Comedians on comedy: HBO’s “Talking Funny,” Showtime’s “The Green Room,” and Comedy Talks

My friends across the pond at Chortle reported yesterday that HBO will be filming a one-off special this fall called "Talking Funny," in which Ricky Gervais, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Louis CK sit down to talk shop about comedy and themselves.

At Showtime, meanwhile, they've already ordered a second season of The Green Room with Paul Provenza, which is in production.

A friend of this site introduced me to a third iteration of this concept currently in the works, called Comedy Talks. It's not on TV, but rather a live staged production based in San Francisco, which held its first season this August with comedian/magician Robert Strong hosting three episodes with longtime veterans of the craft. His guests included Carol Channing, Shelley Berman, George Segal, Paul Mazursky, Robert Morse, Rich Little, Steve Rossi, Ronnie Schell, and Will Durst.

Here's a highlight clip of Comedy Talks. Rich Little impersonates Carol Channing with Channing, and if you wait until the end, "Bertram Cooper" sings. Mad men, indeed. Roll it!


 

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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