Stand-up, sketch and specials, plus confirmed open mics in New York, LA, Houston, Austin, Atlanta and new cities every few days.
My dad says comedy isn’t a real job. Rich, coming from a man who’s done the same eleven minutes at Thanksgiving since 1994.
Dana Okafor · Columbus, OHSubmit yours →
Judd Apatow's Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald lands on Netflix on October 16, built from home videos, fan footage and the man's own voice. It is the first story about Norm that Norm can't wreck with a moth joke.
Watch on YouTubeA traitorous couples therapist, being the breadwinner in her marriage, and why single mothers deserve to be love-bombed. Brand new on Don't Tell's channel.
Watch on YouTubePicked by the desk this week. The room went quiet and the comic kept going. Watch it all the way through.
This week’s biggest festival is two nights at Boardwalk Hall with eleven road-tested headliners and no one on the bill still asking for stage time.
By the Heckle Desk · 4 min readPhoto: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City. Farragutful / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)The week’s pick from our podcast shortlist is a panel that reads like a résumé of the show’s own farm system.
By the Heckle Desk · 3 min readI Know You Lying, the debut Netflix hour from the Chicago comic, lands worldwide this week. The tour was the audition. The special is the receipt.
By the Heckle Desk · 4 min readPhoto: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for NetflixThe Taskmaster and After Life regular’s full special went free on 800 Pound Gorilla’s YouTube this week, after a month behind the Gorilla Comedy+ paywall.
By the Heckle Desk · 3 min readImage: 800 Pound Gorilla / JiksawThe internet’s most expensive-looking sketch crew is making Boys for Life. The real test is whether a group chat survives a third act.
By the Heckle Desk · 4 min readImage: Almost Friday TV, “addressing the situation…” (YouTube)Vegas gets a rebuilt showroom wired to tape every set. In New York and L.A., the old rooms are betting on the opposite.
By the Heckle Desk · 4 min readPhoto: Jade Catta-Preta on the Laugh Factory stage. Katmon5 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)Four weeks of releases say the quiet part out loud: YouTube is no longer where comics go when Netflix says no. It’s where they go first.
By the Heckle Desk · 5 min readImage: James Austin Johnson, He’ll Yeah, free on 800 Pound Gorilla’s YouTube since Sept 22Drag the ring or use the arrows.
The Kill Tony regular whose “I Like Rocks” bit went viral, then landed him on SNL’s 51st season. In 2026 he co-starred in Netflix’s 72 Hours.
Establish a world the room already agrees with. Short, specific, no jokes yet — you are borrowing trust.
Name the strange thing. The audience leans in because they can feel the turn coming.
Collide the premise with reality. Land on the funniest word — then stop talking.
Ride the laugh with a second hit off the same premise. The best comics tag three deep.
Five minutes, one take, no edits. New comics every week.
Two headliners, one couch, the hour before showtime.
Comics rewatch their worst sets and explain what died.
Riding along with the comics doing four spots a night.
Tour drops, new specials, and the one clip worth your minute. Five items, every morning.