Welcome to Comedy Now, a weekly column cataloging what comedy fans should know about what’s available in the streaming world. Whether it’s a brand new special, an old classic, or the oddball show that defies categorization, we’ll list as many as we can for your enjoyment right here. Who knows? We may even throw in a few non-streamable bits on occasion, like tour announcements from our favorite comics. You can check out the previous column here.
What’s Now
HBO pays tribute with Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind
On Monday, HBO debuted Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Marina Zenovich’s (Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired) new documentary about the late Robin Williams, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind. Composed of traditional interviews with the comic’s family, friends and colleagues, which were interwoven with archival and private video and audio footage of Williams from other shows, movies and interviews, Come Inside My Mind presents a deep, though respectful portrait. HBO NOW and HBO Go subscribers, as well as those who’ve added the channel to their Amazon Prime or Hulu accounts, can stream it now.
Trevor Noah feuded with the French ambassador over a World Cup joke
In the latest edition of The Daily Show‘s online-only “Between the Scenes” segment, which won an Emmy in 2017 and has been nominated for another, Trevor Noah took umbrage with a complaint. Specifically, the South African comedian addressed a letter sent to him by Gérard Araud, the French Ambassador to the United States, that took issue with his joke that “Africa won the World Cup” when France did. The debate about identity politics and nationality it stirred spilled over onto Twitter, where Araud continued to critique Noah’s joke and its defense.
Bob Newhart gets an audiobook about comedy with Audible
The legendary comedian and actor Bob Newhart is 88 years old, yet this hasn’t stopped him from entering the digital age of comedy with a new audiobook exclusively on Audible. Titled Hi Bob!, the book debuted all of its contents on Wednesday. With a forward performed by Marc Maron, the audiobook consists of conversations between Newhart and comics like Judd Apatow, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Conan O’Brien and Sarah Silverman. Instead of breaking everything up by individual, Hi Bob! combines the different conversations into themes.
Carmen Lagala, Nimesh Patel and Mark Normand hit the late night circuit
Late night talk shows featured comedians Carmen Lagala, Nimesh Patel and Mark Normand this week. Over on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Lagala, a Vermont native now working the New York scene, made her network television debut with five minutes on everything from marriage to dressing appropriately when partaking in fine dining. Meanwhile Patel, a writer for Saturday Night Live since 2017, joked at length about his mother and Google searches on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Finally, Norman performed a few minutes of followup to his recent Comedy Central special on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.
What’s New(s)
Silicon Valley guest star Alice Wetterlund calls out the show over T.J. Miller
T.J. Miller’s very public problems following his exit from HBO’s Silicon Valley, including accusations of sexual assault and his arrest for calling in a fake bomb threat on a train, are well known. Even so, the comic’s bad behavior isn’t anything new, according to the comedians and actors who have worked with (or around) him, and earlier this week, one of them decided to call him out on it. Alice Wetterlund (People of Earth), who guest starred in Silicon Valley‘s second and third seasons, decried attempts to “rehabilitate” Miller’s career on Twitter by calling out the HBO show for enabling him.
Netflix Is A Joke SiriusXM radio channel
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported on Netflix’s plans to launch its own comedy-centric radio channel on SiriusXM in January 2019. The channel, which will be called “Netflix Is A Joke Radio” after the streaming giant’s ongoing stand-up campaign, “will give it a new outlet to use its rapidly growing library of comedy content and potentially drive SiriusXM subscribers back to its own service.” While other comedy outlets like Comedy Central have already taken their wares to SiriusXM, Wednesday’s announcement marks the first time that Netflix will partner with another distribution platform.
What’s Later
Iliza Shlesinger’s Elder Millennial arrives at Netflix
Back in 2013, Iliza Shlesinger joined Bill Burr and a few other comics by debuting a new comedy special exclusively on Netflix. Since War Paint, she has released two more specials with the streaming giant, and come Tuesday, she will release her fourth, Elder Millennial. In the new hour, Shlesinger dives into undeniable truths about life at age 35, the insanity of the road she has traveled and what more lies ahead now that she’s engaged. It’s a fun hour of the many voices, characters, and contortions Shlesinger is well-known for employing on stage, and definitely worth your time.
