Comedy Bits: This Week in Comedy News Two New Festivals, New Specials From Kevin Hart and Anthony Jeselnik, More Mindy, and Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata are Best Friends!
This week in comedy, there were announcements, trailers and premiere dates everywhere! We had the exclusive world premiere of the trailer for Chad Daniels new hour special, Dad Chaniels. After what seems like the longest wait ever, we got the news that The New Negroes will finally premiere next month and we saw the trailer. And we are excited about Nate Bargatze‘s upcoming Netflix special and celebrated with a game of 21 Questions. SiriusXM debuted a new audio documentary on Patrice O’Neal hosted by Ron Bennington. Also in the trailer department, maybe the most exciting news, a first look at Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Bill Murray was at March Madness, Bill and Ted are all grown up, Mark Normand killed on Conan, Carl Reiner is breaking out some comedy gold for the National Comedy Center, more comedy news at Tribeca Film Fest, and we watched Roseanne get back on stage for the first time since she fucked her career with some shitty tweeting. She has Dice to thank for that. We also finished up our SXSW coverage, so make sure you check that out.
There’s plenty to read but there’s plenty more that we didn’t cover. Here are the highlights in comedy news this week.
Subscribers to the Doug Stanhope mailing list were treated to a first shot at tickets to his new comedy special taping in Las Vegas in May. We will follow protocol and not give away any information on this, as Stanhope likes to give his mailing list subscribers first crack at the tickets, so just sign up if you want in.
Josh Gondelman‘s new comedy album, Dancing on a Weeknight is out April 19th on Blonde Medicine and he’s throwing a release party at Union Hall on the release date. There’s actually two album release parties, one in NYC on April 19th- that ones at Union Hall, and a second one at Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles at April 25. Boston bred (as a comic) and currently living and working in New York, Gondelman is known as the nicest guy in comedy. Offstage, he is an Emmy, Peabody and WGA award winning writer and producer who currently works for Desus and Mero show at Showtime, and spent five years writing for John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight. And he’s got a second book coming out in the fall. Enough bragging you get the idea.
The internet’s most reviled content thief Fuck Jerry got sued in federal court for stealing a meme that he used to promote his tequila company, but the lawuit has already been dismissed two days after it was filed. Not because Jerry didn’t steal the meme, but because the Tweeter who sued him for 150k in damages had stolen the meme in question from somebody else. In order to sustain an action for copyright theft, the content has to be original to the person suing, and like most meme’s it seems this one was not. Olorunfemi Coker (@iamFemiFactor) filed the suit in New York’s Southern District. Lawyers for Fuck Jerry claim they are considering retaliatory action including a defamation suit but given the brand’s reputation and history, its unlikely that the threats are anything more than just threats. Source: Buzzfeed News
The Connors, despite a critically disappointing first season, are getting a second season at ABC. The Roseanne-less Roseanne show has been renewed. Apparently the ratings aren’t so bad after all, Deadline called the series a breakout hit for ABC. Source: Deadline.
Anthony Jeselnik announced on twitter that his new Netflix special is coming April 30th. Fire in the Maternity Ward was recorded at Town Hall last fall during the New York Comedy Festival. Source: Twitter.
Stitcher has added some new podcast shows to their rankings. Shows from Aasif Mandvi, Sasheer Zamata & Nicole Byer, Jimmy Pardo, and Adam Conover are on the roster of new additions. Aasif Mandvi’s new show “Lost at the Smithsonian” explores the little-known stories of iconic collectibles at the National Museum of American History, starting on June 26. Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata are coming to the network with “Best Friends” on June 12, described as a hilarious intimate chat cast with an emphasis on frienship. Adam Conover’s show “Factually!,” is an offshoot from his TruTV television show “Adam Ruins Everything.” On May 14th, Playing Games with Jimmy Pardo debuts. The fast-paced pop culture trivia game show will feature a different celebrity guest co-host every week.
Popular comedy podcast app Laughable has been a favorite way to enjoy listening to comedy podcasts for iPhone users for years now, and this week, android users will finally be able to see what they’ve been missing. The iPhone app has earned better ratings than any other podcast player for its easy interface. The app allows you to listen to all your favorite comedy podcasts, search for your favorite comedian appearances, and has very user friendly rewind, fast forward and other features. It’s a great way to discover new podcasts too. And it’s free so check it out!
Kevin Hart brings his sold-out comedy tour, Kevin Hart: Irresponsible, to a global audience for his first original Netflix standup special. The one-hour special was filmed in front of a sold-out live audience of over 15,000 people at the O2 Arena in London, England. Hart touches upon his friends, family, travel, … and a year filled with Irresponsible behavior. The special will launch globally on Netflix on April 2, 2019.
Parks and Recreation alum gathered at Paleyfest in Los Angeles to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the show. Unlike most reunions which get a handful of cast-members to participate, this panel scored almost every primary castmember. Adam Scott, Aubrey Plaza, Aziz Ansari, Jim O’Heir, Chris Pratt, Rob Lowe, Nick Offerman, Rashida Jones, Amy Poehler, and Retta were all together to talk about their time with the show. Source: Cheat Sheet
Will Sasso is set to star with Jane Curtain and Christina Vidal in the ABC pilot United We Fall. The multicultural family sitcom will star Sasso and Vidal as a married couple with young children who have an overbearing extended family. Any Sasso on tv is good news to us. Source: Deadline
Netflix exec Lisa Nishamura, who has had a giant hand in Netflix’s takeover of the original stand up comedy market, got a promotion. When she’s not being highly influential in comedy acquisitions, she’s been doing a lot of work in developing documentary series and specials. Her new title is vice president of independent film and documentary features which will expand her role in those areas.
Minneapolis is getting a comedy festival and Minneapolis is getting Bob Newhart and Seth Meyers and a few other killers. This summer from June 24-30 you can attend the first ever Minneapolis comedy festival and what a lineup for an inaugural event. Bob Newhart, Seth Meyers, George Lopez, D.L. Hughley, and Cedric the Entertainer will appear at the event which is being produced by Outback Presents. They’re also behind the Nashville Comedy Festival. Source: The Comics Comic
Chris Distefano and Paul Virzi are two of the headliners in a new comedy festival coming to Connecticut. The team that runs the Fairfield Comedy Club and two locations of New York Comedy Club is putting together a four day statewide festival featuring great comedians from the Northeast. Ten shows will take place between April 25 and April 29th in various venues located in Fairfield, Stamford, Norwalk, and Penfield Beach. Chris Distefano, Paul Virzi, Rell Battle, Corinne Fisher, Matt Richards, Neko White, Brendan Sagalow and about two dozen other comics will perform at venues that include the Fairfield Comedy Club, the Wall St Theater, the Bijou Theater and various breweries.For more information visit connecticutcomedyfestival.com.
Good news bad news for Schitt’s Creek fans. The show has been renewed for sixth season, but sadly it will be the series final season as well. The smart and funny show that put PopTV on the map will wind up after season six, in 2020. The show stars Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Daniel Levy, Annie Murphy, and Chris Elliott. Father and son Eugene and Daniel Levy sent a statement out to fans expressing gratitude for the opportunity to tell the full story they envisioned for Schitt’s Creek. “It’s not lost on us what a rare privilege it is in this industry to get to decide when your show should take its final bow. We could never have dreamed that our fans would grow to love and care about these characters in the ways that you have.” Source THR.
Mindy Kaling continues to be a hot property. This week Netflix picked up a semi-autobiographical series from Kaling based on her childhood experiences as a first gen Indian-American teenage girl.. The half hour series has no title yet. Kaling just made the media rounds after her newest project, Late Night got a big sale to Amazon for $13 million at Sundance. Source: THR.
Toronto based music/sketch comedian Anesti Danelis has released his debut comedy album Songs for a New World Order . Recorded with a live audience in Toronto at The Social Capital Theater, the new hour touches on slow walkers, conspiracies, aliens, and deep dark secret. Darkly funny, (he’s been compared to Tim Minchin and Flight of the Conchords), the album was originally a live stage show that played in front of sold out rooms in Eidenburgh, Montreal and at Toronto Fringe, as well as Second City. The new album is available everywhere now.
