Mike 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 ReadingDoug Kenney flamed out early. A child of the 1950s, he produced comedy in print, radio, and film from the late ‘60s through his death in 1980 that has become classic, either through its enormous influence on the comedy that followed or as works in their own right (“People really like Caddyshack,” Martin Mull intones, […]
Continue ReadingWas it ever in question that a Will Ferrell episode of Saturday Night Live was going to be good? Ferrell was good on SNL for seven years, then was a good host. Three times. This was good TV done by competent people who are good at their jobs. Even the animal actor seemed like a […]
Continue ReadingIt’s been a year and a half since the second season of Another Period ended, so there’s a great deal to catch up on. Set in the first decade of the 20th century, Another Period focuses primarily on Lillian and Beatrice Bellacourt, played respectively by series creators Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome. The two are […]
Continue ReadingIt’s been a year and a half since the second season of Another Period ended, so there’s a great deal to catch up on. Set in the first decade of the 20th century, Another Period focuses primarily on Lillian and Beatrice Bellacourt, played respectively by series creators Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome. The two are […]
Continue ReadingI’ve enjoyed Todd Glass since even before I knew exactly who he was, seeing him in the introduction movies for the Improv comedy clubs. Then came Last Comic Standing. Then came podcasts. Now comes his first Netflix special. Things I particularly enjoyed in Act Happy: Telling jokes while his band plays The Battle Hymn of […]
Continue ReadingJessica Chastain really commits to the bit! I don’t know why I’m surprised. Her whole career is based on accent work and representing extreme points of view. But I never thought Chastain could be intentionally silly. She has always struck me as some kind of porcelain egret, which maybe Julio Torres could do something with, […]
Continue ReadingThe new season of High Maintenance starts in the same spot HBO’s first season started: with the semi-protagonist weed dealer, The Guy, getting a haircut. In the HBO pilot (the series is a continuation of a web series that ran on Vimeo for 19 episodes), a haircut is a metaphor for the series’s transition to […]
Continue ReadingSeason 1 of Portlandia opened with a song that promised a Pacific Northwest heaven: it was like the 1990s forever, “when people were content to be unambitious, sleep to eleven, just hang out with their friends… You’d have no occupations whatsoever. Maybe you work a couple of hours a week at a coffee shop?” Now beginning […]
Continue ReadingKatt Williams knows that comedy is show business, and you need to know both the business and how to put on a show. Williams told me that this morning in an exclusive interview for my podcast, Last Things First, and he certainly still delivers when it’s time to shine. His four HBO specials have been […]
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