Alex English is a New York City based standup comedian, writer and actor by way of Detroit, MI. He has opened for such acts as Sasheer Zamata and James Adomian. He will be making his first appearance on season two of Seeso’s Night Train w/ Wyatt Cenac. This week he spoke to me about his […]
Continue ReadingThe comedy podcast universe is ever expanding, not unlike the universe universe. We’re here to make it a bit smaller, a bit more manageable. There are a lot of great shows and each has a lot of great episodes, so we want to highlight the exceptional, the noteworthy. Each week our crack team of podcast […]
Continue ReadingIn direct contrast to what he calls a career “marked by a lack of product” comedian Andy Kindler has two new releases to add to his resume. The first, a bit of a time capsule, is the album Andy Kindler: State of the Industry Address (Just for Laughs 1996), now available on iTunes, Google, and […]
Continue ReadingLast week, we covered a straight mockumentary — a clearly silly premise sold as something real. This week, we’re turning our focus to a project that’s a bit more layered. From the mind of John Purcell comes a piece about the body of John Purcell. What is on the surface a straightforward mockumentary quickly reveals itself to be […]
Continue ReadingWelcome to The Second City Archives, in which we post an exclusive clip each week of some of comedy’s biggest superstars performing early in their careers on the legendary Chicago stage. Second City has generously given us a glimpse into their extensive archive of live performances, and over the coming weeks we’ll be sharing some […]
Continue ReadingThere are countless examples of pivots in TV comedy history, some the creative conceit of showrunners, others foisted on shows by circumstances outside their producers’ control (think of Steve Carell leaving The Office, and the way that show changed, for better and worse, in his absence). Pivots don’t always succeed, of course – for every […]
Continue ReadingJason Jones doesn’t look at his new TV role on The Detour as much of a departure from his days as a correspondent for The Daily Show. In fact, one of his biggest takeaways from working with Jon Stewart is the driving force behind his new series, which he co-created with his wife Samantha Bee and debuted […]
Continue ReadingJason Jones doesn’t look at his new TV role on The Detour as much of a departure from his days as a correspondent for The Daily Show. In fact, one of his biggest takeaways from working with Jon Stewart is the driving force behind his new series, which he co-created with his wife Samantha Bee and debuted […]
Continue ReadingWhat innovations are there in television? Multi-camera filming, laugh tracks, color, the variety show, cable, reality TV, HD, digital filming, and a handful of other landmarks (including a few major ones I’m sure I’m forgetting) that have sprung up. The point is, in nearly 100 years of television we’ve seen that it’s not a form […]
Continue ReadingMyq Kaplan’s brand new album No Kidding is out today on aspecialthing records. Recorded at Doc’s Lab in San Francisco, No Kidding expands on both Kaplan’s catalog and his performance style. His swift and layered delivery of punchlines and tags is still there, but fans will notice that those classic Kaplan skills are now being […]
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