Comedy
R.I.P. Jerry Stiller, Legendary Comedian Dies at 92
Jerry Stiller, legendary actor and comic of Seinfeld and The King of Queens, passed away on Monday morning. He was 91 years old. His son, Ben Stiller, confirmed the news on Twitter: “I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes. He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad.” A comic, an actor, an author, Stiller spent years on the comedy circuit with his wife Anne Meara as the team Stiller and Meara. He’s perhaps best known for his iconic role as Frank Costanza in Seinfeld and Arthur Spooner in The King of Queens. In addition to his roles in both hit series, Stiller also appeared in a number of films alongside his son, including Zoolander, Heavyweights, The Heartbreak ...
Saturday Night Live to Air New “At-Home” Episode for Season 45 Finale
Much like everything else, Saturday Night Live’s 45th season was thrown for a loop when COVID-19 effectively shut down the entire world. The cast and crew have twice filled the Saturday night airwaves normally reserved for SNL with “At-Home” episodes, and they’ll do so again this weekend in what marks the season’s finale episode. The two previous “At-Home” episodes have featured celebrity cameos from Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Paul Rudd, Adam Sandler, and Larry David, as well as musical performances from Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Miley Cyrus. You can probably anticipate a similarly celebrity-filled episode this weekend, but SNL is of course keeping things close to the vest for now. This weekend’s episode could also mark the final turn for several veteran cast members: in particular, Colin Jos...
Jimmy Fallon Impersonates Nicolas Cage Playing Tiger King’s Joe Exotic: Watch
The idea of Jimmy Fallon impersonating Nicolas Cage playing Tiger King’s Joe Exotic reads like something an Internet algorithm made up. Alas, The Tonight Show clown king made it a reality on Tuesday night, capitalizing on the news of the forthcoming scripted series. Basically, it’s Fallon doing his best bar room gesticulation of Cage, only wearing all the Tiger King accoutrements. The bleach-blonde wig? Check. The ’90s Fleer Ultra shades? Check. The Spirit Halloween threads? Check. He even wrote a country song. Of course, this writer is well aware of the hypocrisy that he’s writing this up and promoting it. But, if you’re like him, and already convinced the world is teetering on the edge of destruction, then perhaps you’ll take joy in muting the video and simply imagining Fallon has just l...
Jerry Seinfeld’s Five Best Bits in Netflix’s 23 Hours to Kill
Jerry Seinfeld has left the car, put down the coffee, and returned to the stage. Yes, the blockbuster comic is back in his natural setting for Netflix’s 23 Hours to Kill, his first original special since — believe it or not — 1998’s I’m Telling You for the Last Time. This time around, he’s traded Broadway for the legendary Beacon Theatre, where he delivered a set chock full of all the kind of observational humor that has us revisiting his landmark series on repeat. It’s a pretty good run. Pretty, pretty, pretty good. Because part of the joy of Seinfeld is taking his observations to heart and fraudulently sharing them as your own, we’ve culled together the five best bits from the special below, all for your thieving leisure. Just be sure to say ’em with Jerry’s inflection. Some white sneaks...
Steve Carell’s Netflix Comedy Space Force Gets First Trailer: Watch
Space Force, the upcoming Netflix comedy series from The Office co-creator Greg Daniels and Steve Carell, has received its first teaser trailer in advance of its May 29th premiere. Watch it below. Carell, who also serves as co-creator and executive producer, stars as Mark R. Naird, “a General tapped by the White House to lead a new branch of the Armed Forces with the goal of putting American ‘Boots on the Moon’ by 2024.” If you haven’t guessed by now, the series directly riffs on Donald Trump’s ludicrous Space Force idea. Assisting Carell with this mission is an all-star cast that includes John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz, Lisa Kudrow, Noah Emmerich, Diana Silvers, Tawny Newsome, Jimmy O. Yang, Jane Lynch, and Fred Willard. Paul King (of Paddington 2 and...
Jerry Seinfeld Says Netflix’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Likely Over: “I Did That Tour”
Jerry Seinfeld isn’t one to linger. He’s the master of his domain, to borrow from his own words. That’s why we’re not surprised to hear he’s likely finished with Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Or that his new Netflix special, 23 Hours to Kill, might be his last. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Seinfeld digressed on the former Crackle series, saying: “We haven’t planned anything with that show, I kind of feel like if I did that tour.” He went on to stress how it’s actually a harder show to shoot than the series lets on, adding: “I don’t know, I feel like I may have done that exploration at this point.” He also feels the same about standup specials, contending: “Don’t overstay your welcome.” Again, this isn’t much of a shocker seeing how it took him 22 years to follow...
Reno 911! and the Thin Blue Line Between Satire and Cruelty
In a world where micro-streaming service Quibi was watched by anyone except exhausted culture writers assigned to cover it, their relaunch of the mockumentary sketch show Reno 911! would take up at least a couple days’ worth of exhaustive Twitter culture war discourse. For what it’s worth, the cast of the acclaimed Comedy Central show are all back and haven’t missed a step, sliding back into their roles as if no time has passed. Unfortunately, that same sense of nostalgic comfort is also the show’s greatest weakness; for better and for worse, the show (and its sense of humor) hasn’t changed a whit since it went off the air in 2009. In the Bush-era heyday of Reno 911!, the show perfectly fit that South Park peak of edgy, subversive humor. The sketch-based, improv-heavy nature...
