Seth Rogen first entered pop culture zeitgeist in 1999, as a castmember on Freak and Geeks. The show survived for just 18 episodes, but it launched a staggering number of careers as it starred Rogen, James Franco, Linda Cardellini, Jason Segel, Martin Starr and Busy Phillips, and had Paul Feig and Judd Apatow as creator…
David Spade Returns with the Agreeably Low-Stakes ‘Lights Out’
Going back to 2003’s Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, David Spade’s movies have averaged a score of 22.5 on Rotten Tomatoes. His last successful TV series was Rules of Engagement, which ended in 2013. Given all this, one might reasonably be unmoved the news that Spade now has a late-night talk show, Lights Out with…
‘South Side’ and ‘Sherman’s Showcase’: Two Sharp Comedies, One Creative Team
Longtime writing partners Daillo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin met as undergrads at Harvard and since then have earned Emmy nominations for their work on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and the short-lived NBC variety series Maya & Marty. Along with Salahuddin’s brother, Sultan, they’ve co-created the recently debuted South Side on Comedy Central. The show…
Comedy Central’s Showbiz Satire ‘The Other Two’ Finds the Sweet Spot
The streets of New York City are paved with the broken dreams of millions of Midwesterners who moved there to find fame and fortune. For those who aspire to become a famous performer, the daily grind can be brutal. Your ego takes a pounding as day after day you’re rejected for being too this or…
‘Alternatino’ Earns A Place in Comedy Central’s Sketch Tradition
Comedy Central’s track record with sketch comedy shows is practically unrivaled. From the hall-of-fame Chappelle’s Show to the dynamic duo of Key & Peele, to the more recent Inside Amy Schumer and Kroll Show, the formula seems to be foolproof. But a Latino perspective hasn’t been in the space since Mind of Mencia went off…
Raising a Toast to ‘Drunk History’
For a kid growing up in the 70’s, there were few joys as pure as those breaks during Saturday morning cartoons when you would be treated to an episode of Schoolhouse Rock. Just a minute or two long, these animated music videos delivered lasting lessons about things that real school made painfully dull. A kid…
Jason Jones on ‘The Detour’s Globetrotting 4th Season
TBS’ outstanding half-hour family comedy The Detour returns for its fourth season this week, picking up where season 3 left off: daughter Delilah (Ashley Gerasimovich), fed up with the Parker family’s life on the lam, ran off on her own with stern instructions not to come looking for her. I got a chance to speak…
Zach Galifianakis Returns With More ‘Baskets’ of Squirm-Inducing Absurdity
One of the great joys of this splintered media landscape we now live in is that a niche television show with a weird sense of humor can survive without attracting a huge audience. Case in point: Baskets, the subtly discomfiting sitcom starring Zach Galafinakis. Galifinakis stars as Chip Baskets, a clown school dropout who moves…