by Ready for the weekend? Me, too. But first, a few things to mention and link to that people are reading and talking about in comedy circles…
- I would have put the animated GIF version of Conan's Tonight Show backdrop (shown above as stills) on the site, but I didn't want your minds to explode all Nintendo-like. Click on Serious Lunch, if you dare.
- Speaking of Tonight Show matters, I have learned exclusively (exclusively? really? everyone knew about it when I put it on my Twitter yesterday) that Bill Burr will be the first stand-up comedian to perform on Conan's Tonight Show on Monday, June 8, 2009. Trivia! Anthony Jeselnik, a writer for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, has a joke about how he was the first stand-up to perform on Fallon's show — and if that's not a big deal to you, then it should be. I'm trying to think of who the other first stand-ups were on Leno, Letterman and the biggie, Carson. Johnny Carson. Who was thinking I meant Carson Daly?! Google is not helping.
- New York magazine talked to Mike Birbiglia today, as he ends his "limited run" engagement Off-Broadway of Sleepwalk with Me this weekend at 198 performances.
- Lin-Manuel Miranda from Freestyle Love Supreme (and Tony-winning musical man) will co-star in the new season of House as Hugh Laurie's roommate, says EW's Michael Ausiello.
- The Laugh Track assembled 17 yearbook photographs of funny people, in case you didn't get a chance to see what any of these folks looked like when they were in high school and college.
- The Television Critics Association (TCA) announced their nominations for best in TV shows yesterday, and all of you yahoos who don't think Saturday Night Live hasn't been funny in years will find yourselves in stark contrast to TV critics: They think SNL was one of the best overall shows of the year. In the comedy bracket, they narrowed the field to 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, The Daily Show, How I Met Your Mother and The Office. For individual achievement in comedy, they liked Alec Baldwin, Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Neil Patrick Harris and Jim Parsons. They also liked United States of Tara as one of the best new shows. Chelsea Handler will open the awards show Aug. 1 in Pasadena.
