The Very Best of 2016 on The IBang!

It’s been three years since we started covering the comedy-verse and it’s been a giant year for us. For the first time we hit up five major comedy festivals– in addition to New York we covered festivals in Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, and Austin Texas. We welcomed many new writers, we brought our show, Comedy 101 to comedy clubs and to a festival, and we launched three new podcasts on iTunes. This year we started working with photographer Phil Provencio and his amazing Up Next column, and we’ve added a weekly live comedy listings page for New York City, which is hands down the best place to find out what shows are happening around NYC every week.

We have big things planned for 2017- a facelift for our front page that will make it even more mobile friendly, more writers, bigger and better features, new segments and a few new big surprises.  We’re also going to broaden our reach further around the country and the world. If you’re a writer, researcher, or have skills to contribute, let us know by emailing editor@theinterrobang.com.

Special thanks this year go out to our writing team, Bill Tressler, Jeffrey Gurian, Earl Douglas, Amy Hawthorne, Renee Colvert, Debra Kessler, Dan Murphy, Ernie Tripper, Lucas Wesley Snipes, Thomas Church Lane, Rachel Crowe, Halli Goldman, Gina Strumelo, Lesley Coffin, Mike W, Sarah Jacobs, Christine Marie Evans, Emily Cohen, Kristen Becker, Dan Perlman, and Christina Stiehl.  And to special contributors like Robert Kelly, Tanael Joachim, Tim Unkenholtz, Lauren David, Ramon Rivas, Barry Taylor, Sharon Dougherty, Andrea Prendamano, Alex Sax, James Mattern, Jessica Saloman, John Moses, Larry Carlson, Lori Satterlee, Chad Zumock, Mike Feeney, Grant Lindahl and more. Also Brian at Comedy Artwork, and John Young from Shout It Out Design, if you need work done for your own projects, these are the guys.

Thank you also to our comedy friends who keep us updated including comedians, club owners, bookers, managers and producers and most of all to all our good friends at SiriusXM and the Bennington Show,   and Gail Bennington for another amazing year of collaboration, Chris “Pepper Hicks” Stanley,  Vito Calise and Jenn for all of the amazing projects we worked on together.

For our final story looking back at 2016, we’ve picked our  favorite stories this year, which was absolutely impossible because we love the content everyone has submitted– 15 features, 15 lists and 15 interviews and 15 of stories talking about our favorite things.  If you’re just joining us, this should catch you up to date, and you really want to see the best of everything we’ve done you can also check out our Very Best of the IBang 2015 and the  Very Best of The IBang 2014 page.

Thank you again to everyone and we are so excited for 2016!


Our 15 Favorite Feature Articles of 2016

Kerry Coddett Brooklyn Comedian and Rising Star by Christina Stiehl
Big Jay Oakerson is Ready to Be America’s Next Comedy Rock Star by Amy Hawthorne
Comedians Name the Most Influential Radio Shows for Stand Up by Chad Zumock
The Incredible Evolution of Chris Gethard by Christina Stiehl
In Fucked Up Political Times, Always Go Back to George Carlin by Alex Sax
The State of Comedy in 2016: Is This a Diamond Age of Comedy with Brian Volk Weiss
So Long Garry Shandling: A Genius Who Pioneered Comedy, Twice  by Lesley Coffin
The Massive Impact of Gene Wilder’s Comedy by Lesley Coffin
Rating Stand Up Comedy on Late Night: Who Loves Stand Up and Who Doesn’t by Dan Murphy
Comedy Insiders: Is Barney Ruining Comedy? with Brian Volk Weiss
Why TV Needs a Tough Crowd by Lucas Wesley Snipes
Can We Survive This Election Without Jon Stewart? by Lucas Wesley Snipes
You Are On the Air: A Timeline of How Comedy Entered the Race for President by Lucas Wesley Snipes
Last Comic Standing Finalist Quits Festival Sets Off Conversation About Harassment by Kristen Becker
The Best Comedy Nights in America as Picked by Comics? by Patrick Hastie

By the Numbers: Our 15 Favorite List Stories of 2016

Ari Shaffir’s 5 Favorite Stories from TiNH by Amy Hawthorne
Five Unbreakable Commandments of Hosting a Comedy Show by James Mattern
The Complete Guide to Jim Gaffigan’s New York by Vito Calise
Comedy’s Cupid: a Comedy Valentine’s Day Wish List by Kashmir
Comedians in Batman Masks 2 by Interrobang Staff
Conan’s Inner Circle: Conan OBrien’s Greatest and Most Special Guests by Vito Calise
The 5 Greatest Kanye West Comedy Crossovers by Rob Haze and Chris Daniels
Eight Ways to be a Goddamn American From a Canadian by John Moses
Six Comedians to Stay on Facebook For by Amy Hawthorne
Summer Reading List 2016! by Larry Carlson and Lori Satterlee
5 Underappreciated Mockumentaries by Lesley Coffin
10 Things We Learned About Bonnie McFarlane From Her Amazing Book by Sarah Jacobs
Eight Cutting Edge Comedy Series We Loved Thanks to MTV by Vito Calise
Comedians React to Election Night,  Nothing Funny Here by Interrobang Staff
11 Totally Underground Sketch/Improv Comedy Shows in NYC for a 1st Date by Grant Lindahl

Our 15 Favorite Interviews in 2016

Tom Papa’s Human Mule: Optimistic, Positive, & an Undercurrent That Things Are Wrong by Debra Kessler
Jon Glaser’s Love of Gear is Legit by Lesley Coffin
Kathleen Madigan Has a Killer Hour Special with Zero Trump or Kardashian Jokes by Debra Kessler
Jim Florentine Goes From Metal Head to Mr. Mom by Dan Murphy
Joe Rogan: This is Going to Get Weird by Debra Kessler
Carson Super Guest Tom Dreesen Looks at Tonight Shows Past and Present by Lesley Coffin
Comedian Dylan Moran: America is the Cosmic Guinea Pig of … by Debra Kessler
David Koechner is Doing Everything by Lesley Coffin
What’s So Special About Wyatt Cenac’s Night Train by Amy Hawthorne
Comedian Mike Ward Loses Free Speech Case, Vows to Appeal by Bill Tressler
Gary Gulman Shares his Comedy and Haircare Secrets by Amy Hawthorne
Legendary Billy Connolly Describes Thoughts Like Bullies by Debra Kessler
How Do You Prepare for The Biggest Roast Battle? K Trevor Wilson… by Barry Taylor
Noel Fielding and His Wonderful Magical Lo-Fi World Triumph in America by Debra Kessler
Tom Segura’s New Special Shares a Year of His Life and Its a Blast by Amy Hawthorne
Artie Lange is Doing Nasty Things in Montreal and In His Own Kitchen

15 Things We Loved in 2016

What Lorne Michaels Can Learn from Michael Che’s Hour Special by Debra Kessler
Colin Quinn’s Love Letter to NY is His Best Show Yet by Interrobang Staff
Chris Gethard’s Career Suicide: A Powerful Story… by Interrobang Staff
Drunk History Goes Way Beyond Drinking Games by Lesley Coffin
Oh Hello on Broadway: Like Nothing You’ve Seen Before by Debra Kessler
Jim Jeffries Comes Out Swinging (And Slays as Usual)… by Bill Tressler
Jim Gaffigan is Still Out of Time and the Result is Terrific Television by Lesley Coffin
Louie Anderson is the Best Thing on TV Right Now by Lesley Coffin
Not Safe with Nikki Glaser Cancelled: 10 Reasons You Should Have … by Hallie Goldman
Just For Laughs Montreal In Photos Volume 1, 2, 3, and 4 by Interrobang Staff
Sinbad Takes Over WYFD and Other Great JFL42 Moments You Missed by Interrobang Staff
Women Dominated Moontower Plus Other Highlights of a Great Festival by Interrobang Staff
Maya Rudolph Prince Tribute Blows the Roof Off in Austin... by Interrobang Staff
RIOT LA Festival Hits Its Mark as a Formidable National Festival  by Amy Hawthorne
Had to Be There Moments of the New York Comedy Festival by Interrobang Staff

Up Next, A Look Through the Lens of New York Comedy:

Deserving it’s own recognition, our newest ongoing series, Up Next, A Look Through the Lens at New York Comedy is a photo-essay series created with New York comedy photographer Phil Provencio. We love them all so much, and you can see them all on the Up Next page, but we picked our five favorites to share here.

Up Next: Emma Willmann
Up Next: Ardie Fuqua
Up Next: Dan Soder
Up Next: Michael Che
Up Next: Judah Friedlander

Read more comedy news, stories, interviews with comedians, videos and comedy clips on our home page. Get more comedy news. Watch more viral videos. Read more interviews with the best comics in the business.

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