Did February feel extra long to you, too? Not as long as this dispatch is about to be, perhaps, and yet here we are…
Before we dive into everything that happened in comedy in the past month and then some, let us pause to remember these words from the late, great Richard Lewis, who joked in his 1985 Showtime special, I’m In Pain, about being childless in his 30s: “But on the other hand if you get to this point, if you’re a man or a woman, or — if I had to describe how many genders there are — you know, you get set in your ways.”
You got that right: Richard Lewis jokingly acknowledged a gender spectrum thirty-nine years ago. How far we’ve come, and how far we have to go.
I wrote on deadline about Lewis and his comedic philosophy for The Daily Beast last week after the comedian/actor died at 76. “Lewis wanted to be heard and loved and give love in return. And as the tributes came rolling in on Wednesday, it couldn’t have been clearer just how many comedians and actors were not just friends but also fans who heard and loved him dearly.”
His widow, Joyce Lapinsky, posted her gratitude for the outpouring of love and tributes, and encouraged fans to donate to Comedy Gives Back. A worthy cause, indeed!
R.I.P. Richard Lewis. He’ll be sorely missed.
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Live From New York, It’s Shane Gillis!?!
I’m not saying Gillis “bombed” on Saturday Night Live. But he did. During his eight-minute monologue.
But don’t tell his supporters that. They were all up in arms about it, and the guys from Legion of Skanks and their fans made an issue of it when Gillis stopped by their live podcast last week wondering why anyone could think Gillis fared poorly on SNL. For his part, Gillis thought he did great but turned on his phone and saw all of the attention. He said he caught flak from the crew for wanting to wear a T-shirt, and revealed he hadn’t used the words “gay” or “retarded” during the dress rehearsal; moreover, he claimed Lorne Michaels didn’t want to know too much about his monologue, which of course, would allow him to retain plausible deniability afterward. Gillis said he was more worried about swearing on live TV than anything else.
But Gillis also hasn’t watched his performance back on TV, and said: “I’m not going to watch it.” No wonder, then, that he could’ve ended the show on a high note at 1 a.m., and totally forgotten what he might’ve ad-libbed in the monologue. After introducing his dad in the audience two minutes in, we heard laughs, but all Gillis could say to wrap it up was: “I thought it was great. Nevermind. I thought that was going to be a big hit here.” The opening bit before that about how he looks like he should’ve been a high-school coach fits. But a few minutes later, introducing his jokes about Down Syndrome, he sensed them pull back again. “Look, I don’t have any material that could be on TV, alright. I’m trying my best,” he offered. “Also this place is extremely well-lit. I can see everyone not enjoying it (he laughs) This is the most nervous I’ve ever been.” Then he continues: “My niece has Down Syndrome, and…I thought that was gonna get a bigger laugh.” He nervously laughs. “I thought we were allowed to have fun here.”
Here’s the thing. Almost all of us weren’t in the live studio audience. So we didn’t see sour faces. All we heard were laughs, followed by Gillis acting like they weren’t laughing.
But here’s the thing that Gillis, like Koy, forgot. Performing on live TV means you have two audiences, and even though the masses loved you enough for you to earn the TV gig, the people in the room with you might have no idea who you are. So you need to ingratiate yourself to them first, and then not let their reactions impact your performance for the cameras. All of the other SNL hosts make sure, no matter how famous they may be, to reintroduce themselves to us and plug the projects that got them onto that stage. Gillis never mentioned his hit Netflix special or his tour that’s starting to hit arenas and played Radio City Music Hall the week after he did SNL. So the people in that room (who couldn’t Google him live even if they wanted to) who were there to see 21 Savage or the cast weren’t clued in to why they should root for Gillis. And his nervousness only made them and us nervous for him. He needn’t have worried. The rest of the show and his performance on it were just fine. Not the best episode of the season but definitely not the worst, either.
Gillis starred in a fun Liberty Mutual ad spoof that didn’t air for who-knows-why, and they figured out a fun and timely way to incorporate his Trump impersonation without icing out the cast’s Trump impersonator (James Austin Johnson).
So what’s that one simple trick that could’ve helped Gillis and Koy avoid the impression that they were bombing on live TV? Elayne Boosler put it best decades ago during her national ad campaign for Dry Idea: “No matter how bad a joke bombs… never let ’em see you sweat.”
“In comedy, being nervous is natural. Looking nervous is deadly.”
You tell ’em, Elayne!
C’est It Ain’t So, So Long, Au Revoir JFL?
The news out of Montreal was so shocking Tuesday that I could only start the headline on my piece for Decider on it with Sacre Bleu! In short, Juste Pour Rire (en anglais: Just For Laughs) declared bankruptcy, laid off most of their employees (including their American bookers and programming execs), and called off the planned JFL festival in Montreal this July, even as callbacks were scheduled for potential New Faces in Los Angeles this week. JFL Vancouver just concluded on Feb. 24, and the home page online has a yellow banner screaming THANK YOU! SEE YOU IN FEBRUARY 2025. Will they, tho?
In Austin, the folks at the Moontower Comedy Festival already have removed Just For Laughs from their logo (they’d partnered for the 2022 and 2023 editions) in advance of this April’s shindig. The Austin Theatre Alliance sent me an official statement last night:
“The 2024 MOONTOWER COMEDY FESTIVAL will continue exactly as planned and announced from April 10th through April 21st featuring 150 comics at 12 venues throughout Austin, Texas. The MOONTOWER COMEDY FESTIVAL is solely owned by the non-profit Austin Theatre Alliance who has the sole responsibility for the creation, organization and production of this comedy festival just as we have every year since 2012. We look forward to welcoming the comedy world to Austin in five weeks.”
The loss of JFL will be felt acutely in Montreal, where the festival took over much of the city’s economy and cultural fabric for several weeks each July. For show business, it’s the end of an era for what the industry looked at as both a weeklong bacchanal across the border as well as an opportunity for wheeling-and-dealing in the hotel lobby (the Delta through the 1990s, the Hyatt since the mid-2000s) at all hours. For a long time, New Faces felt like the be-all, end-all credit for a young comedian on the come-up, because for a long time, it could score you not only representation but also a six-figure (or even seven-figure?!) development deal with a broadcast network hoping to turn you and your best 10 minutes into the next Seinfeld. Or the next cast member on Saturday Night Live.
As I pointed out in 2021, a pipeline developed between New Faces and SNL, with writers and cast members hired by Lorne within two to 14 months of making their JFL debuts. Nine SNL cast members for Season 49 were first New Faces: Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Punkie Johnson, James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, Marcello Hernandez, and Chloe Troast.
And yet, whether by JFL’s global expansion (reaching into London last year, across Canada, or across the globe to Sydney), by financial shenanigans (new and not-so new faces often complained about how much it cost them to participate in a fest that seemed to rake in a lot of money), or by #MeToo repercussions (which resulted in JFL founder Gil Rozon’s resignation, and the sale of the fest to ICM, Howie Mandel, Bell Canada and Groupe CH in 2018). Or whether it were competing interests — Comedy Central launched their own showcases through festivals in New York and San Francisco. And then there was Netflix, which not only poached top JFL programmer Robbie Praw but then launched its own festival in the heart of Hollywood. Whatever the ultimate reason, the buzz had buzzed off of Montreal since the pandemic.
As someone who covered JFL Montreal since 2007, I can tell you how much it mattered to the comics who were there. The ones who raved or ranted at me about a New Faces review. The ones who whispered in my ear to thank me for chastising JFL when they got it wrong, or when they infamously included online star Southern Momma in their Variety Comics to Watch.
And I noticed the void that nobody seemed to fill when I stopped going to Montreal.
Even in the 36 hours since JFL announced bankruptcy filing, its most visible owner in Howie Mandel (who hosted multiple JFL Galas that aired on The CW) has kept quiet publicly, instead posting on his socials about his podcast and TV projects Got Talent and Deal and No Deal. What’s the deal with JFL, tho???
Here’s a quick clip I originally shot on the streets of JFL Montreal back in 2013, which is only 6 seconds long because that was Vine time, baby!
Jon Stewart’s Return To The Daily Show
Would you believe in an alternate universe, Comedy Central could still boast the two most critically-acclaimed late-night shows and hosts?
That’s what I learned listening to John Oliver’s conversation with Marc Maron on Maron’s WTF podcast last month. After Oliver subbed for Jon Stewart over the summer of 2023, the two comedians reached an agreement for Oliver to become Stewart’s permament super summer sub. But Comedy Central wasn’t having it, and by letting Oliver walk, they also probably hastened Stewart’s need to take a full break in 2015. Oliver, meanwhile, has made 10 seasons of award-winning satire on HBO with Last Week Tonight. Comedy Central has sacked much of its talent in front of and behind the camera since the pandemic, and seen its ratings and accolades tank.
Stewart returned to The Daily Show last month to host Mondays only but EP the rest of the week and try to righten the ship. He’s clearly energized back behind the desk that treated him so well, and viewers have welcomed him back en masse. His Feb. 12 premiere drew 3.06 million viewers in live+3 days, the best marks for the show since 2017, and best Paramount+ streaming for the show since it landed on the platform.
R.I.P. Tom Johnson
Speaking of The Daily Show, the TDS family is mourning one of their alums. Tom Johnson, who performed on Caroline’s Comedy Hour in 1995 before joining the original writing staff of The Daily Show in 1996, died in January in his Los Angeles home. Johnson was only 55. His credits after a 7-year-run at TDS from 1996-2003 included writing for multiple Grammy ceremonies, head writer for Stand-Up Nation with Greg Giraldo as well as Reality Bites Back, Talkshow with Spike Feresten, Lopez Tonight, The Jeselnik Offensive, and Comedy Knockout.
Johnson made multiple appearances with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show as a masked hacker named “Lord Viper Scorpion.” Rest in peace, Tom.
A Moment Of Zen From Sinbad?
How about some uplifting news from Sinbad, then? The stand-up legend who suffered a stroke in 2020 has posted his first update in more than a year and three months, letting us know he hears you, especially after he got the chance recently to speak via Zoom to students at Morehouse College. “It’s wild that the kids even know who I am,” he said. “Thank you to everybody who’s been praying for me and saying good things and supporting me during this time in my life. It means a lot to me. Thank you so much.”
Keep going, Sinbad! We’re all rooting for you!
OK. I’ll be back soon enough with more nitty gritty comedy industry news and last month’s specials. Thanks for reading!
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