ComedyCentral-related stories
Posted Jul 3rd 2009 9:32AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free
Since programming anything new is probably a waste on a holiday weekend,
Comedy Central is programming roughly 4,000 previously aired stand-up specials (okay, just 40, but that's a lot) from some of the biggest names on its rosters, including Dane Cook, Jeff Dunham, Katt Williams, Louis C.K., Lewis Black, Brian Regan, Demetri Martin, Ron White, Lisa Lampanelli, and Jim Gaffigan. They'll also sprinkle in some of their
Comedy Central Presents half-hour showcases. It's called the Stand-Up Blowout Weekend.
The first special is at 3 PM -
Aisha Tyler is Lit: Live at the Fillmore and end, officially, with Drew Hastings:
Irked and Miffed at 3 AM Monday morning. Sunday at 10PM is the network premiere of
Dave Attell: Captain Miserable, which originally aired on HBO on December 8, 2007.
Continue reading Comedy Central's holiday weekend Stand-Up Blowout
Posted Jul 1st 2009 8:25AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: News, Web, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Keith Olbermann! Come on down! You're the next TV celebrity whose death has been falsely reported on the Internet!
The MSNBC Countdown's Wikipedia page reported he had died earlier this morning, possibly due to complications from celiac disease.
I sent emails to two networks officials to confirm this jarring claim. Jeremy Gaines, MSNBC's vice president of communications, responded that he is certain the entry is a "hoax" and that he and other network officials were working to correct it. The section on Olbermann's death has since been removed from the page.
Continue reading Exclusive! Keith Olbermann is not dead
Posted Jun 22nd 2009 11:08AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Interviews, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Futurama has gone through more frustrating cancellations than a United Airlines flight leaving Chicago's O'Hare Airport. No one knows that better than voice actor
Billy West and actress
Katey Sagal who respectively provide the voice, heart and soul of the show's two main characters, Fry and Leela.
But what has kept the show going is the camaraderie of the cast and crew. Everyone from the show still keep in touch in between other jobs and even have the occasional reunion from their regular crowded visits at ComicCon to smaller get togethers like when Katey said the cast got together to watch her last concert at the
MBar in Hollywood.
Most of all, they said they have the fans to thank for their next big reunion when
Futurama goes back into production. They both took a short time out of their busy schedules to chat about Comedy Central's two season order.
Continue reading Katey Sagal and Billy West on the return of Futurama
Posted Jun 13th 2009 9:02AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Reality-Free
If you thought
Futurama had nowhere to go after the climatic series-long ending with
Into the Wild Green Yonder (and notice I'm not revealing what that ending is so you spoiler-hating surprise junkies don't lose your half-daily hit of whahuh?!?), think again.
Futurama's executive producer David X. Cohen talked to
Wired Magazine's Underwire blog about just what lies ahead for the
new Comedy Central episodes.
The good news is Cohen seems to be brimming with more crazy ideas than a Hardee's product development retreat, but he doesn't reveal anything too specific in terms of what Fry, Leela and Bender will be doing in the episodes to come.
Continue reading David X. Cohen spills some dark matter on Futurama's future
Posted Jun 9th 2009 7:21PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Animation, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
What was once just internet gossip that spread across the web like a persistent skin rash has now become confirmed fact.
20th Century Fox and Comedy Central are not only reviving
Futurama, but they want double the initial number of episodes that
Collider.com reported meaning fans can look forward to 26 new episodes the sci-fi comedy series around the middle of 2010.
Variety also reports that actors Billy West, Katey Sagal and John DiMaggio have also signed up to once again provide the voices for Fry, Leela and Bender. I believe that sound you just heard was the universe being ripped open by this awesome time loop.
Continue reading It's confirmed! Bender is back! And his banjo! And so is the rest of the Futurama crew!
Posted Jun 8th 2009 11:05AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Have you grown tired of bad TV news? And by bad TV news, I mean bad news about television shows. Bad "TV news" is redundant.
Well, get ready for some good news. No wait, get ready for some great news. No, great doesn't really describe it. Here is some grantasticularly wondergasmiclicious news! (And my 12th grade English teacher said I'd never amount to anything as a writer.)
Comedy Central has ordered all brand new episodes of
Futurama, and the show has officially gone back into production.
Continue reading Bender's back, baby! New Futurama episodes are in our future
Posted Jun 7th 2009 9:05PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities, Reality-Free
As most of you know by now, Stephen Colbert is taking his show on the road again and this time, the
Colbert Report is going to Baghdad. It's certainly a far cry from his first
TCR outside of New York, that week in Philadelphia way back in April of last year (check it out,
I was there). The troops and the casual viewers at home will definitely be in for a treat.
Something I certainly was not expecting out of this trip was a new look for Mr. Colbert. Sure, he was bound to incorporate some camo to get into the spirit of things, but I was expecting maybe, like, a tie or a playful lapel pin. But no. As we can see from this video, Mr. Colbert is hardcore enough to bypass the semi-patriotic accessories and get a full-on buzzcut.
Continue reading Yes, this is newsworthy: Stephen Colbert gets a buzz cut
Posted May 30th 2009 11:55PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
It's summer time and I can see you sketch comedy nerds are starting to get the shakes from
Saturday Night Live withdrawal. No worries, I've got some goodness to feed your short attention span and sketch comedy needs.
Here's a program that every self-proclaimed comedy fan should know. From 1998 to 2000, the
Upright Citizens Brigade television series ran for three seasons on Comedy Central, developing a solid cult following. The four stars, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Matt Besser and Amy Poehler wrote and starred in the series, playing just about all the characters and giving us gems like
Ass Pennies, Spaghetti Jesus and little Girl Scout Cassie.
Continue reading Sketch Comedy Saturday: Upright Citizens Brigade
Posted May 23rd 2009 10:03AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free
Louis C.K. has been challenging himself to do a new hour of comedy every year, for a new special every year.
Chewed Up, which originally aired on Showtime last year and makes its
Comedy Central debut tonight at 10 PM, is the result of that challenge, his second special in two years (he has already taped his third, which should be out sometime within the next six or seven months). It's also, to use the modern parlance, NSFW. Which means fans might shrink from watching it on a network like Comedy Central.
The strange thing about it, though, is that, looking at some clips of the special, a couple of things are clear. One, the language he uses is essential to the mood and attack of the comedy. And two, the ideas still come across when you bleep out the cursing.
Continue reading Louis C.K. chews up Comedy Central
Posted May 15th 2009 3:09PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Programming, Animation, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free, Webisodes
Comedy Central is
adding a number of shows to its schedule for the upcoming fall season. One of the network's more interesting projects comes from former
Simpsons writer David Stern, who also worked on
Monk and
The Wonder Years.
Stern's
new animated comedy, Ugly Americans, is being billed as a spinoff of the ComedyCentral.com animated series
5 On.
Ugly Americans is set in a very different New York City where humans co-exist with aliens and robots.
I know, I think it sounds a bit like
Futurama too. But here's the difference. Unlike
Futurama, Ugly Americans is about a NYC social worker at the Department of immigration who helps immigrants, from outer space and from other countries, adjust to life in the U.S.
Continue reading Simpsons writer brings animated sci-fi comedy to Comedy Central
Posted May 14th 2009 12:02PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Reality-Free
If you're a fan of Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black and you've been looking for information on their new Comedy Central show,
Michael and Michael Have Issues, you've probably been a bit confused lately. Any press the pair have done for the show has been fairly vague.
And then you have the site dedicated to the show,
www.michaelandmichaelhaveissues.com, which offers plenty of blog entries, including one from earlier this month titled "Photos of the Promos Shoot" that feature dancers holding up Michael and Michael heads on a stick (see photo).
Maybe this clip will help give a better clue. Poorly veiled tension has always been a part of the act with Stella (which also includes David Wain). But here we get to see Michael and Michael actually attack each other in a studio when Showalter takes issue with Black's impression of a butterfly fart. This is supposed to be from the series pilot, which premieres in July, but who knows? Maybe it's here to distract you from what they're really working on. (Oooohh! Conspiracy!)
Continue reading A possible preview of Michael and Michael Have Issues
Posted May 10th 2009 1:39PM by Eliot Glazer
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Video, Obituaries, Reality-Free
The
late Bea Arthur was, among other things, a comedic genius, feminist icon, and beloved American actress of stage and screen. But widely overlooked in the recent coverage of her passing is the fact that she was a active advocate for animal rights. She campaigned against the force-feeding of ducks in the foie gras trade, even accompanying the president of PETA to London, where she demanded that Harrod's discontinue their peddling pâté.
Continue reading Bea Arthur also saved animals (as do her 'girls')
Posted May 8th 2009 11:03AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Reality-Free
You're used to seeing Christian Finnegan being funny in short bursts on
Best Week Ever. Tonight at 11 PM, you'll get to see him for a full hour on Comedy Central for the debut of his special,
Au Contraire!.
A full hour of sarcasm and snark,
Best Week Ever's main weapons, would probably be pretty grating. Thankfully, Finnegan has more to offer than that. You won't hear any celebrity names during
Au Contraire! (unless you count
American Idol contestant "Temptress"). You also won't get a physical comic flying around the stage or a bomb-throwing satirist.
Continue reading Christian Finnegan's Au Contraire!
Posted May 6th 2009 12:03PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: The Daily Show, Reality-Free
When Jon Stewart announced before a studio full of deafening cheers and Stephen Colbert's deafening silence that Barack Obama would become the 44th President of the United States, the show seemed to be in an interesting pickle.
Could the show be just as funny as it had been under an administration that didn't blur the line between setups and punchlines? Could Stewart and friends find the funny in a president who inspires more love and fear in people than a teddy bear with a switchblade?
So let's grade
The Daily Show's first 100 days under
socialism President Obama report card.
Continue reading The Daily Show's first 100 days under Obama
Posted Apr 23rd 2009 1:38AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Video, South Park, Reality-Free
Tonight was the last episode of the latest set of seven from the South Park Studios. The new ones won't be shown until October.
It's been a pretty strong series so far. I didn't really like last week's with the alien gangster, but the season opener with the Jonas Brothers and "Mr. Mouse" was fantastic. This was followed by four additional strong episodes, including their superhero parody "The Coon," their take on the bailout with "Margaritaville," a gaseous battle of the sexes with "Eat, Pray, Queef," an appearance from army of robot Jews in "Fishsticks," and Cartman's piracy adventures in "Fatbeard."
I recall not being fond of Season 12 while initially watching it, although it grew on me as I watched it again on DVD. Season 13 has been much stronger. Having now watched all seven episodes, I think this season has so far been much better than last.
If you're reading this after watching "Fatbeard," what did you think? If you keep up with the series, what have you thought of the past seven episodes as a whole?
Next Page >
Seven greatest hand cannons in TV history
TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
TV 101: How ESPN controls the world and what the other networks can learn from it
