The Definitive Guide to Comedy
It was such a joy to witness firsthand when stand-up comedian Shane Mauss earned his first big break three years ago this month. You can see some of the evidence here when I celebrated with Mauss and friends after his first Conan taping in March 2007, and the subsequent piece …
Some comedians try to pretend they're not being taped for television and never acknowledge that it's anything special, just the same jokes you'd hear. Other comedians let you in on the game, and sometimes even play directly to the cameras, or say out loud when the commercial breaks should be …
Producers for Last Comic Standing's return promised that this seventh season would be different. Comedians who showed up for the Hollywood auditions over the weekend had two minutes to impress an empty room, save for the TV crew and three judges: Andy Kindler, Greg Giraldo and Natasha Leggero. How's that …
Why were there people who thought that Zach Galifianakis didn't shave his beard, or never had a beard, when the proof was right there in front of your very eyes last night on Saturday Night Live? Galifianakis made the bold decision to take an electric razor to his bushy facial …
I know my hopes were up, your hopes were up, comedy nerds everywhere held their collective breaths last night to see what would happen when Zach Galifianakis hosted SNL. It wasn't his first time hanging out there — he'd been there as a writer for a fleeting moment many years …
I have to admit that part of me worried that Players, the new sitcom from Upright Citizens Brigade leaders Matt Walsh and Ian Roberts, might not be very good. All of that part of me, it turns out, was worried simply because their series is airing on SPIKE. Let's just …
Are you ready for the seventh season of Last Comic Standing? Dozens of would-be comedians already are, judging by the Tweets I'm reading from Chucklemonkey, who already is in line outside of the Hollywood Improv. Wait. Don't the auditions take place tomorrow? Yep. But as of four hours ago, Chucklemonkey …
Look. I'm excited, you're excited, we're all pretty much excited to see Zach Galifianakis host Saturday Night Live this coming Saturday. His appearance last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon did nothing to diminish this mutual glee. In fact, it just proved that 30 Rock (the building) is home …
Did you miss this week's New Yorker panel with Saturday Night Live boss Lorne Michaels and head writer Seth Meyers? Well, you can sit back and listen to pretty much the whole thing, as the New Yorker uploaded audio from the event. Among the interesting tidbits, Michaels discusses how much …
If you were to tell me that Saturday Night Live would gather up all of its grand presidential impersonators for a one-time reunion, then I'd remind you that Phil Hartman is dead, and stop playing me. But you kept at it, and told me, hey, what if we got Jim …