In 2022, Amy Schumer starred in two different series. One was the long-delayed fifth season of her sketch comedy show Inside Amy Schumer, which had been absent for six years while Schumer focused on family and on other professional opportunities. The other was Hulu’s Life & Beth, a semi-autobiographical dramedy where Schumer played an unhappy woman who moved back into her childhood home in Long Island after the loss of her mother, trying for a fresh start to a life that hadn’t gone as she once hoped.  

The return of Inside Amy Schumer came and went with little notice, and the series’ entire run was recently scrubbed from Paramount+. It had its moments, but like a lot of revivals, it struggled to find its footing in a very different era. Life & Beth, though, struck enough of a chord that it’s back this week for another 10-episode season — and one that’s even better than the first. 

Catch the full review here.

Tim Robinson, a cult figure amongst comedians and comedy fans, has his second Emmy of the year for his Netflix series I Think You Should Leave.

After winning the award for Outstanding Actor In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series at yesterday’s event, the second time that he has won that award, he has now won the award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama Or Variety Series.

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Most of the current season of Inside Amy Schumer had wrapped filming when the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision was handed down and Roe v. Wade was overturned.

But, having already seen state laws banning abortions going into effect, Amy Schumer shared an idea for a bit with writer Christine Nangle (“I would say 75 percent of our best scenes ever came from her,” says Schumer). The result of their conversation is a parody ad, which appears in the first episode of the Paramount+ series, featuring Schumer urging people to visit the state of Colorado for its beautiful wilderness, bustling town centers — and legal access to reproductive services. The ad plugs abortion support organizations Brigid Alliance and the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project, which have seen an uptick in donations and outreach support since the sketch’s release, per the streamer. At the end of the ad, Schumer’s character loses her friendly tone as she warns with urgency that these offers may be for a limited time only.

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Irony Point might not have wide name recognition just yet, but its projects, which include Netflix’s WGA Award-winning “I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson” and Marvel’s new scripted “Squirrel Girl” podcast, are attracting the attention of high-profile backers.

The banner, now almost 12 months into a three-year overall deal with Netflix, is headed by co-presidents Alex Bach and Daniel Powell. Their little company also has partnered with Endeavor Content and Broadway Video on recent projects…

Keep reading at Variety.com

That damn Michael Che has been doing an increasingly damn good job co-anchoring “Weekend Update” on “Saturday Night Live” since 2014 and he’s pretty damn funny in a new HBO Max original sketch comedy vehicle that’s smart, insightful, topical and intended to make you uncomfortable from time to time — which it succeeds in doing, and that’s just the kind of comedy we could use right about now.

Keep reading at The Chicago Sun Times.

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Sarah Cooper knows how to make comedy during the pandemic.

The comedian has gone viral (although, maybe we really shouldn't use that word to describe something popular on the internet anymore) since the White House coronavirus briefings began in April. Her shtick seemed basic: She films herself lip-syncing to some of President Trump's more infamous quotations.

Simple, yes, but highly effective and hilarious. Cooper does so much with her body language, with editing and facial expressions, that the bits feel like so much more. Her videos have received millions of views this year on TikTok and other social media platforms, she gained praise from celebrities, a slot at the Democratic National Convention and guest-hosting slot on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" She also nabbed her own Netflix comedy special, "Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine" (now streaming).

Read more at USA Today.

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A production company’s “lesser-heard” voices may have their say in the next wave.

"We try to create an environment - from preproduction, to the set, to post - that is respectful," said executive producer Daniel Powell, "The goal is to bring as much diversity and different voices to the table as possible."

Powell and producer Alex Bach have been doing just that at Irony Point, their independent productions company. They focus on bringing more underrepresented talent in front of and behind the cameras.

"We start with the talent and their ideas and our belief in them - as opposed to working backward from what we think is going to be financially successful," said the Emmy and Peabody-winning Powell, "Ultimately, no one ever really knows how that part of it will work out."

Keep reading at Emmys.com

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When we look around at the world today, we can’t help but note how crazy this all is. Life is on pause for some and barreling ahead for others, all while the news is filled with doomsday headlines. It is so absurd we could laugh at it! Many people feel the same way and for the opportunity to get it all out — or just an opportunity to relieve some stress and laugh lightheartedly for a while. If you find yourself in either mentality, then look no further than sketch comedies to tap into those bottled-up cathartic giggles. Sketch comedy as a subgenre is designed to explore and find humor in the facts of life, which is exactly what we all need right about now!

Click to read more at Decider.

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Some of the best sketches in “Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show" flip the script on racist Hollywood tropes, from horror movies’ “kill the black guy first” cliché to the narrative of the white savior.

During a particularly inspired bit from the Netflix sketch-comedy series (six episodes, now streaming), supporting characters of color from classic films gather to attend a support group.

In one seat, there’s Will Smith’s Bagger Vance, who helped Matt Damon work on his golf swing. In another: Whoopi Goldberg’s Oda Mae Brown from “Ghost,” the psychic who played cross-mortal-coil matchmaker to Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. They’re all here for “Dignity and Ambition for Magical Negroes” (D.A.M.N.), a rehab clinic designed to help them let go of their need to mentor white people…

Read the rest of the article at The Boston Globe

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The premiere of “Astronomy Club” is so dense with fully-formed jokes, wry social commentaries, and wild left turns that you’d be forgiven for wondering if you accidentally dropped into the show’s second season rather than its first. There are sketches about a life or death hair emergency, the chain reaction of biases of people sizing each other up from either side of a locked apartment building door, and a harrowing disaster from the perspective of its gingerbread-men victims. There’s one about a support group for Magical Negroes who can’t let go of their need to help white people (think Bagger Vance), and another about Robin Hood getting a lesson in the intersection between class and race when he tries to rob a wealthy black family. Throughout, there’s a faux MTV-style reality show starring the Astronomy Club itself. (“Why Astronomy Club? We’re black and we’re all stars — and like most stars, nobody knows our names,” explains cast member Keisha Zollar.) This first episode sets the standard for “Astronomy Club” as clever, ambitious, and perhaps most importantly for a sketch show, both self-aware and completely ridiculous. In other words, it’s a pretty great way to blow a couple hours of your life whether you want to think a little harder about your comedy, or just appreciate its total absurdity.

Keep reading here