The Definitive Guide to Comedy
Meet your new late-night TV competition, same as the old competition. That was the case for David Letterman last night, as just like a year ago, he's up against Conan O'Brien for viewers. And unlike Jay Leno, Letterman had no problem bringing up Conan by name. Or using it at …
I'll have more to say about Conan O'Brien and his re-return to late-night TV soon enough, but for now, perhaps you'd just like to see how Conan opened Conan on TBS. He did so through a clever conceit, using a popular television thematic device called "Previously on Conan." You'll notice …
In an interview and photo shoot with Howard Schatz for the December issue of Vanity Fair, comedian Ricky Gervais described how and why he takes risks. An excerpt: "I don't want a predictable story. If you see something coming, it's not as exciting. So I, I like being made to …
When Conan O'Brien took over The Tonight Show last year, he opened with video of him making an epic cross-country run from New York City to Universal City. While you're wondering how he'll begin his tenure on TBS tonight, here's a new commercial for American Express that's more of an …
America is taking another game-show page from the Brits, and as has been the trend in this century, tapping a stand-up comedian to host it. The show is Million Dollar Money Drop — based on Million Pound Drop, which debuted in May in the UK — and Kevin Pollak will …
Following the "reunion" episode of Jersey Shore tonight, MTV is premiering an hourlong block of series featuring comedians in silly situations. First comes the return of Pranked, in which CollegeHumor's Streeter and Amir preside over and deliver commentary on the best homemade pranks they find online. That's followed by the …
Doug Benson's The Benson Interruption has been entertaining live audiences for years in Los Angeles and New York City, and when Friday turns into Saturday at midnight, he'll be entertaining audiences everywhere else as he brings the concept to Comedy Central. Benson explains the premise right at the top of …
As part of the busy opening night of the New York Comedy Festival, Louis CK sat down for a conversation at the Paley Center with Time magazine's James Poniewozik about the comedian's revelatory and innovative take on the sitcom with FX's Louie. One thing I hadn't heard him discuss, and …
In case you missed it during the flood of Election Day headlines and status updates, we learned yesterday that stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan will be part of a high-profile ensemble reviving the Tony-winning play, "That Championship Season," when it returns to Broadway in March 2011. Gaffigan will play George Sikowski, …
In the latest episode of Walking The Room, a podcast with comedians Greg Behrendt and Dave Anthony, they spend the first 15 minutes talking about Dane Cook and my recent interview with him. Why would they do that? Because before my chat with Cook began in a restaurant, Cook asked …