Adam Sandler to receive Mark Twain Prize, and other comedy news of the week
Our top stories from the world of comedy this past week…
Adam Sandler Wins Mark Twain Prize
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced Sandler as the 24th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, with plans to award him with the honors on March 19, 2023, in Washington D.C.
“Adam Sandler has entertained audiences for over three decades with his films, music, and his tenure as a fan favorite cast member on SNL,” said Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter about this year’s recipient. “Adam has created characters that have made us laugh, cry, and cry from laughing. I am looking forward to a laughter-filled evening like no other as we celebrate his career at a ceremony that is sure to bring together the best in comedy.”
Previous recipients of the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize: Richard Pryor (1998), Jonathan Winters (1999), Carl Reiner (2000), Whoopi Goldberg (2001), Bob Newhart (2002), Lily Tomlin (2003), Lorne Michaels (2004), Steve Martin (2005), Neil Simon (2006), Billy Crystal (2007), George Carlin (2008), Bill Cosby (2009; rescinded in 2018), Tina Fey (2010), Will Ferrell (2011), Ellen DeGeneres (2012), Carol Burnett (2013), Jay Leno (2014), Eddie Murphy (2015), Bill Murray (2016), David Letterman (2017), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2018), Dave Chappelle (2019), and Jon Stewart (2022).
In related news…Sandler announced 2023 touring dates, via Live Nation. Tickets went on sale Friday for the following dates on his arena tour:
And related to that news, here are some other comedy tours announced last week:
Cecily Strong Exits Saturday Night Live
Surprise?! It’ll be a “Blue Christmas” without Cecily Strong, who bid a fond farewell to SNL this weekend after surpassing Kate McKinnon to become the woman with the longest-running tenure as a cast member in the show’s 48-season history! Guest host Austin Butler (who starred in this year’s Elvis biopic) and the cast serenaded her at the end of the episode. Strong joined the cast in 2012. My recap in Decider.
Comedy Studio On The Move
The Comedy Studio, a Boston-area venue known for cultivating new comedy voices since 1996, has set up a GoFundMe to help Rick Jenkins and co. move into a new space in Harvard Square!
Industry News and Notes
Trevor Noah will host the Grammys on CBS in 2023, his third consecutive year with the gig.
The guy who charged Dave Chappelle onstage at the Hollywood Bowl in May during his Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival show? He was sentenced to 270 days in Los Angeles County Jail on a plea deal.
Nobody charged Chappelle when he brought Elon Musk onstage last weekend at the Chase Center in San Francisco, but lots of fans booed, and Chappelle defended Musk and mocked his fans. Cool cool.
The Hollywood Foreign Press will present Eddie Murphy with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the upcoming Golden Globes, so they’re really hoping we tune in for their return to NBC.
Last week the Critics Choice TV noms, this week the movie nom nom noms. Up for Best Comedy Film: The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures); Bros (Universal Pictures); Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24); Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix); Triangle of Sadness (Neon); The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Lionsgate)
John Cena and Jason Momoa will team up for action-comedy movie, Killer Vacation.
Indie comedy flick Sweet Dreams will star Johnny Knoxville, Mo Amer and Kate Upton, with Bobby Lee, Theo Von and Jay Mohr also in the cast.
Robin Thede is writing a film for herself and Bridget Stokes to fight zombies, called Killing It, for Amazon Studios.
SmartLess Media — from Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett — has announced a slate of podcasts they’re producing through a partnership with Amazon Music and Wondery. They include: “Bad Dates” with Jameela Jamil; “Owned” hosted by Rex Chapman; “Amy Always Wins” with Rob Corddry and Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneider; and a “Will & Grace” rewatch show with Hayes and Eric McCormack.
Amazon ordered two seasons of a Reese Witherspoon comedy series, All Stars, that she’ll star and EP, in which she’ll play a former cheerleader from Daytona Beach who goes across the pond to teach cheerleading at a school in coastal England. Will they cheer for Ted Lasso, tho?!
Chloe Fineman from SNL will star in the film, Big Time, adapted from Jen Spyra’s short story.
Apple TV+ will spin off Mythic Quest with Mere Mortals, a new eight-episode extension series from Ashly Burch, John Howell Harris and Katie McElhenney, with Megan Ganz, Rob McElhenney, David Hornsby and Charlie Day serving as executive producers. It explores the lives of employees, players, and fans who are impacted by the game.
Hulu has ordered Dan Levy and Ally Pankiw’s animated Standing By to series from 20th Television Animation. It’s a satirical look into the lives of a group of eternally bound, disgruntled guardian angels and the lessons they’ll eventually learn from not only the dysfunctional humans they’re in charge of protecting but also each other — starring Levy, David Tennant, Natalie Palamides, Glenn Close, Poppy Liu and Samira Wiley.
Don’t fret too much over the end of Los Espookys on HBO, because HBO quickly announced a new Julio Torres series. Tentatively titled Little Films, the six-episode series will follow Torres and his tale of losing a little golden oyster. The people he encounters as he searches for it, and the musings he has along the way, become points of departure for introspective, often eerie comedic stories about outsiders navigating an increasingly corporate and rapidly dysfunctional New York City. Production starts in February.
Tis The Season For A Timely TikTok
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Late-Night Roundup
This Week’s Specials
Tom Papa released What A Day! on Netflix. My review in Decider.
Chanel Williams had a Moment on Dec. 18.
Matt & Shane’s Secret Podcast went live with Michael Che for Moment, too.
Mark Your Calendars
Party Down returns to Starz on Feb. 24, 2023.
But tonight, it’s the premiere of a new game show on NBC called The Wheel, hosted by British stand-up Michael McIntyre.
R.I.P. Noah Gregoropoulos
Noah Gregoropoulos, who taught just about every famous funny person to come out of Chicago’s improvOlympic since the early 1990s, died on Friday from cancer. He was 63.
Also RIP to Brian Higginbottom, a Boston stand-up who died earlier this month. He was only 30. A GoFundMe has raised more than $40,000 for his family.
Back That Year Up?
Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson will host an hourlong comedy special Dec. 23 reviewing 2022. Back That Year Up also features appearances from Quinta Brunson, Nick Cannon, Terry Crews, Rob Gronkowski, Lauren Lapkus, Amber Ruffin and Roy Wood Jr.
Fun Things To Do In NYC
This week’s show(s) I plugged in The New York Times: The finale for Asylum NYC and the comedy space beneath Gristedes happens Monday night, TONIGHT! Goodbye Chelsea, indeed.
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