My trip to Los Angeles worked out to be oddly timed -- some friends and performers I've missed because they're out on tour, while others have seemingly followed me out West from New York City. I had noticed that Marc Maron was hosting a special edition of his new WTF podcast in front of a live audience on Sunday night at the UCBT-LA, so I made sure to catch that. Maron conducted fun chats with Maria Bamford, Chris Hardwick, Whitney Cummings and Doug Benson, plus welcomed Jim Earl for a poetry reading and Eddie Pepitone for a last-minute rant that included jabs at the following show's young performers who, as Pepitone said, were preparing for their next episode of Parks and Recreation. Actually, Eddie, Don Glover is on Community. But you had the right night and network.
At any rate, Maron mentioned during the podcast that he had just moved back to Los Angeles, leaving his Queens apartment behind (for good?). You can listen to all of that in a week or two. Today, though, Maron's latest WTF podcast features Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac. You also can learn more about Maron with this short video that I shot earlier this week when I met up with Maron at his home in the Highland Park neighborhood (so noted in the WTF intro) -- btw, he introduced me to some of the greatest cheap Mexican food I've ever tasted, so much so that I may have to detour my rental car again to Huarache Azteca -- and he talked about returning to L.A., his cats, the success of WTF with Marc Maron, and even dished about a pilot presentation he's working on for Comedy Central.
If you want to see Maron live, this weekend he's at the Laughing Skull in Atlanta with the very funny Kyle Kinane opening.
Hooray for Hollywood! That's a saying, right? I bet these people are saying things like that this week, even if they're nowhere near Los Angeles, because the show business is making their TV projects into TV realities, and sometimes reality TV projects. They include:
Bob Saget is going on a great American road trip for A&E in his upcoming seven-episode series, Bob Saget's Strange Days. He had made the cable net's pilot list back in May, and now he has his order -- series sounds a little bit like Dave Attell's Insomniac, only not constrained to the overnight hours and instead seeking out "oddball" American culture wherever Saget can find it and riff about it. Money quote: "Bob Saget has been a part of the television landscape for years, but now we'll be seeing him in a completely different light as he travels the country to explore ways of living that most of us know nothing about," said Robert Sharenow, A&E senior veep of nonfiction and alternative programming. Production begins in early 2010. (via Variety)
Remember way back when John Oliver taped six episodes last month of a stand-up showcase for Comedy Central? You do, of course. So it's kinda anticlimactic that Comedy Central put out a press release announcing it had ordered the series. What if they didn't? That'd be awkward. Anyhow. Congrats! Oliver's hourlong show -- featuring performances by Paul F. Tompkins, Janeane Garofalo, Marc Maron, Brian Posehn, Kristen Schaal and Eugene Mirman, plus Maria Bamford, Greg Fitzsimmons, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Nick Kroll, Matt Braunger, Hannibal Buress, Pete Holmes, Amy Schumer, Chris Hardwick, Matt McCarthy and Hari Kondabolu -- will debut as a series on Jan. 8, 2010, at 11 p.m.
Wondering what Ricky Van Veen is up to since leaving CollegeHumor to launch a spinoff company called Notional? The new video production arm of IAC, which already produces Chopped for the Food Network and Don't Sweat It for HGTV (neither of which make you scream College or Humor), unveiled a slate of new projects for all sorts of video platforms (TV, Internets, inside your head?!), all of them game-showy, with titles including: Ready, Set Dance!; You Vs. America; Chase The Money; and Love Taxi. Here's a money quote from Van Veen: "We are thrilled to be up and running so quickly, with a few shows already on the air and some great ideas ready to bring to market. We are particularly excited about 'Ready, Set, Dance!' because it's an innovative show format that truly combines our unique television and online expertise. This is exactly what we set out to do in building off of CollegeHumor."
Hey, comedy fans. Want to see what happens when the nice people at Rooftop Comedy asked me to look through their video collection and pick out six stand-up clips to share with you? Mission accomplished!
Wondering how and why I picked the six I did? Well, I tried not to duplicate the other recent "guest editor" selections, looked to showcase newer videos when possible, and also shine a light on people who I think deserve a second, third or fiftieth look from you. Ta-DA!
One of my first stops on my Hollywood misadventure was to The Paley Center for Media's Beverly Hills branch for a behind-the-scenes discussion with the cast and crew of NBC's Parks and Recreation -- a sitcom that I feel has found a funnier level in its second season following its unusual debut launch in the spring. But we can let the people involved with the show explain that.
Seemed as though many of the audience members in attendance worked for nearby local governments and wanted to let the cast and crew know how "spot-on" they were in nailing life inside Town Hall. Here is a guy who looks like Nick Offerman posing with the actor. I could have told them this as well, having covered various local governments in Idaho and Washington state as a newspaper reporter -- and sakes alive, bubba jive, you have not lived until you've discovered the soap opera mini-dramas of a water and sewer district. Let me tell you. Or not. Let's focus, people! Pawnee, Indiana, you're on the air, fictional city.
Greg Daniels said they had to pick a fictional town. His other NBC sitcom, The Office, may be set in a real place (Scranton, Penn.), but the town is not the driving force of the plot; it's the people in the office. In Parks and Rec, however, the town is the focus. And if they make fun of the mayor being caught up in a scandal, that would be a real person they'd be joking about. So when you go to pawneeindiana.com, you'll be living a second life in another world. But you know that in Internets speak, governments are .gov.
What else did we learn? Well, we saw that this week's episode, "Hunting Trip," takes a dramatic turn when SPOILER ALERTS.
Did you see Judd Apatow last night on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien? If so, then good, because maybe then you won't have a silly question to ask him if you take part in his "live interactive interview" with you and everyone else over the Internets on Wednesday afternoon. It's all happening courtesy of Funny or Die (Apatow is a co-conspirator for the site). You can submit your own questions in advance for Apatow via this Facebook page. Apatow himself will appear on your screens at 3:30 p.m. EDT (12:30 p.m. Pacific) Wednesday, Nov. 18. And if you need brushing up on your Apatow with Conan, roll on over this clip and get your brain a-storming:
Ladies and germination fans, it's time once again for a new episode of "Between Two Ferns," the Funny or Die talk show that puts host Zach Galifianakis between two ferns with a special guest. In today's installment, Galifianakis welcomes Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter to the studio. O'Brien wants to crack jokes, but Galifianakis is not having any of it. He has questions. And he goes to dinner with Richter and learns things. "Andy and I have the same trainer."
If you enjoyed the previous episodes with Jon Hamm, Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, Jimmy Kimmel and Michael Cera, then, well, you already know you'll like this. Cue the crickets on tumbleweeds, hold onto your hats and wait until the end for the M. Nighty Night plot twist. Ready, set, roll the clip!
Comedy Central has picked nine stand-up comedians for a new special called Comedy Central's Hot List, and if you're a reader of The Comic's Comic, absolutely none of the people on this list will come as a surprise. Oh, you may quibble and say so-and-so is much hotter than who'sa-ma-what'she, or wonder why isn't that guy on the list, but that's like wondering whether Rolling Stone is going to name someone the "Hot Comic" and then rip the "Hot Comic" the next year for no longer being hot (see: Cook, Dane). Or maybe they'll come up with a list of 12 Comics Who Aren't Funny -- thank you Newsweek for providing this service! Oh, wait. You mean to tell me that's just a deliberate slideshow trap to generate tons of page views and incredulous comments? Nice try, Newsweek. No. Actually. Not a nice try, Newsweek. You didn't even try, it seems.
But enough about them.
What about the new "Hot List"? Comedy Central must have been reading Variety's 10 Comics to Watch list, then decided, hey, we could do that as a TV show, throw some stand-up footage and interviews in there, and voila: Instant comedy. Their picks for Comedy Central's Hot List, which airs Dec. 6, include Aziz Ansari, Anthony Jeselnik, Nick Kroll, T.J. Miller, Whitney Cummings, Jon Lajoie, Donald Glover, Matt Braunger and Kumail Nanjiani. The press release says the show will interview them, asking them to "one-up each other discussing why they think they were chosen for the list, how they would rank each other, who would play them in the movie of their life and whether the perennial fart joke is still funny." Four of the nine comics are currently on primetime TV sitcoms, and the other five all have current and future TV credits to put on their resume. I guess that makes them show business "hot" by definition. So congrats for being put on a "hot list" for being hot! I guess it's better than getting put into a slideshow for how you're so hot you're not.
What about you, you say? Well, what about you. Comedy Central does dangle the carrot of a place for you on its "Hot List" with its latest "Open Mic Challenge" on jokes.com, which ends on Nov. 18. The Best of '09 challenge asks you to upload up to three minutes of your own original material that you wrote in 2009, and says you could get the chance to have your stand-up featured on the special. Not likely, but you could get that chance. Say what? Eugene Mirman, who apparently is not hot enough to make the list, is hot enough to tell you how you could be on it. Allow him to explain in a short video:
We've had a serious case of the Mondays in real life and on the Internets, comedy community, so we need something to lift our spirits. Which means calling upon our other comedy Community, the fun new sitcom on the NBC television network. I saw Don Glover briefly on Sunday night at the UCB Theatre in Los Angeles, and as we joked about how I keep seeing New York comedians during the start of my Hollywood trip, and as he prepped for his Sunday-night improv group performance, Shitty Jobs, I wanted to let him know how great this is.
In case you've been missing the closing-credit scenes (which is entirely possible thanks to NBC's strategy of making you miss them in DVR schedule overlap mishaps), Donald Glover ("Troy) and Danny Pudi ("Abed") put their Spanish class lessons to the rapping test early in the premiere season. When Abed launched a Webseries based on their study group, the rap returned anew. Meta? Meta-fun-times. Sandeep Parikh and LeJon Stewart star as their dopplegangers. Watch both and enjoy both!
The Internet has proven to be both the quickest and cruelest way to disseminate sad news, and such was the case early this morning with the untimely death of comedian and game-show host Ken Ober, who died reportedly from a heart attack Sunday at the age of 52. An official cause of death has not been released formally.
Ober was a comedy champion on the 1980s variety show, Star Search, but many more people knew and grew up with him as the host in the late 1980s of MTV's game show, Remote Control -- which in turn helped break the careers of comedians Adam Sandler, Colin Quinn and Denis Leary. Quinn posted this nostalgic photo on Twitter today of him and Ober with Kari Wuhrer on the set of Remote Control.
Friends had become concerned when Ober didn't make it to a show this weekend, and called 911. Authorities found Ober at his home. Ober also worked as a producer and/or writer for New Adventures of Old Christine, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, and Mind of Mencia.
News circulated about Ober via Facebook and Twitter, only to be accused of being a hoax, only to find out that the hoax allegations were a hoax. Sad and confusing. All in real-time.
I'll have more news on Ober as it comes in. My condolences to his friends and family.
UPDATED: Ober's manager, Lee Kernis, said that Ober had complained of flu-like symptoms on Saturday night, according to the New York Times. In statements to MTV, Adam Sandler and Denis Leary offered brief remembrances of Ober. Leary said: "Kenny Ober was and always will be the quickest wit in the room. He was fall-down funny from the moment he was born — a smart, fast and hilarious human being who made many of us, including myself, laugh until we cried. As the star and host of 'Remote Control,' he was a welcoming ringmaster who helped to kickstart the careers of numerous talents, including Adam Sandler, Colin Quinn and myself. He will be remembered always by each of his friends not only for his massive talent but for his true, deep and enduring friendship."
The Boston comedy scene is mourning the death today of Kevin Knox, who performed as "the Wild Man of comedy" and had battled cancer for the past six years, and stage four melanoma and pneumonia more recently. Knox was in his 50s.
Comedians Don Gavin, Steve Sweeney, Kenny Rogerson and Jimmy Dunn had just performed in a benefit for Knoxie two Sundays ago. It was one in many fund-raisers for Knox recently; there was another featuring Lenny Clarke, Tony V, Bill Burr and Johnny Pizzi this fall at Giggles, wherein Clarke told The Daily Item about Knox: "Kevin Knox is the most courageous guy I have ever met. He is one of the kindest, sweetest men in the world. All we want to do is help Kevin any way we can." I remember hearing about Knox as soon as my newspaper career brought me to Boston in January 2005 -- people told me I had to meet this guy because everyone loved him and was supporting him through his battle with cancer. He was always nice and gracious to me. I know that after I left Boston, in recent years, Knox was hosting the Monday night show at Dick Doherty's Beantown Comedy Vault -- with proceeds from the door helping him in his fight.
Doherty's home page now is dedicated to Knox, reading: "Thank you Kevin Knox -for all the Love and Laughter you brought to us - We will miss your contagious spirit and will honor your love of life- Rest in Peace Funny Man"
This post will updated with funeral arrangements when they become available.
UPDATED: A celebration of Kevin Knox's life will be held Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. Visiting with the family takes place from noon to 2 p.m., with the service beginning at 2 p.m. at The Collins Center for the Performing Arts, 80 Shawsheen Road, in Andover, Mass. There is a Facebook event page for the service.
Here are a couple of videos of Knox onstage. He will be truly missed.
If you go by what the Internets were saying in real-time overnight, then last night's Saturday Night Live was a stinker. Of course, this all happens the one week I decide go to Los Angeles and don't park myself in front of a television. They know I'll still find out what happens on SNL, right? I'm still not sure exactly what happened when January Jones hosted with musical guest Black Eyed Peas, nor when, but I do know that these videos have shown up on the Internets. And the video evidence tells a slightly different story, unless I find out that these videos are from dress rehearsal, or that the real stinkfest came from the Black Eyed Peas, and not from the show itself. Suspense! While we wait for the truth to set us free, let's take a look at the evidence before us...
We're seeing less and less of Fred Armisen's Barack Obama impersonation, and tonight's show opened with Jason Sudeikis' Joe Biden instead, taking over the White House since President Obama headed to Asia on a diplomatic trip. Biden is supposed to be crazy honest, but was this version crazy honest funny?
January Jones has trouble reading off of her cue cards during her opening monologue. Sudeikis, Armisen and Bill Hadar play superfans of Mad Men called Mad Mennies. It's like that sketch from the 1980s when William Shatner took on the Trekkies, only not so much. Bonus points, though, for having Armisen pick Peggy (played by his real-life newlywed wife, Elisabeth Moss, over Jones' Betty Draper). Do we subtract points, however, for Sudeikis calling Betty Betsy? Oh, double bonus points for Abby Elliott as Joan Holloway (though subtract a point, perhaps, for making us think for a second that Christina Hendricks might've been making that cameo?). Math is hard. TWSS.
What else? Did you say you wanted fart jokes? Fart jokes? We got those...
Did you know: Two years ago today, GoDaddy.com (name-dropping!) approved my request to register the domain name, thecomicscomic.com. And we're still here! You. Me. The Internets. Comedy. We're all still here. Let's celebrate. Comedy blogging purist nerds may want to note that I've been documenting comedy scenes for several more than two years, with Web posts from New York, Boston, Phoenix and Seattle. But going it alone as a one-man comedy journalism band is and has been decidedly different, and I'd like to personally thank each and every one of you for clicking, reading, commenting, linking and otherwise contributing to the cause. Now what?
Well, for me, year three at The Comic's Comic is starting off with something I know we've all been waiting for: I'm going Hollywood! I landed in Los Angeles late last night, and for the next week, I'm going to be taking in as much of of the L.A. comedy scene as is possible for a man with a rental car and limited funds. If you're in L.A. and want me to see your show, or just want to see what I look like in real life, please say hi!
Right now, I'm in that part of Los Angeles better known as Echo Silverlake Park, or as my current hosts call it, Histo Flipto. Who are they? They're a couple of Blerds named Mike Bridenstine and Mike Holmes. They seem nice, even though but probably because they're from Iowa. So if you see them mentioned an unusual amount of times here in the next week, now you'll know why.
OK, Hollywood. I'm ready for my pitch meetings. Let's do this.
What happened? When the 10-episode order went from production to reality, and TBS decided upon pairings of two per half-hour, that wasn't going to leave enough room for everyone. Network sources told me they made edits based upon who paired well. Those who didn't make the cut still could show up on TBS at a later date. Whether that's in a second "season" of the show, or in ads promoting the series, or other interstitials, is something TBS is going to have to figure out.
Sorry to be the messenger of this unlucky Friday the 13th news, my funny friends. One of the comics I contacted last night had no idea what was going on.
Tim Meadows (TBS's The Bill Engvall Show, Saturday Night Live) hosts thirty of the freshest and funniest faces in stand-up as they take the stage at Chicago’s legendary Zanies comedy club. The Very Funny Show will be taped as part of a new series slated to air on TBS. Note: The Very Funny Show will have a different lineup of comedians each night. Please confirm the lineup before completing your ticket purchase.
SCHEDULE OF PERFORMERS Friday, June 19 at 8:30pm: Sebastian, Henry Cho, Jeff Dye, Bob Oschack, Patti Vasquez, John Caparulo
Friday, June 19 at 10:30pm: Steve Byrne, Rachel Feinstein, Joe Matarese, Billy Gardell, John Mulaney, Hannibal Buress, Danny Bhoy
Saturday, June 20 at 7:00pm: John Roy, Dwayne Perkins, Andrew Kennedy, Godfrey, Wendy Liebman, Kyle Kinane, Dale Jones, Rocky LaPorte
Saturday, June 20 at 9:15pm: Al Madrigal, Erin Jackson, Dwight Slade, Roy Wood Jr., Matt Braunger, Mike Palascak, Bob Marley
Saturday, June 20 at 11:30pm: Tommy Johnagin, Ian Edwards, Pete Correale, Nick Thune, Whitney Cummings, TJ Miller, Louis Ramey
Actually, that list had 35 comedians. And here again is the list of 20 comedians appearing on The Very Funny Show when it's on TBS this winter:
Thursday, Nov. 19, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Henry Cho and Nick Thune Thursday, Nov. 19, at 12:30 a.m. (ET/PT) Danny Bhoy and Whitney Cummings Thursday, Nov. 26, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) John Roy and Louis Ramey Thursday, Dec. 3, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Rocky LaPorte and Andrew Kennedy Thursday, Dec. 10, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Jeff Dye and Wendy Liebman Thursday, Dec. 17, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) John Caparulo and Kyle Kinane Wednesday, Dec. 23, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Mike Palascak and Patti Vasquez Thursday, Dec. 31, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Sebastian and Tommy Johnagin Thursday, Jan. 7, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) John Mulaney and Pete Correale Thursday, Jan. 14, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Al Madrigal and Billy Gardell
Oschack and Jeff Cesario are listed in the second TBS press release as contributing additional materials.
What's most likely is that TBS had planned to do 10 hours of programming for the series, only to decide later to go with half-hours, which then put the squeeze on for 15 unlucky stand-ups. I'm absolutely certain some of them will be just fine without this credit.
Streeter Seidell and Amir Blumenfeld have been pranking each other for years now, only their pranks are big-budget and seen by millions on the Internets, because Streeter and Amir work for CollegeHumor.com. You can find Streeter and Amir's full Prank War collection here. This time they've reached new heights, literally and figuratively, as the latest prank involved sky-diving, and also debuted on TV on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live. Streeter and Amir explained it all to Kimmel. Doing shots of limoncello with Danny DeVito is merely a bonus, right? But is their best effort yet? Well, there is the element of death involved. I don't know. I'm going to need some Axe body spray money to make up my mind. In the meantime, here is their TV appearance in two parts, followed by the full CollegeHumor version. Roll the clips!
It's Friday the 13th, and this time around, Hollywood's movie complex is giving us a complex about the Mayan predictions that the world will end in 2012. Fairly safe bet that the big-budget CGI 2012 film will be big at the box-office this weekend? But more important than what any of the so-called critics say, will it be "awesome" or will it be "tight"? That's debate between our "Hey, That's Awesome!" Internet movie trailer analyst, Stinson and his guest, SNL's Bobby Moynihan. Let's watch and see who's more convincing. "Is that the guy from Serendipity?" Why, yes. Yes it is. Roll the clip!
Ready for another stand-up comedy showcase on TV? TBS taped several shows at Zanies in Chicago back in June during the TBS Just For Laughs Chicago festival, and they're ready to start rolling them out, two comics at a time, in half-hour episodes starting Nov. 19. The Very Funny Show, with host Tim Meadows, will air Thursdays following George Lopez's talk-show, Lopez Tonight. It's not to be confused with the similarly-named Very Funny Show videos curated by Matt Besser for the network two years ago.
Each episode of the stand-up showcase version of The Very Funny Show also will include brief interviews with the comedians about the inspirations for their material. Here is the lineup (subject to last-minute changes):
Thursday, Nov. 19, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Henry Cho and Nick Thune
Thursday, Nov. 19, at 12:30 a.m. (ET/PT) Danny Bhoy and Whitney Cummings
Thursday, Nov. 26, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) John Roy and Louis Ramey
Thursday, Dec. 3, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Rocky LaPorte and Andrew Kennedy
Thursday, Dec. 10, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Jeff Dye and Wendy Liebman
Thursday, Dec. 17, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) John Caparulo and Kyle Kinane
Wednesday, Dec. 23, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Mike Palascak and Patti Vasquez
Thursday, Dec. 31, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Sebastian and Tommy Johnagin
Thursday, Jan. 7, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) John Mulaney and Pete Correale
Thursday, Jan. 14, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Al Madrigal and Billy Gardell
I'm not going to give you the ins and outs of every night's episode of The Jay Leno Show -- and especially not going to stoke the flames of sensationalistic speculation that the mainstream media is doing regarding Leno's fate at NBC (weren't we supposed to wait until all of the other networks went into reruns for that?). But I do feel a need to say something about his show's Laugh Squad. At first, I thought, hey, great idea giving more exposure to stand-up comedians. But the more I think, and the more I watch, I wonder, hey, wait a second. Why are Bob Read and Ross Mark asking random Internet watchers to tell them if they agree that certain up-and-coming comedians are ready for TV? I can do that, and I don't even have a job as a booker for a network TV show -- which is the job Bob and Ross have had for many years, including both Leno's current and former shows, as well as Last Comic Standing. If you think they're ready for TV, put them on the TV! That's your job, isn't it? Or we now focus-grouping stand-up comedy? My apologies in advance to the two comedians cited in this video, as this isn't meant to malign your potential abilities. (Note: Click on the link above if you cannot watch Hulu, foreigners!)
What do they say about New York City: There are eight million stories, and sometimes it seems as though eight million of the people telling them think they're comedians? No, that's not it. It is a fact, though, that America's biggest city is also its biggest comedy mecca. Hollywood may be Hollywood, but New York City is where comedians are born funny, become funny or arrive to thrust their funny upon us. I think we should meet some of these people. This is a new recurring feature, a mini-profile of newcomers, up-and-comers and overcomers of New York's vibrant comedy scene. It's called Meet Me In New York.
In this installment, we take a look at a guy who surprised me last year with his pitch-perfect Dave Chappelle impersonation. He'll make his TV debut on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham on Dec. 11. But meet him now: It's Dan Soder.
Name: Dan Soder
Arrival date: Jan. 6, 2007
Arrived from: Denver by way of Tucson
When and where did you start performing comedy? Tucson in July/August 2004
What was your best credit before moving here? Opening for Troy Baxley and Ben Creed.
Why did you pick NYC over LA or anywhere else? New York is notorious for making people better comics, there’s more stage time and you’re exposed to a ton of different styles. I just didn’t feel like L.A. fit me, plus my car was on its last legs and I didn’t want to sink more money into it.
How long did it take to get your first paid gig in NYC after moving here? About a year.
How is this scene better/same/worse than the scene you moved from? Tucson was a great place to start, I got to go from open mics to MC’ing to featuring all in the comfort of the same club. There were other clubs and casinos within reasonable driving distance so you got a taste of what the road was like, plus I got to work with comics that are really funny and influence me to this day. When I got to New York, I quickly saw how competitive and talented a lot of the comics were, so it made me rethink my act and what I was doing.
In Tucson, if you worked, the worst-case scenario was going up in front of 15 people, even the mics had an audience (besides comics), but in New York you can go up in front of three people at 1 a.m. On the other hand, in New York you get to see national headliners work out new stuff and do the same room you’re doing, which kind of blew me away at first.
The Mo'Nique Show is a daytime talk-show masquerading as a late-night party. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
While George Lopez is whipping up hysteria over on TBS with his new late-night talk-show party atmosphere, and Wanda Sykes looks to shake things up on Saturday night on FOX with her frank stand-up and panel discussions, it's easy to overlook what Mo'Nique is doing on BET. Part of that is because the mainstream media tends as a rule to overlook BET; but some of it is because the cable network isn't giving the mainstream a reason not to.
Mo'Nique's show opened a month ago with Steve Harvey and 1.5 million viewers. On cable. On BET. If The Daily Show with Jon Stewart got those kinds of numbers on Comedy Central, newspapers and magazines across the country would talk about how influential that is. Oh, wait. Snappity snap snap. Seems as though we've learned that there's another audience out there for late-night television.
What they get, as I mentioned earlier, could just as easily be shown at 3 p.m. or 11 a.m. as it is at 11 p.m. The backdrop signals it's supposed to be at night, and the show opens with Mo'Nique dancing down the stairs along with the band and the audience, and comedian sidekick Rodney Perry with his own chair over to the side. Mo'Nique doesn't open with a traditional late-night monologue, but rather a short moral lesson peppered with some sort of physical interaction that elicits laughter. When it comes down to it, though, whether it's a talk segment, a musical number or even a cooking demonstration with Coolio, the atmosphere isn't so much about late-night hijinx than it is about conversations. Think more like Oprah, with a dash of Ellen. But that duo dominates daytime. And really, having Mo'Nique on in the afternoon isn't what audiences need -- a need she fills by bringing more black entertainment (and more often than not, black empowerment) to Black Entertainment Television. That's a smart move by the network. Taping Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in Atlanta, the show also manages to have a different sensibility that comes from being far away from New York City and Los Angeles, as well as the headlines of the day. What The Mo'Nique Show is saying is we'll give you what you're looking for. Heck. Here's what Mo'Nique had to say herself:
What do you mean this isn't a real thing? The truth is out there. And sometimes the truth hurts. What is truth, exactly? CollegeHumor plays off of FOX's recent night to honor Seth MacFarlane -- which really is every Sunday at this point -- and figures out the secret of his success. Usually, when you make a hit TV show, others are quick to copy you. MacFarlane already has beaten you to the punch. Yield to Zod. (Seth is Zod, and I am Kal-El? Get that Kryptonite away from me!)
And yet. Watching this makes you wonder if this formula is so successful for a reason. The Cleveland Show = American Dad = Family Guy = Seth MacFarlane Animation Domination. Will it always be funny? My head hurts just thinking about it. Am I laughing at this or with this? Satire confuses me today. Roll the clip!
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