The Definitive Guide to Comedy
Early this morning, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the 2009 Primetime Emmy Award nominees, and E Pluribus Unum, everyone, am I right? Out of many, one. There certainly are many nominees in several of the categories, but only one shall win come awards-handing-out-time (clearly, my grammatical skills …
Ellen DeGeneres took questions from the audience at the end of her latest variety special, which taped last week in Chicago at the Just For Laughs fest, and Ellen's Bigger, Longer and Wider Show debuts tonight on TBS. Not all of this footage from the Q&A makes it into the …
The TBS broadcasts from the inaugural Just For Laughs Chicago festival kick off tonight with Let Freedom Hum, a stand-up showcase hosted by a Canadian sketch actor, Martin Short, and featuring very little in the way of humming and nothing that we heard about the joys of freedom. But they put …
We have a lot of catching up to do. First, let's share this news with you about Louis CK, who in addition to recording plenty of "Hilarious" stand-up for a new CD in March and following that up by filming his set for a new DVD, has a potential stand-up comedy/sitcom …
The trades report that Starz has given a script commitment to Martin Lawrence to develop a half-hour comedy based on the life of stand-up comedian Gary Owen, who previously was featured on the pay cable network's Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Stand-up. Here is a clip, conveniently enough, of Owen …
Robert Smigel began his comedy career in Chicago, and during the 1988 writers strike, Smigel returned to the Windy City and, with fellow SNL striking writers Conan O'Brien and Bob Odenkirk, wrote and produced a revue called Happy Happy Good Show. One of Smigel's sketches portrayed Chicago's super sports fans, …
Ellen DeGeneres taped her third TBS variety special last night as part of the inaugural Just For Laughs Chicago comedy festival — Ellen's Bigger Longer & Wider Show will air at 9 p.m. Saturday, June 27, on TBS, but I can share some insight with you already. During a post-show question-and-answer …
Melanie Hutsell performed on Saturday Night Live for three seasons in the early 1990s, and by far her most recognizable character was her portrayal of Jan Brady (you may also get partial credit for thinking it was her sorority sister, Di). But what's Hutsell doing now? Raising children. Also, mastering her …
Sometimes you find your life as a stand-up and sketch comedian in New York City interrupted when your other life as a soldier in the U.S. Army orders you to report for duty, and you find yourself sent to Baghdad, Iraq for the better part of a year. Puts a …
Bill Burr was the first comedian to perform stand-up on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. A couple of things stuck out: First, obviously, the studio is so much bigger that they hadn't nailed down the time it takes for the band to play the comedian to the microphone (!), …