Hello, and welcome to the Comedy Means Business newsletter. I'm Matt Grobar — Senior Film Reporter at Deadline and longtime observer/fan of stand-up — and I'll be using the newsletter as a platform to spotlight the latest big news in comedy, across stand-up, film, television, podcasting and more.
The companion CMB podcast , launched earlier this morning, will feature conversations with the players you need to know in today's stand-up space — both longtime veterans of the craft and fresh faces, along with influential figures operating behind the scenes.
Presented by Nateland Entertainment, the burgeoning media company of top comic Nate Bargatze, the first issue of the newsletter includes an expansive portrait of Bargatze’s vision for the future. In the first edition of the podcast, he lays it all out.
Below, we also get into exclusive fundraising, touring and executive hiring news -- some of which you can only read in this newsletter -- before recapping recent comedy business highlights. Let’s dive in...
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| L-R: Keith Alberstadt, Jonnie W., Nate Bargatze, Justin Smith, Will Forte and Julian McCullough performing at Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia on June 8 (Noah Stroupe) |
When comedian Nate Bargatze started his career, he dreamed of one day selling out Bridgestone Arena in his hometown of Nashville.
“Not that I even knew it would happen,” he says. “But it would be a daydream to keep you going through the not-fun times.”
It wasn’t a short journey to the top. It took Bargatze more than 20 years of work at his craft, comprising thousands of performances, to achieve his goal of reaching stand-up’s upper echelons. But in April 2023, after making his way up from clubs to theaters to arenas, he got there, setting an attendance record in front of a crowd of 19,365.
A dreamer from the start, Bargatze realized in this moment that he could dream far bigger than he ever had before, wielding his influence to conquer new areas far flung from the stage, while sticking to his core ethos of bringing others along for the ride. Six months later, he lay the foundation for his next chapter with the launch of Nateland Entertainment, a media company through which he says he intends to build “a world” of his own.
>>>The Vision |
| Danny Frenkel and Alex Dajani of Punchup Live |
| DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE: Punchup Live , the live entertainment platform founded by former Meta exec Danny Frenkel and Meta/Apple software engineer Alex Dajani, has raised $2.3 million in an oversubscribed seed fundraising round.
Led by Social Leverage, the round saw participation from all major existing investors including Hustlefund and Evil Twin Capital. The new injection of capital will accelerate Punchup Live’s mission to reimagine how fans discover and engage with live entertainers in the digital age, allowing Punchup to double down on its work in the comedy space, while expanding into music, magic, and live-podcasting shows. >>>The Story |
| Leslie Jones performs at Netflix Is a Joke Fest in Los Angeles on May 04, 2024 (Jerod Harris/Getty Images) |
| Leslie Jones Sets North American Tour Dates |
CMB NEWSLETTER EXCLUSIVE: Saturday Night Live alum Leslie Jones is heading back on the road with a set of North American dates, kicking off at the Temple Theatre in Saginaw, MI on September 19.
A three-time Emmy nominee who has been working as a stand-up since 1987, Jones has to date put out two specials: Time Machine for Netflix in 2020 and 2010’s Problem Child before that. She was with SNL from 2014 to 2019, recently returning for the 50th anniversary special, and is repped by UTA, OPE Partners, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller. Check out her dates below.
Friday, September 19 - Saginaw, MI - Temple Theatre
Saturday, September 20 - Skokie, IL - North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
Saturday, September 27 - Monterey, CA - Golden State Theatre
Sunday, September 28 - Napa, CA - Uptown Theatre
Friday October 10 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
Saturday, October 11 - Orlando, FL - The Plaza Live
Friday, October 24 - Minneapolis, MN - Pantages Theatre
Thursday, November 6 - Tarrytown, NY - Tarrytown Music Hall
Friday, November 7 - Wilmington, DE - The Playhouse on Rodney Square
Friday, November 14 - Columbus, OH - KEMBA Live!
Friday, November 21 - Salem, OR - Elsinore Theatre
Saturday, November 22 - Spokane, WA - Bing Crosby Theater |
OTHER TOURING NEWS
After debuting a new special, documentary and unscripted series on Prime Video — the latter, chronicling his life on an Ontario, Canada farm — Tom Green is getting back on tour, hitting 30 Canadian cities, beginning with the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines, ON on November 4. Tickets to his Stompin’ Comedy Tour go on sale Friday, June 20 at 10 a.m. EST at AdmitONE.com.
BAFTA-winning Irish comic and actress Aisling Bea will traverse Ireland and the UK next year with her Older Than Jesus tour, beginning in London on February 27. Tickets go on sale at Ticketmaster on June 20.
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CMB NEWSLETTER EXCLUSIVE: Nick Harris has joined Netflix as Manager Stand Up, Comedy Formats, Deadline has learned. Harris joins from Avalon, where he began working as a comedy manager in 2021. He got his start as a doorman at Helium Comedy Club in Portland, back in 2012, before making his way up to become General Manager of the club in 2017. He's been devoted to the cause of supporting comedians ever since. |
Mike Vecchione - The veteran New York comic debuts his new special, Low Income White, on the YouTube channel of Nate Bargatze's Nateland on June 27, as we recently told you first. Mike Lavin directed the hour, taped at The Lab at Zanies in Nashville. Bargatze and Adrian Kulp exec produced for Nateland, which unveils Season 3 of Nateland Presents: The Showcase on July 16. >>>More
Nate Jackson - Earlier this week, we also told you first about Super Funny, the debut special of this Washington state comic, which streams globally on Netflix July 8. Taped at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle, the hour is directed by Marcus Russell Price. Jackson exec produced alongside Zack Waxenberg and Larry Meyer. >>>More
Marc Maron - The veteran comic and WTF podcast host has announced that his new special, Panicked, is set to premiere on HBO on Friday, August 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT and will also be available to stream on HBO Max. Coming on the heels of 2023's From Bleak to Dark, also for HBO, the special will find Maron offering up a nuanced perspective on our increasingly uncertain world, as he's wont to do. Maron calls the hour "the best work I've ever done." >>>More
Zarna Garg - Hulu has set a July 18 premiere date for the special Practical People Win — Garg's first for the service.
Broadway Laughs
Comedian Jeff Ross has announced that Take a Banana for the Ride, a theatrical solo show marking his Broadway debut, will begin previews at the Nederlander Theatre on Tuesday, August 5, opening on Monday, August 18 for an eight-week limited engagement. The show is said to offer "a peeled back look into the heart and soul of America's Roastmaster," taking its name from "his beloved grandfather's practical and loving travel advice." >>>More
Film/TV News
DEVELOPMENT
Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald, the creators of Netflix's hit Karate Kid sequel series Cobra Kai, are developing a new Harold & Kumar film for Lionsgate's Mandate Pictures. Hurwitz and Schlossberg will direct from a script written with Heald. The project marks a full-circle opportunity for the trio, who began their careers with the stoner buddy comedy franchise. >>>More
Casting
Connie Britton and Annie Mumolo have joined HBO's untitled new Steve Carell comedy series from Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, which will also star Charly Clive, Danielle Deadwyler, Phil Dunster, John C. McGinley and Lauren Tsai.
Teyana Taylor, Ben Marshall, Zach Cherry and Kill Tony's Kam Patterson have joined the cast of Netflix's Kevin Hart comedy 72 Hours from filmmaker Tim Story. >>>More
Lulu Wilson and Jack Martin have signed on to star alongside Gaten Matarazzo and Sean Giambrone in an untitled new Hulu drug trip comedy from writer-directors Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, aka BriTANicK. >>>More
Digman!, Comedy Central’s adult animated sitcom from Neil Campbell and Andy Samberg, has unveiled a Season 2 trailer and July 9 premiere date, exclusively with Deadline. >>>More
Netflix has ordered a second season of Bad Thoughts, the six-episode comedy created by and starring Tom Segura, in which the stand-up puts a lens to his most dark and twisted comedic fantasies.
Comedian Druski, aka Drew Desbordes, is teaming with Kenya Barris to develop a feature adaptation of his recent short film The Diggers, which featured the likes of Shane Gillis and Theo Von. The buddy comedy will follow Brandon Digger as he deals with unexpected challenges posed by inheriting his late father’s funeral home.
Atlanta-based comic Desi Banks is developing an untitled half-hour sitcom for BET Studios, loosely based on his stand-up. The show follows a lovable yet stubborn comedian on the rise as he attempts to balance fatherhood, relationships, and the pursuit of his dream.
Next On Screen
Mark Viane, Paramount’s President of International Theatrical Distribution, declared that “comedies are back!” in a presentation touting the studio’s slate, including the upcoming Naked Gun reboot, at CineEurope. >>>More
On June 27, A24 releases Sorry, Baby, one of the buzz titles from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, which stars and is written and directed by Eva Victor, in her feature debut. The logline: Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on… for everyone around her, at least. The film sold to A24 for around $8 million following its festival launch before going on to close out Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, and Barry Jenkins produced. Check out a trailer here.
On July 10, Netflix unveils Too Much, Lena Dunham’s first series since HBO’s Camping in 2018, which she created with her husband Luis Felber. The romantic comedy follows a workaholic New Yorker (Hacks breakout Meg Stalter) who, after a devastating breakup, relocates to London seeking solitude, only to find herself entangled in a messy romance with a chaotic musician (Will Sharpe), challenging her notions of love and self-worth. Watch a trailer here.
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The Comedy Means Business newsletter will run biweekly on Mondays, as will the podcast — though we'll be running up to a pod a week for the first month. We'll be back next week with an episode highlighting Long Live the State, a documentary on the iconic sketch group The State and their MTV series of the same name, which is coming off its Tribeca debut. The podcast can be found on Apple, YouTube, and Spotify.
Got a tip, pitch, comment, or feature idea? Reach out at mattgrobar@deadline.com.
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