Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe content that was an "alternative" to the mainstream of live comedy, which often involved racist and sexist material. In other contexts, it is the nature of the form that is "alternative", avoiding reliance on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt has defined it as "comedy where the audience has no pre-set expectations about the crowd, and vice versa. In comedy clubs, there tends to be a certain vibe—alternative comedy explores different types of material."
Kevin Brennan is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster and writer. He is the host of the Misery Loves Company podcast, and is best known for his work on Saturday Night Live'sWeekend Update in 1999 and 2000.
Insomniac with Dave Attell was an American television show on Comedy Central hosted by comedian Dave Attell, which ran from August 5, 2001 until November 11, 2004.
David Attell is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer best known as the host of Comedy Central's Insomniac with Dave Attell, which earned him a cult following. His work has drawn admiration from many comedians.
Comedy Central Presents is an American stand-up comedy television series created for Comedy Central. It is the network's main half-hour program which highlights either one or a series of stand-up comedians each episode. In 2011, the series ended and Comedy Central replaced it with the revamped The Half Hour, now called Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents, a series of 30-minute stand-up specials.
Dane Jeffrey Cook is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He has released six comedy albums: Harmful If Swallowed; Retaliation; Vicious Circle; Rough Around the Edges: Live from Madison Square Garden; and Isolated Incident. In 2006, Retaliation became the highest-charting comedy album in 28 years and went platinum. He performed an HBO special in late 2006, Vicious Circle, a straight-to-DVD special titled Rough Around The Edges, and a Comedy Central special in 2009 titled Isolated Incident. He is known for his use of observational, often vulgar, and sometimes dark comedy.
Anthony Higgins Clark is an American actor and comedian who starred in the television series Yes, Dear, in which he played the character Greg Warner.
Gregory Carlos Giraldo was an American stand-up comedian, television personality, and lawyer. He is remembered for his appearances on Comedy Central's televised roast specials, and for his work on that network's television shows Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, and the programming block Stand-Up Nation, the last of which he hosted.
Insult comedy is a comedy genre in which the act consists mainly of offensive insults usually directed at the audience or other performers. Typical targets for insult include people in the show's audience, the town hosting the performance, or the subject of a roast. An insult comedian often maintains a competitive and interactive relationship with their audience. The style has been described as "festive abuse". The style can be distinguished from an act based on satire, or political humor. Insult comedy is often used to deflect or silence hecklers even when the rest of the show is not focused on it.
Jeffrey Ross Lifschultz is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known as the "Roastmaster General" for his insult comedy, his multiple appearances at celebrity roasts held by the New York Friars Club, the Comedy Central Roast television series, and the Netflix historical comedy series Historical Roasts. In 2009 the Chicago Tribune called Ross "the new millennium Don Rickles." His directorial debut, the 2006 documentary Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie, won the prize for Best Film at the Comedia film festival held at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal.
The Comic Strip Live is the oldest stand-up comedy showcase club in New York City, located at 1568 Second Avenue.
Tom Rhodes is an American comedian, actor, host, and travel writer.
Comedy Central Records is a record label based in New York and owned by Paramount Global. The label specializes in stand-up comedy albums and is distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Gotham Comedy Club is a venue for stand-up comedy in New York City. The comedy club is located on 208 West 23rd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues in Chelsea.
Walking the Room was a comedy podcast hosted by American comedians Greg Behrendt and Dave Anthony. The free, hour-long weekly show debuted via web and iTunes on May 24, 2010, and was recorded in Behrendt's closet in Los Angeles, California. Each episode was broken into three segments that typically involve rants and banter between the hosts, but occasional guests have included Patton Oswalt, Karen Kilgariff, Brian Posehn, Jimmy Pardo, Jonah Ray, Brendon Walsh, Jen Kirkman and TOFOP hosts Wil Anderson and Charlie Clausen. Anthony produced and edited the show. Behrendt originally created the opening theme, “Estoy Podcuddle,” under the name HoboTang, and most of the music played on the show is performed by his band, The Reigning Monarchs. The podcast ceased regular production in October 2014 following an extended hiatus. In April 2015, a final episode was recorded from the Melbourne Comedy Festival and released a few days later.
Jesse Joyce is an American stand-up comedian, Emmy Nominated and WGA Award winning writer.
Vincent S. Brand III is an American stand-up comedian from Middletown, NJ. He is best known for being the owner of The Stress Factory Comedy Clubs located in New Brunswick, NJ and Bridgeport, CT. Brand has also made television and radio appearances on shows, such as Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Last Comic Standing, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Opie and Anthony Show, NickMom, Night Out, and Restaurant Stakeout.
Jimmy Shubert is a stand-up comedian from Philadelphia now living in Los Angeles. He is known for being part of Sam Kinison's "Outlaws of Comedy," as a 2014 finalist on Last Comic Standing, and for acting roles on shows such as The King of Queens, Entourage, and ER, and movies including Go and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell is a Netflix comedy television show featuring comedians Jeff Ross and Dave Attell.
