The Definitive Guide to Comedy
Congratulations to Vicki Barbolak, who at 60 is so far the first and only stand-up comedian to make it through to the live shows this summer on America’s Got Talent. Watch and learn. And don’t quit before the miracle happens! Roll it.
In his Netflix special, Act Happy, Todd Glass unveiled The Todd Glass Band to add more weapons to his comedy arsenal. Glass uses them to great effect, especially in a live setting such as his showcase all this week in Montreal for Just For Laughs, as not only a talented …
Please excuse the following comedians from Montreal’s Just For Laughs this week, as they’ll be too busy doing battle in Los Angeles for Season 3 of Comedy Central’s Roast Battle: Todd Barry, Pat Barker, Nicole Becannon, Matthew Broussard, Keith Carey, Kim Congdon, Alex Duong, Joe Eurell, Olivia Grace, Tony Hinchcliffe, Jerron …
Some comedians and industry folk joked that Just For Laughs could no longer really do New Faces in Montreal now that the ICM agency had purchased a large stake in the comedy festival. ICM certainly is getting the last laughs. They’ve packaged New Faces 2018 into a streaming TV series …
Paul Mecurio is seen every night by audiences of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, as he warms them up before the CBS cameras turn on for taping. Mecurio graduated from law school and started out on Wall Street, though, before ever discovering his passions for comedy and getting a big break by selling …
First came Channel 101. Screening 5-minute shorts, and asking audiences to vote for their favorites to return for new episodes since 2003. Then came Amazon Prime, which started making originals by allowing consumers to view all of the potential pilots first and weigh in with votes and comments. Now comes Rivit …
A hotbed for independent pilots and development deals, the first-ever summer edition of the New York Television Festival wrapped over the weekend, with Hammerhead taking top honors as both Best of the Fest and winning the NYTVF Critics Award. Just in time for Shark Week, too! Hammerhead isn’t that kind …
Patton Oswalt sat down last month with Washington Post reporter Elahe Izadi (a comedian herself in her spare time) for a spirited conversation about what it means to be a comedian in 2018. Izadi asked Oswalt how he navigates the line in a time when every Tweet is scrutinized, and …
Jeanne Robertson has 166,000 YouTube Subscribers and many years of experience speaking at corporate events and conventions. Now she’s challenging you out there to see if you’re funny enough to join her onstage. The Jeanne Robertson Humor Competition is seeking YouTube entries by Aug. 6, 2018, for a chance at …
J. Keith Van Straaten, host of the live game show and podcast for Maximum Fun, Go Fact Yourself, met up with me earlier this summer while scouting locations for taking his game show on the road to New York City. Live shows of Go Fact Yourself are happening this weekend …
