The Definitive Guide to Comedy
Nate Bargatze really is Jimmy Fallon’s favorite stand-up comedian, as evidenced by yet another appearance on Friday, performing five minutes from his new Netflix hour, The Tennessee Kid. Funny stuff. Roll the clip!
As a lifelong fan of Batman but only a casual reader of his DC Comics during my childhood, I confess to not knowing the canonical origin story for his greatest nemesis, The Joker. There was the movie version from 1989, in which Jack Nicholson’s criminal character gets dumped into a …
Kevin Hart’s new Netflix hour delves into his insecurities more than his irresponsibilities. Which is OK. Even if the intro and show description might mislead you into thinking about what he’ll talk about in this hour. He filmed this special last year on tour (I saw it live in Montreal …
The Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada received an award recently from the LA City College Foundation for running his annual comedy camp for underprivileged children, and his most prized pupil, Tiffany Haddish, introduced him at the event. “I’ve known Jamie since I was 15 years old,” she said, “and now …
Jim Serpico, the former president of motion pictures and television at Apostle, where he shepherded Rescue Me, Maron, Benders, and SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL to TV, now has started a comedy record label. It’s called the Virtual Comedy Network, and its first release is Jim Breuer’s “Live From Portland,” available to stream now …
Jill-Michele Meleán’s mother’s Irish, and her father’s Bolivian. But she grew up in Miami surrounded by Cubans. All of which makes her White Latina, the title of her first full stand-up special, out now via Comedy Dynamics. Jilly talks to me about catching her first break by standing in for …
Jason Sáenz, a former New Face at Montreal Just For Laughs, had made a name for himself through his parody “Saenz Signs” he’d post on telephone poles and elsewhere around New York City, and then Los Angeles. He’d just started a new full-time job doing social media for Steve Harvey …
There’s a new guy in charge of Netflix’s comedy domination. Brandon Riegg, who had served as the streaming giant’s VP Unscripted Originals & Acquisitions, will take over comedy while Lisa Nishimura moves up from original comedy and docs to become VP Independent Film & Documentary Features. “Lisa blazed a trail …
The longest-running stand-up showcase series as of now is/was Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, which ran for nine seasons from 1997-2005. Of course, Comedy Central has replaced it with several other stand-up showcases of varying names and themes. But Comedy Dynamics is looking to best Premium Blend by at least one …
This is not an April Fool’s joke. Chicken Soup For The Soul Entertainment, a streaming service in its own right, is taking on Sony’s assets from its streaming service, Crackle, and creating a joint venture called, well, Crackle Plus. OK. It still sounds like a prank. But it’s not. “Crackle …
