The Definitive Guide to Comedy
Marlon may not be the first to notice that President Trump treats the White House like a reality TV competition, or even that “Donald Trump is the Flavor Flav of white people.” He probably does win a “too soon” award, however, for his impression of Wendy Williams fainting, though, now that …
Turning a podcast into a TV special, let alone a four-part series, doesn’t make sense for most podcasts. But 2 Dope Queens isn’t any podcast. The hit WNYC podcast from Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams is part two-woman comedy duo, part improv, part chat show, part stand-up storytelling showcase. It …
Is Chris Rock’s Tamborine his best stand-up comedy special? Well, no. Is it his most interesting, most revealing and perhaps most important hour for these times? Perhaps yes. And that’s all you really need to know about the first of two Netflix specials Rock has up his sleeves. That, and …
One of my friends says Eddie Griffin is his favorite comedian. He doesn’t put Griffin in his all-time top five, but still, cites Griffin as his fave and his own inspiration for getting into stand-up comedy. I don’t see the same things in Griffin as my friends do, but after …
Fred Armisen is an acquired taste. That’s something we all probably can agree on, whether or not you agree with my takeaways from his first Netflix special, Standup For Drummers. You can see parts of many of his characters, from his long-running Portlandia on IFC to his SNL Weekend Update …
For my latest Humor in Hindsight column for Decider, I took a look back at how Zach Galifianakis has perfected the art of playing himself opposite his own self. Sure, you can see Galifianakis pull off this feat weekly on FX’s Baskets, which just returned in January for its third …
I’ve enjoyed Todd Glass since even before I knew exactly who he was, seeing him in the introduction movies for the Improv comedy clubs. Then came Last Comic Standing. Then came podcasts. Now comes his first Netflix special. Things I particularly enjoyed in Act Happy: Telling jokes while his band …
Katt Williams knows that comedy is show business, and you need to know both the business and how to put on a show. Williams told me that this morning in an exclusive interview for my podcast, Last Things First, and he certainly still delivers when it’s time to shine. His …
When Johnny Carson retired into the late-night sunset, never to be seen again except for a rare appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, I was OK with that. But Letterman retiring didn’t seem exactly right. Certainly he couldn’t keep up with the Jimmy Fallons or James Cordens. Certainly …
Tom Segura reminds me of every great stand-up comedian that I used to see in comedy clubs before/between the booms. Segura takes relatively unpopular positions and makes you laugh along with him at them, and does so with a tightly structured set infused with callbacks that pay off. He’s one-half …
