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Featured: Stavros Halkias, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Jay Leno, Joe Coy, Nick Thune
What’s in This Episode
- Stavros Halkias on private equity ruining fast food quality
- Chris Rock seeks Adam Sandler’s advice on transitioning to dramatic roles
- Jay Leno defends avoiding partisan comedy on late night
- Joe Coy discusses evolution of comedy culture from cocaine-era 80s to modern vaping generation
- Nick Thune tapes special ‘Never Always’ at Den Theater exploring control and parenthood
- BBC cuts Mitchell & Webb programming
- Jalen Brunson to host SNL on Saturday
Questions Answered in This Episode
Why does Stavros Halkias think fast food has gotten worse?
He blames private equity ownership, citing examples like Wendy’s switching to shredded lettuce instead of fresh lettuce to cut costs, and Jersey Mike’s declining in quality after being bought by private equity firms.
Did Chris Rock ask Adam Sandler for help with dramatic acting?
Yes, Chris Rock said at the Toronto International Film Festival that he asked Adam Sandler for advice on transitioning to drama, noting Sandler’s success in films like Uncut Gems and Punch Drunk Love.
Why is Jay Leno facing backlash about his comedy?
Critics say Leno avoids partisan comedy and refuses to attack politicians, with commentators arguing he should take stronger political stances like other late-night hosts.
What did Joe Coy say about how comedy culture has changed?
He noted that older comedians in the 80s were centered around cocaine and alcohol, his generation in the 90s was into fast food, and today’s younger comedians are healthier and prefer vaping and edibles over drinking.
What is Nick Thune’s new special about?
His special ‘Never Always,’ taped at the Den Theater, is structured in three parts: a fantastical world he controls, a world he can’t control (his son), and realizing he’ll be okay without trying to control everything.
What influenced Nick Thune’s comedy style?
He was influenced by Martin Mull, Steve Martin, and Chevy Chase, particularly their ability to confidently tell nonsensical and unrealistic stories with a knowing wink.
Full Transcript
This transcript was automatically generated and may contain spelling and/or transcription errors.
Let’s go Knicks. Jalen Brunson hosts SNL on Saturday. Hi, I’m Johnny Mac with your Daily Comedy News. Stavros Alkias is all fired up about the fast food, man. He was on Pablo Torre’s podcast, and I got a clip for you.
There are a lot of bleeps here, but here’s Stavros. I think it’s clear that what’s f * * * ing us up is, like, private equity and.. And money taking over these things that are all, products that are awesome, right? Let’s, sports is the easiest one, but the one I’ve actually latched onto recently that I think goes hand in hand with sports is fast food. Because everybody understands that Wendy’s has gotten here.
The spicy chicken sandwich now uses shredded lettuce. Exactly right there, that is private equity. That is someone saying, we don’t want a fresh head of lettuce, that costs more money. So we’re gonna get you bagged lettuce. And I know that in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal, but people will notice Jersey Mike’s was bought, I think two years ago.
It started to get. It was one of the, it was the best sandwich chain. It’s getting because some head who’s never spread mayo in his life decided, oh no, actually instead of a sandwich, this is now a commodity, right? And what’s important is that by turning the buyer experience, the consumer experience shittier, I, some dickhead that’s never made a sandwich, gets a billion extra dollars. Chris Rock explained at the Toronto International Film Festival that he had to tap a friend to help him move from comedy to drama.
Now, who better than the great dramatic actor Adam Saylor to help you become a dramatic actor? Because that’s what Adam’s good at. He’s not good at comedy at all, unlike Chris Rock, who’s really good at comedy. But Adam Sandler, he’s got great films like Uncut Gems, Basketball Movie, Space Movie, and the ones with Drew Barrymore. Everything else is garbage.
But Chris Rock said he asked Adam Sandler for help. Are Rock and Sandler competitive when it comes to moving into dramas? Rock said, no, we’re not. I mean, please. He’s so far ahead.
See, Chris Rock recognizes the greatness of Adam Sandler, dramatic. Actor, supposed to unfunny comedian who makes. A lot of money. I get it. I get that he makes money.
You know, I can’t begrudge the guy for taking $ 50 million from Netflix to make garbage, but it’s garbage. Rock said, no, I just take notes from the Sandman. I did watch. I’m sitting there like, wow, Uncut Gems is amazing. Punch Drunk Love is amazing.
If you don’t remember Punch Drunk Love, that is from 2003. Adam Sandler played a man who’d been unable to fall in love until meeting a mysterious woman. Chris Rock says he doesn’t have Madagascar money anymore after divorce. He would like there to be a sequel to Madagascar. That’s funny.
He describes his new movie as Female Uncut Gems. I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Chris. Maybe find something else. He says, it’s weird how few movies have money in them, like on a regular level. In movies, usually money is like we’re robbing a bank or something, but it’s never like I need to pay my rent.
The movie Misty Green arrives in theaters October 9th. The worst person who ever lived, Jay Leno, you know, the jerk that takes care of his wife at night. Yeah, that guy, he’s the worst. He continues to face criticism, telling the Unexpired podcast that he’s getting criticism for avoiding partisan comedy. Apparently a lot of people would like to see Jay Leno comment on the president of the United States.
Jay said, I get beat up for this all the time, but as someone who works in the real world, when you go to Indiana, I’m sorry, a third of your audience is going to be Trump people. Christian Toto from the website Hollywood and Toto told Fox News Digital, late night hoes don’t care who they eliminate in 2026. They’ve chosen an audience period. Jimmy Kimmel infamously said of his Republican fans, not good riddance, but riddance that says it all. Some familiar beats from Jay Leno.
I mean, Johnny and I used to pride ourselves on making fun of both sides equally. Now I get beaten up for that, but OK, that’s all right. Toto said Jimmy Fallon had a chance to be the new Jay Leno. Sadly, after he tousled Donald Trump’s hair on the Tonight Show in 2016, he was hounded by the media and the left for humanizing the real estate mogul, which is not a sentence a human would say. That’s like not how you’d phrase it.
I don’t know. That’s a weird quote. Toto called Joe Rogan the new Johnny Carson. Tap the brakes. I mean, yes, Rogan has a lot of influence, but the new Johnny Carson?
Relax. Hey, Joe Coy, how do you tell someone who’s starting out in comedy how to manage late night culture when it comes to eating and drinking? Joe Coy, who once told a horrible mean joke about Taylor Swift. Do you want to hear it? Okay, twist my arm.
As you know, we came on after a football doubleheader. The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL, on the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift. Joe Coy said when I was younger, I was around the old school vets. So my guys are from the 80s because I started in 89, 90. So I was the new generation of comics in the 90s.
And I’m being mentored by the guys from the 80s who were like really, really bad. Those were the cocaine guys. You know what I mean? Yes, I know what you mean. I’ve worked with some of them.
It was like cocaine, weird and beer, man. That’s all you need. And some bacon, you know what I mean? And I’m not saying all of them were like that, but it was a different time. They weren’t very health cautious.
Then my generation was very fast foodie. It was just a different time when I was coming up. But now I’ve noticed that you can see right now that these kids don’t drink. The drinking culture is not what it used to be. And I think it’s more the vape generation and the edible generation.
I feel like the comics I see coming up tend to be on the healthier side, but the late night culture is beautiful. So embrace it and enjoy it. There are late nights, but the camaraderie of comics is always fun. Imagine surrounding yourself with laughter the whole time. I remember doing a show and going to Mel’s Diner.
That’s in L.A. And I’ll be sitting with all these comics, you know, and just enjoying life. That’s from the L.A. Times. Nick Thune spoke to the NewCityStage.com.
He just taped a special last week at the Den Theater. The current name of the show, and it’s gone through a whole bunch of different variations, says Thune, is Never Always. The special is kind of in three parts. On the first part is like this fantastical world that I control and make-believe. Which is kind of like my older stand-up.
Then the second part is a world that I can’t control at all. That’s my son. Hmm.
And then the third part is me realizing that even if I don’t have control, I’…
The idea of never always comes from the idea that I’m out of control in life, but never always. It’s like a relief that there’s a bit of optimism. Nick Thune talked about working clean. He says his parents sheltered me from all of those topics, sex included. Part of the special is me going overboard in the other direction, trying to make sure that my 12-year-old son knows everything, and then realizing maybe there’s a middle ground.
He grew up in Seattle, admiring the comedy of Martin Mull, Steve Martin, and Chevy Chase. He admired Chevy Chase’s flesh, because I love the way the guy talked and the way that he confidently said things that didn’t really mean anything.
And then I found that within Martin Mull and Steve Martin.
He even said, I learned how to confidently tell stories that were totally unrealistic and with a wink. Kind of knowing the nonsensical things that I was saying, and I think that Martin Mull was pretty good at that.
And then later in life, I found out more and more different ways that I align…
I’m fascinated by his career. Anthony Jeselnik has a book club. The New York Times asked Jeselnik, describe your ideal reading experience. Jeselnik said, I’m sitting on an airplane in the dark with a Kindle lit up in my hands. I’ve got earplugs in and I’m tearing through a novel while everyone around.
Me is asleep. A flight attendant comes by once in a while to fill my water glass. That’s some pretty good writing there, Anthony Jeselnik. All right, why don’t you think men read fiction, dude? He said, this is a question that fascinates me.
I think a lot of men view reading fiction as a frivolous waste of time. We’ve been conditioned to ignore the beliefs of empathy. I think it’s a marketing problem. Reading should be sold to men like lifting weights for your brain. But it’s not just men.
People are happily staring at their phone all day, don’t want to pick up a book. Their attention spans are fried, but I’m hoping the fall of literature is just a trend. Trends can be reversed. Interesting. We learn Jeselnik Book Club’s motto is, you don’t shoot dogs.
He says it’s an unofficial motto we came up with to separate ourselves from Oprah’s book club. Why’d you start a book club in the first place? He said, I was really sick of podcasting. Hey! But as a Tory comedian, I wanted to maintain a presence online.
A book club felt organic to me, and I’ve always found success with things that come naturally. I wonder if he has a rivalry with the John Mulaney book club. How did your fans respond to what seems like a change in your image, Mr. Jeselnik? You said the fans who followed my old podcast weren’t surprised at all.
I was always recommending a new book at the end of every episode. And I’ve been doing a top 10 of my favorite novels of the year for a while. But it’s fun to see people who only know me as a stand-up react like Paul Giamatti started making porn. Comedy stock market. All right.
On the comedy stock market this week, if you’re new to the show, what we do is we buy and sell comedians. Hypothetically, of course, we’re not actually buying and selling people like stock in comedians. You get it. Comedy stock market. It’s in the me.
It’s in the name. I can’t explain it to you. That’s what it is. Here’s what we’re doing this week. We’re going to sell Andrea Santino and Tom Segura.
I don’t think this golf thing is going to be good. They’re both pretty near peak right now. So let’s cash out on those two. And make some money before everybody goes, wait, are you going for getsy on us? What is happening here?
So sell Santino, sell Tom Segura. Sell Nikki Glaser. She’s also at peak, and I think the backlash is coming. So let’s get out on top there. Let’s buy some Maddie Kelly.
I’m seeing a lot of buzz on Maddie. I’ve seen her opening for Otzko. Maddie is really good. Buy Maddie Kelly. And let’s buy Jalen Brunson.
You saw what he did with the Knicks. How could he not be great at Saturday Night Live? The man is great at everything. All right, so we’re buying Jalen Brunson and Maddie Kelly. We’re selling Nikki Glaser.
Andrew Santino and Tom Segura, that is your comedy stock market for today. Apparently Mark Maron is doing video podcasting just like me. Us old guys have gotten webcams now. So if you want to check out Mark Maron, I’ll let him tell about it. So this is it.
The new world. I’m you know, I got to figure out how to just sit here and talk on. Hey, Charlie, Charlie, Charlie, I got to sit here, figure. Out how to to talk. On camera.
It’s a weird thing. This computer is the computer that I had out in the podcast studio for years, and I’ll just let you know what’s going on. It was the, what was it, the first year anniversary of the end of the podcast a few days ago, and for some reason over the last couple weeks, I’ve just.. Charlie, I’ve just now been able to break it down. So I took this out and I’ve set it up in here.
But all this stuff out there, the table, all the mics, just taking everything apart. It’s now all on the floor. Mics, mic stands, all the other crap that I had out there. Guitars, everything else. It’s all sort of broken down, but it took me a year and I didn’t wait on purpose.
And now it looks like a, like a garage sale in there. I got to figure out how to unload some pedals. That’s my, uh, that’s my project. I gotta, I gotta be a pedal pusher, but, um, so that’s done. And this is here.
I got a light. I got stuff. I know I’m a little late to the game on this long form video business. And I honestly don’t know that I’m going to do it regularly unless it feels good. But I’m here and I guess I can just try to tell you what’s going on in the world.
This is interesting for Mitchell and Webb. I don’t know if all of you know that sketch comedy series. It’s one of my favorites. The BBC has removed nearly a dozen sketches from that Mitchell and Webb look. After deciding they, quote, no longer work today.
That Mitchell & Webb look originally ran for four seasons, 2006 to 2010. The show recently returned to the BBC iPlayer to mark the 20th anniversary, but some old sketches, including one that showed the guys in blackface, have been cut. In a statement, BBC said, this is a 20-year-old sketch show in consultation with the program makers. We have included the ones that still work today, not the ones that don’t. So the sketches are in one Mitchell and Webb act as war reenactors in Blackface.
There’s also a sketch about a contestant on a makeover show wearing a burqa and a quote-unquote tribe living in a garden center. Mitchell and Webb did not comment, but fellow comedian Dom Jolly of Trigger Happy TV told The Times, I totally get it if the BBC is putting out something really racist, which is laughing at and encouraging other people to feel that it’s okay to do that, but it’s so clear that Mitchell and Webb are not doing that. Their intent was not to be racist. Jimmy Mulville, co-founder of Hat Trick Productions, which makes the British Have I Got News For You, said the BBC are in an impossible position. He said producers have to be careful, though, that this is not the thin edge of a wedge where we cut things out.
Mitchell and Webb are best known for the scene where they’re dressed as Nazis, asking the question, are we the baddies? That remains online. Very well. They’re coming. Now we’ll see how these Russians deal with a crack SS division.
Er, Hans? Have courage, my friend. Yeah, er. Hans, I’ve just noticed something. These communists are all cowards.
Have you looked at our caps recently? Our caps? The badges on our caps. Have you looked at them? What?
No. A bit. They’ve got skulls on them. Have you noticed that our caps have actually got little pictures of skulls on them? I don’t..
Hands. Are we the baddies? And Walter put out their list of comedians you should and will know, or whatever it’s called. I told you I’d forget. One on the list is Dukes.
And if you haven’t heard of Dukes before, they say chances are you’re familiar with the two stars or at least come across their work online. Dukes’ Jane Wick line and Live a Pierce. Yes, that Jane Wick line from Saturday Night Live. Vulture, I think these are comedians we do know already, but okay. In their self-titled show, they performed in baggy button-downs with teenage boys still growing into his limbs’ physicality and casual ease.
That belie hard-hitting punchlines in one song. Pierce impersonates themselves as a teen whose attempt to seduce the mom of a child they’re babysitting gets sidetracked by the mom. Taking too much of an interest in their androgyny, Vulture had three quick questions with Dukes. One, what’s the biggest financial investment you made for your comedy? Jane said, our ill-advised off-Broadway show is a complete financial disaster.
We invested in ourselves by paying for production costs with our tour earnings. We’re recouping our losses with the currency of fun. Okay, if you taught a comedy class, what’s the most crucial lesson? Here said, I took a lot of comedy classes as a young adult in an openly careerist way. I really wanted someone to tell me how to get famous.
If I taught a class now, I’d try to weed out anyone who was sick like I was and kindly tell them that their goals are bad and they need to first figure out a way to enjoy toiling in obscurity forever. My solution has been to try and write and work with people that I think are one, geniuses, two, kind, three, available to hang out, and after that, Just try and keep up with them, which is quite enjoyable. All that said, I hope I never have to teach a class on comedy. I don’t know a thing. What’s your biggest goal, your most earnest goal?
Jane said to write earnest music. Beer said, I want my work to be so undeniable and so big that I get to throw my phone in the garbage. There’s sometimes a reductive narrative among young comedians that’s like, these digital natives can’t get enough of the internet. Their phone is their paintbrush and their canvas. Maybe this is because I’m at the older end of Gen Z, but it’s the opposite for me and most of my friends.
Many of us feel forced to make content online. Because we’re trying to keep up with the broader, often corporation-driven trends around media monetization and the evolution of digital marketing. Mark Maron and I say hello. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, and that is your comedy news for today.
Tomorrow, a deep dive on Mark Maron, actually. He’s tomorrow’s deep dive, and then Sunday should be a normal episode. You have an awesome day. Go Knicks, go SNL. That’s what I meant.
Go this guy, Brunson. Bye.