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Comedy | Inside Jokes
A New C.K. Model
When Louis C.K. said he’d grossed more than $1 million off his self-released, $5 stand-up special, “Live at the Beacon Theater,” the question wasn’t “Would others fo...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
Chappelle’s Spell
Watching “Key and Peele,” Comedy Central’s latest attempt to replicate the success of “Chappelle’s Show,” I couldn’t help but think about how long it’s been si...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
Blame the Name
I never planned on visiting “Cougar Town.” When the series premiered in 2009, the idea of a sitcom about Courteney Cox chasing younger men had all the appeal of watching J...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
Short and Sweet
Some of the best comedy comes in small packages. Whether it’s a “Saturday Night Live” skit or that joke you tell all your friends, humor is often most effective when kep...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
Boyish Charm
John Mulaney could be the next breakout star of “Saturday Night Live.” The only problem: Most people who watch “SNL” don’t know who John Mulaney is. A writer for the...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
Colbert 2012?
Stephen Colbert might run for president. But is this just another publicity stunt, or is Colbert really going to be on the ballot? It doesn’t matter. Colbert is exposing the...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
It’s for Comedy
When IFC changed its slogan to “Always On. Slightly Off.” in 2010, it signaled the network’s transition from movie channel to home of quirky, underappreciated comedy ser...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
Street Nonsense
Comedian Billy Eichner is a game show host for the Twitter generation. On “Funny or Die’s Billy on the Street,” (Fuse, Thursdays, 11 p.m.), the Upright Citizens Brigade ...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
Comedy, Special
Louis C.K. was already my favorite thing about comedy in 2011. Had there been any doubt, though, Dec. 10 would have settled it. That Saturday, he started selling his fourth st...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
You Cannot Escape
The title of the Second City’s new show at Woolly Mammoth doesn’t refer to the play itself but life in general. “Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies” (through Jan. 8) remind...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
Greatest Gift of All
It was hard to watch this past Thursday’s Christmas episode of “Community” without thinking about the NBC sitcom’s hiatus. So on second viewing, I tried to see “Regi...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
Running on Empty
When Dane Cook appeared on FX’s “Louie” last summer as himself, it felt like the beginning of the maligned comic’s redemption. Here was the most-popular and the most-h...
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Comedy | Inside Jokes
Simply ‘Happy’
I like my comedy to be different, especially on television. Whether it’s the dark, absurdest observations of “Louie,” the themed episodes of “Community” or the neste...







