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Talkhouse

UK comedian Phil Wang’s latest comedy special, Wang in There, Baby!, is now streaming on Netflix, and he recently made his film debut alongside Timothée Chalamet in Wonka. He released his first Netflix special, Philly Philly Wang Wang, in 2021 and has also appeared on TV in Inside Amy Schumer, Life &amp; Beth, Taskmaster, and Have I Got News For You. Phil released his first book, the comedic memoir Sidesplitter, in 2021 to critical acclaim, featuring on The Times and Sunday Times’ Books of the Year list. Phil previously wrote and starred in his own BBC Radio 4 special, Wangsplaining which won Best Scripted Comedy (Longform) at the 2020 BBC Audio Awards, fronted the Audible original series Phil Wang Hates Horror, and co-hosts the hit podcast BudPod with Pierre Novellie. (Photo by Matt Crockett.)

Phil Wang

Film

Three Great Things: Phil Wang

Susan Kelechi Watson starred as Beth Pearson on This is Us, winning awards and widespread acclaim for her performance. In addition to starring in the series, Watson penned an episode of the upcoming final season. Her other TV credits include Netflix’s animated series Ada Twist, Scientist, a major recurring role on Louie, and appearances on numerous other TV shows including The Blacklist, Divorce, Private Practice and Law &amp; Order. In film she starred in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Peter and John and Small Moving Parts. On stage she most recently starred in The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in The Park production of Merry Wives. As a producer, Watson executive produced and starred in the acclaimed HBO special of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. Watson’s first foray into producing was the film Premature, which debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by IFC Films. Watson is also a proud Epic NEXT youth development mentor with the Epic Theatre Ensemble, a professional theater company with a mission to promote vital civic discourse and social change through drama.

Susan Kelechi Watson

Three Great Things: Susan Kelechi Watson

Rob Schneider’s latest movie, Daddy Daughter Trip, which he directed and stars in with his real-life family, is out now on DVD and digital. After starting out a stand-up comedian, Schneider rose to prominence as a cast member and writer on Saturday Night Live, from 1988 to 1994. Following his departure from SNL, he went on to a career in feature films, including starring roles in the comedy films Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) and its 2005 sequel, The Animal (2001), The Hot Chick (2002), The Benchwarmers (2006) and Big Stan (2007). Between 2015 and 2017, he starred in three season’s of the autobiographical sitcom Real Rob and in 2019 launched the podcast See What Happens.

Rob Schneider

Three Great Things: Rob Schneider

Russell Howard is <a href="https://www.russell-howard.co.uk/home#us-dates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">currently on tour</a> in the U.S. and launches his new podcast, <a href="https://www.russell-howard.co.uk/podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wonderbox</a>, on October 11. Wonderbox will see Howard discussing with special guests their &#8220;wonderbox,&#8221; which is a place where you keep the little reminders that make life worth living. He is one of the UK’s most successful comedians and the writer and star of The Russell Howard Hour (Sky) and the first comedian to release a special (Lubricant) accompanied by a documentary (Until the Wheels Come Off) on Netflix. Since the global lockdown Russell has been at the forefront of the live comedy scene, with a world tour, Respite, that took him to 79 cities across 24 countries in 5 continents. Russell has over 7 million followers on social media, and recently crossed 1 billion views across his YouTube channel, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Russell Howard

Three Great Things: Russell Howard

Signe Baumane’s new animated feature, <a href="https://www.myloveaffairwithmarriagemovie.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">My Love Affair with Marriage</a>, which fuses animation with music, theater, science, photography, three-dimensional sets and traditional hand-drawn animation to tell the story of a spirited young woman&#8217;s quest for perfect Love and lasting Marriage, opens October 6 in New York City. She is a Latvian-born, Brooklyn-based independent filmmaker, artist, writer, and animator. She has made 17 award-winning animated shorts and is best known for her first animated feature, Rocks in my Pockets, which covers a 100-year history of depression and suicide of women in her family, including herself. It premiered at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2014 where it won a FIPRESCI prize, went on to over 130 international festivals and opened theatrically in the U.S. through Zeitgeist Films. Signe is a Guggenheim Fellow and a Fellow in Film for New York Foundation for the Arts. She has a degree in Philosophy from Moscow State University.

Signe Baumane

On Lasse, Lisa and Some Like It Hot

Jordan Firstman is the lead actor and executive producer of Sebastián Silva’s new dark comedy Rotting in the Sun, out in theaters September 8 from Mubi. He’s an actor-writer-director best known for his popular “Instagram Impressions” and was recently seen in the Marvel limited series Ms. Marvel and Kenya Barris’ You People, opposite Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. He has written, directed, and starred in several acclaimed short films, including Sold, The Disgustings, Men Don’t Whisper (which was included in both Sundance and SXSW), and Call Your Father, which was recently included in the Criterion Collection. His television credits include HBO Max’s Search Party, for which he served as a producer in Season 4 and also recurred as an actor, and Big Mouth, where he was a consulting producer. He also directed multiple episodes of the Peabody nominated Sundance TV series, This Close, and previously served as a story editor on the Comedy Central series The Other Two.

Jordan Firstman

Three Great Things: Jordan Firstman

Actress, comedian and writer Sherry Cola is currently starring in the hit comedy Joy Ride and the comedy drama Shortcomimgs, which hits theaters on August 4. She will also appear in the upcoming Netflix film A Family Affair opposite Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, and Joey King and she will lend her voice to Paramount Animation’s upcoming feature The Tiger’s Apprentice, opposite Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, and Sandra Oh. On the television front, Cola currently stars on the hit drama series Good Trouble as Alice Kwan, a queer first-generation Chinese American who manages the apartment complex the ladies are living in and aspires to be a stand-up comedian. Cola got her break in television in 2017, landing a seven-episode arc on Amazon’s I Love Dick, opposite Kevin Bacon and Kathryn Hahn, then in 2018 booked a recurring role on TNT’s Claws opposite Niecy Nash, Carrie Preston, and Judy Reyes. (Photo by Nat Lim.)

Sherry Cola

Three Great Things: Sherry Cola

George Schlatter changed the face of television when he created and produced the landmark sketch comedy series Laugh-In. Throughout his long and storied career, he also created and produced the TV series Real People, produced the first five years of the Grammy Awards, and hundreds of hours of variety series and specials featuring many of comedy and music’s biggest stars, as well as two Presidential inaugural opening ceremonies. He was also the creator and producer of The American Comedy Awards, which honored and celebrated comedic artists and performances – the Awards ran on network television for 15 years. Schlatter has received numerous honors and awards including 25 Emmy nominations, and three Emmy awards, plus Television Critics Association Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Golden Globes, the Directors Guild Award, the Producers Guild “Man of The Year” and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

George Schlatter

Exclusive Book Excerpt: The Time Judy Garland Tried to Kill Me

Bobcat Goldthwait&#8217;s new comedy album, <a href="http://prettygoodfriends.com/bobcat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Soldier for Christ</a>, is out now via PGF Records. He is no stranger to entertainment and is one of the most recognizable comedians in show business today. Bobcat’s stand up features hilarious riffs on politics, divorce, going broke and his career as a writer and director. His recent films include the acclaimed Barry Crimmins documentary Call Me Lucky, found-footage film Willow Creek, black comedy God Bless America and World’s Greatest Dad, starring Robin Williams.

Bobcat Goldthwait

Three Great Things: Bobcat Goldthwait

Writer-director Rachel Wolther&#8216;s latest film, <a href="https://thefrenchitalianmovie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The French Italian</a>, is available on VOD everywhere movies are rented and sold; you can follow the film <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thefrenchitalianfilm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. She is an alumna of the Sundance Screenwriter&#8217;s Lab, her work has appeared the Black List and in 2017 she was featured as one of Filmmaker magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” Her first film was <a href="https://www.snowybingbongs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Snowy Bing Bongs Across the North Star Combat Zone</a>, which she directed with Alex Houston Fischer.

Rachel Wolther

Who Am I, in Real Life, Trying to Get Revenge On?

Ben Steinbauer is an award-winning film, television, and commercial director. Michael Moore called his debut feature documentary Winnebago Man “one of the funniest documentaries ever made!” and Roger Ebert named it one of his favorite films of 2010. His new comedy documentary, <a href="https://www.chopandsteele.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chop &amp; Steele</a>, premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and is currently on a tour of Alamo Drafthouse theaters around the country. Steinbauer was named “one of Texas&#8217; best directors” by Texas Monthly and is co-owner of the Emmy-award winning production company The Bear. (Photo by David Bukstein.)

Ben Steinbauer

How Kid Rock and a Cancer Scare Created My New Film, Chop & Steele

Bobby Farrelly is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer whose new film, the sports comedy-drama <a href="https://www.focusfeatures.com/champions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Champions</a>, starring Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson, Cheech Marin and Ernie Hudson, is now in theaters through Focus Features. Along with his brother Peter, the Farrelly Brothers are known worldwide for their iconic comedies, including Dumb and Dumber, Me, Myself and Irene, There&#8217;s Something About Mary, Kingpin, and Hall Pass, among others. Their films have grossed well over $1 billion at the box office. Farrelly also produced the award-winning documentary The Lost Son of Havana, and has directed many hit TV shows, including Loudermilk, The Now, and Trailer Park Boys. (Photo by Marion Curtis / StarPix for Focus Features.)

comedy