10 Innovators Who Changed Comedy in 2022
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10 Innovators Who Changed Comedy in 2022
It’s always exciting to put together our list of the greatest innovators of the year. Comedy is about creativity and to a large degree, the element of surprise is important. So originality is paramount. It’s difficult to stand out in a field filled with great creators. So we love to spotlight innovation every year. Sometimes those leaps of faith pay off with critical love, commercial success or both. Sometimes they fail. But either way, once the path is forged, others follow- either imitating the successes, or learning from the failures and hopefully adding their own twist. These innovators took risks in 2022 changing how comedy can be performed, either by finding new mediums, creating a new style, by making comedy smarter, sillier or just a tiny bit different.
Congratulations to our past innovators who have already seen others walk through doors they helped open.
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#10 National Comedy Center Reimagines the Tribute Show Honoring Carson
How do you honor a man who has been honored hundreds of times? How do you put on a show that pays homage to Johnny Carson? You could have a panel, or a conversation with someone close to him, or a live documentary using projected clips. All of those would be great, and have been done before and will be done again, but the folks at the National Comedy Center in Jamestown came up with a perfectly original tribute show to spotlight their new Johnny Carson exhibit. Carson Tonight: Johnny’s Comedy and Variety Acts Live! brought to the stage a comedy and variety tribute to Carson’s Tonight Show, using the actual artists and personalities who were regular guests during Carson’s three decade run as king of late night. Pat Hazell hosted appearances by magician Lance Burton, comedian Cathy Ladman, ventriloquist Jay Johnson, wildlife expert Joan Embery, storyteller Don Reed, Jugglers Jon Wee and Owen Morse, and more. What an original and perfect way to salute the Tonight Show and have a blast doing it. The National Comedy Center is only four years old and continues to be at the forefront of innovative historytelling.
#9 Alice Hamilton Dedicates a Comedy Special to Taking Down One Man
We love the idea of a one topic special and they are rare. Cex Kriminal is, as far as we know, the first comedy special dedicated to taking down one dude. Without evaluating the truth of what Hamilton has to say, we gotta give a shout out to a comedian who says what she thinks without regards to consequences. It’s hard to be funny taking on such serious topics, but Hamilton does a great job of that, and she’s put out something the likes of which we’ve never seen before. It’s a dangerous idea. Is it a good idea? Jury is still out on that. But we have always celebrated edginess and risk taking, and we’re happy to celebrate it on all sides of the equation. Some hardcore comedy fans write Hamilton off for being too aggressive targeting some of the comedians you may know and love. But for those who love Louis CK, Chappelle, Mark Normand, Tom Segura and others, if you don’t write them off when they say fucked up things or go too far, or live right at the edge, then you should be able appreciate what we love about Alice Hamilton too. If this is the fire she’s spitting out this early in her career, we’re leaning forward to see what’s coming next.
#8 HOWIE MANDEL, JFL, PROTO AND ANDY KINDLER SURPRISE JUST FOR LAUGHS WITH HOLO ANDY
This year at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Andy Kindler made comedy history as the first comedian to perform live for an audience via hologram. This historic event was made possible by the vision and actions of Howie Mandel who saw a demonstration of the tech and knew he had to make use of it. Proto Technology was responsible for making the moment possible- they created and ran all the equipment that beamed Kindler from Los Angeles to Montreal. And of course you have to give a lot of the love to Kindler himself, for knowing how to make the moment work so successfully. The concept of a comedy performance via hologram is not one that the comedy community at large has been dying to embrace. Comedy audiences, performers and industry are the toughest critics. Everything worked so perfectly that for much of the performance the audience didn’t know if this really was a live hologram, or if Andy was just standing inside a box pretending to be one. Kindler, Proto, Mandel, JFL and even Bob Odenkirk who introduced and interacted with Andy during the set are now a part of comedy history. We don’t know if this tech will find a lasting home in comedy, but it is a bold move, and could one day be used for so many interesting purposes. One small step for Mankindler could be a giant step for comedy,
#7 NORM MACDONALD LEAVES BEHIND A VERY SPECIAL SPECIAL THAT’S ALSO NOT SPECIAL
Norm has done something that no comedian has done before, and this one we’re not really hoping anyone will have the opportunity to repeat anytime soon. Knowing he might not be with us for a lot longer, Macdonald secretly recorded a new special to be released posthumously. Norm just set up a camera, sat down at his desk, and started performing to the camera, all in one continuous take, letting us see rough edges, taking a phone call, reacting to background noise all the while. It’s funny, it’s sweet, its haunting and its thoroughly Norm Macdonald. It’s an in-progress, under construction piece, and to critique it based on the strength of the special itself would be to misunderstand what makes this special so special. In fact, Norm titled the hour “Nothing Special” on purpose. It’s a moment in Norm’s life; a snapshot that he knew he wouldn’t share until we ran out of moments in Norms life. “Nothing Special” is a truly intimate gift to the world and we’re happy to have it.
#6 W. KAMAU BELL CREATES AN OUTSIDE OF THE BOX DOC
We Need to Talk About Cosby is a documentary like no other, and what a brilliant approach to the Cosby problem. The problem is this: until recent times, Cosby has always been an incredibly important icon and hero in American Culture and Black history. It cannot be overstated how much he contributed to the narrative of race in America. And yet, the man is clearly a monster who has victimized countless women. It’s not wrong to say this poses an uncomfortable crossroads for many people. So how best to approach this conflict on television without stepping on any landmines? Bell created the perfect vehicle, sidestepping the standard documentary formats and instead saying, let’s have a conversation. Let’s talk it through, let’s confront all the ugliness, all the conflict, and let the various voices who are impacted by all of Cosby’s actions do the talking. We’re all fumbling our way through complex issues in 2022, and Bell found a way to fumble with grace and respect for all concerned. Created for Showtime, Let’s Talk About Cosby shows that once again, W. Kamau Bell is an innovator and a trailblazer.
#5 TENACIOUS D STAYS SO TENACIOUS
Jack Black and Kyle Gass crushed 2022 with several exciting projects that kept them making headlines all year and if there’s a lifetime achievement award for being innovative, they are on the shortlist to win the first one. Jack Black is a goddamned movie star and for anyone else, TD would be a fun little side project, but Kyle and Jack never have treated Tenacious D as secondary to anything. It’s been 25 years since a three episode show premiered on HBO introducing us to this uncategorizable entity. It’s not sketch. It’s not parody. It’s not a goof. Tenacious D rocks hard, but its not a rock band either. This year they toured and rocked their hilarious asses off, they released a cover of Wicked Game recorded at SiriusXM that is BELOVED. They released a GEM of an Audible Original called The Road to Redunktion for Audibles Words + Music series that is like a documentary on acid, combining seven new exclusive songs with 30 years of never before heard archival audio and conversations covering the last three decades. And they put the D in Democracy with a ton of projects that were inspired by the need to raise money and awareness for some great causes, like a live streamed show from Philly donating all proceeds to Rock the Vote. They held a killer contest where entry tickets could be earned by participating in democracy at various levels including voting, volunteering and supporting good causes. They released a seven minute tribute to The Who’s Rock Opera Tommy that benefitted Every Town for Gun Safety. They joined up with John C Reilly, Dave Grohl, Beck and Judd Apatow to form a one song Yacht Rock Band to raise money for Victims First at the Largo. They even released a fiber bar called Tenacious D’Lish inspired by their difficulty dropping a deuce. Tenacious D has been an innovator since the 90’s but in 2022, Kyle and Jack are not a nostalgia act. They’re still innovating, still vibrant, still important, still inspiring others, and still defy categorization.
#4 GILLY & KEEVES REMIND US SKETCH SHOWS CAN BE THRILLING
Two years ago we honored Andrew Schulz for changing the game with self produced, comedy specials. Last year we honored Sam Morril for bringing the self produced documentary mainstream. Louis CK pioneered sidestepping mainstream distributors and promotion by offering comedy for purchase on his website. And this year Shane Gillis and John McKeever bring those principals to sketch with an outstanding self produced sketch special that you can purchase on their website. Gilly & Keeves: The Special reminds us why Saturday Night Live was a comedy tsunami when it debuted in the 1970’s and how valuable sketch comedy can be to disrupt and provide legit social commentary while being fun as fuck to watch. Lorne Michaels was right when he selected Shane as a cast member for SNL just a few years ago, and we were right when we said that Shane could produce amazing work and develop just fine on his own. Shane would have killed on SNL but then we might not get to watch the incredible collaborations of Gillis with McKeever, a budding director and hilarious performer who also helmed a fantastic Christmas movie this year, and directed Delco Proper. In 2021 Gilly & Keeves released series of short sketches that regularly snagged a million to two million reviews a piece, so a pay-special was the logical next step. In The Special, the digital sketches are interspersed with footage from Shane and John’s live show in Philly, plus behind the scenes clips and more. The vignettes are hilarious, and well produced, and cast with plenty of familiar faces like Ian Fidance, Tommy Pope, Reg Conquest, Tim Butterly and H. Foley. It will set you back ten bucks, but these boys spent some real money putting this hour together, so consider it an investment.
#3 NATHAN FIELDER UPS THE GAME FOR REALITY COMEDY
Nobody saw this coming. Fielder was already an innovator and an original before he teamed up with HBO for this new series that is difficult to classify with existing industry terms. The Rehearsal may owe some inspiration to Ali G, but the core of this HBO series is all original. It’s so new that it really defies explanation in many ways. Fielder likes it that way, and has always created comedy that makes you wonder, am I being set up? Is this scripted? And The Rehearsal continues in that fine tradition. In each episode, Nathan takes a down on their luck individual and promises to help them prepare for an upcoming life event that they are anxious about. With elaborate sets and casting, he pre-creates the event so that the person can practice. From the selection of the episode target to the orchestration of the event, to Nathan’s fucked up role as guide through the process, every moment is surreal, hilarious and shocking. HBO obviously trusted Fielder with a sensational budget for this show, and it has paid off. It’s probably the most talked about comedy product this year.
#2 KATE BERLANT & JOHN EARLY REINVENT THE COMEDY DUO
Comedy teams used to be a dominant force in the biz, but in the last few decades the duo has all but died out in favor of lone wolf performers. There are frequent collaborators, and even a few who collaborate enough to be called a team (Steve Marin and Martin Short for example), but they are nostalgic in nature and echo the comedy team of yesteryear. Kate Berlant and John Early however, have refreshed the convention for the modern age, making the duo seem new again. We could have given Kate and John this award almost any year in the past ten, they’ve done so many projects together, but this year they upped the game with a combined comedy sketch special, “Would It Kill You To Laugh”. The special is an absurdist scripted look back at the careers of fictionalized characters Kate Berlant and John Early, overing their hit sitcom “He’s Gay, She’s Half-Jewish” and subsequent falling out. It opens with Meredith Veira interviewing the duo and things start friendly, descend into passive aggression and beyond. Reminiscent of the Christopher Guest-verse, the special is the perfect showcase for the unique talents of real-Kate and real-John. Keep up if you can, shit starts weird and gets weirder. But its not specifically the special that we’re honoring, its the unique comedic chemistry of these two beautifully funny people. They are silly while also being high concept. They create art that’s also nonsense in the best way. Together they feel classic and yet completely fresh. But above all, they are kindred comedy spirits- each incredibly talented individually with their own successful separate careers in film and television- but when they come together, they become so much more than the sum of their parts.
#1 GEORGE CARLIN AMERICAN DREAM DOC ELEVATES THE COMEDY MONTAGE.
This year brought us a brilliant documentary about a brilliant man and few people have the balls to try to capture the magic of a legend. But it has to be done, and Judd Apatow, Mike Bonfiglio and others brought us greatness. The entire four hour piece is packed with beautiful moments and insights about George Carlin- which is why it won a well deserved Primetime Emmy Award. But greatness does not necessarily equal innovation. We chose to include American Dream as the #1 innovation in comedy in 2022 because of a spectacular five minute outtro piece that couples many of Carlin’s most prolific comedy performances, with footage basically ripped from the headlines to illustrate that Carlin was so frigging brilliant that his old material is all at once, funny, prophetic, and frighteningly relevant. Topical material shouldn’t be evergreen, but that’s how far ahead of his time Carlin was, and apparently still is. A masterpiece from EP and directors Judd Apatow and Mike Bonfiglio and editor Joe Beshenkovsky, it almost stands alone as a snapshot of who George Carlin is, and why he matters so much to us.
