Guy Branum has seen a lot and worn many different hats in his comedy career, which dates back to the early 2000s. He’s written for and appeared in shows for Chelsea Handler on Chelsea Lately, Mindy Kaling on The Mindy Project, and W. Kamau Bell on Totally Biased. Branum is also a standup, having released […]
Continue ReadingGuy Branum has seen a lot and worn many different hats in his comedy career, which dates back to the early 2000s. He’s written for and appeared in shows for Chelsea Handler on Chelsea Lately, Mindy Kaling on The Mindy Project, and W. Kamau Bell on Totally Biased. Branum is also a standup, having released […]
Continue ReadingBridgid Ryan’s Boyfriend Rock is a well-produced music video with a perfect folk rock melody. That polish, though, is just preamble to the core genius of a small (literally and figuratively) core joke oriented at the center of a homograph that made me laugh out loud. Take a watch, and then double check the meaning of “homograph.” I […]
Continue ReadingAround 2010, I worked at a coffee shop for a man who believed Andy Kaufman was still alive. It had been a generation since Kaufman’s apparent death, in 1984, from lung cancer. My old manager isn’t alone, either; Kaufman’s career onstage included comedy, songs, impersonations, wrestling, sitcom stardom, and elaborate pranks that still have audiences […]
Continue ReadingLast month, in its second round of layoffs in as many years, comedy hub Funny or Die reportedly eliminated its entire editorial team following a trend of comedy websites scaling back, shutting down, or restructuring their business model away from original online content. Hours after CEO Mike Farah delivered the news via an internal memo, […]
Continue ReadingYou know Jeff Hiller, or you recognize his face. His disapproving, glowering mug can be seen in every customer service position in every auteur sitcom of the past 15 years. Hiller has played a disapproving flight attendant on 30 Rock, a nude ghost in Ghost Town, and more waiters than you can shake a stick […]
Continue ReadingNatalie Portman mentioned in her monologue that she hasn’t hosted since 2006, and the entire cast from that season came by to honor the occasion. Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Andy Samberg, and the Brain that Wouldn’t Die—Alec Baldwin. Perhaps it was a big deal because this was apparently the only SNL episode of February. Seriously, […]
Continue ReadingSarah Hutto’s work has run in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. On Twitter she is @huttopian, where she advocates for equal representation of women who aren’t enthusiastic about salad in the stock photo industry. She is working on a humor book. This week, Hutto talked with me about tweeting […]
Continue ReadingMike O’Brien’s new show A.P. Bio, whose pilot previewed on NBC last night in advance of the official series premiere on March 1st, is Glenn Howerton’s first starring role since his sort-of leaving It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Coincidentally, like Kaitlin Olson on The Mick, A.P. Bio casts Howerton playing a callow jerk playing off a […]
Continue ReadingSome of the most beloved, groundbreaking, and influential television comedy series have been tragically cut short before they even had the chance to reach their prime. The Ben Stiller Show, Strangers with Candy, and Freaks and Geeks all suffered the fate of short runs before later achieving cult success. Occasionally, a “gone too soon” show […]
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