Month: July 2026

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Featured: Jon Stewart, Pete Davidson, Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Gianmarco Soresi, Jay Jorden, Mary Beth Baron, Tony Hinchcliff, Shane Gillis, Seth Simons

What’s in This Episode

• Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson 9/11 Charity Benefit at Madison Square Garden September 10th
• Rio Odd Comedy Festival lineup overlap with 9/11 benefit performers
• Mary Beth Baron supports Mayor Mumdani, discusses Democratic Party establishment
• JFL Montreal State of the Industry address by Jay Jorden and Gianmarco Soresi
• Comedy Fee Tracker database reveals comedian payment rates from public contracts
• Tony Hinchcliff bombing at Trump rally roasted by comedians
• Just for Laughs bankruptcy impact on festival prestige

Questions Answered in This Episode

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Full Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and may contain spelling and/or transcription errors.

Caloroga Shark Media. Today me a little different because of the stories. I didn’t go out of my way to do a special episode, but there’s interesting stuff out there. We’ll get a little political, yeah, Shahi. I’m Johnny Mac with your Daily Comedy News.

I was on social media and somebody pointed out about this comedy concert coming on September tenth. Told you about this yesterday, New York City, still rising after twenty five years, A nine to eleven Charities comedy benefit at Madison Square Garden. Told you the details yesterday. John Stewart and Pete Davison putting this together, and somebody pointed out the lineup. Okay, you’re ready as he’s in.

Sorry, who played the Riyadh Comedy Festival, Bill Burr who played the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Dave Chappelle who played the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Ronnie Chan who played the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Isn’t this lineup curious? Pete Davidson, whose father Scott Davidson was killed on nine to eleven.

Pete Davidson played the Rio Odd Comedy Festival. Nikki Glaser, who did not play said festival. Josh Johnson who did not play said festival and of course John Stewart, and we’re told plus special guests. But isn’t that interesting? The first three, four five names on the thing are also played.

New York City still Rising September tenth, Madison Square Garden. It’s the twenty fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York City on September eleventh, two thousand and one. They say, never forget. I’m now finding people are in their mid twenties and have no memory of this and don’t feel it the same way us older people do. I’m wondering if New York City Mayor Mumdani will be invited, and will he come, and if he does come, what the reaction will be.

I don’t want to get too political today, but that could be an interesting situation.

Speaking of Mayor Mumdanni, and he’s been in the news all week.

One of his supporters is comedian Mary Beth Barone. She had a Netflix special earlier in the week and she went on the Not Kidding podcast with Mitti, his son. They made a little montage of some of the things they talked about. Here’s Mary Beth barn How did you get involved supporting Mamdani. I felt like this was a good person to put in front of as many voters as possible.

You slid into Zoronsda. I slid into Zoronstian. What do you think of all the socialist wins recently. I think they had clear platforms and they campaigned well, it’s actually not that hard, I don’t think. Mary Beth Baron was also asked what she thinks of the Democratic Party establishment and she said, I think they should retire so they can trade stocks to reckless abandon go out on your boats and live your lives and your mansions.

Just get out of politics because it’s ticking me off. Last week at the JFL Montreal Just Relapsed Comedy Festival, it was the annual State of the Industry this year, giving the State of the Industry, where Jay Jorden and Gianmarco Soresi. Gianmarco Soresi was going to put that out on his YouTube channel. That was happening between me recording this and you hearing this. I assume it’s actually up now if you want to go look for it.

The folks at Deadline it took some notes while they were there in the room with them. I’ll pick away at this Jay Jorden said, we’re two of the few comedians who were skinny before Zimpeic. Sarasi said, we’re like if John Mulaney and Gerrod Carmichael. We’re willing to do this. Jorden said, we decided to take a note from the successive heated rivalry and have one actual queer guy and a straight guy who will play gay as long as it advances his career.

Saisi. Neither of our teams wanted us to do this gig. I just wish they showed the same restraint around Riyadh Gianmarco Soresi again. We’re both former Just for Laughs New Faces, which used to launch comedy celebrities and now just gets you employed by Just for Laughs. Gianmarco Soresi again.

As we all know, JFL went bankrupt and came back as a weaker version of what it once was. It should be readamed the Dane Cook Comedy Festival. Wow. Gianmarco Soresi again, and you could tell. I mean, if you’ve listened the show, you know I love him and these are really funny with me reading them.

Gianmarco Soresi again. Some people judge Tony Hinchcliff for opening a Trump rally. I judge him for bombing a Trump rally. That’s like me bombing at a Tony Awards watch party. Jordan, Oh, let me set the record straight.

A lot of people say that Tony’s gay. I know Tony isn’t gay because he’s not funny or interesting. They talked about Tony Hinchcliff’s new special. Gianmarco Soresi said, did he film the new one in Montreal? Because it had just four laughs?

That’s great. They talked about Shane Gillis. Gianmarco Soresi seventy six thousand people at one show is insane. Say what you will about his politics. Shane’s done more than any Democrats to get Ice off the streets.

We could end the whole immigration problem if he co headlined with Gabrielly Glacias. That’s hilarious. Nate Berghatzy the subject, Gianmarco Soresi crushing here. We gotta watch this. I’ll pull some clips.

When he posted, Gianmarco Soresi said, Nateperghatzy where summer now? Calling him Jeff Fox Newsworthy, that’s awesome, portrayed many fans when he appeared at the UFC match on the White House Lawn. But that wasn’t nearly as bad as when he told his fans to see his new movie Breadwinner in theaters. Breadwinner was so bad people were praising Colin Joe’s performance. Gianmarco Soresi again.

Theo Vaughn is the only comedian whose haircut is worse than Nottscoes. Some other comedians got name checked Gianmarco Soresi again. Since this State of the Industry addresses started, Elisa Dick has released four new stand up specials. Jay said, and at the same time, Joss Johnson has released four specials. Explaining those specials to white people and final topic, Carlosmancia Jay Jordens said, Carlos Smith see it was charged with tax evasion.

The irs are the only people who didn’t forget about him. Great stuff there, guys, all right? The AV Club caught this one. It is the Comedy Fee Tracker, a new project from comedy journalist and critic Seth Simons using public information obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The Comedy Fee Tracker is a searchable database of talent contracts.

This is fun. Simon saw the AV Club via email that the project began with an investigation into SNL’s return to live audiences during COVID. Five years later, he’s amassed a nice quote little library of information by requesting receipts from public venues. Do you want to know how much everyone makes? You?

Do? And I do too? All right? Louis c. K apparently makes anywhere between one hundred and seventeen thousand and two hundred and thirty five thousand dollars an hour.

According to this report, Adam Devine fifty one five hundred for an hour of comedy at the University of Florida. His opener Adam Ray spelled r y here, So I don’t know if it’s the same one pulled in five hundred dollars for an hour. I guess that’s a different to Adam Ray. Simons writes, maybe this is naive, but it shocked me to see that Colin Jost was getting paid seventy thousand dollars to do an hour of stand up at the University of Illinois, and that his openers were getting five thousand dollars apiece. This is going to cause a lot of trouble.

This is going to upset people. Chris de Leiah made one hundred and thirty thousand, nine hundred and nine dollars reportedly for a two twenty three show at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon. Now, if you want to check this out yourself, it is at Humorism dot xyz Humorism dot xyz. Seth Simons here, Let’s just do it, he writes. Dave Chappelle two documented records and quotes the numbers two hundred and thirty six thousand, two three hundred and thirty nine thousand, seven hundred and thirty eight.

Kevin Hart two documented records, twenty thousand and two thirty four eight oh six. Jim Gaffigan, who won’t call you back if helped him early in his career, he doesn’t care. Between seventy five thousand and one hundred and fifty four thousand, eighty dollars, according to five dot com coumented records. Pete Davidson twenty seven thousand, five hundred two, one hundred and twenty nine thousand, nine sixty and four documented records, Matt Riife two records one ninety four seven thirty five to three sixty five five ninety six. Jerry Seinfeld one documented record from twenty twenty three, six hundred and eighteen thousand, one hundred six dollars.

Stephen Colbert one documented record in twenty twenty one three hundred grand THEO Vaughn two records two forty two sixty nine to two seventy seven nine eighty five. In October twenty nineteen, John Mulaney performed at the University of Rhode Island’s annual Family Weekend, earning a fee of one hundred forty thousand dollars. A few days later, writes Seth Simons, mulaney headlined the homecoming show at the University of Maryland, which paid him one hundred and seventy five one thousand dollars again humors in dot XYZ. So if you’re wondering how much your favorite comedians make, now you. Know comedy stock Market, Thank.

You, Bert Reynolds. Maybe I should do some more homework on that comedy. How much everybody made trackery thing I just told you about, and see who we should actually be investig in. Apparently there’s good money in Colin Joe’s all right, my recommendations this week. Last week I gave you eight, I only have three this week.

They are Mary Beth Barone. Now I’m not digging what she’s selling, but it seems like they’re trying to make her a thing and the idea here is to find value in the comedian. So let’s buy a little bit on Mary Beth Barone, but just a bit again, I’m not feeling it. Let’s buy some Stavrels. Halky Is why John, because of the story I bumped from the script.

It didn’t actually read you. It was gonna go before the break. But we’re getting a little log, so you’ll have to listen over the weekend to see why we’re buying some Stavrels. Halkias. The short version is he’s got a new special coming out, and I am doing a normal episode tomorrow.

I had some ideas for some deep dives, and I wasn’t feeling any of them, and I don’t want to force any of it. So Tomorrow’s a normal episode. Sunday’s a normal episode, and let’s buy some Jimmy Fallon. Here’s why we’ll segue here. So we’re buying Mary Beth Borone, buying stoppers, and buying Jimmy Fallon.

USA Today was one of several publications that wrote a nice fluff piece about Jimmy Fallon his pr People are getting the message out there, and USA Today tells us Jimmy Fallon is experimenting with new formats, including a short form micro drama series. Yeah. Remember earlier in the week Comedy Central they had their thirtieth aniversary of The Daily Show and they’re like, hey, we’re putting out a new micro series, and Jimmy Fallon went yes, so are we. First USA Today tells us Jimmy Fallon can’t sit still. Part of the problem is that he has spilled salad dressing on his khaki pants more than a few drops, a hand sized explosion.

You know, salad dressing on khaki pants is gonna look like a whole thing. You know what I’m saying, you do. I don’t have to describe it to you. That’s gonna be a problem. We are told that, at age fifty one, Jimmy knows he needs to be healthy, hence the salad.

His lunch, we’re told, was pura vita salmon with avocado. Sleek silver weights taunt him from the floor of his corner office at thirty Rock. There are counterbalance to the cookies and large bowl of popcorn on his oval table where his Tonight Show writers meet regularly. This is quite the fluff piece. Congratulations, pr Team Jimmy and his team have been busy.

The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon is coming off a major week with the World Cup and most of the stars of the Odyssey coming. By all this, Johnny Mac will point out why Jimmy Kimmel took the summer off. Jimmy, nobody likes summers off more than I do. Believe me, I took Friday off and pretape the whole weekend on Wednesday. I feel you, Jimmy Kimmel, but you’re opening the door for Fallon to come in.

And Jimmy Fallon is a survivor. Maybe Kimmel doesn’t care. Maybe Kimmel is walking away, but I don’t think so. If somebody hands you the Late Night Crown, grab it, or Jimmy Fallon’s gonna take it from you. Back to the USA Today article, they’re right.

The double whammy led to viral hits, including a retelling of the Odyssey in sixty Seconds and Holland Versus Holland, in which Jimmy Fallon compares the Spider Man star to the Norwegian soccer star that pushed Jimmy Fallon to Number one adults eighteen forty nine. Now I hadn’t seen that reported elsewhere, but I don’t think USA Today would make that up. I know it was close when I ready the numbers from Late Night or the other day. On Monday, Jimmy Fallon launched the show’s first micro drama, one of those ultra short, fast paced video series with one to two minute episodes shot vertically four smartphones. Jimmy said, it seems to be the kind of the trend, so we wanted to spoof it as soon as we could, beating the Daily Show to the punch.

Well done, Jimmy says, I don’t even know if it’s funny. I could take a guess. We’re told with Colbert’s departure, Fallon feels some responsibility to carry Late Night into the next generation. Jimmy says, the idea of it is that just someone that you can talk to, that’s there for you, that you can laugh and you know what’s going on in pop culture in the world. I think that’s just needed.

They look back at Fallon taking over the Tonight Show from Jay Leno back in twenty fourteen. I know in your mind you think he took over for Conin, but no, remember jay Leno came back. Yeah, Fallen said, I remember coming out the first night. I wanted to explain everybody who hadn’t seen the Tonight show what it is. These are the Roots, They’re the greatest band on earth.

This is Steve Higgins, he’s our announcer. We’ll ban her back and forth. I read some jokes based on what’s going on in the news, and then I go sit over there and interview celebrities, and then we’ll have a musical guest a breakdown. Though right out of the gate, Jimmy relied less on interviews than his predecessors, with thirty seven percent of his show devoted to talk, compared with fifty one percent for Jay Leno, Johnny Carson, Seth Meyers, and David Letterman and forty eight percent for Jimmy Kimmel. As for monologues, Jimmy spent twenty three percent of his time on comedy sketches and fourteen percent on music.

It was a recipe for the digital age, says USA Today. In this fluff piece, they talked about COVID. Jimmy tells the story when COVID happened, I went home and my wife was like, so, what’s the plan. I go, I think we’re off for two weeks. She’s like, huh, you’re not gonna be off.

You have to get out there. You have to do the show from your phone because everyone’s going through this right now. They need you. This is the way you do what you do. People ask Jimmy Fallon for advice.

He said, I’m like, do it because you like it, don’t do it for the money. I’m very lucky there’s money in it for me now, but there’s no money in this. If you do it because you like it, you can do it forever. As a guy recording a podcast in the basement, I think those are wise words from Jimmy Fallon. And that is your comedy News four today again a normal episode tomorrow and Sunday and Monday, and the day after that, the day after that.

See you then,

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Featured: Jon Stewart, Pete Davidson, Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Ronny Chieng, Nikki Glaser, John Mulaney, Stavros Halkias, Jeff Dunham, Gabriel Iglesias, Jimmy Fallon, Ricky Gervais, Jim Norton

What’s in This Episode

• Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson headline NYC Still Rising 9/11 charity show at Madison Square Garden on September 10
• John Mulaney announces nine-venue tour across iconic NYC locations from January 7-15
• Stavros Halkias releases new Netflix special ‘Uncle Stove’ on September 8
• Jeff Dunham special celebrates America’s 250th birthday with puppet characters
• Gabriel Iglesias records tenth Netflix special in San Antonio on August 20
• Jimmy Fallon accused of using unoriginal fish sticks joke from 17-year-old South Park episode
• Ricky Gervais voices Gus in new Netflix animated series ‘Alley Cats’ premiering August 7

Questions Answered in This Episode

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Full Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and may contain spelling and/or transcription errors.

Caloroga Shark Media. I’m grouchy today. You ever just wake up grouchy for no reason? Hello, I’m Johnny Mac with your Daily Comedy News, Mike, Grouchiness is not your problem. John Stewart and Pete Davidson will mark the twenty fifth anniversary of nine to eleven with a charity show at Madison Square Garden.

It is called NYC Still Rising after twenty five years Colon, a nine to eleven charities comedy benefit. It will be on September tenth. Headliners include John Stewart, Pete Davidson, Dave Chappelle, The Not So Canceled Disease, I’m Sorry, Bill Burr, just back from the Riyadh Comedy Festival, Ronny Chieng, Nikki Glaser, Josh Johnson, and quote many more yet to be announced performers. Five years ago, they did NYC Still Rising after twenty years, a comedy celebration at that show. Chappelle, Burr, Ronny Chieng, Amy Schumer, Mulaney, Fallon, Wanta Sykes, Colin, jos Michael Chake, calling Quin, David Tel, j Farrell, and thoms A Gora.

Pete Davidson’s father was killed on nine to eleven, FDNY firefighter Scott Davidson died responding to the World Trade Center attack. Last year, Pete Davison played the Rio Odd Comedy Festival. John Mulaney made a major announcement he was on the Today Show. Let’s let John tell you about it. Instead of doing one show in New York City or even three shows in New York City for my tour, I’m going to do a very special run nine different iconic New York City venues in nine Thank you very.

Much, all right, more to tales. Mullany takes Manhattan. The venues will range from the intimate to the massive. The stretch begins at the Comedy Seller and works its way up the dates. Write this down.

You got a pen, you could just hit rewind, you know, January seventh at the Comedy Seller, than the Blue Note on the eighth, Joe’s Pub on the ninth, Bowery Ballroom on the tenth, the Music Box Theater on Broadway on January eleventh, than the Beacon Theater January twelfth, Bernegie Hall, the thirteenth, Radio City, the fourteenth, Madison Square Garden the fifteenth. That is great news. If you host a daily podcast about comedy and you find January’s to be slow. Stavros Alkias will have a new special on Netflix September eighth. It is called Uncle Stove, taped recently at the Lyric in Baltimore, Maryland.

You may recall Stavros was going to tape this back in April, but had to push it back. He was recovering from a broken arm. No details on the story yet other than you can watch it September eighth on your Netflix. Comedy Dynamics has a deal with Jeff Dunham to distribute his new stand up special, which is titled Jeff Dunham’s two hundred and fiftieth Red, White, and Blue Birthday Special. That a celebration of America’s two hundred and fiftieth birthday.

Ways you can celebrate America’s Birthday, of course, included going to a UFC fight at the White House like Maga, comedian Aperghazzy, or putting out a comedy special shot entirely on iPhones. Jeff Dunham special sees him celebrate America alongside puppet Bells, Walter Peanut, Akamed, and Bubba Jay. Are we just calling the character Akmed? Now? Have we dropped the the terrorist part of the character.

I gotta do some research on that. Hold on, all right, chat Gibt tells me. Jef Dunham still introduces the character as Akhimed the dead terrorist. However, I’m told in specific countries because of local censorship or cultural sensitivities. For example, in Malaysia, Jef Dunham has performed the character as Jacques Meherd, the dead French terrorists.

That’s all sorts of interesting. The special is currently available on YouTube. It have become available for streaming on Prime, Apple, DirecTV and elsewhe are starting October sixth. Dunham told Deadline as July fourth got closer and closer and the material kept growing and getting funnier, I thought, we have to shoot a special. With the help of six iPhones and some of the best geeks I know.

We did it and folks are loving it. Gaybe Iglesias is getting another Netflix special, his tenth. He’ll film it in San Antonio. On Instagram, Fluffy showed off his new Chihuahua puppy Bronco, before saying I have a new comedy special that I’m going to be recording August twentieth, and I wanted to let you know the city I’m doing it in. It should come as no surprise.

We’re supposed to do it there the first time. San Antonio. San Antonio has been waiting five years for Gabe had to cancel some tour dates back in twenty twenty one after he caught COVID. Jimmy Fallon is being accused of being a hack. When I was going through social media, I saw Late Night Er posted Jimmy Fallon may have just earned a spot on Late Night or his year end best jokes list.

I will play the joke for you in a second. But then others suggested it’s not that original. Here’s Jimmy Fallon’s joke. Oh get this. I saw that a man in the UK just broke a world record by swallowing fifteen fish sticks in one minute.

Oh gross, how did you even find him? What a pervert? Jeez, that’s disgusting. As a family show, I thought, ugh, sticks, fish sticks? Okay, you get the joke there, you get the wordplay.

However, a bro Bible points out that that wordplay is at least seventeen years old. It showed up in a season thirteen episode of South Park titled fish Sticks that episode co written by Bill Hayter, I’m going to deliberately slam the words together. In that episode, Cartman and Jimmy are writing a joke that becomes a viral sensation. Jimmy asks Cartman if he has any snacks. Jimmy says there might be fish sticks in the freezer.

The dialogue Jimmy, do you like fish sticks? Cartman? Yeah? Do you like putting fish sticks in your mouth? Yeah?

Jimmy then asks, what are you a gay fish bro? Bible says fish sticks isn’t any old episode of South Park. It’s widely considered to be one of the top five or ten best in the history of the series. Ricky Gervais is all excited about Ali Katz, his animated series about cats, coming to Netflix in August. It features a group of feral felines.

Derve says recording the show is his dream job and did’d like to keep working on it for the rest of his life. He voices Gus, the cat in the show. He told The Daily Mirror, It’s the first thing I’ve ever created that I’d like to go on forever. I could see myself just making the show till I die. The cats won’t age, and it doesn’t matter how fat and old and bald I get.

Someone could just put me in a chair with a microphone, surrounded by the rest of the cast. Then off we go. Won’t really matter when sanility kicks in, as I’m usually talking bs anyway, it’s the dream job, hey, Ricky, By then your AI clone will be pretty good. We don’t even need you. Ricky assumes people will complain about the show, and he said it would take a very special kind of person to complain about what a fictional cartoon cat thought of something, but it will happen.

Please don’t be offended by anything these characters say or do. They can’t help it. They’re cats. Ricky says he’s always been obsessed with cats, and the show was inspired by his own pet, Pickles. Ricky said, I’ve never understood cruelty to animals.

I think most people have empathy toward animals, but it has to be nurtured and encouraged. I was born into it. My family loved animals and grew up on a household with dogs and cats. Cats are the only animals to domesticate themselves. They just wandered into humanity one day and said feed me that happened about ten thousand years ago in Egypt, where they were worshiped as gods.

As everyone knows, they’ve never forgotten this. I’ve been obsessed with cats my entire life. They’re cool, funny, cuddly, violent, and indifferent. Offen all on the same minute Alley Cats, Netflix, August seven. Fans of the Opie and Anthony radio show may find this one interesting.

You may recall after Anthony had some career troubles. I can’t get into that, I teach a radio college class and we do two straight weeks on Opie and Anthony and how Anthony blew up his career for a while.

And then you may recall Jim Norton did a show with Opie, OPI and Jim show.

Well, now Jim Norton is teaming up with Anthony. Here’s Jim Norton to tell you about it. Hi, I’m Jim Norton. Oh, I’m Anthony Coomia, and we’re. Doing a show together.

I guess the Anthony and Jim thing on the background kind of tells them that. That’s what it says. If you look at the monitor, which I’m trying not to do. It’s very difficult, isn’t it. It’s so difficult.

But I had to have you on the left because first of all, it’s the only time I’ll ever see that, and second of all, because on Ona you were alway. Opie was always across. You were always on the left, And it’s just I’m used to talking to you like. That, is true? Yes, Yes, that we had our little side of the desk.

Ope was behind the board. Yeah. We were making funny yeah, making jokes and getting in trouble. We would have done this a year, like, as soon as I was done with Sirius and I was allowed to, we would have started this. Yeah, but you know, you lived in the South and I’m in New York, and it just became logistically difficult.

But we’re gonna we’re gonna do an episode every other week on YouTube, and we are going to have in the weeks in between, we’re gonna have Patreon episodes. Yeah, which is sometimes we love guests, sometimes it’ll be just me and you. Okay, So according to Norton, episode one will be on the YouTube channel. It’s Tuesday, August fourth, and then there’s some Patreon stuff and I don’t know, just put it on a podcast feed and I’ll listen to it. Dude, don’t make it hard.

I want to congratulate the agents of Rick Glassman. Now you’re like, who exactly Rick Glasman somehow got a fluff piece in the Hollywood Reporter. So great job, agents, publicist, everybody getting this done. We are told Rick Glassman has built a strong following with his podcast to Take Your Shoes Off, where these upcomics he’s interviewing celebrity guests as almost the perfect first date. Have you heard of this thing?

Do you host a podcast in your basement and google comedy and comedian every single day of your life and this has never hit your radar? Apparently there’s three hundred and sixty eight episodes of this in the most recent one has one hundred and nine one thousand views. That’s Late Night with Seth Byer’s Territory Buddy. Anyway, Glassman tells The Hollywood Reporter, somehow there’s flirting involved, and flirting doesn’t have to have romantic interest. Flirting to me is similar to reports.

Hey, you nudge a little, you push a little, and you let them do the same. Glassman says, I love when people come on for a second time on the podcast, especially if they want to get high for the occasion, don’t do your podcast high. Glassman explains, I had a good time with you the first time. Let’s see what it’s like when we’re extra silly again. Congratulations to the agents and the ensemble who somehow got that piece for it did.

Deadline tells us San Francisco comedian and labor organizer Nato Green will have an hour of comedy. It is called the Darkest Hour, to be on Blonde Medicines YouTube channel July thirty first, that’s what tomorrow go to be out on album August fourteenth. In the Darkest Hour, Nato Green wanted to go beyond jokes about the news to grapple more subsistantively with this political moment in history, Guiding the audience through a conversation about fascism, Zionism, transphobia, white supremacy, and the political spectrum, Green tells Deadline there is comedy of escapism, but this is whatever’s the opposite of that also sounds like not for me, and that is your comedy news for today. I will see you tomorrow.

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Featured: Tommy King, Larry the Cable Guy, Gabe Iglesias, Lisa Gilroy, Chris Fleming, Ots Go at Kotska

What’s in This Episode

• Tommy King’s ‘Chinese Rodney Dangerfield’ comedy bit
• Larry the Cable Guy hospitalized with appendicitis in Lincoln, Nebraska
• White House Correspondent’s Dinner comedy performance criticism
• Just for Laughs Montreal awards ceremony highlights
• Ots Go at Kotska wins Breakout Comedian of the Year at JFL
• Bruce Hills receives JFL Legacy Tribute Award

Questions Answered in This Episode

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Full Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and may contain spelling and/or transcription errors.

Caloroga Shark Media. We’ll start today with Chinese Rodney Dingerfield. Hi, I’m Johnny Mac with your Daily Comedy News. This is comedian Tommy King. I stumbled across this on the internet and I just find this really funny picture.

Somebody who looks like their ancestry is Chinese. Hey, what a beautiful crowd. How we doing? How are we doing? Hey?

Nijoma naijma. Huh yeah, that’s how we say hello. Where I’m from, you know, from China. And let me tell you, Oh boy, real rough in China. I tell you.

You know I’m Chinese. You know, so I’m hes uh usually got Chinese parents. Huh Oh. Let me tell you about my Chinese parents. Uh oh they hate me.

Yeah, now, Chinese parents, they hate me. When I was growing up, we had a one child policy, you know, so my parents have another kid just so they could get rid of me. Hey there, Homa there. Homah, all right, all right, Hey, you know my family, you know they think I’m ugly. Let me tell you they think I’m really ugly.

You know. They make me wear a mask even when I’m not sick. Hey, all right, tough crowd, tough crowd. Now oma noijmah al right, all right, huh hey, let me tell you this about my family. You know, they got no boundaries.

Uh, they got no boundaries. You know that I was trying to come for my stuff. I’ll tell you, you know, tell me what to do and take all my things, you know, like my career, my kids, my job. Who they think I am Taiwan. Oh, very very funny.

I had a scare. I was prepping the show and I saw the words Larry Cable Guy hospital and I was like, oh no, I hope he’s okay. He is okay. Larry the Cable Guy went on social media to update fans. Cable Guy had been hospitalized in Lincoln, Nebraska, late last week.

He was later diagnosed with appendicitis. He was released on Saturday on Facebook, Cable Guy road getting a lot of messages. So just to let you know, I’m all good. I had major stomach pain and it turns out I had a pendicitis. It was removed after two days in the hospital and I’m home and recovering.

Pretty sore, but vital’s good. My butt looks fantastic and now just taking stool softeners, which is giving me an urge to go to my mom’s assisted living facility and play bingo with their gals. I appreciate all the nice notes. I don’t know who ratted me out down there, but this is the most press I’ve received since we announced Lightning Racers on Disney Junior coming in September. Love you all, Glad you’re doing okay, Larry, The Presidents of the United States performed some comedy at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner.

He managed to make more solo Hernandez look like George Corlin. Let’s listen. The other day, a senator I knew got a text a great guy from his wife, and she said, when you get home, I wanna have you immediately. Come upstairs and make love to me. And he said, I can’t do both.

You know what you know? In other words, AH can’t go up the stairs and make love. Does anybody get that? Well? I thought that was actually pretty good.

That was actually the only thing I thought was good in this whole freaking stupid speech. That they wrote. That was the only good one, And that went down with not exactly great laughter. I thank you know. In other words, you can’t go up the stairs and make left two Okila, So we’re looking for term limits.

Does anybody understand? His Variety wrote there was an air of flop sweat to the evening, like any inept mc Trump began blaming unnamed joke writers for basic material, light sub friars, club material, lovingly roasting his allies Nicki Minaj and Barry Weiss falling flat, but his own delivery seemed oddly nervous. At Just for Laughs last week, one of the awards went to Gabe Iglesias, who said, if I can leave you with anything, it’s due comedy because you love it. Don’t expect to be paid. If you’re looking to be paid, you’re doing it for the wrong reason.

Do it because it makes you feel good to be on stage in front of people, making people smile, making people laugh, making people forget, making people feel good. And if you do that, well, you’re gonna drive a nice car one day. But don’t be in a rush. The Olive Reporter adds that at the ceremonies there were some jokes about the new version of Just for Laughs being very diligent about balancing the books. The previous owners had gotten into some trouble.

Lisa Gilroy said, I got here last night and they’re pushing me out in the morning. She was there as Rising Comedy Star of the Year. She said, I’m really honored to receive this award, and I make comedy for the same reason so many of us in the room make comedy because we’re deeply, deeply mentally ill and nothing will ever fix that. Maybe this will help. Chris Fleming, receiving the Comedy Performance of the Year, said I do love it here in Montreal.

It feels like the last place on earth that will get driverless cars. By one note about Montreal, though, if I was an acting teacher, I’d say the performance of French rings false. I don’t buy it. There’s an awareness of the audience that feels a lot like when Austin Butler played Elvis Pause. I hear tepid laughs from the balcony.

Ots go at Kotska. The Breakout Comedian of the Year, well, she said. I looked up the definition of to break out dictionary dot Com said, a violent and or forceful break from a restraining conditioner situation. I didn’t know I had it this bad before this really, as comedians were seen as the weirdos of the industry, the raccoons of Hollywood basement dwellers of show business. And these are just some of the things I’ve said about us, So imagine what other things others might be saying, and still we rise.

Otsgo also talked about making history. Is only the second Asian American females who get an HBO comedy special. Back in twenty twenty two, she told The Hollywood Reporter, twenty seven years between us the US being Margaret Show in nineteen ninety four. That’s way too long. And there hasn’t been a third one yet and mine was only four years ago.

She credits her social media presence with more than five million followers for knocking down barriers. With the Internet. Stand up comedy was able to boom because people speak when they find their favorite comedians. That’s why I’m able to tour internationally in many countries that other American comedians don’t perform in or don’t even know how to perform in. It’s the clips of my specials that I posted on my social media sites that went viral, and those are the ones that are massed over one hundred million views, far more than people who turn on the actual HBO special and watch it in its entirety.

I was always going to have to be on the internet, even if I wanted to talk to my own family, So it just worked out that way. Gave Iglesias return to the stage. He introduced Bruce Hill, who used to run JFL programming and Bruce is a friend of mine. Bruce received the JFL Legacy Tribute Award. Gabe joked, I’m basically here because Dave Chappelle said no, Bill Burce said know, Kevin Hart said know.

So in keeping with tradition, here’s another Mexican doing a job nobody else wanted. Gabe thanked Bruce Hills for giving him a career break when inviting him to appear at the Montreal Comedy Festival, saying of Bruce, so many shows, so many years, so many opportunities that you’ve given, not only to myself but to other comedians over the years. You’ve always been kind, You’ve always been gracious. I worked with Bruce when I was at Sirius. We did a deal with Sirius, and just for laughs, I covered the festival for serious working with Bruce and his team.

His team back then included Robbie Prau, who I also worked with Robbie now runs Netflix comedy. Anyway, Bruce was always kind to me, and then even after I was out of serious and you know, just a guy doing a podcast in the basement, Bruce still took care of me just the same as if you know. That’s one of the things about show business. There’s two kinds of people. There are the people that only deal with you when you can help them, and then there are decent people like Bruce Hills.

So Bruce, congratulations.

Also, Larry the cable guy.

You’ve heard Larry on this show. Larry doesn’t need to do this show. Larry does this show because we’ve been friends for twenty five years. Bruce Hills did get taped video tributes from Chappelle, Kevin Hart, and some other comedy veterans. Bruce recalled joining just for laughs at age nineteen.

He said, Jerry Lewis and Sander Bernhard hated each other. That’s the biggest lesson I learned over thirty nine years. Success is never about one person. It’s about you. It’s about the comics.

Do you believe the team you built the people around you to make you better? Couple quick notes Tracy Morgan if you like his TV show cretch, Well, you’re not getting another season. There was one eight episode season that was on Paramount Plus. However, he still has that Reggie Ninked show on NBC if you need more Tracy Morgan.

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Meanwhile, Dan Harman is thankful that the decision about the Community movie…

He told the Obsessed podcast, It’s not up to me, which I think is a nice thing. I wasn’t on season five when the legend really hit the fan, but there were consequences. Those consequences have to do with other people feeling safe in a workplace that I create, and I was never a great at that in the first place, and thank god, this is not up to me. Jimmy Kimmel took the summer off, but Jimmy Kimmel Alive held on to first place this for the week of July twelfth, However, Jimmy Fallon Who’s Working gaining for the week of July twelfth, Jimmy Kimmel Alive without Jimmy Kimmel average one point five seven nine million total viewers and in the eighteen to forty nine s one hundred and sixty four thousand people. Oh, that is just not a lot of people.

Tonight show one point four five six million viewers and one hundred and sixty one thousand adults eighteen to forty nine. Late Nighter points out. If you do the math, there’s only one hundred and twenty three thousand total viewers separating Kimmel as Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, and only three thousand in the key demo. Fallon gained twenty five percent total viewers and ten percent among adults eighteen to forty nine. Jimmy k I’m Alive without Jimmy Kimmel meanwhile fell fourteen percent total viewers and twenty eight percent in the demo.

It was guest hosted by Ike Baron Holtz and aired four original episodes with one repeat. The Ike week did worse than the week before, which was hosted by Tiffany Hattish. I’d tell Jimmy Kimmel to check the mirror, but he’s not working this summer.

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Meanwhile, at twelve thirty, Make twelve thirty Great Again, seth Myers retur…

There were four new original episodes. The show average nine hundred and twenty seven thousand total viewers and in the eighteen to forty nine s ninety eight thousand adults, up forty five percent from the repeats. Seth Myers beat out Nightline. How about that?

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Meanwhile on CBS Byron Allen, who, by the way, I checked out what’s his name?

What’s his name? Was his name? Just got a Mark Twain Award. I could edit this all out, but that’s not fun. Bill Maher, that’s his name.

That guy, he’s got a podcast. I listened to the Byron Allen episode. I cave away thinking Byron Allen is just like an awesome guy. And if you like Johnny Carson, listen to Byron Allen tell some Johnny Carson stories. Just a really, really enjoyable episode of Bill Morris podcast.

Right, how’s the Byron Allen CBS thing? Doing? It? Drew six hundred and eighty seven thousand total viewers and seventy thousand adults eighteen to forty nine against seventy thousand. Isn’t a lot, but it’s, you know, more than a third of what the other two are getting.

And CBS isn’t trying and they’re being paid, So who knows. Now at twelve thirty, they’re running the Byron Allen funny you should ask four hundred ninety six thousand total viewers and in adults eighteen to forty nine fifty seven thousand adults. Again, Seth Myers was a show for some reason. Who’s trying is getting ninety eight thousand adults. I’m not sure CBS is wrong in all this.

I mean, they might be emotionally wrong. We kind of get the gist of what might have happened with Colbert there, but just in terms of pure math, they might not be crazy. Rob’s Shooter has a gossip Colum called naughty but Nice. We use that a lot on the Palace Intrigued podcast, which I rate four. We talk about the royal family over on Palace Intrigue.

He tends to do a lot of gossip, and all his stories have not one, not two, not four, but always three unnamed sources. Sources are never ever named. So take this with two grains of salt. The headline Jimmy Kimmel empowered after a huge ratings bump, ABC begging him to stay. A television insider tells naughty but Nice Jimmy was fully prepared to retire what his contract expires in May twenty twenty seven.

Now ABC is practically begging him to reconsider. Another unnamed insider says, for the first time in years, Jimmy feels completely empowered. He’s no longer negotiating from a position of uncertainty. He’s negotiating from strength. A different source says everyone assumed foul and would benefit too.

It never really happen. Viewers found Kimmel, not Jimmy. We’ll see the insider ads. Jimmy loves reminding people he was ready to walk away. Now the network is the one doing the chasing.

After more than two decades, he’s finally got whatevery star wants real leverage. I don’t see why he would walk away. He’s fifty eight years old. You gotta do all day. You already have the summer off.

You do four shows a week. You could probably cut that back a little. You could do guest hosts Monday or something. You could take a longer winter break. They can work this out with you.

Meanwhile, bill Board has published the June Box Score Reporter. As we get to the end of July, here for the tenth time in fourteen months, Maggot comedian Nate Berghatzy is number one. You could see how much going to a UFC fight at the White House has damaged Magga comedian Nate Bergatsy’s career. His ten shows in June grossed nine point nine million dollars and he sold one hundred and twenty seven thousand tickets. Your top five comedians are Peter Kay, who grossed two point one million dollars twenty three thousand, three hundred tickets.

Jim Gaffigan, who if you help him early in his career, he won’t call you back, not like Larry the Cable Guy. Jim gross two point three million dollars and sold twenty two hundred tickets across twelve shows. Weird Hew grossed five million dollars seventeen shows, seventy three seven hundred tickets. I didn’t see anything about the un concert. Let’s throw weird l into Google here real quick and not playing Riyadh as eating up all the weird al press.

Yep, but I don’t see anything about Montreal. I guess I could add the word Montreal. Here we go from the suburban dot com weird al Yankovic. Wow’s a jfl crowd at Place Day festivals. No real details there other than it was good and let’s see the Montreal Gazette they talked to weird Al.

They said that his concert was the highlights of the festival. Weird Al said, I’ll tell Jerry Seinfeld you said that. My weird Awl search also turned up that weird Al had pitched a cover of Paul McCartney and Wings Live and Let Die, which would have been Chicken pot Pie. The LA time said. Paul said he couldn’t endorse the song because Lynda McCartney, who passed away nineteen ninety eight, would never have supported a song that celebrates the killing of chickens.

The lyrics and I’m not going to sing them, but I’ll try and read them in cadence here. According to weird aw the lyrics would have been when we were young, Bernie’s Deli was down the block. He made great liver Pat’s head. But if there’s one thing in this world that I like better than a corn beef on rye, it’s chicken pot pie. Now, weird Awl apparently told ConA at one point Paul didn’t want me to do it because he’s strict vegetarian.

He didn’t want a parody that condone the consumption of animal flesh. He said, you could do something else, like tofu pot pie. Al said no, the courus of my song will be buck buck buck buck buck buck, and tofuo doesn’t make any noise. It’s not going to work. We digress.

I was telling you who the top shows were. Remember it was Peter Kay and Jim Gaffkin and weird Owl was number three, number two, Matt Riife grows to five point four million dollars, fifty five thousand tickets, six shows, and number one Mega Comedian eight Perghatzy ten shows, one hundred twenty seven thousand tickets, nine point nine a million dollars. And that is your comedy news for today. We are back in the basement in case you don’t you feel like where the cicadas the rains came. This is why when the weather’s nice you do pool side editions, because the rains come and you wind up in the basement for three days in a row.

See tomorrow.

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Featured: Marcello Hernandez, Tracy Morgan, Eddie Murphy, Jessica Curson, Star Jones, Weird Al Yankovic, Dave Chappelle, Luis C.K., Pete Davidson, Bill Burr, Gary Goldman

What’s in This Episode

• Marcello Hernandez and Tracy Morgan discuss SNL and pizza preferences
• Jessica Curson slams Star Jones over on-air name dispute and uses slur about Jones’s ex-husband
• Star Jones’s ex-husband Al Reynolds comes out as bisexual
• Gary Goldman reflects on childhood at North Shore Mall and mother’s Hallmark store job
• Weird Al Yankovic turns down $7 million offer from Riyadh Comedy Festival
• North Jersey comedian poll results dominated by John Stewart

Questions Answered in This Episode

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Full Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and may contain spelling and/or transcription errors.

Caloroga Shark Media we found out how Marcello Hernandez likes his pizza. Hello, I’m a Johnny Mac with your Daily Companies. We are poolside once again with the generator guy, the dogs, the cicadas, the planes, the landscapers, the whole bit. It is summertime and I just looked at the calendar and I was like, oh, it’s the thirtieth that meach July fourth, this is coming up. I got a plan holiday.

And then I’m like, oh no, it’s almost August, not almost July. I always confused June in July in my small brain. Marcelo Hernandez apparently likes a plane slice. He was hanging out with Tracy Morgan. This is actually from about a month ago.

I just caught it. They did a conversation piece for a Variety and Tracy Morgan said, I like you already, man, you regular, No extra cheese, no pepperoni, just a slice and a coke. They bonded over some of Tracy Morgan’s work on deaf jam and Tracy Morgan said, my wife is Dominican. Marcelo Hernandez said, I know, I met her earlier. We spoke Spanish Tracy said, I was so happy when you got on the show meeting SNL.

I was there many years before you, but if I was with you, it would have been me and you. You’re basically me on the show. Hernandez said, I think about that a lot, the people that I look up and doing comedy. I wish we were in school together. Now, this is where the controversial Tracy Morgan comment from a month ago came from.

So the conversation turned to schooling and getting in trouble in school, and Tracy Morgan said, and this is just stupid. Tracy Morgan said, I can’t stand teachers. You know why, because they have a ceiling. They have a limit. That’s all they’re ever going to be.

Dude, Come on man, that just no, that’s not cool. They talked about the SNL fiftieth season. Marcelo said, I didn’t know how to talk to Eddie Murphy because I always wanted to be physical like him. I was nervous and I saw the sneakers he was wearing. I was like, oh, I have those, And they looked at me and said, you got them because they look cool.

I got them because they support my body. How do you even respond to that. Oh boy, Tracy Morgan said, people love characters. Domingo is a favorite. But I want you to go to the weekend update desk and I don’t want you to wear a mustache or anything regular name.

That’s what Eddie told me, because you don’t want people going through the airport for the next twenty years and people calling you Domingo. I got news for Tracy Morgan and Marcelo Arnandez. When I go to the airport, they go, hey, Tracy. Eddie showed me how to be asshold name. Do your characters, that’s great, But when you do update, do you?

Tracy asked, what was the very first thing you ever did on SNL. Marcelo Hernandez said, to think about how it’s more fun to watch Lotsino baseball players than the white dudes. It was like, who would you rather watch play baseball? Kyle from Kentucky or the guy they called Papa, And no one knows why. When a white guy who’s up to the plate, he says a load of the picture and just waits for the ball.

The Dominican guy puts the Sign of the Cross on the plate and his hips are so crazy. The whole stadium is pregnant, and then he hits a home run. When he gets back to the plate, he thanks everybody he’s ever met in his entire life. Marcelo Hernandez. Everybody North Jersey dot com is doing a poll.

They want to know your favorite New Jersey comedian. All right, the possibilities are Jessica Curson, Michelle Butteau, Mark Marin, Chelsea Handler, and John Stewart. Are there not other Jersey comedians? Let me ask the internet. Dmitri Martin grew up in Tom’s River, Joe piskepo of course, and we’re leaving out Chris Gethard he’s got an album, Taylor Ham Egg and Cheese.

And Joe Piscopal of course has a comedy album titled New Jersey. But they weren’t part of the poll. Nope, your choices were Mark Maren, Chelsea Handler, Michelle butzew Jessica Kerson or John Stewart. All right, who you’re voting for? I will tell you the polling the last time I looked at it in first place at seventy five percent of the vote, John Stewart in second place, Chelsea Handler with twenty percent of the vote, Mark Marin in third with five percent of the vote, Michelle Buteu with zero percent of the vote, and Jessica Curson with zero percent of the vote.

Sorry, ladies, here’s a headline. Jessica Curson, Slam’s former view co host Star Jones, calls panelist ex husband gay slur. This from Entertainment Weekly, who phrees this they might as well has added not that there’s anything wrong with that verbatim quote. Actress Jessica Cerson, who is a lesbian, made several appearances on the talk show, including a I mean okay. Jessica Curson on The Jessica Kerson Show said, I did the View, which was an interesting experience because I felt like the energy there was hard for me.

Star Jones was on at the time. It was a long time ago. Star Jones was like a diva. Apparently there’s Jessica Kerson. She’s on The Joy’s Comedy Corner segment with Joy Bahar and Kersen said I was like and please welcome Star Jones and then got scolded to buy the production team.

As Jessica tells the story, Starr’s very upset with you because you said Star Jones and not Star Jones. Reynolds and it’s not okay, Kerson said, I read what it said to say on the cards. She came up to me and she literally said, my name is Star Jones Reynolds, and I would appreciate you if you called me that. That’s my name, and then verbatim, they’re doing this again. Curson, who is a lesbian, then used a gay slur to describe jones ex husband Al Reynolds, to whom Jones was married from two thousand and four to two thousand and eight.

I was like, well, your husband is the F word, not that F word, the other F word. Let’s move on, okay, s curious I’m here. On E News November two, twenty seventeen, the headline Star Jones ex husband Al Reynolds comes out as bisexual, not that there’s anything wrong with that, as they say on Sidefeld Gary Goleman spoke to w CVB about his time wandering the North Shore Mall. Goldman recalls, my mother worked at a Hallmark store. Remember they stuff Hallmark stores.

I was thinking about the death of the mall and like, you know, we don’t really go to the movies anymore, and there’s no more record stores, and like bookstores were cool. But there was always like a Hallmark store, like a whole store that just sold cards. Goleman recalls, my mother worked at a Hallmark store from four o’clock until they closed. I would roam the mall by myself. I feel like what my comedy act is now is me at the mall.

When I was eight and nine, in second grade, Gary Goleman wrote a story called The Lonely Tree, a thinly veiled reflection of his own loneliness. He says with a laugh, the tree grew tall from its tears. Then it became the Rockefeller Center at Christmas Tree, and everyone loved it. Yikes. Weird Now revealed that he turned down a million dollars to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival last year.

Weird Out told Treil but Live, I wish people would offer me things that I didn’t feel bad about accepting. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this anywhere, but I was invited to theri Odd Comedy Festival, which is something that I obviously did not want to do. They offered me. I’m not going to say I’m much, but it was seven figures to do one show, so it’s at least a million dollars, which is way more than I’ve been offered to do in my life for a show, but it just couldn’t be part of that weirdoul said, I’m not dissing anybody that took the money, because I’m sure everybody that went there got a lot of money. I’m sure they had their own reasons and justifications for doing it.

But I’m doing enough that I don’t need to take any amount of money if it makes me feel lucky, and that kind of did. Some of the comedians who appeared there included Dave Chappelle, Luis c K, Pete Davidson as he’s in Sorry, Jessica Curson, who is a lesbian just following the Entertainment Weekly guidelines here, and Bill Burr, which reminds me I’ve been meaning to go to Bill Burr’s Facebook. Let’s do that now on the fly. This is not in the script. Bill Burr on his Facebook page posted some new dates doing a couple shows in California this week, will be in Las Vegas on the first.

Let’s read the comments. One person’s wondering if he’s playing Riyadh. Another called him the Prince Harry of comedy. Another said the tours called things My Wife approved. A totally different comedy festival is the Abu Dhabi Comedy Festival.

They’ve announced Bo Ammer and Morgan Jay to headline. Moe Ammer will take the stage on Yas Island November sixth, kind of a spread out festival running from October to early November.

Also announced Russell Peters and Mastra Broani.

The inaugural Abu Dhabi Comedy Week in twenty twenty four was nine days featured Dave Chappelle, The Not So Canceled Disease and Sorry, Chris Tucker, Andrew Schultz, who is America’s foremost political commentator according to New York Times or whatever they called him, and Joe Koy One time told a joke about Daylor Swift, but we don’t have time for that today. It expanded into the multi month Abu Dhabi Comedy Season last year, with the lineup including Dave Chappelle, Trevor Noah, Kevin Hart, Michael mckinsire, Gabriel Iglesias, Beat Davidson and Bill Burr. If you want to head on over to Abu Dhabi. Morgan Jay October eleven, Russell Peters October twenty fifth Moe Emmer November sixth, The Mas Drew Browni November seventh. Blond Medicine has announced to the release of Derek Sheen’s fifth full length hour of comedy.

Unrelatable, is set for an August twenty first release on YouTube, followed by a September audio album Woo via Blond Medicine. Derek Sheen is a cuddly mess of insecurity as a human hug and a one of a kind storyteller. He has toured with folks like batt Oswald, Janine Gruffalo, and Brian Posain. Brian Prosain said Derek is so funny and smart that it makes me mad. On Unrelatable, Derek Sheen tackles the creeping indignities of aging, chronic social awkwardness, and the strange comfort of feeling out of step with everybody looking forward to that one.

Jeffic Curie spoke to Deadline his special on Netflix is pretty good entertaining anyway, if not hilarious, he said. Twenty twenty five was looking great for he and his wife. They had plans to travel to Hawaii and then two months in Australia, week in Tokyo, a month at home in three months in Europe. That sounds awesome, except when they were in Hawaii, they found out that his wife had staged three breast cancer and needed treatment immediately. Jeff had a turn to his team to get his show’s rescheduled so he could be by his wife’s side.

Turns out the initial diagnosis was incorrect, so she did not need an immediate chemo, but that led the engaged couple to move up their wedding. They had the ceremony and their empty new apartment. Jeff Acurey’s agent officiated. Only their parents were in attendance. Jeff said it really, honestly, at the time seemed like, all right, this is temporary.

But now I look back and I’m like, that was the best day, dude, because I was the only sure thing I had my life at the moment was loving her without a doubt. Everything else was so chaotic, but that was the sure thing. And Cracked did a fun interview with Mike Kaplan. Well, skim it here. Who was your first hero in comedy?

Mike Chaplain said Paul Riser, his special Three and a half Blocks from Home came out in around nineteen ninety one. I saw it when VH one was replaying it. The next year, Mad About You debut and I became a huge fan. Shortly thereafter, his book Couplehood came out, and I devoured it in physical form as well as the audiobook and cassette form. Once I started driving, I drove around listening constantly to the tapes.

Wore out testament to how great his comedy is. That a thirteen year old boy who had never kissed a girl or been on a date could relate to so much art. What the main thesis was, I’m a grown man who loves his wife. Proudest moment as a comedian. Skiming here, he said, there’s been so many I’ve gotten to work with him, to come friends with some comedy heroes like Gary Goleman and Maria Bamford and Emo Phillips.

I got to open for Batton Oswald at Carnegie Hall and Stephen Wright at a non Carnegie Hall. What excites you about the future of comedy? Skimming here, he said, I love that more and more people are learning about comedy, not that it’s becoming less niche, but that more and more niches are being developed. For example, what folks like Nathan Fielder and Tim Robinson are doing. They’re creating new flavors of art that almost transcend comedy.

Joe Firestone has been making unique, weird, hilarious comedy projects for years. Chris Fleming keeps Chris Fleming, and Reggie Watts keeps Reggie watsing. He also named checks, Julio Touris, James A. Caster, Rory Scovel, people like Maria Bamford and Gary Goleman continue to share from the depths of their humanity and innovative ways. This is a great interview.

They asked Mike Kaplan one comedian who every comedy fan should know, and he said, all the ones I mentioned, plus not an exhaustive list. You’re ready, and I’m gonna go quick here because there’s so many he mentioned by name. Tod Glass, Laurie Kilmore, Nick vaterot Nikki Glaser, w camal bell a partner on Charlo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jackie kash, Ramin Naser, Tig Nataro, Zach Sherwin, Bett Stelling, Josh Gonnoman, Ali Wang, Alice Fraser, Sid Sing, John stops a second to take an in breath, Laura Davis, Shane Moss, Sophie Hagen, Mikero Biglia, I’ll be Wamba, and John Fuel saying, Wendy Leeman, Andy Kindler, Cameron Esposito, Eddie peppettone Hey Mike. They asked for one, Otsco and Cotska, Ronny Chieng, Crisselle, Alonso, Ronin Hirschberg City, Washington, Joe List, Mary Fauston and the ever so serious Hari Condobolu.

And then he says, and many more. Again, this list is not exhaustive. I just want to respect your time in space. They only ask for one. And the final question is what is one trend in comedy you hope will disappear soon?

Mike Kaplan said fascism?

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And then is your comedy news from fouls I today, have a great day.

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Featured: Matt Rife, Craig Robinson, Sasha Baron Cohen, Jason Sudeikis, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Kat Williams, Mark Marin

What’s in This Episode

• Matt Rife announces ‘Suite Rife on Deck’ comedy cruise from Miami
• Ali G Who is I movie announced for October 23 theatrical release
• Ted Lasso Season 4 premiere date August 5 with women’s soccer team storyline
• 2026 Indie Street Film Festival lineup includes Mark Marin documentary
• The Daily Show produces first micro drama in vertical format
• Kat Williams concert review and jokes about constipation and Kevin Hart roast

Questions Answered in This Episode

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Full Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and may contain spelling and/or transcription errors.

Caloroga Shark Media. Matt Rife is gonna have a comedy cruise. Hello, I’m Johnny Mac once again, booleside with your Daily Comedy News. That’s right, Matt Rife has announced ready for this title, Sweet Rife on Deck. I see what you did there, a comedy cruise featuring some of Matt Rife’s stand up pals.

It’s a four night voyage setting sail from Miami. They’ll stop off in Grand Turk February tenth through the fourteenth. What a better way to spend Valentine’s Day than getting off a cruise ship, probably at like nine in the morning. Pretty good lineup Matt Rife, of course, Craig Robinson, Nate Jackson, Eric Griffin, Finesse, Mitchell Ian Edwards, April Macy, David Lucas, and like ten other names I didn’t mention. There will also be live music from Blake Whitten and DJ sets from Cosmo Baker, DJ Rock and of course DJ Spider on Instagram.

Matt Rif’s all right, guys, I’ve been thinking about this for a very long time and it’s finally coming to life. He promised, great comedians, great musicians, great people, only cool people, only good vibes. He also promised infinite activities on the boat. All right, what are the infinite activities? I’m intrigued.

This sounds amazing. There’s a welcome roast toast, a swimsuit competition with prizes, a talent show with prizes, movie nights, an all star comedians, basketball game, and more. Boy, if you’re ever like boy, I’d love to watch a basketball game featuring I don’t know, Clayton Thomas and Craig Robinson. I mean that sounds exciting, doesn’t it. The first five hundred Cabins booked five hundred, I said, John, did you say five hundred?

Yeah? The first five hundred Cabins book will include an onboard meet and greet and photo opportunity with Matt Rife. One hundred ex Hospitality CEO Dan Berkowitz said, Sweet Rife on Deck is about creating an experience that goes far beyond a comedy show, giving fans the opportunity to spend four unforgettable days immersed in Matt’s world. We’re excited to partner with Matt and Cloud nine Adventures to bring people together through comedy, connection and a truly unique vacation experience. Sure, why not?

All right? We found out what this Alig stuff is. We’re getting a movie why John, I don’t know either, but it’s called Ali G. Who is I is spelled with a Z because of course the Alig character is a moron. This will be in theaters October twenty third.

It is Sasha Baron Cohen’s feature directorial debut, and there is a trailer. Let’s listen, Buya Kasha Minambiolo G representing the West Side of Stands upon Thames. In it, I is not with my first movie in over twenty decades, is coming out in the cinemas on the tenth day of the twenty third month. In it, the name of this film has been spray painted illegally on this wall by general graffiti orist. It’s only in the movie fas later this year.

So check you out West Side in case you’re a youngster and you weren’t. Around twenty years ago, Ali G was a British hip hop character who interviewed the likes of Donald Trump before he was president and the UN Secretary General. The humor came from these people not realizing this whole thing was a put on way back when on HBO there was Duh ali G Show, it was spelled d a Alig Show, because, of course Alig is a moron. Ali G also stared in the two thousand and two feature Ali G Into House one word into House stupid spelling, of course, and all that happened before Bora, which made two hundred and sixty two and a half million dollars in two thousand and six. Alig Into House did not receive a domestic release here in the States, but made twenty three million dollars plus abroad, the most of it from the UK.

Anyway, Ali G? Who is I? October twenty third, Can’t Wait? Ted Lasso Season four August fifth, on Apple TV. The new season finds Ted Lasso back in Richmond, coaching a second division women’s football team.

Well, first, I have a bad feeling about this. I feel like we’ve all kind of moved on and this is going to be diminishing returns. I hope I’m wrong. Some of the articles I’ve read suggest that they know that they kind of lost their mojo in season three. Now, part of that was the pandemic.

Jason Sidekas got a big fluff piece from the Hollywood reporter, they tell us. In early February twenty twenty four, Jason Sidekas convened the writers of ted Lasso in California. He was having second thoughts, he said, I don’t know if we’re done. There were some ideas for potential spinoffs, all right. One of them would have been an idea about Roy Kent.

Brett Goldstein had been working on that one. He plays Roy Kent, so I could see where he’d be motivated. Two different Ted Lassel staffers played around with the idea about a spinoff about character kee Lee Jones. That’s a terrible idea, Sadeka said. He was even toying with a Leslie Higgins cartoon and a Danny Rojas telenovela, both terrible ideas.

Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard, said we were just kind of kicking the tires on it, or we were saying at the time, checking the viability of the soil the folks involved, like the idea of a women’s soccer team as Coach Lasso’s new thing to do. Bred Goldstein said, it all seems easy now, but it was hard because it’s not a spinoff. You’re like, it’s not frasier cheer still exists. It’s more like you’re adding a room to the bar. Goldstein says, I think it has some of that Season one magic.

The creatives point out doing another season with the old team didn’t make sense creatively, and Jason Sadekas had to make some phone calls to those actors. He described those calls as very difficult, but he called them all directly because I didn’t want them to hear it on the internet, because I love those guys and we all went through something together. Ted Lasso Season four, August fifth, you’ll watch The twenty twenty six Indie Street Festival in Red Bank, New Jersey has revealed its full lineup. It includes the New Jersey premiere of Mark Maren’s In Memoriam starring Mark Marin, the eleventh Annuel Indie Street Film Festival August seventeenth through the twenty third. The Daily Show is going vertical.

They announced that they are producing their first micro drama, a serialized political soap opera made for the short, vertically shot format that is the trendy thing with the kids today. Comedy Central Humble brags the project is not only The Daily Show’s first micro drama, but the first produced by any late night franchise, not the flex you think it is. The story centers on Alanka. That’s Alanka, I said, Who is the beautiful daughter of an aging president. Hah.

The aging President would prefer to spend more of his time in the Oval office sleeping. Huh. The aging President hangs around with two technology moguls. One is called Egon Husk and the other Jeff Zavos. Hah.

But the official description tells us but in their lust for power and Alonka that leads to dangerously hot complications. Cast members released eight episode count distribution platform all have yet to be announced, So, in other words, you’d just announced something because it was your thirtieth anniversary. The folks at the Minneapolis Star Tribune went to see Kat Williams in concert. Kat joked that he had almost canceled the appearance because he was dealing with constant constipation, the side effect of a diet of too many greens. He did a bit where he slid across the floor and then perched on a stool and said everything I want to do anything visical that Sally gives me a talking to.

He talked about the roast of Kevin Hart and said that he only appeared because Netflix agreed to his demands for one million dollars. I assume he’s kidding there. Kat Williams said, they sent it to my account. While we’re on the phone. The start sure, Bean tells us.

Kat spent a lot of time in the set talking about the good things of life, most notably his investment in a thirty thousand dollars toilet. He then recycled some material about people coming out of Sean Combe’s parties in the Hollywood Hills. Cat said, I need to get these jokes off while I can. Kat said, was only forty five minutes, but there were five openers. Interesting.

David Cross was in Lexington doing some workouts. There was a standing room audience of only a few hundred people, where told David Cross ripped on everything from climbing Machu Pichu to doing a character bit involving an inappropriate rabbi and a patriotic anthem. He sings using the words of one of the presidents, uniquely worded speeches. So this me up. You know, I was prepping the show and I saw that Frankett Calliendo was going to be doing an appearance, and I went through the story.

Caseau, ABC nine has the story. I find the whole thing funny, So Bay attention here. This is an actual news report, and you can tell that the ancre doesn’t really know who Frank Calliendo is.

And then towards the end, I find it funny that the Chamber of Commerce is rea…

John Madden passed away in twenty twenty one. I’m not sure the kids today even know a thing about John Madden, other than, of course, there’s a video game called Madden. John Madden’s last broadcast was the Super Bowl February first, two thousand and nine, right, so that’s seventeen years ago. So I’m not sure people even know who John Madden is anymore. I know, I just made you feel old.

I get it, believe me. Anyway, Caseau has the story, and I just find this funny. For the fortieth annual su Land Chamber Dinner, organizers are taking a different direction with this year’s headliner. Comedian, actor, and impressionist Frank Caliendo is set to headline. He has over twenty years of experience entertaining audiences on various platforms, including TV shows, radio and live performances.

Of course, marks the first time that the Chamber has decided to bring in a comedian for the event, and officials say that they’re excited about the big change. What I think Frank Calando brings is something for everybody. In this video we just introduced, he does a John Madden impersonation, Joe Biden impersonation, a Trump impersonation, Morgan Freeman. So whether you’re a sports fan and you like John Madden, or you like going to the movies, Frank Caliendo’s got something for you, and we’re really excited for what he’s going to bring to Sueland. The Flyover Comedy Festival is returning for its ninth year.

It will take over the Delmore Loop. Headliners include David Cross, Roy Would Junior, The Sclar Brothers, He’ll Say Sloan, Yakov Smirnoff, and nearly one hundred and fifty other performers including Cameron Esposito, Catherine Blandford You’re paying attention to Katherine Blandford or You’re not, Daniel Vankirk, and a bunch of others. Four day badges are currently available for purchase. Those include the Loop badge for seventy six dollars and nineteen cents. Interesting pricing point.

I bet there’s some state tax on there that gets that to a nice round number, would be my guess. I put on some events in the past with odd pricing like that. That way, it’s probably just comes out to like eighty bucks. I’m not gonna look, but that would be my guess anyway. The Loop Badge offers first come, first served access to all club shows at Delmore Loop Venues and the Improv Shop.

You can also get the Loop Plus badge for one hundred and fifty dollars and twenty eight cents, which includes all that plus access to one theater show, and the Everything Badge just two hundred and thirteen dollars and seventy eight cents, which includes access to everything you can go to Flyovercomedyfest dot com. If you want to pick up one of those two hundred and thirteen dollars seventy eight cent badges, and now I’m curious about the tax, let’s do it. Okay, I’ve gone through several websites. I’m going to buy one Everything badge. Okay, Now I’m totally confused because it says Everything Badge two hundred and thirteen dollars seventy eight cents, includes eighteen seventy eight in fees.

But my order summary says one Everything Badge one hundred and ninety five dollars, fees, eighteen seventy eight. Oh and then there’s taxes twenty two dollars and six cents in taxes. Really, that’s a lot of tax So my total for the Everything Badge is just two hundred and thirty five dollars and eighty four cents US currency. Flyover Comedy Festival. Hey, remember the other day we were also pullside and Scott the neighbor, was out, and I yelled over to Scott and I was telling you about Leslie Jones.

Well, I didn’t get to the entire Leslie Jones story. She had shared her favorite shows on HGTV. One of them is Help I Wrecked My House, which stars Jasmine. Leslie loves Jasmine. On an off screen she says, Jasmine’s the bomb.

Leslie also loves Fix My Frankenhouse. What is going on on this channel? Apparently? Fix My Franken House stars Boston based power couple Mike and Denise. Really, they tackle homes that have become an awkward patchwork of editions over the years.

I had one of those in my old neighborhood. And of course you can watch Leslie Jones roast my rental Friday Nights at Santa Clock, which is also available to stream on HBO Max as HBO Max continues to completely water down their brand. And that is your comedy news for today Poolside See tomorrow.

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Featured: Conan O’Brien, Stephen Colbert, David Letterman, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Colin Jost, Scarlett Johansson, Howie Mandel, Simon Cowell, Terry Crews, Bob Marley

What’s in This Episode

• Conan O’Brien’s scalp sunburn and slicked-back hair at Obama Museum opening
• Seth Meyers mocks President Trump’s World Cup comments and Andrew Giuliani
• Jimmy Kimmel discusses Steven Colbert’s Late Show ending and Celebrity Millionaire ratings
• Colin Jost explains proper pronunciation of wife Scarlett Johansson’s name
• Howie Mandel impersonator ‘Howard Michael Lando’ buzzed off America’s Got Talent
• Comedian Bob Marley catches fire during camp activity

Questions Answered in This Episode

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Full Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and may contain spelling and/or transcription errors.

Caloroga Shark Media. Conan O’Brien addressed what’s up with his hair? Hello from poolside. I’m Johnny Mac with your Daily Comedy News. It is seventy one degrees, Sonny out.

The humidity’s fifty five to do points like fifty three, one of the top ten days you’re going to get. So we are not sitting in a basement today when we can do this outside with this cadas, the birds, the pool, the dogs, and the landscapers. You may recall people were wigged. Well that’s a bit of a pun. People were wigged that Conan O’Brien had slicked back hair.

Conan addressed the situation. He told a long version of the story on his podcast. I started to pull the audio from it, it would just take too long to get to it, so let me just tell you what he said. He was invited to the opening of the Obama Museum. He realized the opening would be held outside, He put some sunscreen on his face and went about his day.

Conan explains, it’s three hours plus and when it’s over, I’m so glad that I put the sunblock on, and I’m feeling really good about myself, like smart move. He goes over to talk to some fellow guests who he called bright red, like Stephen Colbert and David Letterman. He said those gentlemen looked like they had been playing in a sandbox with plutonium. However, Conan says, a day or two later after the event, I feel like my skull is on fire.

And then two days after that, my scalp is really itchy, and whenever I itch i…

White freckled Confetti’s pouring off my head. It’s disgusting. He was confused, he thought he was going crazy. Someone let him know he had a scalp sunburn. Conan said, I’m not used to that because I’ve got so much hair, but this sun just blasted right through my hair, roasted my scalp, and someone said, to treat this, you have to rub oil into it.

So this morning I rubbed oil into it, not thinking about the podcast when we went on camera, and then I come in and I look like I’m in Shanta Na. I’m a grease ball. I’m so greasy. I’m Frankie Valley. We’ll see if it goes back to the pompadoor.

We’ll keep it at twelve thirty. Make twelve thirty great against. Seth Myers has been bashing the President of the United States. Now, the President and I don’t agree on all the issues, but one of the issues we do agree on is making twelve thirty great again. We need to get back to the days of Letterman and Conan.

And yet Seth Myers has a show for some reason, and Seth was mocking the commander in chief for staying on stage during the World Cup. The New York Post has brought this to my attention. Apparently Seth took issue with a truth social post from the President of the United States in which the President praised Andrew Giuliani, who is the White House’s point person for the tournament and coincidentally, the son of Rudy Giuliani. That doesn’t mean Andrew wasn’t the perfect person to run these things. He just happens to have a famous father.

Anyway, I digress. Trump thanked the younger Giuliani for elevating the World Cup to a level that nobody thought was possible. Seth Myers, who has a show at twelve thirty for some reason, said all right, calm down. It was already the biggest sporting event in the world. It’s not like he sold seven million pickleball tickets.

Myers also made fun of Trump’s comments during a pregame interview before the World Cup final. The President said Ronaldo has a much easier life and that he’d like to trade places with the soccer star for a month or so. Seth Meyer said, or longer. You ever watched Ronaldo like run full speed up and down a soccer pitch and you’re like, this guy doesn’t worked as hard as President Trump. Seth Myers also suggests that President Trump is a sports reaper because when he attends games, the teams he’s rooting for lose.

I do like this joke, though, Seth said, They’re going to have to sage MetLife Stadium to get the hecks out, otherwise the Jets might have a bad season. Love It Jimmy Kimmel’s Old Variety. The ratings are very strong, which we are very grateful to CEBs for their wisdom. We were doing pretty well before that, but that really helped that. Of course, is the ending of The Late Show with Steven Colbert, which nobody talks about it anymore.

Except Jimmy Kimmel. Kimmel told Variety asked Colbert if it liked to guest host the Kimmel Show. Colbert politely declined. Jimmy said, of course. I asked him, and I think it feels premature, but I told him anytime you want to host it, it doesn’t matter if it’s the summer, I’ll gladly step aside.

Jimmy Kimmel was out promoting celebrity Millionaire. I guess people watch this stuff. I’d rather watch civilians than celebrities. Some of the celebrities are Colin Jostin, Michael Shay. Kimmel said, I don’t really know those guys.

I learned that Michael is very decisive and Colin is not, and in a battle of the decisive and indecisive, the indecisive always wins. Colin was really weighing things out in general on Millionaire. Whatever your first thought is is probably the right answer, unless you really have no idea. But people have a tendency to blurt out what they think is the answer, and then they take a long time talking themselves out of that correct answer, and usually they’ll come back to the correct answer, but sometimes they talk themselves out of it. In an unrelated clip, Colin jos explained how to pronounce his wife’s name.

I didn’t know, we didn’t know how to pronounce it. But here’s Colin Jost telling us the proper way to say Scarlett Johansson. How do you. Pronounce your wife’s last name? Is it Joe Hanson or Yo Hanson?

I don’t know. I’ve never met her in person yet, but so I want to hear how she says it Johansson. I mean I certainly say Johansson. I mean I don’t say it really ever, but. Yo, Joe Hanson.

Why is the fridge empty? But it was originally she’s Danish. I think her family is kind of a mix, probably kind of went back and forth a little bit between Denmark and Sweden. So it was definitely it was Johannes Johanssen probably originally, and I was probably Yost in Germany. But now that’s all along forgotten.

So we all we changed together, All ancestors coordinated, and so let’s get them together. Are you with Michael Chang? I didn’t say you can have a second question. Did you see the Howie Mandel impersonator on America’s got talent. Yeah.

A guy came out dressed as Howie Mandel. He called himself Howard Michael Lando. Simon Cowell asked why. From the sidelines, Terry Crews said this is disturbing. Before Howard Michael Lando could do his act, meil Be reached across the judges table and hit all four red buzzers.

The audience protested and pleaded with the panel to give a fake Howie Mandel a chance for lunch today. I couldn’t decide if I wanted a pickle with my sandwich or not. I was like dil or no dil. He then did a second joke, which was if I was on a farm, I’d be Cowie Mandel. Definitely time to hit the buzzer and Melb said that was not good.

She asked the audience did anybody laugh? They went to the vote. All the judges said no, fake Cowie Mandel said that’s fair. Good night. Bob Marley caught on fire and first of all, this is comedian Bob Marley.

I’ve worked with Bob a little bit over the years. I remember one time he was trying to set the record for longest comedy set up. I can’t remember if he has the record now, or if Chappelle does, I could look it up, and I’m too lazy. I think Marley does because we broadcast the whole thing live on satellite radio a million years ago. Anyway, he goes by comedian Bob Marley, so you don’t think he’s the reggae guy.

And then in the computers we always had a label at comedian Bob Marley. Otherwise his stuff was really difficult to schedule because you’d want to schedule a comedy record. He’d accidentally schedule. I shot the sheriff. You don’t want to do that.

Comedian Bob Marley caught on fire. He was forced to dive into the lake by his camp when a sweatpants caught on fire. John, we all heard your chuckle during the story. Do you think it’s funny that Bob Marley caught on fire? Apparently you do.

We heard the chuckle. Don’t edit it out. You cowered. What happened? Bob was making s’mores.

He was cooking with Uncle Jimmy, and one of Uncle Jimmy’s s’mores got overcooked. Bob Marley went to rescue his seventy nine year old uncle Jimmy’s s’more from the fire, and the blaze jumped from the fire to the sweatpants. Uncle Jimmy said, Bobby, your leg’s on fire. Bob Marley said, I know, Jimmy. Oh see, this is why I love recording outside.

I’m deliberately doing this for the randomness. Do you hear that? I don’t know if you can hear that, but again, I’m in my backyard. No one’s doing anything wrong. You’re not supposed to record your podcast Poolside, John, You’re supposed to record it in a basement like losers do.

Anyway, the neighbor is now having his generator serve, so that’s why you hear the generator noise. I’m leaving all this in. That is the beauty of Poolside. This is why you work for yourself. I could be trapped in an office in New York City staring out the window, going it’s seventy one degrees out in sunny, and I’m trapped in this office.

So we’re gonna put up with the generator guy. I digress. Before all that happened, you may recall Bob Marley was on fire. Uncle Jimmy said, Bobby, your leg’s on fire. Marley said, I know Jimmy Bob Marley jumps in the lake, and he explains when I was in the water, I took off my sweatpants and my shirt and put them on the doc to dry, and then I got up on the docks, standing there in my underwear.

Then I see a pontoon boat coming toward me with three one hundred and ten year old ladies on it. One of them asked me, Bob, are you standing there in your underwear? And Marley said yes, I am. Okay, I actually put a note in this week’s show to remember to promote the Weekly Comedy Thing. It was pointed out to me in the Facebook group Daily Comedy News Podcast Group that I never remember to promote it.

What is this weekly Comedy Thing? John? Okay. There’s an app it is called Live One where you can listen to music and the comedy stations. I program the comedy station so you can listen to comedy.

The app is free. All this is free. You can just do this for free.

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And then on Sundays I published a show called The Weekly Comedy Thing, which …

Now this is where I can do long form versions of the stories, and on the weekly comedy thing, I’m more of a jock, so I’m trying to keep the story super tight. But over there I can actually play the comedy clips. So if I tell you say, Mark Maren’s going to be at a film festival, I can play Mark Maron after it. If you’re into you discovering new comedians, some of the newer comedians you’ll hear this week on the show Ali Hassan, Tom Staid, Kyle Gordon, and Whitmer. Thomas also got some Bob Marley in there.

You know why the story I just told you, except on that show, I tell the twenty second version of it. It is the final day of Just for Laughs Montreal. It wasn’t much buzz this year. At five o’clock today May Martin is recording a Netflix special and again at eight thirty, we’ll keep the best take. There only two other shows, Raffy Bostos is at Club Soda at seven and Lucy Dorling at seven.

That’s kind of it. I mean, I’m glad the festival’s back, but Netflix says stolen their corner, as they say in Montreal, because zat they want to hit the nasty show. During the comedian CP talked to the gazette and said, this is a very smart comedy crowd. As a comedian, that’s one of the most important things that your audience understands how to be an audience. It’s funny.

Some people are intimidated by the French, but then you come and they have a high ballot for comedy.

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Also, they’re not sensitive.

They understand a lot of jokes derive from inappropriate places and they love that. We are told CPS cartoon like Cadence echos the early days of M and M, with whom CP’s uncle Trick Trick is a frequent collaborator. The essence of Slimshady can be found throughout his high energy, envelope pushing storytelling, which covered everything from some dirty stuff I don’t want to get into, and some more dirty stuff I don’t want to get into, and then a third thing that’s kind of dirty that involved the wildfires and the words squirting. You figured out it is the nasty show after all, John, what do you think was gonna happen? Ontario’s Rebecca Reid came in and told some jokes about various private parts.

Really good punchline here, but I can’t set it up for you. Go to the Montreal Gazette to read it.

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Meanwhile, at the Culture Show, Dave mer Hedge was your host.

He told Cult MTL it’s such a dope festival to perform at. He also called Montreal a savvy audience with good knowledge of stand up, which allows comedians to be themselves. The Culture Show formerly known as the Ethnic Show and then was known as Just for the Culture. I didn’t even realize they had switched this name. Just for the Culture was bad.

The Culture Show is better. I still like the Ethnic Show the best. Come on, we all know what this is anyway. The concept is simple. Five comics of different backgrounds come together for an evening of laughs.

Dave mar Hedge was your Lebanese comedian. Then we got Wise Cal Tara, Canishtraki, high energy Keith Pedro and the methodical and storytelling driven Alfred Roebliss. And that is your comedy news on a summer Sunday. Pretty strong for a summer Sunday. And I will see you tomorrow

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Featured: Joe Rogan, Brian Redband, Michelle Faller, Elon Musk, Bernie Sanders, Kanye West

What’s in This Episode

• Joe Rogan’s transition from TV to podcasting
• The Joe Rogan Experience launch on Christmas Eve 2009
• How comedians shaped Rogan’s podcast approach
• Early adoption advantages in podcasting
• Joe Rogan’s interview with Elon Musk in 2018
• Long-form conversation vs. traditional media format

Questions Answered in This Episode

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Full Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and may contain spelling and/or transcription errors.

Caloroga Shark Media. Hey there, I’m Johnny Mac, and on Saturdays this summer, I’m doing deeper dives on single topics. Today, let’s talk a little about Joe Rogan. And the thing that gets lost in every conversation about Joe Rogan is that he’s a comedian, that was a comedian, is a comedian. Now you might not think he’s the best comedian.

Maybe he’s not, but he’s a comedian. The way he runs the podcast, the way he talks to guests, the way he thinks about things, the way he’s built the whole thing. It’s all shaped by being a comedian. And what I mean by that is his whole career was shaped by being in rooms. We’re the only thing that matters is whether something’s actually interesting or actually funny.

You can’t fully understand the Joe Rogan experience without understanding that the person at the center of the Joe Rogan experience thinks like a comedian, which means he thinks about authenticity the way most media executives think about ratings, which is to say, it’s the only metric that actually matters to him. And a lot of times those two things are in opposition. TV never quite figured out what to do with Rogan. He did News Radio, remember that. Yeah, it’s a funny show.

People remember it fondly. He was good in it, but he’s not the thing you think about when you think about news radio. He was a comedian doing TV rather than a TV person. Then he did Fear Factor. It’s its own strange chapter, a show that was watched by tens of millions of people, made him a household name in a very specific way.

Fear Factor, Joe Rogan and Joe Rogan experienced Joe Rogan are the same person if you look closely enough. But the mainstream audience that knew him from Fear Factor had no reason to think he was going to become the most influential media property in the next two decades. Joe Rogan was the guy who made people eat bugs. This is so wrong. Come on, this is for your charity.

Might be a little bitter, but go for it. It’s free charity. Does it taste like? Yeah, don’t tell us what it tastes like. What they missed and all that was Joe Rogan’s genuine intellectual curiosity.

I was recently listening to the episode with Michelle Faller at a point, So I was one of if Joe had checked out, and then I realized no, he was just taking it all in as they talked about the space and science of a great episode. If the Earth was the dot of an eye in a book in regular print, that the Milky Way Galaxy would be as large as the Earth itself. Actually a little bigger. Yeah. So, I mean the thing is, this is an interesting thing about science communication.

If the Sun were the size of a dot of an eye, and you’ve got to remember, you can fit a million earths inside the Sun. This is a huge thing. So if that’s the size of a dot of an eye and untext, then the galaxy would be the size of the Earth. That’s when people’s eyes get big and people. Respond to so it’s not just the Earth the sun.

So if the Sun was the. Dot of an eye, yeah, that’s right. So make this clear. So the Sun were the size of a dot of an eye on a page of text, so you could fit a million earths inside that dot of an eye, then the Milky Way Galaxy would be bigger than the Earth. Yeah.

So if the Earth was the dot of an eye, then because the Sun is how many millions earths. The volume wise, you could fit over a million earths inside the sun. Yeah. Yeah, the sun is about eight hundred thousand miles across. You could fit about one hundred and ten earths across it the diameter.

We do those things where you show the differences between our sun and different stars and immense stars, and you go bigger and bigger and bigger, and you get to the point where you’re like, I can’t this is not working. Get I can’t process this. It’s too coooky. There’s nobody that can process it. The Joe Rogan Experience, Episode number one, guest Brian Redband, December twenty fourth, two thousand and nine.

What an interesting time to launch a show. Christmas Eve now two thousand and nine is early. We only got iPhones in two thousand and seven. And if you were into podcasts in those early days, and I was, you couldn’t actually download a podcast to your phone. You had to get it on your laptop and then connect your phone with a cord to the laptop and move some podcasts over.

So back in those early days, when I was listening to things like this or a Hardwick an artist, you had to like really do it. Start broadcast and then update, update to Twitter, and then I always like to watch my own channel, so let’s go to your own channel so you can see what the chat is and then update year internet tonight, update my own or go through the faster one. You’re gonna get addicted to. Oh nice colors. Pretty So two thousand and nine is pretty early to start a podcast, and a lot of the people that really were the big names did start early.

That’s not to take away from them, but there’s obviously an advantage to being an early adopter. You know, Maren definitely was an early adopter, again, not taking away from anyone. So two thousand and nine, the idea that a podcast could be a primary media property that can compete with TV or radio ad dollars, Yeah, we couldn’t even do. It’s called dynamic insertion. Now, like you know, if you’re in I don’t know, if you’re listening to Portugal, serve you local ads targeted at you in Portugal back in the day.

And I started podcasting in twenty fifteen, which was kind of the start of round two. The ogs give us a lot of crap for getting in late, but you know, here eleven years later, I feel like I got in early. Anyway, you couldn’t do dynamic insertion advertising. You had to actually bake the ads in. But Rogan wasn’t thinking about a media company.

He was thinking about it as a comedian who wanted to have long conversations with interesting people and had figured out a way to record and distribute those conversations for free. The early episodes of the Joe Rogan Experience or a document of someone figuring out a format in real time. They’re loose. They have a feeling of someone who’s experimenting rather than executing. Early guests are people who were part of the La comedy ecosystem that Rogan was part of.

The early episodes have the energy of a thing that doesn’t yet know where it’s going. Where nobody’s performing for an audience, because the audience is a little smart enough that performing for it would feel absurd. Now, if you look back at who Rogan had on and when, you can get a map before the culture was heading, before the mainstream caught up. He had Elon Musk one in twenty eighteen, before Musk had become the figure he is now. You know, a cool scientist guy that’s going to build a mores Base.

Well the electric car is that guy? Yeah? Yes. I think one of the issues with social media that’s been pointed out by many people is that, I think, maybe particularly Instagram, people look like they have a much better life than. They really do.

Right, So, by design, yeah, people are posting pictures of when they’re really happy. They’re modifying those pictures to be better looking. Even if they’re not modifying the pictures, they’re at least selecting the pictures for the best lighting, the best angle. So people basically seem they’re way better looking than they basically really are, right, And they’re way happier seeming than they really are. So if you look at everyone on Instagram, you might think, man, they’re only happy, beautiful people, and I’m not that looking, and I am not happy.

That conversation got watched and shared in a way that a TV interview never would have because it was three hours long and Rogan let must be weird and interesting instead of trying to fit him into a seven minute window. Rogan had on Bernie Sanders, he had on Kanye he had scientists, fighters, comedians, authors, conspiracy theorists, doctors who disagreed with other doctors, and he treated all of them more or less the same way, which to say he was genuinely curious about what they thought and asked follow up questions and didn’t try to trap anyone to score points. That format, long curious, non adversarial, was unusual in the media in the early twenty ten still unusual today. Cable news had trained everyone to expect conflict and interruption. Talk shows were in seven minute segments.

Even in PR, had you know that? NPR kind of air to it that shaped how the questions got asked and how you answered. Rogan didn’t have any of that. He had a comedians framework, which is what’s interesting here and how do we get to it? Those are different questions what a journal leuts asked, and they produce different conversations.

And part of the audience that found the Joe Rogan experience did so because they were hungry for that kind of conversation and weren’t finding it anywhere else. Personally, it’s why I love the show. Joe is genuinely curious. Sometimes I don’t agree with anything he’s saying or what the guest is saying, but I always find the conversations interesting to listen to because they’re calm.

Let’s talk about the comedians.

When Joe Rogan had Bill Burr on, those conversations functioned as a masterclass and how comedians think about their work. Same with Louis C.K. Same with Chappelle. They weren’t promotional appearances. The guests were there to talk about comedy in the road, what it’s like to do the thing they do, and they talked for as long as the conversation was interesting.

By twenty fifteen or so, the podcast was the biggest in the world by any meaningful measurement, still considered to be the number one podcast. The advertising model was working. Rogan was doing host red ads. Advertisers were paying for them because the audience was enormous and loyal in a way that podcast audiences tend to be. But the mainstream media was still condescending, treating the Joe Rogan experience as a curiosity, still not reckoning with the fact that what people were listening to Rogan every week then were watching most cable news programs.

The industry was still writing think pieces about whether or not podcasts were a real medium. Comedians understood what Joe had built. A Rogan appearance moved tickets in a way that a late night appearance no longer did. Getting on Rogan was the thing, not getting on Conan or Kimmel or Comedy Central. Rogan.

Some of the comedians who arguably Joe made their career, Sigora Kreischer, Andrew Schultz, She and Gillis. Then the Spotify deal in twenty twenty one hundred million dollars later reported to be closer to two hundred million for exclusive rights to the Joe Rogan experience. Suddenly the media was like, hey, wait, what a guy’s talking to people in a studio is worth two hundred million dollars to Spotify. Don’t forget. Spotify is a company that has access to data about podcasts listening and made that deal with full information about what they were buying.

Rogan was eleven years in At that point. It wasn’t a bet on what he might become. It was an acknowledgment of what he was reading. He was the largest and most influential audio media property in the world. Built without a network, without a studio, without a development deal, no big company behind it, just a comedian who wanted to have conversations with interesting people and figured out how to distribute them.

That deal did create some friction. People would listen to the podcast on their regular app, now how to listen to it on Spotify. That’s when I started listening a little less because I don’t love the Spotify app.

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Also, the show was moved off YouTube at that point, so there’s some audio dis…

I know, personally, if I heard enough buzz on an episode, I’d go listen to it on Spotify. But you know, for the most part, I skipped a lot of those years. Then covid comes along and some controversies. Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify to protest Joe Rogan’s COVID episodes. That became a whole cultural moment.

In early twenty twenty two, there were calls for Spotify to drop Rogan entirely. Spotify stock dropped Spotify put Good Content Advisor on some episodes. They issued a statement they kept the deal intact. The cultural pressure that was supposed to make Rogan radioactive basically no effect on the one thing Spotify cared about, which was whether or not people kept pressing play. Eventually, the Spotify deal was redone so that you can now listen to the show on any app or on YouTube.

Just like we did in olden times.

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And then there’s the political aspect to this.

Joe always had on political guests, for example, Bernie Sanders. In twenty twenty, politicians realized they could reach young men who don’t watch cable news, who don’t read political newspapers. By twenty twenty four, the show had become something that presidential campaigns felt they needed to engage with. At least one of them did. Donald Trump came on in October twenty twenty four, sat with Rogan for three hours.

No prepared questions, no handler, no seven minute segments, just Rogan and Trump talking the way Rogan talks to everyone, with genuine curiosity and without the adversarial framework that defines most political interviews. It was really like two different lives. You know. I had a very wonderful life, but I wanted to do this. The Apprentice was still going very strong.

We had twelve seasons, and we had actually fourteen seasons twelve years over. They had a couple, well, they canceled The Apprentice when you were running for president. Correct. No, they had Arnold Schwarzenegga do it. I was involved in that, and I had enough of it, and we did great.

It was doing great, but they wanted me to stay. They all came to see me. They said, we’re going to give you a contract. They wanted to extend my contract. Mark Burnett is a great guy.

Then they wanted to extend the contract. Mark said, you’re crazy. Don’t run. Don’t run. Nobody gives up prime time.

They said, you know, it’s one of those little things, which is probably true. Nobody gets for the most time for being president. For running well, for running against twenty some ORed people, you know. It turned out to be eighteen eighteen professional people, you know, mostly politicians. The episode got something like forty million views in the first few days.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris’s campaign made the decision not to go on Rogan. In October of twenty twenty five, Harris told the Diary of a CEO podcast, I wanted to do Joe Rogan Show, and there were a lot of games being played, but I wanted to do Rogan Show. There was some claim in a book that the Harris campaign had rearranged her schedule for a possible appearance on the show, but were told that Joe was taking a personal day, which turned out to be the same day Rogan interview. Trump. Rogan fired back, saying Harris and her team never agreed to an appearance on the podcast.

Joe also said that the Harris team wanted him to travel from Austin to New York to do the interview. On The Joe Rogan Experience, Joe said he wanted to do Trump and Harris on the same day. That was my goal. I even offered to do it late that same night, the night Trump came on. I’m like, what if we do her while she’s in Houston, if she came here, But no one ever committed to doing it.

This is really important because they keep pretending like I lied. Harris said on a subsequent podcast appearance that she wanted to go on Rogan show but was advised not to because they assumed. As it turned out to be correct. It says the quote that he was supporting Trump and that it would not be a productive piece for me. But just like when I went on Fox News with Brent Beher, my perspective was they might have their bias, but there are people who listen who are open minded, and I’m going to go there and give them a chance to get to know me and make my case to them.

So that was my perspective on Joe Rogan, just like it was from my perspective on Fox. She concluded of the topic, I definitely regret that we didn’t do it. You start a podcast in two thousand and nine because you want to talk to your comedian friends for three hours. Fifteen years later, presidential campaigns are making strategic decisions about whether or not to appear on your show. Joe Rogan experience still number one.

You can comment on this episode in the Facebook group Daily Comedy News Podcast Group, or on Spotify. Comments are open.

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Also, listen to this program on Spotify, become a follower, and turn on notif…

I’ll be back tomorrow with a normal episode of Daily Comedy News. Enjoy the rest of your day.

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Featured: Conan O’Brien, David Letterman, Molly Shannon, Will Arnett, Kevin Hart, LeBron James, Ben Marshall, Marcelo Hernandez, Paul Shaffer, Seth Meyers

What’s in This Episode

• Conan O’Brien’s slicked-back ‘greaser’ hair on podcast with Molly Shannon
• David Letterman at Montreal Comedy Festival with Paul Shaffer
• Kevin Hart’s ’72 Hours’ movie release on Netflix
• Kevin Hart criticizing LeBron James for messing up golf schedule
• Ben Marshall’s Cosmo interview and shirtless SNL/movie appearances
• Ben Marshall’s breakup story at high school prom on crutches
• Marcelo Hernandez and young comedians working with Kevin Hart on film

Questions Answered in This Episode

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Full Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and may contain spelling and/or transcription errors.

Caloroga Shark Media, Conan O’Brien is being compared to a drug lord. Hello from poolside. I’m Johnny Mac with your Daily Comedy News. You VNDX of nine eighty five degrees out. We are by the pool.

Did you watch Conan O’Brien’s podcast with Molly Shannon? People are like, what’s with the hair? Conan? You know he is the pompadour. His hair is usually poofy.

No, it was slicked back. What’s with that? One fan asked in the YouTube comments, we all click for the hair and there’s no explanation. Slick back hair was called greaser Conan by fans. The comments section was awesome.

This reminds me maybe we’ll do it tomorrow to go into the bill Burg comments section, which is differently awesome. Social media user comments included what does he look like? I’m about to be sold to used Kia Sarrento. Pretty sure this guy drives a New York cab. Hey, I got Conan’s hair wrong.

Conan is dead. This is his doppelganger, Conan looking like your Irish uncle who shows you how to steal guests from car and gives you a flick knife and tells you to keep it a secret from mom straight off hoour moos closing has led to Conan’s pampador deflating and greez er Conan isn’t real, he can’t hurt you. Page six says Conan O’Brien’s rep did not immediately respond to their request for comment.

Meanwhile, David Letterman he used to host twelve thirty on NBC.

So did Conan O’Brien. For some reason, Seth Myers so said these days that doesn’t make any sense right, No, make twelve thirty great again. David Letterman was at the Montreal Comedy Festival and the folks at Beats ninety two point five were there. They say the room was buzzing from the start, but things escalated quickly when our good friend Paul Shaver pointed to the ceiling, prompting production to lower a massive Canadian flag over the stage. Paul Schaeffer and the guy from the Montreal Canadians who sings the anthem led the audience in a version of O Canada.

The guys from ninety two to five tell us Letterman was in prime form, leaning into his signature dry wit, He jokingly offered multiple apologies for their American leader. Send your letters to David Letterman. He is, after all, a letter man. Get it. Yes?

Aha. Dave delighted the local crowd with pointed, humorous remarks, reassuring everyone that Canada is not for sale. We’ll say outcomes. Will Arnett’s the guest. They’d talked about his comedy career, the SmartLess Podcast, his time on Arrested Development, his time being married to Amy Poehler, and the existential depth of his character on BoJack Horseman.

We also learned that his father used to be the CEO of Mulson Brewery. Hey, it’s Scott the Neighbor. Hi, Scott the Neighbor. I’m recording my podcast. Scott’s cleaning up some trees out there.

I told you it’s a poolside edition. Will Arnett came out and capped off the night with a classic late night top ten list of things that sound cool when Will Arnett says it. Will Arnette then read the top ten phrases in his infamous Will Arnett voice. Paul Schaeffer comes back out leads the audience into a performance of Bachmann Turner Overdrives taking care of business. Then they did a second rendition with French lyrics I won’t butcher those for you.

Ninety two five gives it a ten out of ten. You know it’s out on Netflix today. Hey, is Kevin Hart’s seventy two Hours. This is the movie in which Kevin Hart, who’s forty seven years old, pretends to be forty and gets invited out for a weekend with some young guys, including Marcelo Hernandez. Why the character has to be forty and not forty seven, ask Kevin Hart.

Before we get to that, Kevin Hart has been trading barbes with NBA star Lebron Jeames. Kevin Hart was on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon and said bleep him and meaning Lebron James, not Jimmy Fallon. Why would he curse out Jimmy Fallon of Lebron. He’s a cheater, He’s a dishonest golfer. I had more love for Lebron before he started all this.

I’m adding another year. I’m going to another team. I don’t care what that man’s doing with basketball. He’s messing up our golfer team. I don’t want to play basketball at all because he’s messing up our schedule.

He’s messing up our schedule. Man, This whole new team thing’s gonna throw a schedule off. In seventy two Hours, in which forty seven year old Kevin Hart plays a forty year old hanging out with young guys like Marcelo Hernandez and Ben Marshall, Ben Marshall got a nice fluff piece from Cosmo, a glow up. I will call it nice job, Ben Marshall’s agent. Ben Marshall tells Cosmo it’s boring and obvious, but I really just love comedy.

I love laughing with my friends. I feel so lucky that I get to make stuff with people that I like and laugh all the time. I’m trying to think of anything else I could tell you about myself that’s remotely interesting, Cosmo, said Seth Myers, who, for some reason as a twelve thirty show I don’t understand either, pointed out how often you were shirtless this past season on SNL and shirtless in the seventy two Hours trailer. Cosmo was like, you’re trying to get a Cosmo centerfold like Burt Reynold’s voice of the comedy stock Market. Ben said, Yeah, everything was very calculated.

Now. I never imagined myself taking my shirt off in anything. Then it just kind of happened. It was funny shooting seventy two Hours where we knew that we had our shirts off, but we were shooting that part toward the end of the summer, so all summer we were obsessed with what we were eating and working out. We learned that Ben Marshall likes basketball and used to play, but picked theater over basketball.

Ben said, I guess there was a moment in high school I was like really getting into making videos on YouTube and photography, so I switched to this arts high school in Savannah called Savannah Arts Academy. I didn’t really do much theater or anything we had, but it would always act in videos that we were making as for seventy two Hours, He says. Kevin Hart is the nicest guy in the world. It was kind of crazy. He was improvising so much and setting us up to improvise.

Sometimes older comedians don’t give it up as much, but he really gives it up. Cosmo asked Ben Marshall, and it seems like we’re setting him up to be a heart throb. I mean, if we have him as a heart throb, and Marcelo Hernandez is a heart throb. This is some movie, Ben, describe your ideal date. Ben says, go to the loudest part, or you can find no conversation, or see a long film no conversation.

Then you each go home to your own apartments and you go to sleep early. He told a story about dating my freshman year of college. I was still dating my high school girlfriend, who was a senior in high school spring break. I flew home to go to prom with her, and she breaks up with me immediately, but she still wants me to go to prom with her. I’m like, this is crazy.

I’m gonna go play basketball, blow off some steam. Then I sprained my ankle, so I met my old high school prom with my ex girlfriend on crutches, hobbling around. Just the saddest, most pathetic site. No hard feelings though, and if you’re reading this, you know who you are. It’s all love.

Hold On Magazine asked Marcelo Hernandez what it was like. We’re with a generation of young comedians. Marcello said, from day one all the way through the finish, they were hungry comics and hungry comedic actors seizing an opportunity. It’s a great thing to be part of an R rated comedy. It’s been some time since we’ve been back in this space.

Kevin Hardy added, Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m doing a movie. Those are feelings I don’t have as much because I’ve been doing it for so long. But it was refreshing to be around this new generation that has it. It made me just hungry. Marcelo said of Kevin, He’s much more experienced than I am, so I wanted to learn from him.

Being around someone like Kevin was incredible. I paid attention to everything he did because I wanted to absorb as much as I could. Working with him was a blessing. Now, you may recall earlier in the week, Marcelo Hernandez did a Kevin Hart impression. Kevin Hart has now done a Marcelo Hernandez impression, and he pretty much captures it.

No socks, no socks. I don’t need socks because I Dominican. I Dominican. We don’t wear socks. We don’t need socks.

Yep, nailed it tomorrow in Montreal. It’s that weird. Al concert Al had recently spoken to the Pittsburgh City Paper. They credited Al with popularizing song parodies. Al said, actually, Alan Sherman had three number one albums doing parody songs.

And our national anthem is a parody song, you know now, I look that up. The National Anthem is sung to the tune of a pre existing song that was the theme song of a Gentleman’s club. Interestingly enough, but it’s not really a parody song. It just uses the melody. It’s not like the Star Spangled Benner is like goofing on some other song.

Al said, I think because I got that early leg up on MTV, I kind of became the brand name of parody songs. The Xerox are Kleenux if you will. Al’s last album was in twenty fourteen, Mandatory Fun. I remember the day that came out. I went for a run.

I remember listening to it. I could tell you exactly where I was when I was listening to Mandatory Fun way back in twenty fourteen. Since then, Al’s been focused on releasing singles. He said, if I were to do parodies, it’d be harder these days because we don’t have quite the monoculture we had in the eighties. And nineties where everybody was finally a tune MTV and radio stations and Top forty was still a thing.

Well, if you go see the Free Show on Saturday, I think we can get a hint of what it will look like. We’ll look at last Saturday Night’s Boston appearance of the Bigger and Weirder Tour. The guys from Boston dot Com. We’re there, they say, Balladeerian Clown Puddles Pity Party kicked off the evening by giving new energy to rock classics including Crazy Train. Al comes out and he opens with Tacky.

Let’s take a look at the setlist. Tacky mission statement, that’s a deep cut. If you know you’re out, that’s a good one. Poke Mania, everything you know is wrong? One more minute smells like Nirvana.

Dear to be Stupid than at Medley Party in the CIA, It’s all about the Pentems, Bedrock, anthem, my Bologna, Ricky O to a Superhero, I love Rocky Road, Eat it like Assurgeon, word crimes and Canadian Idiot. Then onto fat full version. It’s my world and we’re all living in it. Captain Underpants theme song. Now you Know Happy Together, a cover of the Turtle song not a parody.

Puddles Pity Party came out to sing the other half of the duet, Skipper Dan eBay stop forwarding that crap to me, White and nerdy and amish Paradise Nice fish Al then pretended to leave and then came back out because there was an encore. We all have cell phones. The saga begins, and Yoda Boston dot Com said it was weird and it was great on Saturdays during the summer, I’m doing these deep dives. Tomorrows will be about the Joe Rogan experience, and because of that, we’ll do two days of the Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival schedule. On Friday night, it’s the JFL Awards.

Chris Fleming will receive the Comedy Performance of the Year award, otsgo At Cotska receives the Breakout Comedy Star of the Year, Lisa Gilroy will be honored as the Rising Comedy Star of the Year, and Gabe Iglesias will receive the Generation Award. That’s at three thirty in the afternoon, which gives you plenty of time to make it to the Mike berbigli A gala at six thirty Sultan Cosas plays at seven. All right, we’ve got a real lineup tonight, British at seven, Ashley Gavin at seven, The New Faces do a second show at seven, Jacqueline Novak at nine to thirty, otsgo at Cosco has a gala at nine thirty, and then midnight Surprise at eleven fifty nine. That’s more in line with what we’ve seen in the past. Saturday’s lineup the Jerry d Gala at six thirty, Dan SODA’s at Club Soda at seven, Tiffany Haddish at Friends at eight o’clock.

Oh yeah, weird Al nine o’clock at the Place Day Festivals. I know that place well. You find yourself at the Place To Festivals quite often if you’re at the Montreal Comedy Festival at nine thirty these the Gabe Iglesias galap but you would of course be at Weird Al. Dan Soda does a second show at nine thirty, New Faces does a show at nine thirty and then again midnight Surprise. Comedy stock marketine.

Thank you Bert Reynolds. If you were new to this. The comedy stock market works like the real stock market. You try and buy low and sell high. We try to find value here and make some hypothetical money on the comedians.

I got a whole bunch of buys that once four by six, eh buys no cells. Johnny Mac, you’re in a good mood. Hey, I’m sitting by the pool watching neighbor Scott clear up the branches from that recent storm, a terrible storm. All right, we’re gonna buy Marcelo Hernandez. John what you killed Marcelo Hernandez all week long?

And now we’re buying Marcelo Hernandez. Yeah, just if everybody else is gonna make this guy the next Adam Sandler, I’m not gonna fight it. You guys are all stupid. He’s not funny, he is good looking, he does one thing well. But let’s buy some Mare Solo Hernandez.

I mean, this is all about making money. Sure, we’ll buy Marcelo Hernandez. Let’s also buy some Ben Marshall. I’d like that Cosmo preview I just read to you, and you know, maybe he breaks out a little bit standing next to Kevin Hard Marcello Hernandez, and people go, who’s that. Oh, yeah, that’s the guy from Please Don’t Destroy.

I could see Ben Marshall stepping up in class here. Let’s buy Shane Gillis. It’s kind of like buying stock and apple. You look at it and you go, it’s so absurdly high. How can it go up?

And it keeps going up and up and up. So even though Shane Gillis is really high value, I’m buying in just no stopping this guy right now. And he’s very funny. Let’s also buy Kevin Hart. Kevin Hart likes to make money.

He’s everywhere, he’s got a new movie. Everything he does is pretty popular. Let’s buy some Kevin Hart. All right, some names that might be off your radar. We’re gonna buy Katherine Blandford.

Who’s that? Just a comedian whose name you should know, Catherine Blandford. This is what we do here. Trust me. We’re buying very low on Catherine.

Keep an eye on her. We’re going to buy Mo Gilligan. He’s got that Netflix documentary Big Chicken coming out on August fifth. It’s basically supersized me but Chicken. But here’s the thing.

And I can tell you this because I teach college classes. This younger generation, you know, like you and me, we knew all the old stuff, like even if we didn’t, like ever see a Humphrey Bogart film, we kind of sort of knew who Bogart was, maybe because Bugs Bunny parodied him, but we kind of knew about stuff. And if you grew up in the seventies, he grew up on black and white TV shows from the late fifties and the sixties, so you knew the stuff that came before. These kids today, unless it was on TikTok five minutes ago, they don’t know what it is. So they’re gonna watch Big Chicken.

It’d be like, oh wow, this guy ate one thing for a month, and us oldies are gonna go, Yeah, Morgan Spurlock did that and supersize me in two thousand and four, but these kids did don’t know anything from two thousand and four. Forget it. So we’ll buy some Mo Gilligan. We’re gonna buy Rory Scovell. Why John, I’ll tell you a second.

Let me finish the news, and we’re gonna buy Whitmer Thomas, Why John, same note, Let me finish the news and I’ll tell you why.

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All right, So here’s who we’re buying.

Marcelo Hernandez, Ben Marshall Kevin Hart, Shane Gillis, Katherine Blanford, Mogillian, Rory Scovell, and Whitmert Thomas. That is the comedy stock market for this week. Tomorrow on this program will deep dive on the Joe Rogan Experience, how it came to be and how it is so popular. Saturdays this summer, I’ve been doing these deep dives so I can actually hang out in the pool. You can record pool side.

You can’t record pool in you know what I’m saying. And I gotta tell you what today’s show. I came out. I wrote a bunch of scripts and I was like, all right, I’ll record pool Side today, record a bunch of these.

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And then the guys who come and do the gutters came and you know, they had lad…

As much it’s fun to record with cicadas and planes and Scott the neighbor, you can’t record with all that. So I had to go back inside.

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And now my wife texted me and she’s almost going to be home, so I’m only goin…

It is tough being a podcaster. I’ll tell you that, all right, why are we buying Rory Scovell. He’s going to have a new Netflix special. It’s called Show Must Go on Tuesday, August eleventh. It is his first new hour on Netflix since twenty seventeen’s Rory Scovell Tries Stand Up for the first time.

It was shot at the Neptune in Seattle, Washington. We don’t know what it’s about yet. Interestingly enough, we will buy Whitmer Thomas because he’s getting an HBO special. They keep dipping into the weird for what they’re doing. At least it’s a brand unless you know, except for the Mark Meron, everything else has been like weird and quirky except Mark Marin.

I don’t know why Mark Maron was on HBO other than he’s great. It was a great special. Now you might be like, who’s Whitmer Thomas now? Johnny Mac of course knew who Whitmer Thomas is, but you know, just for your sake, I looked it up just to explain to you who Whitmer Thomas is. I of course knew that he’s best known for his voice on stone Quackers, the FXX animated comedy series from twenty fourteen.

Of course I knew that, and his work with the LA based comedy True Power Violence and who can forget his HBO special from February twenty second, twenty twenty, The Golden One. Yeah, I mean yes, Well, he’s got a new special coming out on HBO. It is called Terminal Crew of Dudes. It’s an hour filled with original songs, home videos, and heartfelt memories. Whitmer Thomas says in the trailer.

When I was a little kid, I wanted to get bit by a radioactive hillbilly so that I’d become Forrest Gump. One day, he’s joined by his bandmates and they sing funny songs about chaotic adolescents, skateboarding, sales, and ruining a Benny Hannah birthday party. Whitmer Thomas, Terminal Crew of Dudes, HBO, August fourth, nine pm. So that’s why we’re buying him, because no one knows who that is. Yet we buy low and we sell high.

I did watch the Bill maher Thing on Netflix. Well, by by watch, I mean hit play, and went, oh my god, I can’t take any more of Whitney coming skip skip skip skip skip is Jay Leno on yet oh wait, here’s Louis C.K. And Louis K wasn’t funny. Skip skip skip hips kIPS hip skip. Oh here’s Jay Leno.

Ja’ll be good and Jay was all right. Jay’s gotten really old, by the way, like really old. So I balled on that.

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Speaking of unwatchable shows, Leslie Jones has her HGTV show Roast My Rental…

Leslie Jones tours some of America’s most outrageous short term rentals, roasting every questionable design choice before flipping the properties from sham to glam. Leslie says, we actually say what people have been thinking. We point out the smells and the tiles. We’re helping people. It’s funny as hell.

They did give a list of her favorite HGTV shows, but I think that’s getting bumped to Monday’s podcast because my wife’s going to be home soon and Scott the neighbor needs to clean his lawn. Wait. I had one more thing for you. It is Brian Bates has a new special out today on mega comedian Aperghatzy’s Nate Land Entertainment YouTube channel. That’s right filmed it Zenie’s in Nashville.

Brian Bates puts a lifetime of overthinking awkward encounters and people pleasing toward reflection on getting married and becoming a first time father later in life. From surviving dating apps and raising a four year old in his fifties to sleep apnea, body training emergencies, expensive dog therapy, and the financial trauma of removing a tree, he proves there is no situation too ordinary to worry about. Brian Bates Worried is produced by mega comedian Aateperghatzy’s nate Land Entertainment. The same people who for some reason are building an amusement park, and that is your comedy news in April side not the cleanest episode I ever did, but you know, hey, all right somewhere out Joe Rogan Sunday normal episode. See you

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Featured: Marcello Hernandez, Kevin Hart, Al Roker, Chanelle Jones, Seth Meyers, Whitney Cummings, Joel Kim Booster, Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke

What’s in This Episode

• Marcello Hernandez’s Kevin Hart impression on the Today Show
• Kevin Hart and Marcello Hernandez promote ’72 Hours’ Netflix movie
• Marcello Hernandez appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers
• Netflix cuts Whitney Cummings joke from Mark Twain Prize TV special
• Joel Kim Booster leaving Scrubs revival after 9 episodes
• Scrubs revival season 2 casting updates and guest stars

Questions Answered in This Episode

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Full Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and may contain spelling and/or transcription errors.

Caloroga Shark Media. Let me know if you found my headphones. I must have left him outside when I recorded yesterday. I’m using my old broken pair. Hi.

I’m Johnny Mac with your Daily Comedy News. Mar Solo Hernandez is everywhere. He’s out promoting seventy two Hours. That’s the exciting movie that’ll be out on Netflix tomorrow where Kevin Hart, who’s forty seven years old, plays a forty eight year old guy. They appeared on the Today Show together, and eventually Marcelo, we’ll get around to where he’s making fun of Kevin Hort liking to work and make money.

Here is the clips, the. First time we work. It’s the first time we worked to How is it? How would you describe it is? Uh?

Do you want to see it? Yeah? Sure, I show you? No, don’t. Yeah, this is what is Kevin Hart.

I’ve told a few people this, but I’ll tell you so tell us. Let’s say pretend like we’re on set, right. Am I Kevin? No, you’re me? Okay, I’m Kevin.

You’re me? Hey? Yeah, okay, I don’t know. I don’t know what I was Okay, okay, Kevin, Okay, all right, that’s okay, okay, let’s do this. I’m you’re mean, you’re trying to get some advice from you know, Kevin Hart.

Yes, already, already three to one action. I’m sorry. I just add. The thing is that I got a little Yeah, just give me a moment. They got to bring the money up.

Money’s got to be up, and they want me to do that. Listen, I’m good, I’m good. But he’s going to cost I’m good, I know what I’m doing. Yeah, I’ll be there for a price. Here’s a zero.

Is he lying, Kevin? Listen, this is ridiculous. By the way, he got the AirPod behind him. He got it behind the thing just in case, just cause of Jesus CEO calls and it’s like, we want Kevin to be the face of fruit loops. He’s only like, of course, this is the fruitiest loop in the world.

I’m Kevin Hart. Hello world, I’ll have him, y’all have him. Wait, come in the morning and pick me up. Let me pick you up with the loop that smiles back. Get that’s a lot of laughing over there out A currently al roker the Today Show lady whose name is Chanelle Jones, I was unfamiliar with her work until this clip, and Kevin Hart himself found that quite funny.

I guess the fruit loop shoke wasn’t too bad. I have a second clip, I know, right, yeah, And the second clip, Marcello makes fun of Kevin’s outfit. Why don’t you ever wear socks? How about we talking about that? Because I’m Dominican.

This morning is a perfect example, because Kevin is waking up in the morning going which shirt should I wear it? Should I wear a normal shirt like a human being? Or should I put on this weird, rusty silver combo. It looks like I’m golfing, but also I’m the matrix D casual. I think it’s a very casual.

Why don’t you ever wear socks? How about we talking about that? Because I’m Dominicans Dominican, I can’t I need to wear socks. I’m hot hot, I’m. Hot mor solo than did Late Night with Seth Myers make twelve thirty great again?

I mean, if we combine Seth Myers and Marcelo Hernandez, how could this clip not be funny? I’ll show you how cannot be funny. Kevin Hart Man I got to work with him and it’s so great. It’s he’s a here’s one of the thing. And he plays an older gentleman, as we can tell from the clip, who’s on a bachel party weekend with you guys?

Yes, and do you feel like in real life? I mean, Kevin’s cool dude, right. Yes, he’s a cool dude. He’s definitely think about it. The movie is about an older guy that’s trying to keep up with younger people.

Yeah, you actually brought a few Instagram photos? I did, I did. I brought something because I want you guys to look at these photos and not tell me that Kevin is perfect for this role. He’s a very handsome photo of him. I mean, come on, guys, he’s fifty years old.

Doesn’t this doesn’t this photo? Just say like, hey, let make sure you get this on me real good, let me let me let me post this on the Instagram. And by the way, the hashtag his caption is duck hid. If you’re older forty calling yourself duck hid. Yeah, I mean this is this is give your son the phone and be like.

Let me let me get you. Let me get me. Did you get it? Did? You can’t make sure you get the boots in it.

Caption says little swag hashtag duck kid. Right, he’s still using hashtagh. Are you, Marcella? Are you telling me the kids are not using the hashtag? So this is nice.

He just kind of cut candid moment in the elevator. Yeah, I love that. This is his new pose is the hands? Look, this is his pose. By the way, Marcella was not wearing socks in that clip.

Marcelo is a nice looking guy and the Illuminati wants you to like him. So there was a little kerf fluffle and I pronounced it that way because it was brought to my attention that I’ve been saying it wrong and it’s apparently kerfuffle no way. Yeah, Mary brought it to my attention that I’ve been saying kerf fluffle, which is incorrect, for seven years now, and nobody told me until New Well, thank you Mary for pointing it out. The problem is, kerfuffle doesn’t sound right to me, and I’m going to keep saying kurf fluffle to be defiant and stupid. So what is the kerfluffle?

Johnny Mac? Well, perhaps, possibly, maybe, but it doesn’t sound like they did. Netflix cuts some Whitney Cummings jokes from the Mark Twain Prize TV special. There here’s Whitney Cummings talking about the special. The Mark Twain Prize, which we talked about last time.

Uh whatever. When I got back, not only did I have to cut a joke in rehearsal, then the joke I did, I ended on Donald Trump. Couldn’t make it tonight. He got caught in sex traffic. It stayed in and then they said we would like to cut it out.

And I’m gonna be very careful with how I say this, because the people at the venue have been amazing. They don’t want to silence anyone. It is. True that their boss is Donald Trump. So they did their job.

I was presented with a tricky conundrum. I just don’t know if I did the right thing or not. They said it was very clear to me that they would lose their jobs. This is for the broadcast. This is for broadcasts.

The joke was already leaked by someone that was in the audience, journalists or something. It was already in People magazine and Daily but it was already out out there. But then they said we need to cut it from the broadcast. We’ll thirty out there who cares now like he will sue you, which is like, I don’t buy it. I don’t buy it.

Number one, number two he might. Netflix then denied that they decided to remove a joke about the president of the United States they threw the unrenamed Kennedy Center under the bus, saying the decision rested with those guys. A Netflix spokesperson told Puck News. While it’s our preference not to cut jokes from anyone set, the newly unrenamed Kennedy Center has the contractual right to do so. Whitney Cummings on Twitter added, I was super clear that Netflix did not cut anything from my Mark Twain price set.

Netflix always supports comedy and comics. Quit spreading rumors, you weirdos. We got an update on the Scrubs revival. Now, shockingly, Joel Kim Booster is leaving the show. So what was the point We made nine episodes Joel Kim Booster was in like five of them, and now he’s gone.

What was the the point of the character of doctor Kevin Park then, Plus, now there’s no antagonist. Ava Bon, who played doctor Sam Tosh in season one of the reboot, has been up to series regular status for the second season. Interesting. She must have the right agent. The rest of you interns step it up, get some better reps.

Of course. Zach Braf, Donald Faizon, and Sarah Chalk are all returning once again. I mean, if they don’t ride this thing for fifty years, they’re fools. Returning and recurring guest star roles include Neil Flynn the former Janitor, John C. McGinley, doctor Cox, Judy Reyes as Korla, and Robert Machio as the todd Christer.

Miller will also again guest star.

Also appearing in recurring roles Vanessa Bear as the annoying new character,…

I don’t have to tell you who they play on the show, you know, I have no idea. I guess those are the interns and the sassy nurses. I don’t know who they are. Season two Slash eleven, JD. Turk and Elliott have leveled up from interns to iconscred Heart now the respect to doctors inspire the next generation while balancing the ups and downs of working at a hospital.

Uh, could you get me any specifics whatsoever? Gee? Thanks for that description. Together with characters new and old, they’re navigating this next chapter with laughter, heart and some surprises along the way. Let’s head an up to Montreal for jfl at six thirty Jerry Seinfeld live, exciting.

I saw they were all excited. They’re like, dude, to popular demand, We’ve released an additional two hundred and thirty two tickets. Like, I don’t know what that is. Probably they put the stage up and went, oh yeah, somebody could sit here. Brich Ish at seven, Chris Fleming at seven o’clock.

Now, now this is interesting. Had I gone and I did not, and you asked me, do you want to go see Jerry or Chris Fleming? I would pick Chris Fleming. Welcome to Comedy twenty twenty six, Joel Kim Booster. He’s not even on scrubs.

He’s there at seven as well. New Faces of Comedy Characters at Club Soda at seven, Ron Funches at nine thirty second, Jerry at nine thirty second, Chris Fleming at nine thirty. Okay, John, you should have read ahead. You could have seen both and Midnight’s surprise at eleven to fifty nine. Again, this feels thinner than previous years.

Again, this is the reconstituted festival, but this just doesn’t feel as big as it has in the past. I definitely feel like there are fewer shows that said I’m glad the festival is back, rather than not existing at all. On the eight hundred pound Gorilla Plus channel today, Rhys Darby’s twenty five years is out. The Telegraph fired some shots in the direction of Sasha Baron Cohen. He’s been doing ali g lately, they wrote of the recent clips.

At least it was amusing. Even so, it feels humiliating Baron Cohen, who’s now in his fifties, So people in their fifties can be cool. I’m enjoying my mid fifties because I’m about to turn fifty seven, which he is late fifties. Get ready for that mental breakdown coming in a couple months. But as a guy in his mid fifties, I mean, Sasha Baron Cohen’s way cool, is he not?

Baron Cohen is essentially exhooming a character he drumped up in his twenties with the aim of wrenching a career that has noticeably faltered. What is he recording a podcast basement? His past decade has yielded more famine than feast, with few projects of note since twenty sixteen’s absurdly underappreciated Grimsby Grimsby exists? What’s Grimsby? Whatever it is?

It’s ten years ago. Grimsby. Let’s say Grimsby Grimsby is a twenty sixteen spy action black comedy film. Nabbi Butcher has been separated from his little brother Sebastian Butcher for twenty eight years. During their years apart, Nabbie became an alcoholic football hooligan who started a life with his partner Dawn, and there were eleven children in Grimsby, while Sebastian, now known as Sebastian Graves, has become one of I six’s top agents.

This exists. Let’s head on over to just watch and see if this is streaming, because you know, because soccer’s over now and I can actually watch things. I don’t recall this existing at all. Let’s see Grimsby. You can rent it four bucks on Amazon, four bucks on Apple, four bucks on fendango, and it’s free with ads on two B and It’s eighty three minutes long, so you know it’s good.

The Telegraph rights. But I can’t agree that this dry stretch means that Baron Cone has lost his mojo. Rather, it’s that the film and television industries have long since lost the nerve to let him deploy it. Can you imagine a young comedian swanning into Channel Four’s offices today and pitching them a sketch show based around a feckless middle class manchild from Surrey who pretends to be black? Maybe not, perhaps not, but Netflix would go for it.

Did you not see Tom Sigore’s bad thoughts? Anyway? They say? Does the character still work? All we have to go on for now is the stir of this new forty two second clip.

So happily, the answer appears to be yes. Is there a conclusion? James Tricky was performing his final set at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year when a fire alarm sparked the evacuation of the pleasant’s courtyard. He decided to continue his set on the street. However, one man who had not been originally part of the audience did not take too kindly to the performance.

Tricky explains there was a fire alarm. There was a feeling that the show must go on. It was the final night, so we carried on outside on the street, but someone passing by didn’t really gel with it. He was obviously not very happy with the fringe going on and his shout it over. I just thought when he came over that if we hashed it out and I explained the situation, it would be fine.

I’d already decided that point we would stop. It was quite late on a Sunday night, and we wanted to be respectful of the neighbors. However, the man took a punch at mister Tricky’s face, split my lip pretty dramatically, and my glasses came off. It looked very intense, I said, shock. I couldn’t believe what was happening.

He ran off. Tricky said the instant punch somehow turned into me interrogating the male relationships in my life, and it’s the basis of his new friende show love It. He said he would welcome his attacker attending the new show, adding I don’t even know if he remembers my name, but if he came, the script would have to go out, the window would sit down, would be more like a talk show panel thing and sad news. The Great’s Peter Less Sally, a producer who worked with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and with David Letterman and Craig Ferguson on their CBS shows, has passed away. Sally worked with Johnny until Johnny retired in nineteen ninety two.

Then he joined forces with David Letterman. Michael Natus worked with A Sally on Craig Ferguson’s Late Late Show as the showrunner. Michael said Peter had few loves in his life that lasted more than half a century, the first with his lovely wife, Alice, and the second with the world of talk television. Each of those love affairs was a two way street, quite literally. Hundreds of millions of people oh their late night smiles and laughs of this beautiful soul whose gift for finding extraordinary talent and honing it is unmatched and unrivaled.

An NBC spokesperson said, when Johnny Carson and David Letterman needed counsel in an honest opinion, they immediately went to Peter le Sally, the professor of Late Night. His relationship to each of these giants was immeasurable, and both of them would undoubtedly say his contribution to their success was so impactful it would be difficult to put into words. Peter Losali born in Hamburg, Germany, in nineteen thirty two, to a Jewish family that had to flee while there. Peterle Sally’s sister went to school with Anne Frank or on a Franca. My daughter was in the theater show where I learned that he was supposed to pronounce her name like that, but most people would just know her as and Frank.

Peter, his mother and sister were imprisoned in the Westerbork transit camp and later in a concentration camp. They survived the Holocaust and La Sally and his family moved to New York And Night eighteen forty seven. Wow. He joined The Tonight Show in the nineteen seventies, rising to executive producer. His final act in Late Night was identifying Craig Ferguson and transforming him into a talk show host.

Ferguson wrote on Instagram, Peter le Sally was the best boss I ever had. His kindness, generosity and skill were incredible. He taught me how to do a job. I was deeply unqualified for, and he changed my life beyond measure. I’ll always be grateful for what he did for me and my family.

Thank you, Peter. Peterle Sally was ninety three in That is your comedy news for today. I’ll see tomorrow

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Featured: Ricky Gerzais, Kat Williams, Marcelo Hernandez, Kevin Hart, Mike Epps, Dave Chappelle, Stephen Wright, Howie Mandel

What’s in This Episode

• Ricky Gervais on free speech and cancel culture
• Netflix comedy special viewership rankings for 2026
• Kevin Hart’s movie ‘Seventy Two Hours’ release
• The Office UK rewatch comparison
• Stephen Wright on his comedy writing process

Questions Answered in This Episode

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Full Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and may contain spelling and/or transcription errors.

Caloroga Shark Media. From Poolside with a cicadasm Johnny Mac with Your Daily Comedy News. Ricky Gervais did an interview with BBC two. He doubled down on his long held defensive free speech. Ricky said, I don’t tell people not to be offended.

I tell them I don’t care if they are be offended. If you want it makes it funnier for me. You can’t help by what you’re offended by, but don’t expect me to care. It’s a myth that I go out to offend. I never go out to offend.

I just know that it’s probably gonna happen because everyone’s different. There’s nothing you can say, particularly anything that’s mildly interesting or contentious at your viewpoint, that somebody’s somewhere won’t find offensive. And times have changed. Twenty years ago, if someone said I was offended by that, I probably would go why Now I go, I know you are everyone is, that’s funny. Ricky said, I’ve dealt with it too much.

Actually, I think the last couple of tours I’ve dealt with cancel culture and free speech because I felt like I had to. Now I don’t have to I’m ignoring it all. I shouldn’t even bring it into the room. Those people there have paid hundreds of pounds. They’re not offended.

I can play a million people, not one complaint. As soon as it goes on Netflix, fifty million people. Of course it’s gonna be someone who doesn’t like it. What am I gonna do? It’s too late, I’ve been paid.

I love how brigage just doesn’t care. I finished my rewatch of The Office UK again. There’s only fourteen episodes. It goes pretty quick, it is. It’s better than the American version.

You know, they’re different. You’re comparing one hundred something episodes to fourteen. But the David Brent character is so cringe, Like like Steve Krell’s Michael Scott, they quickly softened and you know, you could see yourself actually hanging out with Michael Scott. But the David Brent character is so cringe. There were times where I was talking back to the TV like, oh my goodness, like it’s it’s unbelievable.

If you haven’t watched The UK Office in a while, it’s on Hulu, go back and watch it. Especially. You know, if I say The Office, you picture Michael Jim and Pam. But go back to the original. It’s really good.

I do have to scold the audience today. May now, maybe not you particular listener who I’m in your ears right now because you are smart, but just in general, I have to scold everybody. What are you people doing? Netflix released the top comedy specials for the first half of twenty twenty six. These are the ones that are the most watched.

Now. The top special for people with brains was Kat Williams the last Report that got eleven point three million views. So good job there, But that’s not why I’m here to scold you. You know what’s number two? Marcelo Hernandez American Boy.

You’re watching Marcelo Hernandez attempt to do stand up comedy. He does one thing. Marcelo Hernandez American Boy premiere January seventh, and got nine point two million views. Now, hopefully I’ll give you the benefit of doubt here. Netflix might count anything is few.

Hopefully. What they accounted here was he watched four seconds of it and went, oh my god, this is unbelievably unfunny, and he had stopped and they were like, nope, that’s a view. Hopefully, that’s what happened. Hopefully you listen to this podcast and you’re like, how unfunny could Marcelo Hernandez be this guy? Johnny Mac goes on and on about it.

I got to see how unfunny this is, and you watched three seconds of it, you were like, oh, yeah, Johnny Mac is right, this is horribly unfunny. You have to dance or you have to find a new family. That’s the rule. I had to dance ever since I was a kid. I had to dance.

That’s how I had to enter my house. If people came to my house, my mom would be like, Marcello, and I’m six years old and I have to leave my room like this, and I’m like, Mommy, I don’t want to dance, and my mom is like yeah, and I didn’t want to escape Cuba, so dance, okay. I’m sorry. I don’t know what that’s like. I’m sorry, and I would think that I’m doing a good job, and then out of nowhere, my mom would be like, no, Marcello, not like that.

Do what I taught you. And I’m like, mommy, please. Don’t make me get nasty. So it’s got to be that right, like, you watched like that much and you’re like, oh my god, this is not funny at all. I have to hit stop on this.

But Netflix was like, nope, gotcha, that’s a play, all right. So I apologize, listener, I see what happened there. You sampled it because you couldn’t believe how horrible it was, and then you watched it and you’re like, Johnny Mac is right, Okay. I apologize. I shouldn’t have taken a shot at you.

Sorry about that. I’m very sensitive about these things. I’m here to promote good comedy. We’ll be hearing a lot about Marcelo Hernandez in the next few weeks because he’s part of the Kevin Hart movie Want’s That Thing Out Again? Seventy two hours is out July twenty fourth, that’s two days from now.

To save his career, a forty year old executive, Kevin Hart is playing a forty year old dude. Just own it. You look good, Kevin, but you’re forty seven. You’re not forty. Like I’m fifty six.

I’m gonna be fifty seven. I’m not fifty. I wish I was fifty. I wish I were forty. I like to pretend I’m young, but I’m not forty.

You’re not forty. I’m not fifty, You’re not forty. To save his career, a forty year old played by a forty seven year old Kevin Hart joins a crew of twenty somethings for a wild Miami bachelor party after they mistakenly add him to a group chat. Marcelo Hernandez, one of those wild Miami twenty year olds. The dude is good looking.

I just feel like the illuminati decided, you know what, let’s make Marcello Hernandez a star, and they’re not gonna stop now. While I was looking that up, I saw that Netflix is saying that Kevin Hart’s Funny af got forty one point eight million views in its first season. That is a great number. Mike EPP’s special Delusional third six point six million views. I thought Dylan and the Facebook group was the only person who watched that one.

Ricky gervais Is late twenty twenty five hour Mortality has pulled six point four million views since the beginning of the year. Dave Chappelle’s The Unstoppable four point eight million. Again, that was left over from December. Lest do you think Chappelle had a bad number. He topped the chart for July to December of twenty twenty five with fourteen million views.

This is funny. Okay, I’m gonna specifically call out one of the listeners to the show. You know who you are. You just texted me right now and you are listening to your take on Sunday’s Pot about Marcello or Hernandez Savage. I am writing you back.

We are time traveling and I’m writing him back saying I’m killing Marcelo right now. And just read your text on the show. Hilarious. Okay, So for all the people I scolded, not you, sir, you know who you are. I’m not gonna say it is private text.

You’re reading the private text on the air anyway, John, I know. Wait, and the same person is saying I’m wrong about my take about reclining on airplanes. No, I’m not. There’s no reason to recline. The seat is perfectly fine.

You recline now. I have about half an inch from my laptop, which forces me to recline, and now we’re all reclining. They need to disable that button and everyone just sit comfortably. It’s fine. What they need to do is improve the headrests.

Never mind the reclining nonsense. All right, so this guy’s one for two. He’s right about marcell Ernan as he’s wrong about reclining. I, of course am right about everything. Stephen right back in the spotlight.

Stephen right now seventy years old, which makes sense because he’s been around since the eighties and forty years went by. None of us are getting any younger. Stephen Wright was on Howie Mendel’s podcast, Howie Mendel Does Stuff. Stephen talked about his writing process. He says, I go on the road and write more stuff.

I don’t think things like that’s what I should do. I’ve never had a plan about it. It all just happened. Tim Dillon has some thoughts about politics. Let’s listen.

They’re in the White House. They have the Congress, they have the Senate, they have the Supreme Court. It is them. It is now them. I don’t want to hear about the deep state anymore.

You’re playing me for a fool. You’re playing everyone for a fool. I’m sick of hearing about this deep state. All of these people. You have to be one of the stupidest people in the world to fall for this at this point, this is you are peddling the dumbest most like by the way, I hate to use this word, but cringe.

It’s literally cringe. You watch this and you go I feel so. Disgusted by the fact that they think people are still gonna believe this. Send your letters to Tim Dillon. Ryan Hamilton was on WRIF Radio with a very DJ sounding DJ.

The DJ asked Ryan about the comparisons to Jerry Seinfeld, and I think if you listen to this clip, you’ll hear it in Ryan Hamilton’s speech pattern. It’s not at all an absurd notion. It’s definitely there in the speech pattern of Ryan Hamilton here on WRIF radio. I’ve been compared to him my whole career. I think maybe people here in my voice a little bit his tenor and a little bit of my natural rhythm, yeah, the way I talk.

So I’ve been compared to him my whole career really in a way. But starting out, no, I was trying to be It’s interesting you find your path. I mean, I grew up with his show. I revered him, I watched the show, I saw his lifestyle in New York and his comedic mind. I always but I was trying to be in the very beginning more absurdist one liner like Mitch Hedberg was a really heavy influence to me.

I would watch him when I first started on Letterman, and he was one of the first live shows that I ever saw, Mitch Hedberg, and I just thought, I love the way his mind thinks. And I was trying to be that because when you first start, you don’t know what you’re doing, and you experiment with something and it’s almost like your essence and your voice is decided for you. You don’t really decide it as much. So I started there and eventually I became in this place where I am and I’m always evolving. Kelsey Cook getting a Netflix special.

It’s called Happy Hour. It’ll be out Tuesday, August eighteenth. In Happy Hour, Kelsey Cook explores anxiety, relives a plain bathroom nightmare, and breaks down dating and a literal chad filmed at the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with Eric Abrams directing. Cook’s most recent special, Mark Your Territory, was released on both Hulu and YouTube and made the top fifteen most stream specials for twenty twenty five. That special has been streamed over one point six million times on YouTube.

As for the Hula number, asked the Hulu publicist in Montreal tonight, it is New Faces. Now. I usually go, and I kinda I feel guilty that I’m not going this year. When they first announced festival, I reached out to the people. I was like, oh, I gotta go, and they’re like, yeah, I get back to us a little closer, and then it got a little close, and I was like, I don’t know, I don’t feel like going, and I don’t know why I don’t feel like going this year.

I just don’t feel like going. I haven’t looked at the list yet. We will do that together right now. Deadline has spotlighted Englishman Read Richardson, who made their list of the Comics to keep an Eye on in twenty twenty six, and Mario Adriann, a German American comic spotlighted in their Comedy Means Business newsletter. Since its inception in nineteen ninety four, New Faces has been regarded as premier launch pad.

It has launched the careers of people like Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, who loves when we talk about her, Colin Joe Stali Wong, Gerrod Carmichael, Jack Whitehall, of course, friend of the show, Gianmarco Soresi. Nick Berzo is the VP of Programming and Talent, and he said this year’s performers are sharp, original, and hilarious, I hope, so we’re proud to offer this platform. Blah blah blah. Okay, new faces stand ups. These are new faces, so don’t be surprised if neither you nor I know the names yet.

Ainsley Baily, Aylon Ellion, Andrew Packer, Carolina Montesquie, Chris Renoir, Christine Mariani, David Drake, Elijah Nevills, Ellie Orlando, Elouise f Dos. She’s been around, Estebund Gast, Fiona Couley, Freddie Chanell, Gary Simons, Gus Tate, Hannah Veldowen Hassan, Phil’s Helen Bauer, Jack Hirshfield, Jackson Banks, Joe Maurice, Joey Dardano, Jonas, Joseph, Kenny Lee, Mario, Adrion, Mark Thompson, Mitchell Doren, Nicky, Paris Peyton, Ruddy Red Richardson, and Tessa Bell. Good luck to all of those folks, Your new Faces Characters. That’s a fun show as well, Annie Sullivan, Caitlin Freen, Claire McConnell, George c Owens, Jesse Kendall, John Blair, Russell Daniels and Tijonda Again great show if you’re up that way. I don’t know.

I just didn’t feel I can’t explain it because I usually am like all up to go, and I just didn’t feel like going this year. All right. Tonight in Montreal at the Comedy Festival. Some of the shows include Jordan Jensen at seven o’clock, British at seven, French New Faces at seven, English New Faces at seven at Club Soda, Timmy No Breaks at Ley Studio seven o’clock, and Midnight Surprise at eleven fifty nine pm. Now, why is Midnight Surprise at eleven fifty nine pm?

Johnny Mac? Because when you schedule a show at twelve and you write am, people get confused and think that’s noon, and it gets very confusing. So that’s why you just schedule things at eleven fifty nine. You’ll notice planes that do the same things. Otherwise people get confused.

That’s actually a pretty light Wednesday. So if I were up there tonight, I would hit the New Faces one and two at seven and nine thirty, but they’ll eventually post them online and we will cover it then. Chris rock is heading to Canada. He’ll be at the Toronto Film Festival. He is the director of hal Misty Green, about a talented actress whose career has been stifled by her vices, also at the Toronto Film Festival.

I Play Rocky? Did you see the trailer if I Play Rocky? Stop listening to me right now and go watch the trailer for I Play Rocky. This guy that they got playing Sylvester Stallone is uncanny. Like now, I want to make Rocky Zero, which I’ve wanted to make for fifty years.

So what’s Rocky zero? Johnny Mac Well, it would take place in early nineteen seventy five, and it would follow a guy who collects debts for the local mob boss. The debt collector is also a part time boxer, so it’d be a prequel to Rocky. Rocky Zero, you’ll watch People in Mobile, Alabama are all upset that the first entertainment act announced for their new arena is comedian Matt Matthews. Matt rose to social media fame with a series of videos about life on his farm he shares with his husband.

The videos offer feature him yelling at form animals while wearing a bathrobe. After earning millions of followers on TikTok yelling at farm animals and at bathrobe, at least on poolside today, I’m not in a basement. At least I’m sitting by a pool. I’ve got some money. Matt Matthews made the jump to stand up in twenty twenty TiO and now the Not What I Ordered World Tour will be at the Mobile Arena.

Some people on Facebook wrote who. Somebody else wrote never heard of him? Others said it didn’t look the most family friendly thing. What do you want? Then book Maga comedian Aprigazzy.

Then Matt Matthews post that it’s been brought to my attention that some people in Mobile aren’t too happy with Is it mobile or mobile? Wait? I’m looking this up. Some people say mobile, some people say it’s mobile. Now you’re all going to be mad at me.

I don’t know. I’m from New York City. I’m just gonna say Alabama. Matt Matthews posted, it’s been brought to my attention that some people in Alabama aren’t too happy that I was the first artist announced for the new Region’s arena. Well stay mad, because I can’t wait to bring all this gay and raunchy comedy straight to your city.

The good news is, since I’m apparently such a nobody who won’t sell it out, there should be plenty of parking. See you there. He then posted a thank you to his supporters, saying I joke a lot, but this one is real. Thank you Alabama. You all have already pushed the show at Region’s Arena too, over half sold before the general public on sale even starts.

Thank you doesn’t even begin to cover it. Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, I never imagined my life would look anything like this. I started out making videos and telling jokes online, and now I’m getting the opportunity to perform for people not just across the US, but in Australia, New Zealand, the UK. Blah blah blah, I meaning Connor Ratliffe is on Blue Sky. He is currently presenting one Roadrunner cartoon.

Each day, he posts a link to the full cartoon, then post the cartoon again in segments with his oral commentary. Connor Ratcliffe says many people think the Roadrunner cartoons are repetitive, but he maintains that watching them in the order they were made as movie audiences would have in the nineteen fifties reveals that the gags and tropes actually satisfyingly build on each other.

Meanwhile, there’s a new trailer for Daffy Season, a soccer theme short.

You might have wanted to release the actual short during the World Cup, but nope, they decided to wait until November. It’ll be attached to the new CGI Cat in a Hat movie. It will not be attached to the Coyote Versus ACME movie coming out in August. Why John, Because remember that they were they made that and then like Warner decided we’re not releasing it. It off and now it’s being released via Ketchup Entertainment.

So Wrights Lawyer is something something something. Anyway, we’ll get a Daffy Duck short five months after the World Cup ends. There is a trailer. Let’s listen, boy, you I watch Soccer Season’s supposed to. Be Dug cleven Socker Season, Duck Cleveland Soccer season, Watch up Black.

Walk Em Molly. It’s just the offense on Now we’re talking all, that’s the way to play. Time to pull the plug on this so called soccer. Cleeven And that is your pool side comedy news for today. Have an awesome day.

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