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Caloroga Shark Media Hire. There, I’m Johnny Mack with your Daily Comedy News, daily briefing on stand up comedy, comedians and the comedy industry. A sentence the algorithm loves. The Netflix is a joke comedy festival kicks off in Los Angeles. The LA Times has a lot of coverage of it, and in the La Times, Nate Jackson writes, the LA comedy scene has never been just one thing.
Sure, we’re home to some of the best comedy clubs and comedians of the world, legendary improv troops. We’ve got them, podcasts at Center, We’re drowning in them. When it comes to variety shows, drag brunches and clowns, Our Town is top tier. Yet still at some point even the most omnivorous comedy fan can hit a wall when it comes to looking for new things in this city to laugh about. Thankfully, every other year for the last six years, the Netflix is a Joke Festival and Jack’s LA with a large doseph discovery.
Tracy Pacosta is Netflix is head of comedy until the La Times being able to put groups of people together or talent that’s doing this for so long, I think that’s what makes the festival great. The change this year is the festival is one week, not two weeks. It’ll go through Sunday. Eliza Schlessinger said, we have so many opportunities for comics to showcase themselves, and we have such unique voices here in LA and there’s such diversity. It’s a chance to see all your favorite comics in one place and then about five hundred other comics.
It might not be great for your brick pads or your traffic time, but there’s a lot going on. Sheng Wang till the La Times. There’s a lot of smaller shows around town that are also listed as part of the festival. I like doing those rooms to just practice and get reps. But it’s cool that they’re partnering with the festival so they can kind of build a profile for themselves.
Let’s go at Cotska called the festival comedy Coachellaunge said, for me, it was the alt rooms that helped me grow because you know, everyone has different energies and backgrounds and backstories. I’m not someone that could start at a comedy club. My personality doesn’t allow for it. The seven day festival has three hundred and fifty shows. Tracy Pocosta from Netflix said, I think it sort of goes back to wanting to be in business with incredibly talented people, and a lot of comics were talking about Louis C.K.
And what he was putting out recently. In order to make sure that we have the best and most variety on service, having him perform at the festival and then ultimately launching a special on Netflix, it gives members the opportunity to see if they want to. When we’re getting the talent we’re working with that, we have a lot of respect for how great he is and how he’s doing this. Again, it’s like, Okay, we want to be able to give people the choice to see it. I’m not going to editorialize here, but I suspect some people will have some commentary on Tracy’s comment.
Case you, I don’t know what I’m talking about. Google, Louis C.K. Canceled. We learn here that otsgo at Kontska plans to shoot her next special in LA later this year. I saw that show a month ago already, that show’s ready to go.
It’s very strong. Eliza Slessinger said. Comedy wanees and it waxes and right now. It’s just everywhere. People you’ve never heard of are micro famous.
They’ve got a billion followers, they make a jillion dollars. You’ve never heard of them. And the festival is great because it keeps growing, so there’s more opportunities for that audience to find you. Some of the shows the La Times is excited about. They have a whole list.
I’ll pick at it day by day, but they’re excited. Tonight at seven pm, Ralph Barbosa, who they remind us, garnered viral fame by being distant, then apologized to by George Lopez, who didn’t know who he was at the time. We are told Barbosa heads to the Orpheum with a newfound spark of energy and attitude on stage, adding some spice to his naturally laid back style. The Al Times also suggests you had to Dynasty Typewriter at nine thirty tonight. Mike Ward might not be a household name in La yet, but he is widely respected in the comedy world for pushing boundaries.
Known for dork, irreverent and unfiltered stand up. His joke related legal case reached the Supreme Court in Canada, which ruled in his favor in twenty twenty one. I remember that The Only Times also suggests that the Comedy Store at eight o’clock in the belly room, it’s Timmy no breaks. You may know Timmy from kil Tony. If not, think confident, unpredictable and hilarious improv at its finest.
We are told his signature line boom Roasted, turns a typical one minute set on Kiltny into a full night of NonStop energy. I think that’s also my son’s cat. I wonder if they’re the same person. Godfrey is at the Ice House at nine forty five. Let’s take a look at the Johnny Mack version of the list.
Have got the schedule up here, and they have things in chronological order, which is my favorite type of schedule to have people post. Other comedy festivals please take note of this. Let’s see what we’ve got going on tonight. Shane Gillison Friends at the Hollywood Bowl eight o’clock. That seems like a big deal.
Tell you though, as I recorded this sentence around twelve forty five pm on Friday afternoon, plenty of tickets available for Shane Gillis and Friends at the Hollywood Bowl. You could get in for fifty nine to thirty plus fees, kind of surprising six o’clock at the Saban Theater. It’s Rushmore with special guests Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. One of the shows I wanted to go see and one of the few shows on the website that actually says sold out is Kunk in Conversation with Diane Morgan and Charlie Brooker. That would have been one of the shows that would have gotten me to go out there.
And as I mentioned earlier on the podcast and not earlier today in a different episode, the issue there was some of the stuff I wanted to see was like tonight and then fly to the Concords a Sunday, and just everything about going to LA for like a full week during finals week so my daughter can’t even hang out with me, six seven, eight days of hotels car. I was just like, I’m not doing it, doubly so without credentials. These Netflix people, I know, I suck. I’m a loser in the basement. I reached out to Robbie Praul on LinkedIn, didn’t hear back.
That’s fine. Tried going through the front door to the publicists. You get nothing back. Tried going through the back door to the publicists, you get nothing back. I had my publicist reach out.
This was impenetrable, so you know, eight days. I’m not looking for freebies, but you know, just having the proper information about this stuff makes this all easier. So thumbs down to the Netflix folks. Thumbs up to the Just for Laughs folks who were awesome, super easy to work with, Get right back to you, book guests for you, hook you up. It’s all great.
I digress punkin conversation with Dian Morgan seven o’clock at the Egyptian. Donnane Rawlings at the Blasco nine five, Dusty Sleigh at the Troubadour at seven. Joel Kim Booster has a low ticket warning. He’s at the Trouba Door at ten. Ron Funches at the Hollywood Improv Main Room at seven thirty.
Friend of the Show Ismo is at the Ice House at seven thirty. Natalie Palamedes, who is awesome and one of the few sold out some I’m seeing here. She’s at the Allegion at seven and many many other shows. That’s pretty busy for a Monday night. Dion Cole is doing a benefit show out there tonight.
He’s all the La Times. He’ll do crowd work if he has to, but he’d much rather tell you the jokes he wrote. He says, the audience feels like, hey, we came to improv, we came to have fun. It’s like, no, you know how long it took me to write these jokes. I don’t need to come in here screaming at me, and then I spend five minutes talking about you and your mom and your kids.
Then I forgot what I was doing, and now the tone of the show is messed up. Love it. He is proud of his career. He says, there’s a lot of people look in the mirror every morning, go out in the world and becomes something else when the thing that’s gonna make them rich and successfuls in the mirror. I think, whoever that person is in the mirror, you need to take that person with you and apply that person to every that you do, and that’s gonna make the difference in your life.
The Times was curious how his prep has changed over the years. He says, I’m more confident. You know, back in the day, it might be a thirty sixty chance that a joke will work thirty, meaning it will work sixty that it won’t. Now in a point when I can think of something and there’s an eighty five percent chance at work fifteen that it won’t. So my preparation is for us thinking of something on going to execute it.
Being able to execute it is another difference. Back in the day, I’d have to ask for stage time. Now I can think of something, go to a club and go right up. I can hear something now and go that’s funny, and then go do it and it becomes funny. So just having confidence to do that and I question myself as much.
Also out today, it is Kevin Hart’s Funny AF Live Semifinal on Netflix at nine o’clock. There is a clip. Now interesting as you watch the visual of this clip, and you can’t because this is an audio podcast. The visual says tonight features guest Chris Rock, But unless I missed it, Kevin Hart didn’t actually say that, so they must have recorded this earlier and then booked Chris Rock later. But the text says Chris Rock is on tonight.
Anyway, let’s listen. I just crossed the country to find the freshest and the funniest new voices in common. Recently, I just had my first threes attempt. You’ve heard from legendary comedians. Some people have that thing.
Marshan, why are you here? Did you think Kevin was a football? Now? Le JITs are in a vaulte your favorite stand up comedian, I’m down with dinner for what you watch the live semi finals on May fourth and the grand finale on May fifth. White mom chores are like Hunter take Out the Try.
Immigrant mom chores are like Hey, get up and get me up passport when one will rise above the rest and take the mic and wins it, all people are going for me. It turns out CTE just stands for casting talentless idiots. This person is going to be common one of us. This is now a death patch. I will see who stands up in the pressure and who doesn’t.
So I need to know, well, who will you vote for? And from last their headlines Sorry New York City. In Chicago v’s funny AF comics say LA has the stand up scene to beat. LA based comedians Felicia Folks, Steve Fury, and Ray Lao said that for them, LA is the place to be. The three were among the group of forty four comics like to celebrate in funny af Steve Fury told Las there’s a real camaraderie among comics in LA and the other cities can’t match.
He says, there’s a couple of people that everyone hates, you know, but overall you’re competing with people, but in the end you see someone win. I don’t really get mad about it, and I don’t think a lot of people in LA do. Steve Fury said. A lot of people since the pandemic have kind of crapped on LA, especially some people that decided to move to other places. Do you mean Joe rogan I digress?
Steve said, this is a great comedy scene. The best guy in that small town moves here. The best person in New York a lot of times at some point still gonna end up here. Sure, there was an exodus of a bunch of podcast comedians during the pandemic do you mean Joe rogan I Digress? But it allowed the scene to grow in a way that it hasn’t seen a long time.
You know, there’s a lot of people like Ray Laud coming up and showing that this is a fantastic scene and it can hang with any other scene. This is a great place to come for finishing. It’s almost like your searing steak. It’s almost done, you put it in the oven for the last hour. That last hour.
The heat that this place has is la and that’s how you become great. It cuts all the fat off, the bs off your act, and it makes a great good stuff there.
Speaking of Ray Lau, Heat’s old last it’s totally a grind.
But at the same point, to be honest, I prefer it because I’m not really sure I would have cracked through in the old world where bookers and gig keepers could decide whether or not you could move through the ranks. And in this way, at least, all of it is technically up to you. I mean, it’s extremely exhausting and stressful and difficult and nearly impossible, but it’s up to you. LA gets a lot of crap talked about it, and in New York there’s a lot of good comics and there’s a lot of stage time there, and that’s good. I just like where I’m at, you know, sometimes the grass isn’t greener.
I like my life here, I like working on my stand up. I like my friends here. I’ve gotten to know the bookers and other comics, and it’s just nice. Felicia Folks said, I love comedy and LA has a great history. I can get on stages here.
I know people complain a lot about not being able to get stage time, but I think that’s a skill issue. I’ve never had problem getting up in my city. I don’t know what to tell these people. Will be talking a lot about Los Angeles this week, as the Netflix Is a Joke Comedy Festival has begun. King Charles has returned back home.
Josh Johnson on The Daily Show apparently agrees with me that Charles was pretty good at jokes. Josh said, what’s annoying about this? As a comedian, he’s actually killing He called the King the world’s oldest NEPO baby. A couple jokes from Late Night about the King. Josh Johnson, you know, I’ve always wondered what white deaf jam would be like.
Josh again, Wow, he really commands the stage. I’m sorry, he really colonizes the stage. Seth Myers with a bomb. King Charles gifted President Trump a gold bell from an old submarine called the HMS Trump And what better gift for a guy who’s way underwater. That’s lame Kimmel.
Unfortunately, only Belle Trump likes is the Tago one. Greg Guttfeld, you know the guy from Fox. See know all you people that were like, how could we never talk about the other side because they recaps never included Guttfeld And now they do, and you will now see how lame Guttfeld’s jokes are. I mean, tell them way, way, way way better than I do, but they’re not good. Gottfield, King Charles and Queen Camilla paid visits in New York City to make them feel at home.
None of us f lost. I mean, you can hear the audience groaning, right, do that joke in your head? You can hear Gottfeld. Yeah. The White House held a steak dinner for the King and Queen of England and I actually attended, though they stuck me at the kids table.
Yeah, it took Prince Andrew’s seat. Wow, okay, Jimmy fallon today, King Charles and Queen Camilla were in New York City and on Earth visit time Square Elmos, which from Jack Daniels to Crown Royal. See that’s cleverly crafted. Rob Schneider wants ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel. Remember the whole kerf fluffle last week with Jimmy Kimmel and the joke and Milania and all that.
Yeah. Rob Schneider has posted a letter to Walt Disney Company CEO Josh Tomorrow. In the open letter, Rob Schneider called for Kimmel to be fired for quotes a pattern of reckless, dehumanizing rhetoric that disrespects human life and contributes to the tucks climate of hatred and violence threatening our nation. Schneider also claimed keeping mister Kimmel on your network is a serious and dangerous mistake that reflects poorly on Disney’s values and leadership. When a major network platform repeatedly portrays the president and his family and his supporters as legitimate targets for contempt or worse, violence, it does not entertain, it incites.
I don’t recall Jimmy Kimmel inciting violence at any point. Mister Schneider is welcome to refresh my memory if I’m forgetting something, but I don’t think that is a fair comment at all. Again, if I’m forgetful, let me know in the Facebook group or Rob you could reach out directly. Be happy to have you as a guest if you’d like to come on. Rob Schneider said the Disney Company’s platforming of an individual who has shown such blatant contempt for basic human decency allows that legacy to be stained.
The eyes of the nation and history are watching. Wow and good news. Scrubs was renewed. Yeay hey. Season two slash eleven of Scrubs will happen.
How many episodes, Johnny Mack, Nobody knows. They didn’t announce that part. It is suspected it will once again be a limited number of episodes. Scrub Season one slash ten was nine episodes and very good. That is your comedy news for today.
See you tomorrow.