Here it is, the first certified banger of SNL season 43! It’s almost like comedy is better when comedians do it. Who’da thought? Don’t get me wrong, part of the fun for the SNL nerd is seeing people go against their very serious brand. I can ask myself “How are the folks at Studio 8H […]
Continue ReadingConsidering what a boys’ club late night comedy has always been, October 12, 2017 may go down as a historic day, as two new comedy talk shows hosted by women premiered last night: Sarah Silverman’s I Love You, America, which airs on Hulu, and Robin Thede’s The Rundown on BET. About eight minutes into Silverman’s […]
Continue ReadingThere’s something more assured and charming about the Christina Pazsitzky that we see in her first Netflix comedy special, Mother Inferior, than we first saw from her three years ago on the TBS comedy competition, Funniest Wins. She has shortened her last name to P to make things easier for everyone, become a mother, and […]
Continue ReadingWhen you think of blue-collar comedians, well, first off, you think of cowboys and not actual blue-collar workers. Thanks, Larry the Cable Guy and Jeff Foxworthy. But when you think of cowboy comedians, you might not think of Rodney Carrington — despite the fact that he’s sold enough albums to go Gold and Platinum. That’s […]
Continue ReadingWhat does SNL want to be under Trump? This is the second weirdly apolitical show in a very political time. Last week’s only topical outings were the impression-palooza of a cold open and some hurricane/NFL stuff during Update. This week the cold open and part of Update were devoted to Las Vegas, but nothing was […]
Continue ReadingWhen Jordan Klepper made his debut on The Daily Show in 2014, it was clear that he had a little Stephen Colbert in him. Or, to be more specific, a little “Stephen Colbert.” He was perfect at being the guy who was arguing for the wrong things for the express purpose of showing how wrong […]
Continue ReadingSaturday Night Live began its 43rd season with a silly, silly show for a decidedly un-silly time. Puerto Rico continues to suffer through the aftereffects of a hurricane without federal aid. The president continues to wage war on professional athletes who oppose police brutality, and millions of poor children just lost their health coverage. SNL touched […]
Continue ReadingWhat does it mean to be black in America? I cannot pretend to truly know myself, but I can turn to my friends with empathy and listen to them, put myself in their shoes. A full generation before Black Lives Matter, Russell Simmons and Stan Lathan were making sure black comedians mattered by giving them […]
Continue ReadingCritics were understandably put off by Fuller House’s first season, which was packed full of in-jokes and meta gags for fans of Full House who had also not matured in any way since 1995. It can be difficult to describe what was enjoyable about Full House without relying on the obvious: it was in heavy […]
Continue ReadingI touched the olive-colored olive icon and was in: Pitch, the invite-only joke-writing app developed by Funny or Die. It was the first day of its wide release, in late July, when there were about 900 users. Everyone, but especially the app’s creator, Matt Klinman, and the app’s editor, Tim Racine, were curious to see […]
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