On August 26th, Netflix released Sticks and Stones from Dave Chappelle. This special was only announced a week prior to its release and of course got a bunch of publicity. That same day another special came out on Youtube. It was a completely spur of the moment set with no jokes planned. This was Andrew Schulz: Crowd Work Special. Over the past year Andrew Schulz has taken the comedy industry by storm. He went against the traditional route in waiting for the industry to notice him. A true DIY comedian, Andrew Schulz, has built a brand and has done so on his own terms with the help of his talented friends Alexx Media and Mark Gagnon. A month after its release Andrew Schulz’s Crowd Work Special is over 1 million views.
Andrew states “As a comic it’s my job to push the limits of my craft. Every special I do I want to push comedy forward into the next phase. I think we accomplished that here. I hope you feel the same way. ” This special did not disappoint. Andrew very much accomplished pushing comedy forward and will continue to do so.
Gary Gulman has been a mentor and idol to many successful comics in the industry today. From #GulManTips on twitter to his openness and honesty on stage, Gary Gulman’s newest special is sure to be the best one yet. It has been 3 years since his last hour came out and a lot has happened over those years. After this special Gary will not only be an inspiration to comedians trying to make it in comedy but to the general public on how to deal with life and laugh in the face of depresh! Check out Gary’s newest special, The Great Depresh, October 5th on HBO.
Anthony Jeselnik had a show years ago on Comedy Central called The Jeselnik Offensive. It was short lived and cancelled. Anthony Jeselnik has since gone on touring, being his unapologetic self, and recording a Netflix special. After his on going success, Comedy Central must have realized they made a huge mistake letting Anthony go. Jeselnik is back on Comedy Central with a new talk show that is raw, funny, and really answers the hard questions facing comedians today. Good Talk with Anthony Jeselnik premiered earlier this month and continues to bring a much needed raw and dark talk to the talk show landscape.
SNL veteran Leslie Jones is not returning for the upcoming 45th season this fall. Jones started out on the show in 2014 and quickly became a fan-favorite. With this exit, she is slated to host a reboot of the popular game show, Supermarket Sweep. Some popular character impersonations during Jones’ time at the show include parodies of The View (playing Whoopi Goldberg) and special appearances on the highly-popular Weekend Update. She is also in the process of a Netflix original comedy special to premiere in 2020 and the film, Coming to America 2, with Eddie Murphy.
Joe Sib did not start doing stand-up the way your average comedian
does. In the early ‘90s, Sib’s punk rock band Wax was signed to a major
record deal. Just a few years later he started his own indie label, SideOneDummy
Records, and launched the careers of many diverse bands. Eventually, Joe began
touring a one-man show and started his stand-up career based on stories from
his life.
After six years of stand-up, he began opening for comedian
Jim Breuer and the two quickly became close. After a couple years together, Sib
got a call from Breuer that would change his life. Breuer invited Sib to join
him opening for legendary metal band Metallica. The two worked together to put
on an opening show like no other. They used a combination of DJing, storytelling,
and crowd-work to fire up 40,000 metal heads and sometimes performed for over two
and a half hours. Sib once told the band that he had seen them on their Injustice
for All tour and was extremely jealous of the people with floor seats. Metallica
told Joe to make it up by pulling 10 people from the nosebleeds and giving them
floor passes at the end of every show.
Dana Gould is known as one of the industry’s best stand-up/comedic writers. Having written for one of the most iconic shows of all time, The Simpsons, Dana has been able to make his mark both comedically and personally on the show. He joined the staff in 1999, got his first joke in the show about 9 months into his 7 year career at The Simpsons. In this interview he discusses the differences between him and the other writers, having been one of the few who did not attend Harvard. He also mentions how he was able to put his own experience of adopting a child from China into the show. Listen to the full interview with Jim Norton, Sam Roberts, and Bobcat Goldthwait here for more amazing stories from these hilarious, legendary comics.
Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp (That 70’s Show) are returning back to multi-camera comedy! Nate Bargatze has enlisted the help of Smith and Rupp to play lead roles opposite the comedian. The show, based on Nate’s life, follows him and his wife (Katie Aselton) transitioning from life in hectic Los Angeles to quiet Tennessee to raise his family. The Red and Kitty Foreman actors will play Bargatze’s dad and mom in the ABC pilot. This will be Bargatze’s first time as a leading man in a series and Smith and Rupp’s first time together since wrapping That 70’s Show. The pilot will be directed by University of Colorado Boulder alum Drew Goddard, who has written, directed, and produced many notable TV series and movies. Hopefully the pilot airs on ABC soon, but until then, don’t miss Nate Bargatze live in Denver September 7th, 2019 at the Paramount Theatre! Get tickets here.
Chris Distefano had an interesting childhood to say the the least. Most people never get to meet a penguin in their lifetime let alone in a Brooklyn basement. Everyone has an odd uncle but Chris Distefano wins the oddest uncle award. Roasting and storytelling at its finest! Watch the clip because you will not believe it unless you hear it from Chris. Also you will learn how to deal with mob.
Have you seen Brad Williams’ hour special, Daddy Issues? Have you ever wonder how this material came to be and what makes this hour so special and heartfelt to Brad? When Brad was on The Honeydew with Ryan Sickler, Brad explains the origin story behind the hour and the emotions that went along with it. It is truly a touching story and we are glad Comedy Works was here when Brad needed it the most.
Patriot Act touches on issues that face society today in a fun and educational way. It is filmed in front of a live studio audience, which makes it feel like a live stand up show. The difference here is that Hasan Minjah does a segment called “Deep Cuts”. Basically this series show the parts of the filming that does make it to the final cut of the episode. It gives Hasan a chance to engage with the audience and answer personal, silly, and sometimes serious questions about the world we are living in. The questions he answers during this part are submitted by an audience member. The crowd gets the chance to interact with Hasan on a personal level and helps with the overall atmosphere of the show in general. Sometimes they even get some comedian friends to stop by and talk like Phoebe Robinson, Desus and Mero. You never know what is going to be discussed but you know it will be entertaining. Hasan says “This is my favorite part of the show!” Check all the episode at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE6linSnhLs377HnPjCNKbSezvRjLHg0k
