Doug Loves Movies, the Return of Comedy Bang! Bang! and Corporate Are Some of the Highlights of SXSW Comedy This Year
After a solid decade of adding funny to the atmosphere of the SXSW Conference and Festival, the SXSW Comedy lineup officially announced its return to Austin, taking place March 9th-17th. The comedy festival seems to be operating at the same scale as it has in previous years (despite a seeming opportunity to grow), and yet has diversified its offerings with more ties to the Film and TV sections of the festival. With podcast recordings, live show tapings, panels, and more, this year’s lineup is not to be missed for comedy fans in Austin.
Notable highlights include:
● ASSSSCAT Live, hosted by UCB cofounder Matt Besser; Besser will also be hosting live editions of improv4humans, play with hit songs for his Sing-A-Long Comedy Experiment, and re-up his 420 Show “for stoners and friends of stoners”;
● Butterboy Live, transplanting Brooklyn’s show hosted by Aparna Nancherla, Jo Firestone, and Maeve Higgins to the Lone Star State- the SXSW edition will feature Roy Wood Jr. and other friends of the show;
● Comedy Bang! Bang! With Scott Aukerman and Doug Loves Movies with Doug Benson lead the live podcast offerings, along with Gareth Reynolds’ The Dollop, Stuart Goldsmith’s The Comedian’s Comedian, and a podcast edition of Robin Thede’s BET late-night show The Rundown.
● Comedy Central’s Corporate Retreat, a celebration of the recently-renewed show’s season 1 finale featuring creators Pat Bishop, Matt Ingbretson, and Jake Weisman, along with costars Aparna Nancherla, Baron Vaughn, and Adam Lustick; and
● Burgeoning comedy powerhouse truTV will take over Esther’s Follies (a home base held last year by the dearly departed Seeso platform), housing a comedic art installation to accompany the many shows held in the venue’s theater.
Tie-ins with this year’s film offerings include Adam Pally in conversation with Rachel Bloom and the cast of the SXSW film Most Likely to Murder; Cavett on Comedy, in which WFMU’s Dave Hill will interview legendary host and star of Ali and Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes Dick Cavett, and Doug Benson doing a Benson Interruption-type live show at the Master Pancake Theater with, to quote SXSW, “one of the lesser Leprechaun sequels.”
The SXSW Comedy Festival runs in Austin March 9-17. The festival’s full lineup, along with links for passes and wristbands, is available on their website.
