Police Then Raided the Theater

For how seriously the Russian government is reacting to Armando Iannucci’s latest work, they sure look like they are part of another Armando Iannucci project about how dumb government censorship can really look.

It just goes to show you that one of comedy/satire’s best weapons is how it often automatically makes fools of those who try to cover it up.

Comedy Gets Plenty of Nominations for This Year’s Oscars Thanks to Lady Bird, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, I, Tonya The Disaster Artist, The Big Sick, and The Sqaure
January 24, 2018
Uncategorized
2018, oscars, the big, the square

Comedy Gets Plenty of Nominations for This Year’s Oscars Thanks to Lady Bird, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, I, Tonya The Disaster Artist, The Big Sick, and The Sqaure

More so than any year that we can remember, comedy got a bunch of nods from the Academy (of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences). In fact, it was a surprising year for genre films all around (Get Out, Logan, etc.). 

Not only is there more diversity in representation, but the type of film that is getting recognized at this level isn’t just a historical drama about marginalized people that are probably children.  Sure, we would have liked to see Michael Showalter and Ruben Östlund get nods for their directing work, but it’s a nice step forward for what is arguably the most venerable awards ceremony in entertainment.

So, here are the nominations that 2017′s most critically acclaimed comedies landed for 2018 Oscars:

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri-Best Picture, Best Actress (Frances McDormand), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell), Best Editing (Jon Gregory), Best Music-Original Score (Carter Burwell), Best Writing-Original Screenplay (Martin McDonagh)

Lady Bird-Best Picture, Best Directing (Greta Gerwig), Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Laurie Metcalf), Best Writing-Original Screenplay (Greta Gerwig)

I, Tonya-Best Actress (Margot Robbie), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Allison Janney)

The Disaster Artist-Best Writing-Adapted Screenplay (Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber)

The Big Sick-Best Writing-Original Screenplay (Kumail Nanjiani & Emily Gordon)

The Square-Best Foreign Language Film

See the full list of nominees here.

Tiffany Haddish Just Signed First-Look Deal with HBO
January 24, 2018
Uncategorized
hbo, tiffany haddish

Tiffany Haddish Just Signed First-Look Deal with HBO

Tiffany Haddish’s star is still rising higher and higher, even though she had an unbelievable 2017 (Girls Trip, her Showtime special, book The Last Black Unicorn).

Now, she has a production company, aptly named She Ready, that will develop projects at the premium cable network. You might have also noticed that Haddish is the spokesperson for Groupon now.

Basically, looks like Haddish is set up for another great year. 

Armando Iannucci’s The Death of Stalin Banned from Release by Russian Culture Ministry
January 24, 2018
Uncategorized
armando iannucci, death of stalin

Armando Iannucci’s The Death of Stalin Banned from Release by Russian Culture Ministry

This release ban comes as a result of the film containing “information whose distribution is legally banned in Russia” and the trailer being “offensive”. 

Russia banning a satire about one of their most controversial figures, Stalin, almost guarantees a bunch of Americans will go see The Death of Stalin when it rolls out in theaters here in early March.

Given Iannucci’s penchant for satire (In The Loop, Veep), we wouldn’t be surprised if the ban makes it onto new posters and TV spots for the movie.

Taika Waititi’s & Jemaine Clement ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Gets FX Pilot Order
January 23, 2018
Uncategorized
fx, jemaine clement, pilot order, taika waititi, what we do in the shadows

Taika Waititi’s & Jemaine Clement ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Gets FX Pilot Order

A few things to note here. 

1) If this goes to series, FX’s comedy line-up will be Baskets, Atlanta, Better Things, Archer, and What We Do In The Shadows (not to mention It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and You’re The Worst on FXx). That’s nearly flawless as far as we can see.

2) What We Do In The Shadows has an actual shot of being made into a TV show stateside. If you enjoyed Thor: Ragnarok at all (and somehow don’t know about What We Do In The Shadows), you could be in for a very wonderful surprise.

3) This is a great reason to go rewatch one of the funniest movies in recent memory.

Netflix Announces Line-Up for “15 Minute Comedy Specials”
January 22, 2018
Uncategorized
netflix, quarter hour stand-up specials, stand up

Netflix Announces Line-Up for “15 Minute Comedy Specials”

A 15 minute comedy special is definitely experimental in the sense that it’s longer than a late night set or even a set on one of Comedy Central’s stand-up showcase series, but it’s shorter than a half hour special. Since Netflix has been shelling out the big bucks for the big names as of the last couple years, we guess this is their way to stay connected to comedians still working their way to being a household name (and probably someone whom would have gotten an hour special from the Netflix of years past)

With that being said, we’re glad to see the line-up features plenty of folks that we’ve got to enjoy over the years and deserve the platform of Netflix to have their comedy be seen and heard including:

Aisling Bea
Michelle Buteau
Tim Dillon
JR De Guzman
Sabrina Jalees
Janelle James
Sam Jay
Josh Johnson
Ian Karmel
Jak Knight
Matteo Lane
Max Silvestri
Taylor Tomlinson
Phil Wang
Emma Willmann
Kate Willett

Tapings have yet to happen and the series isn’t named, but keep a close on eye on @netflixisajoke to see when both of those things are announced.

“Last Week Tonight returns, uninterrupted, on February 18th at 11 on @HBO.”
January 22, 2018
Uncategorized
hbo, john oliver, last week tonight

“Last Week Tonight returns, uninterrupted, on February 18th at 11 on @HBO.”

Just under a month from now, John Oliver and company will return to being a weekly fixture in our lives and a well-researched calling out of the issues that we might be overlooking. 

Also, we’re going to bet we’ll be seeing more of that supposedly non-existent “John Oliver Effect” in action in the second year of this Trump Administration.

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