The State Of The Comedy Industry In 2023
What's new in the business, not just Just For Laughs, but also not not just for laughs
As weird as it feels this week to not be in Montreal myself, it feels even weirder knowing Just For Laughs will go on without Andy Kindler, and specifically without his annual State of the Industry address.
Kindler began delivering his roast of the comedy business in front of the comedy business at the 1996 JFL festival. When the pandemic hit, making Montreal go virtual, so did Kindler’s speech, broadcast as a livestream. In 2021, though, with JFL still not quite all in Montreal, livestreaming New Faces and other shows from Los Angeles, Kindler hosted his usual Alternative showcase, but didn’t deliver his usual address. Last year, Kindler stayed in Los Angeles, but beamed back to Montreal via a Proto hologram unit — allowing him to stand in Proto’s L.A. studio while hearing and interacting with the live audience in Montreal, including Bob Odenkirk, who introduced Kindler.
This year? This week? No Kindler, and the State of the Industry will come instead from Jessica Kirson. Kirson is great, hilarious, and likely will have plenty of truth-bombs fused with punchlines about the comedy business.
I suppose the writing was on the wall for JFL to move on from Kindler at some point, especially since 2010, when the festival introduced a second address titled the keynote, first delivered that year by Lewis Black, and subsequently by Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt, Colin Quinn, Jim Norton, Dana Gould, Kenya Barris, Louie Anderson, and Neal Brennan. So on the bright side, at least finally the festival found a female voice to offer a different perspective on the business of comedy today.
Because we certainly could benefit from a fresh set of eyes on this industry.
This industry that still books Chris D’Elia and other bad boys of comedy on theater tours despite D’Elia’s clear and allegedly still present danger to teen girls wherever he can DM them — did you know you could watch his remaining rabid fans adore him in his many videos, including a new “HALF HOUR OF CROWDWORK - ROWDY SHOW” he posted last week that’s garnered more than 70,000 views? What’s that all about, am I right, ladies?
This industry that still pays features and MCs and non-famous headliners the same per-show and per-weekend figures as they did 20 years ago? Wage stagnation: It’s sad and it’s real and it’s really sad. This working stand-up comedian knows what I’m talking about.
This industry that bumps working comics for the latest TikTok sensation, podcast host, “reality TV” star, professional athlete, or Hollywood actor wanting to play at stand-up? If Michael Rapaport and Jeremy Piven already were hogging up club dates before the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild both went on strike, how many more actors will decide now is a grand ol’ time to bust out their zingers?
This industry that doesn’t know how to recognize comedians either financially (by screwing them out of proper payments for streaming of their albums) or critically (by excluding all but the already most famous and infamous stand-ups for consideration each year at the Emmys and the Grammys)?
This industry that might’ve killed future opportunities for stand-ups to sling jokes for late-night TV and awards shows even before Hot Strike Summer came along?
This industry that’s on strike, and yet somehow manages to party together this week in Montreal?
It’s not all bad news. Sometimes it just feels that way, though.
Elsewhere in JFL Land
The twin strikes cut into some of the planned panels and hoopla this week in Montreal, but JFL has some other featured shows still on the books — among them, a celebration of the 60th anniversary of Budd Friedman’s launch of The Improvisation in New York City. It’ll be hosted by Mark Normand, with performances by Leanne Morgan, Donnell Rawlings, Felipe Esparza, Neal Brennan and special surprise guests, all benefiting Comedy Gives Back (co-founded by Budd’s daughter, Zoe).
And Variety, which coordinates its annual 10 Comics To Watch to fete them and showcase them at JFL Montreal, also produces a slew of comedy content for festival goers to consume. That includes not only a piece on The Improv’s 60th, but also: pieces pondering TikTok’s new comedy stars, or whether comedians should focus more on clubs instead of social media, a piece pushing Montreal as still the biggest mover and shaker for comedy careers, and a report on whom the trade mag considers the biggest impact players on comedy this past year.
There’s also this year’s bumper crop of New Faces, now expanded to include an International edition alongside the O.G. faces, Unrepped, Characters, Creators and Homegrown Canadians. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chloe Troast on SNL this fall; that is, if SNL comes back this fall. Troast has chaotic fun energy (kinda like previous New Face to SNL Sarah Sherman), and also co-stars in the new Please Don’t Destroy movie premiering soon on Peacock, so she already has plenty of people in 30 Rock to vouch for her instead of just me.
R.I.P. Donnie Baker aka Ron Sexton
Donnie Baker (born Ron Sexton) was supposed to perform at the Dayton Funny Bone last weekend, but instead, his family took to Facebook to let his 1.3 million followers know that he sadly had passed on Friday. He was only 52.
Pat McAfee posted: “We have lost one of my favorite humans of all time.. I laughed at damn near everything this boat sellin, bastard maker said and did. I was a Bob and Tom fan long before I got the incredible opportunity to speak into their microphone.. So meeting Donnie and then Ron Sexton at their studio was an absolute honor. He was always incredibly kind to me, and for that I’m thankful.”
The Bob and Tom Show celebrated Sexton and the contributions of “Donnie Baker” on their show Monday. Here’s some more highlights, courtesy of Greg Warren.
Reading Room
Geoff Edgers at The Washington Post profiled Tiffany Haddish
Hershal Pandya caught up with the characters of The Eric Andre Show for Vulture
George Schlatter just released his memoir, “Still Laughing: A Life in Comedy”
Industry News and Notes
What else is new?
Dave Chappelle will play Madison Square Garden in August as part of a new Live Nation arena tour through September into October. Tickets will be available starting with local presales on Wednesday, general onsale begins Thursday at 10am local time at Ticketmaster.com.
Brett Goldstein goes on a U.S. theater tour in October. Tickets on sale Wednesday.
Samantha Bee has extended her Your Favorite Woman: The Joy of Sex Education tour with another 17 dates, kicking off in Hartford in September.
The Comedy Cellar will beam live stand-up comedy from New York City into 48 Regal Cinemas locations next weekend (Aug. 5, at 8 and 10 p.m. Eastern). Rich Aronovitch will host, with Yamaneika Saunders, Jared Freid, Pat Burtscher, John Bishop, Ethan Simmons-Patterson, and Zarna Garg.
Dave Coulier has launched a podcast, “Full House Rewind.”
Too soon? Perhaps a bad time for a project called The Simulation that uses a program called Showrunner AI to whip up unauthorized episodes of existing TV?
Meanwhile at last weekend’s Comic-Con in San Diego, the folks making Rick & Morty told fans the replacement voices for Justin Roiland would be sound-alikes.
If you believe in web3 animated series, then believe this: Jon Heder and T.J. Miller will star in such a show, Fortun3, loosely based on the Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto bank scheme FTX
Almost 100 workers from Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network filed a petition last week with the National Labor Relations Board asking to unionize.
Last Week’s Specials
New on Dry Bar
July 18 — Damon Sumner: Chocolate In The Sun
July 20 — Seth Tippetts: American Cheeseplate
New on YouTube
July 17 — Mark Ellis: Alive & Well (via All Things Comedy)
July 17 — Brandon Kieffer: Possum
July 18 — Daniel Connell: Live at the NMI AUSTRALIA
July 18 — Tom Thakkar: Thakkar Noir (via 800 Pound Gorilla Media)
July 20 — Dwight Simmons: Who’s The Master? (via Four by Three)
July 20 — Geoffrey Asmus: The Only Funny White Man
July 20 — Geoff Norcott: I Blame The Parents UK
July 21 — Jon “Polar Bear” Gonzalez: Whispanic Causing Panic
July 23 — Sam Lake: Cake UK
July 23 — Josh Pugh: Live From Birmingham (via 800 Pound Gorilla Media)
July 24 — Donald McNair: An American Goes Balkan
Also a previously released Juston McKinney special from 2018, the free release on YT of 800pgm’s Huge Davis special, the rerelease of Randy Feltface’s The Book of Randicus, and a new docuseries on Amazon Prime Video, LAUGHING ON THE INSIDE - Season 1, starring Sofía Niño de Rivera leading comedy workshops for convicts in Mexico City’s prison system.
THIS WEEK: 13
LAST WEEK: 10
THIS MONTH (JULY): 22+13=35
RUNNING TOTAL for 2023: 384+13=397
Fun Things To Do In NYC
Last weekend’s show I plugged in The New York Times: Courtney Pauroso’s Vanessa 5000, her sex robot show, played Union Hall as a Work In Progress before launching next week at the Edinburgh Fringe. This Friday, head to Caveat for NPR’s Casual Friday edition of Wait, Wait…, with host Negin Farsad and her fellow Wait Wait regulars Hari Kondabolu, Mo Rocca, and Emmy Blotnick.
Lincoln Center hosts free comedy this Wednesday and next.
Mark your calendars! Friend of Piffany and award-winning Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star/co-creator Rachel Bloom’s Death, Let Me Do My Show will have an Off-Broadway run for four weeks at Lucille Lortel Theatre. Previews begin Sept. 6, opening night Sept. 14.
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