The Definitive Guide to Comedy
I cannot say I’m surprised. Or that anyone else is surprised to learn this week that Showtime had cancelled I’m Dying Up Here after two seasons. Despite what I wrote in Decider urging the network this summer to give it a third go-around. The series, based on the non-fiction book …
We saw four new Sacha Baron Cohen characters in his latest satirical stunt, Who Is America?, which debuted this past Sunday on Showtime. But a fifth character didn’t go over so well, as Baron Cohen found out last year and we only discovered this week, thanks to a California gun …
When Sacha Baron Cohen first burst onto the scene with Ali G, Borat and Bruno on British television in 2000 (and then HBO in 2003), you have to remember what America was then. No social media. No hyper-awareness. When he filmed Borat, he could still fool most of the people …
It makes perfect sense in hindsight. We hadn’t heard or seen much of anything out of Sacha Baron Cohen since The Brothers Grimsby movie premiere in February 2016. Baron Cohen only goes into hiding when he’s in disguise, plotting his next satirical surprise on the world. And here it is. …
I’m Dying Up Here almost didn’t survive to a second season. Dave Flebotte, who with Jim Carrey created the Showtime adaptation of William Knoedelseder’s best-seller about The Comedy Store in the 1970s, told me over the phone last week that when Showtime gave them “a month to come up with what we …
And now it’s official! Hot off the press release… SHOWTIME has ordered a weekly half-hour late-night series starring Desus Nice and The Kid Mero, scheduled for premiere in 2019. The first ever weekly late-night talk show on SHOWTIME will feature popular TV and podcast personalities Desus and Mero, speaking highly …
Desus & Mero are ready for the big time. Or perhaps, Showtime. Either way, the New York City duo will end their nightly late-night talker on Viceland at the end of this month. Daniel Baker (Desus Nice) and Joel Martinez (The Kid Mero) first broke through in 2013 with their …
Romesh Ranganathan was a math teacher before devoting his life to stand-up comedy in 2012. Since then, he has found great success in the UK, nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2013, and with TV appearances on Live at the Apollo, many panel shows, and his own …
Nemr grew up in San Diego and then moved back with his family to Lebanon, where he almost singlehandedly introduced the Middle East to the idea of live stand-up comedy. He definitely introduced many American comedians to Middle Eastern audiences over the past decade and more, and he has since toured …
Mark Viera has entertained audiences around the world with stories of growing up, getting married and raising kids in the Bronx. Viera has released a Showtime special, Tales of a Nuyorican, opened on tours with singer Marc Anthony and comedian Gabriel Iglesias, and performed everywhere from cruise ships to the …
