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Fox Developing Single Camera Comedy “Birthright” Written by and Starring Joel Kim Booster

December 7, 2016

birthright, development, fox, joel kim booster, sitcom

Fox Developing Single Camera Comedy “Birthright” Written by and Starring Joel Kim Booster

Not only would a series from Joel Kim Booster be giving a very funny comedian an opportunity to tell their life story that they deserve, but it also will get visibility on national television to Asians, LBGTQ, being adopted, multiracial families, and so much more.

These are the things that should be normalized, especially in this immediate future, and making a sitcom out of them is a big, necessary step forward.

Oh yeah, as we said before, Joel is damn funny as you can see in his Conan set and we hope to see this become a show on TV soon.

Chris Rock Announces Worldwide ‘Total Blackout’ Tour

December 6, 2016

chris rock, comedy tour, stand up, total blackout

Chris Rock Announces Worldwide ‘Total Blackout’ Tour

So far, here are the dates announced.

14-Feb-DURHAM, NC
16-Feb-CINCINNATI, OH
18-Feb-COLUMBUS, OH
21-Feb-NIAGARA FALLS, ON
22-Feb-NIAGARA FALLS, ON
23-Feb-NIAGARA FALLS, ON
24-Feb-RENO, NV
25-Feb-PHOENIX, AZ
3-Mar-DENVER, CO
5-Mar-RICHMOND, VA
10-Mar-MINNEAPOLIS, MN
24-Mar-BIRMINGHAM, LA
25-Mar-NEW ORLEANS, LA
29-Mar-HOLLYWOOD, FL
6-Apr-TULSA, OK
7-Apr-THACKERVILLE, OK
8-Apr-ST. LOUIS, MO
14-Apr-TAMPA, FL
19-Apr-CLEVELAND, OH
22-Apr-UNCASVILLE, CT
28-Apr-DETROIT, MI
3-May-INDIANAPOLIS, IN
13-May-SUGAR LAND, TX
14-May-Austin, TX
17-May-PITTSBURGH, PA
25-May-CHEROKEE, NC
26-May-ATLANTA, GA
3-Jun-ATLANTIC CITY, NJ

We’re sure there will be more dates, but you should snatch up tickets while you can because, as Rock said, this is his first tour in 9 years and these shows will undoubtedly sell out quick.

Get tickets here.

Fiona Apple Made a Darkly Humorous, Trump-Inspired Version of The Christmas Song

December 6, 2016

christmas song, donald trump, fiona apple, parody, satire

Fiona Apple Made a Darkly Humorous, Trump-Inspired Version of The Christmas Song

In case you needed another reason to love Fiona Apple, here you go.

While, Fiona Apple isn’t a comedian and doesn’t really engage in musical comedy, she still made what could be the subversive hit of this holiday season.

Her freshly recorded, satirical twist on the holiday classic “The Christmas Song” that floats underneath the impending pall of the Trump Administration is worth a good laugh in these twilight weeks before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20th. Listen to it here.

Here are the lyrics by the way, which are NSFW is you sing them aloud, but we have a feeling that won’t stop you at this point.

Trump’s nuts roasting on an open fire
as he keeps nipping at his foes.
you’ll cry creepy uncle
every time he arrives
for he keeps clawing at your clothes
everybody knows some money and entitlement
can help to make the season white
mothers of color with their kids out of sight
will find it hard to sleep at night.

They know that truuump is on his way.
he’s got black boys in hoodies locked up on his sleigh
and every working man is going to cry
when they learn that Letch don’t care how you live or if you die

Sooo I’m offering this simple phrase
to kids from 1 to 92
although it’s been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas
Donald Trump, f*ck you

Atlanta, Better Things, Nathan For You, Veep, Last Week Tonight, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, BoJack Horseman Score WGA Awards TV Nominations

December 5, 2016

atlanta, better things, last week tonight, nominees, tv, unbreakable kimmy schmidt, veep, wga, wga awards

Atlanta, Better Things, Nathan For You, Veep, Last Week Tonight, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, BoJack Horseman Score WGA Awards TV Nominations

The perennial prestige comedy of HBO is alive and well, but upstarts at FX (Atlanta and Better Things) are also riding high for this year’s Writers Guild Awards TV nominations.

That being said, there’s one very noticeable snub: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

It didn’t get nominated next to Last Week Tonight, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. We certainly hope that won’t happen elsewhere this awards season.

*Comedy nominees are in italics

COMEDY SERIES

-Atlanta
Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX
-Silicon Valley
Written by Megan Amram, Alec Berg, Donick Cary, Adam Countee, Jonathan Dotan, Mike Judge, Carrie Kemper, John Levenstein, Dan Lyons, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver, Ron Weiner; HBO
-Transparent
Written by Arabella Anderson, Bridget Bedard, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Jessi Klein, Stephanie Kornick, Ethan Kuperberg, Ali Liebegott, Our Lady J, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway; Amazon Studios
-Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Written by Emily Altman, Robert Carlock, Azie Mira Dungey, Tina Fey, Lauren Gurganous, Sam Means, Dylan Morgan, Marlena Rodriguez, Dan Rubin, Meredith Scardino, Josh Siegal, Allison Silverman, Leila Strachan; Netflix
-Veep
Written by Rachel Axler, Sean Gray, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Eric Kenward, Billy Kimball, Steve Koren, David Mandel, Jim Margolis, Lew Morton, Georgia Pritchett, Will Smith, Alexis Wilkinson; HBO

NEW SERIES

-Atlanta
Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX
-Better Things
Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K., Cindy Chupack, Gina Fattore; FX
-Stranger Things
Written by Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, The Duffer Brothers, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Alison Tatlock; Netflix
-This Is Us
Written by Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger, Bekah Brunstetter, Dan Fogelman, Vera Herbert, Joe Lawson, Kay Oyegun, Aurin Squire, K.J. Steinberg, Donald Todd; NBC
-Westworld
Written by Ed Brubaker, Bridget Carpenter, Dan Dietz, Halley Gross, Lisa Joy, Katherine Lingenfelter, Dominic Mitchell, Jonathan Nolan, Roberto Patino, Daniel T. Thomsen, Charles Yu; HBO

ANIMATION

-“Barthood” (The Simpsons)
Written by Dan Greaney; Fox
-“First Day of Rule” (Elena of Avalor)
Written by Craig Gerber; Disney Channel
-“Fish Out of Water” (BoJack Horseman)
Written by Elijah Aron & Jordan Young; Netflix
-“A Princess on Lothal” (Star Wars Rebels)
Written by Steven Melching; Disney XD
-“Stop the Presses” (BoJack Horseman)
Written by Joe Lawson; Netflix

EPISODIC COMEDY

-“Kimmy Finds Her Mom!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)
Written by Tina Fey & Sam Means; Netflix
-“Kimmy Goes on a Playdate!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)
Written by Robert Carlock; Netflix
-“Pilot” (One Mississippi)
Written by Diablo Cody & Tig Notaro; Amazon Studios
-“R-A-Y-C-Ray-Cation” (Speechless)
Written by Carrie Rosen & Seth Kurland; ABC
-“Streets on Lock” (Atlanta)
Written by Stephen Glover; FX
-“A Taste of Zephyria” (Son of Zorn)
Written by Dan Mintz; Fox

COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – SERIES

-The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Writers: Dan Amira, David Angelo, Steve Bodow, Devin Delliquanti, Zach DiLanzo, Travon Free, Hallie Haglund, David Kibuuka, Matt Koff, Adam Lowitt, Dan McCoy, Lauren Sarver Means, Trevor Noah, Joe Opio, Zhubin Parang, Owen Parson, Daniel Radosh, Michelle Wolf; Comedy Central
-Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Writers: Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner; HBO
-Late Night with Seth Meyers
Writers: Jermaine Affonso, Alex Baze, Bryan Donaldson, Sal Gentile, Matt Goldich, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, Andrew Law, John Lutz, Aparna Nancherla, Chioke Nassor, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, Conner O’Malley, Seth Reiss, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker, Ben Warheit, Michelle Wolf; NBC
-The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Writers: Mike Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Cullen Crawford, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Lappin, Opus Moreschi, Tom Purcell, Jen Spyra, Brian Stack; NBC

COMEDY / VARIETY – SKETCH SERIES

-Documentary Now!
Writers: Bill Hader, John Mulaney, Seth Meyers; IFC
-Inside Amy Schumer
Writers: Kim Carmele, Kyle Dunnigan, Jessi Klein, Michael Lawrence, Kurt Metzger, Christine Nangle, Claudia O’Doherty, Dan Powell, Tami Sagher, Amy Schumer; Comedy Central
-Maya and Marty in Manhattan
Head Writers: Mikey Day, Matt Roberts, Bryan Tucker Writers: Eli Bauman, Jeremy Beiler, Chris Belair, Hallie Cantor, David Feldman, R J Fried, Melissa Hunter, Paul Masella, Tim McAuliffe, John Mulaney, Diallo Riddle, Maya Rudolph, Bashir Salahuddin, Marika Sawyer, Streeter Seidell, Martin Short; Emily Spivey, Steve Young; NBC
-Nathan For You
Written by Leo Allen, Nathan Fielder, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola; Comedy Central
-Saturday Night Live
Head Writers: Rob Klein, Bryan Tucker Writers: James Anderson, Fred Armisen, Jeremy Beiler, Chris Belair, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Jim Downey, Tina Fey, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Tim Herlihy, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Zach Kanin, Chris Kelly, Erik Kenward, Paul Masella, Dave McCary, Dennis McNicholas, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Paula Pell, Katie Rich, Tim Robinson, Sarah Schneider, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Dave Sirus, Emily Spivey, Andrew Steele, Will Stephen, Kent Sublette; NBC

COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS

-68th Primetime Emmy Awards
Written by Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Robert Cohen, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Jimmy Kimmel, Bess Kalb, Jeff Loveness, Jon Macks, Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Jeff Stilson, Joe Strazzullo, Alexis Wilkinson; ABC
-73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards
Written by Barry Adelman; Special Material Written by Dave Boone, Ricky Gervais, Jon Macks, Matthew Robinson; NBC
-88th Annual Academy Awards
Written by Dave Boone, Billy Kimball; Special Material Written by Scott Aukerman, Rodney Barnes, Neil Campbell, Matthew Claybrooks, Lance Crouther, Mike Ferrucci, Langston Kerman, Jon Macks, Steve O’Donnell, Nimesh Patel, Vanessa Ramos, Chris Rock, Frank Sebastiano, Chuck Sklar, Jeff Stilson, Michelle Wolf; CBS
-Triumph’s Election Special
Written by Andy Breckman, Josh Comers, David Feldman, R J Fried, Jarrett Grode, Ben Joseph, Matthew Kirsch, Michael Koman, Mike Lawrence, Brian Reich, Craig Rowin, Robert Smigel, Zach Smilovitz, Andrew Weinberg; Hulu

Get full list of WGA TV nominees here.

Adult Swim Cancels Its “Alt-Right” Show ‘Million Dollar Extreme’

December 5, 2016

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Adult Swim Cancels Its “Alt-Right” Show ‘Million Dollar Extreme’

While it was admirable for Adult Swim to welcome voices outside of their generally left-leaning programming and found some promise starting out with this Ted Talk prank, we hope they find something better than anything that’s a comedic platform with ties to the racist, White Nationalist fringe group known as the “alt-right”.

Now that Million Dollar Extreme is officially canned and Brett Gelman left the network in protest, Adult Swim has the chance for a real rebirth now. They have some room to to move towards being more inclusive with their development and programming slates, especially when it comes to giving credence to female perspectives.

In that spirit, may we suggest giving Natalie Palamides, Jo Firestone, Jamie Loftus, or Kyle Mizono their own Adult Swim shows or, at least, be brought into the fold. They’d definitely keep the weird going at the network in their own unique, great way.

The Hilariously Twisted Mr. Neighbor’s House Is Now Streaming on Adult Swim

December 5, 2016

adult swim, brian huskey, mr neighbor's house, now streaming

The Hilariously Twisted Mr. Neighbor’s House Is Now Streaming on Adult Swim

If you’ve ever wanted a bizarro, disturbed version of a show like Mister Rogers Neighborhood, you’ve absolutely got that in Mr. Neighbor’s House.

Brian Huskey along with his co-stars in Mary Holland, Nick Kroll, Jon Daly, and Steve Agee, co-writers Jason Mantzoukas and Jesse Falcon, and director Bill Benz nail the ultra dark humor a mentally and emotionally unstable kids show on pretty much every level and in front of and behind the fourth wall.

We won’t say anymore and just let you enjoy all of Mr. Neighbor’s House’s twists and turns.

The special premiered this weekend, but you can now stream it for free at your convenience at Adult Swim.

Jimmy Kimmel Will Host 2017 Academy Awards

December 5, 2016

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Jimmy Kimmel Will Host 2017 Academy Awards

On top of Hollywood finding their new go-to awards show host, Jimmy Kimmel will only have to cross the street from Jimmy Kimmel Live to host the Academy Awards held at The Dolby Theatre.

Comedy Crawl and Open Mic Run All Updated for Next Week 12/5/16

December 4, 2016

burbank, comedy shows, dtla, echo park, improv jam, k town, los angeles, north hollywood, open mics, silverlake, stand up, studio city

Comedy Crawl and Open Mic Run All Updated for Next Week 12/5/16

Whether you want to watch stand-up, sketch, or improv or do stand-up open mic, sketch mic, or improv jam, we’ve got you covered.

Comedy Crawl All Updated for Next Week 12/4/16

December 4, 2016

apple sisters, comedy shows, dave chappelle, jay larson, john waters, los angeles, rabbit hole, rory scovel

Comedy Crawl All Updated for Next Week 12/4/16

Dave Chappelle, John Waters, The Rabbit Hole with Jay Larson and Rory Scovel, plenty of charity benefits, and The Apple Sisters are just a few things you should absolutely catch if you can this week.

Jon Stewart Puts to Rest This Idea That The Daily Show Could Have Determined the Election and Shares a Bit of Hope in America Going Forward as America

December 4, 2016

jon stewart, the daily show

Jon Stewart Puts to Rest This Idea That The Daily Show Could Have Determined the Election and Shares a Bit of Hope in America Going Forward as America

“We were the destroyers of men and creators of empires. I think that generally is satire’s role and has always been: the rise and fall of civilization at our whim,” Stewart said facetiously, jokingly adding, “I would have probably allowed Hillary to come a little closer in the Rust Belt, but I still think I would have given Michigan to Trump. I had a little something going on where I was going to give [Al] Gore Florida. There was a bit we had planned that was going to hand Florida to Gore.”

But in all seriousness, Stewart says he doesn’t think satire has that much influence, something he hopes the book [The Daily Show (The Book) An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests] illustrates.

At a NY Times discussion on the recently released Daily Show oral history, Jon Stewart tried to inject some reality and hope in talking about Trump’s win. Stewart heartily believes that this isn’t the end of America and that it is still the same country with the same people as it was before the election.

Along those lines, Stewart explains, as seen above, that the idea of him staying on as host of The Daily Show wouldn’t have changed the outcome despite some people’s finger-pointing saying otherwise.

Jon also went on to precisely dissect the media coverage, which was always a central focus of his run at The Daily Show, of the election and their obsession with the ratings grabbing headlines and failing to focusing on the actual policy issues.

All of this should inform Jon Stewart’s upcoming animated cable news parody on HBO, which will be more relevant than ever when it premieres.

2017 Gilda’s LaughFest Is Now Taking Submissions for Stand-Up, Sketch, and Improv

December 2, 2016

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2017 Gilda’s LaughFest Is Now Taking Submissions for Stand-Up, Sketch, and Improv

Gilda’s LaughFest has taken place annually in Grand Rapids, MI since 2011 bringing headliners and up and comers around the country to Michigan.

This year, the festival will run for a week and a half from March 9th-19th.

You have a shot to perform as they’re taking submissions until December 18th this year. Get details and submit at the link above.

Nick Thune Might Finally Get to Play a Cool Pastor in Comedy “Holy Sh*t” in Works at ABC

December 2, 2016

abc, cool pastor, mila kunis, nick thune, sitcom, youth pastor

Nick Thune Might Finally Get to Play a Cool Pastor in Comedy “Holy Sh*t” in Works at ABC

If you’ve seen Nick Thune’s stand-up, you’ve probably heard him suggest how he could easily slip into being a super cool, subversive pastor.

Well, with the help of Mila Kunis and ABC, that now might be a reality (albeit one that’s made up by Hollywood).

This project in the works Holy Sh*t will have Thune in place at a church trying to find its way in the modern world and leave plenty of room for Thune to fully realize his Pastor Nick alter ego.

Don’t Think Twice, The Lobster, Hail, Caesar! Get Critics Choice Awards Nominations

December 1, 2016

coen brothers, critics choice awards, don't think twice, edge of seventeen, hail caesar, the lobster, the nice guys, toni erdmann

Don’t Think Twice, The Lobster, Hail, Caesar! Get Critics Choice Awards Nominations

The Critics Choice Awards are definitely a departure from many awards show trends, especially with a wider swathe of genre categories. For this year, when it comes to comedy, the films nominated are all over the place (Deadpool, Central Intelligence and the Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar! are all nominated together), but some true gems that might not get recognized for other awards get some recognition here amidst all the noise from buzzworthy dramas like Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea.

Specifically, we’re happy to see Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice and The Lobster listed below (comedy nominees italicized).

Best Young Actor/Actress

Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
Alex R. Hibbert – Moonlight
Lewis MacDougall – A Monster Calls
Madina Nalwanga – Queen of Katwe
Sunny Pawar – Lion
Hailee Steinfeld – The Edge of Seventeen

Best Original Screenplay

Damien Chazelle – La La LandBarry Jenkins – Moonlight
Yorgos Lanthimos/Efthimis Filippou – The Lobster
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
Jeff Nichols – Loving
Taylor Sheridan – Hell or High Water

Best Costume Design

Colleen Atwood – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Consolata Boyle – Florence Foster Jenkins
Madeline Fontaine – Jackie
Joanna Johnston – Allied
Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh – Love & Friendship
Mary Zophres – La La Land

Best Animated Movie

Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
The Red Turtle
Trolls
Zootopia

Best Action Movie

Captain America: Civil War
Deadpool
Doctor Strange
Hacksaw Ridge
Jason Bourne

Best Comedy

Central Intelligence
Deadpool
Don’t Think Twice
The Edge of Seventeen
Hail, Caesar!
The Nice Guys

Best Actor in a Comedy

Ryan Gosling – The Nice Guys
Hugh Grant – Florence Foster Jenkins
Dwayne Johnson – Central Intelligence
Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool

Best Actress in a Comedy

Kate Beckinsale – Love & Friendship
Sally Field – Hello, My Name Is Doris
Kate McKinnon – Ghostbusters
Hailee Steinfeld – The Edge of Seventeen
Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Foreign Language Film

Elle
The Handmaiden
Julieta
Neruda
The Salesman
Toni Erdmann

Best Song

Audition (The Fools Who Dream) – La La Land
Can’t Stop the Feeling – Trolls
City of Stars – La La Land
Drive It Like You Stole It – Sing Street
How Far I’ll Go – Moana
The Rules Don’t Apply – Rules Don’t Apply

The full list of nominees are available at the link above and the winners will be announced on the Critics Choice Awards telecast hosted by TJ Miller on December 11th.

Trevor Noah Solidifies Voice as Host of The Daily Show in Interview with Tomi Lahren

December 1, 2016

daily show, jon stewart, tomi lahren, trevor noah

Trevor Noah Solidifies Voice as Host of The Daily Show in Interview with Tomi Lahren

Last night, Trevor Noah’s interview with outspoken conservative pundit Tomi Lahren showed that Noah can own The Daily Show with his own voice that’s distinctly different from Jon Stewart.

In transitioning from the cultural institution that was The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, many different strategies have been employed in having Trevor Noah take the baton successfully from Stewart.

Accomplishing that has been tricky, to say the least, with the departure of longtime favorites Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, and John Oliver to do their own late night show elsewhere and having much of America meeting Noah for the first time as a host of The Daily Show rather than the insanely popular, globe trotting comedian first.

In an interview that reaches almost 30 minutes, Trevor might have found the groove that will see him through as the host and these upcoming years of the Trump Administration.

It’s not Stewart’s famous takedown of Jim Mad Money Cramer, but that’s not what suits Noah. Instead, poise and calm let him have a rational debate with the fiery Lahren and gave room to pick apart her arguments at his pace with the occasional satirical poke here and there. It’s engaging on Noah’s terms and might be precedent for more counterpoint-type guests for him in the future.

Watch and see for yourself in full, extended interview at the link above.

Watch Trailer for Doc “Asperger’s Are Us” Following a Different Sort of Comedy Troupe

November 30, 2016

asperger's are us, duplass brothers, ethan finlan, jack hanke, new michael ingemi, noah britton, trailer

Watch Trailer for Doc “Asperger’s Are Us” Following a Different Sort of Comedy Troupe

A documentary that’s inspirational, about coming up in comedy, fighting negative stereotypes about not being a neurotypical or “NT” sounds like a winning combo to us.

Noah Britton, Ethan Finlan, Jack Hanke, New Michael Ingemi are all on the autism spectrum, but manage to do comedy anyway and the film follows how exactly they pull that off.

The Duplass Brothers thought the same thing and attached themselves to the movie to hopefully get it more exposure.

Watch the trailer for Alex Lehmann’s Asperger’s Are Us at the link above.

Also, the actual group do tour and you can find their dates (mostly on the East Coast) here.

Netflix Will Now Allow Downloads of Selected Programming to Watch Offline

November 30, 2016

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Netflix Will Now Allow Downloads of Selected Programming to Watch Offline

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Master of None, and The Office are just a few of the shows that you can download to watch on a mobile device so you can finish binge watching some of your favorite shows without access to the Internet.

So, even in the most remote locations on earth, you can watch some of your favorite Netflix shows so long as you have battery life on whatever device you’re using. We wouldn’t be surprised to see that concept as part of an ad campaign.

Lewis Black to Host WGA Awards in NYC While Patton Oswalt Hosts in LA

November 30, 2016

lewis black, patton oswalt, wga, writers guild of america

Lewis Black to Host WGA Awards in NYC While Patton Oswalt Hosts in LA

If they got to play off each from across the country via Skype, Facetime, etc. that’d be pretty much perfect.

Acclaimed comedians Lewis Black and Patton Oswalt will be the respective hosts of this year’s WGA Awards, presented by the WGA West and WGA East simultaneously. As the ceremony isn’t televised, it’s a little looser and edgier than your typical awards show.

Wth Black and Oswalt both at the helm, don’t be surprised to see a wondrous rant, riff, or two while giving awards out for writing.

Desiree Akhavan To Direct Book Adaptation of Trans Romantic Comedy of Age Comedy “Adam”

November 29, 2016

adam, adaptation, ariel schrag, desiree akhavan

Desiree Akhavan To Direct Book Adaptation of Trans Romantic Comedy of Age Comedy “Adam”

It will be folks like Desiree Akhavan that will do the important work to keep visibility of minorities that might be more vulnerable than the rest of us in this world. Also, she’ll do it in a way that’s humorous, engaging, and enlightening.

Already, Akhavan has a track record in to telling stories that break from the traditional mainstream mold and really dig into the intersectionality of race, gender, sexual identity and more.

Just see for yourself with her movie Appropriate Behaviour and another movie she’s set to direct The Miseducation of Cameron Post.

She is now set to direct this adaptation of Ariel Schrag’s novel Adam, which details “an awkward teenager who goes to spend his final summer of high school with his older sister, who has thrown herself into New York City’s lesbian and trans activist scene. Adam meets the girl of his dreams at a party; but there’s one wrinkle – he can’t quite figure out how to tell her he’s not the trans man she thinks he is.”

Keep track of this and everything else Akhavan is up to.

Larry Wilmore Signs Overall Deal With ABC Studios

November 28, 2016

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Larry Wilmore Signs Overall Deal With ABC Studios

Since the cancellation of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, Larry Wilmore has been busy work building his own TV empire and, thankfully, succeeding.

Wilmore already had his hand in both Black-ish and helping bring Issa Rae’s Insecure to HBO before his own show got the ax. Though he’s not at the center of a show behind a desk, it would seem with a new overall deal with ABC that he’s got more on his plate than ever.

If we’re reading the tea leaves right, diversity will be more important than ever on television and Wilmore being where he is right now is a good thing.

Annie Awards Nominations Announced and Zootopia Leads Big Time

November 28, 2016

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.

David Cross to Donate Profits of Album “…America…Great…” to ACLU

November 26, 2016

aclu, american civil liberties union, david cross, maga

David Cross to Donate Profits of Album “…America…Great…” to ACLU

No matter the outcome of the election, you should have watched or listened to David Cross’ latest hour, …America…Great… Now, there’s another great reason to get in on buying Cross’ first album in years.

Now, Cross will be donating all the sales of his album until December 26th this year to the ACLU as well as matching whatever the sales totals are with his own money.

You can the album for $10 digitally or on CD. There’s an autographed version, but that’s currently sold out.

WTF with Marc Maron Will Be Digging Into the WTF Vault for Unreleased Material Throughout the Years

November 25, 2016

jim earl, marc maron, patotn oswalt, podcast, wtf, wtf vault

WTF with Marc Maron Will Be Digging Into the WTF Vault for Unreleased Material Throughout the Years

So, this would be unlocking the gates, right?

WTF with Marc Maron has built itself into one of the biggest podcasts around, comedy or otherwise, through Maron’s shrewd interviewing style.

Before having WTF what it is now, Marc and his producer Brendan McDonald have made plenty of things that, for several fascinating reasons, have never been heard by anyone at all such as a test show done for an Air America affliate with Patton Oswalt as a guest and Jim Earl as a sidekick.

This is only the beginning of what will be called WTF Vault that’ll be released as a limited series until the end of the year.

Click the link above to hear the first episode.

It’s Record Store Day and You Can Now Get The Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen Double Vinyl Album

November 25, 2016

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It’s Record Store Day and You Can Now Get The Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen Double Vinyl Album

On top of the Black Friday shopping you might be already doing, it might be nice to pop in to your local record store (they do still exist) for Record Store Day and pick up the double vinyl album Hot Tub with Kurt (Braunohler) and Kristen (Schaal) Live at The Virgil. It’s just one of many exclusive releases today that you can only find in record stores.

It features the likes of Eddie Pepitone, Emily Heller, Aparna Nancherla, Karen Kilgariff, Kyle Kinane, and many more and comes with a download code as well.

You can find your the nearest Record Store Day participating record store here.

Conan Without Borders: Berlin Premieres on December 7th

November 23, 2016

Berlin, conan, flula borg, team coco

Conan Without Borders: Berlin Premieres on December 7th

Ironically, Germany, with Angela Merkel at the helm, might be a pretty great place to visit right now if you’re in the States.

Along with Flula, Conan’s visit to Berlin should show how fun that could really be.

Catch this latest Conan trip special on Wednesday, December 7th at 10PM on TBS.

Independent Spirit Awards Give Nominations to Other People, Morris From America, Swiss Army Man

November 22, 2016

chris kelly, daniel kwan, daniel scheinert, jean of the joneses, john cassavetes, josh locy, maren ade, morris from america, other people, stella meghie, swiss army man, toni erdmann

Independent Spirit Awards Give Nominations to Other People, Morris From America, Swiss Army Man

Like many awards shows in awards season, The Independent Spirit Awards deals heavily in drama with their nominations. That being said, they do usually acknowledge some comedic leaning works and this year is no different as you can see below.

John Cassavetes Award
Hunter Gatherer-Josh Locy

Best First Feature
Swiss Army Man-Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Other People-Chris Kelly

Best First Screenplay
Other People-Chris Kelly
Jean of the Joneses-Stella Meghie

Best Supporting Male
Morris From America-Craig Robinson

Best International Film
Toni Erdmann-Maren Ade

For our money, Chris Kelly’s Other People floored us and Craig Robinson might have given one of his best performances to date in Morris From America.

This upcoming Film Independent Spirit Awards will air live on IFC on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017 at 2PM PST.

See the full list of Spirit Awards nominees at the link above.