Laura Swisher | |
|---|---|
 Swisher on Our Place Out Loud by Louise Palanker in 2013 | |
| Occupation | Stand-up comedian |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Website | www |
Laura Swisher is a stand-up comedian based in Los Angeles, California, best known for her role as co-host of the former TechTV program Unscrewed with Martin Sargent from 2003 to 2004. [1]
Swisher acted as the comedic sidekick to Martin Sargent on Unscrewed with Martin Sargent, which aired late-nights on TechTV from May 26, 2003, until its cancellation on November 11, 2004. The show was cancelled less than six months after G4 took over TechTV and eliminated much of that channel's programming.
Before moving to San Francisco and joining TechTV, Swisher worked in Los Angeles as a stand-up comedian. She earned TV appearances on Comedy Central's Premium Blend , as well as the first season of NBC's Last Comic Standing in 2003, in which she was a semi-finalist. [2] In addition to her stand-up work, she appeared as a contestant on the Game Show Network program Russian Roulette in 2002.
Swisher also appeared in the music video "Strange New Element" by the band Low Water. Near the end of the video, she makes an appearance with fellow TechTV personalities, including Cat Schwartz, Morgan Webb, Sarah Lane, Chi-Lan Lieu and Sumi Das. [3]
For two years, from 2005 to 2007, Swisher co-hosted a podcast with comedian Louise Palanker titled Weezy and the Swish, but that show ended in July 2007 due to Laura's increasing lack of involvement in the show after moving to San Francisco. [4] In 2011, she relocated back to Los Angeles. [1]
Swisher has also co-hosted Dailies on ReelzChannel, and has hosted a number of daily and weekly programs for TV.com.
Since 2016, she has been senior producer at Maximum Fun, the radio and podcast production house. [5]
The Screen Savers is an American TV show that aired on TechTV from 1998 to 2005. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV on May 11, 1998. The Screen Savers originally centered on computers, new technologies, and their adaptations in the world. However, after it was taken over by G4, the show became more general-interest oriented and focused somewhat less on technology. The final episode of The Screen Savers aired on March 18, 2005. Repeat episodes continued to air until March 25, 2005 when its replacement program Attack of the Show! began 3 days later on March 28, 2005. Two spiritual successors to The Screen Savers, This Week in Tech on the TWiT Network with Leo Laporte and Tekzilla on Revision3 with Patrick Norton, were started after the original show concluded. On April 19, 2015, Leo Laporte announced The New Screen Savers, which began airing on TWiT network May 2, 2015.
TechTV was a 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming. At the height of its six-year run, TechTV was broadcast in 70 countries, reached 43 million households, and claimed 1.9 million unique visitors monthly to its website. A focus on personality-driven product reviews and technical support made it a cultural hub for technology information worldwide, still existing today online through its former hosts' webcasts, most notably the TWiT Network.
Martin Sargent is an American television personality and was co-host of the This WEEK in FUN podcast with Sarah Lane. He is most well known from his time as a Segment Producer on TechTV's The Screen Savers and later as the host of his own late night talk show Unscrewed with Martin Sargent.
Xplay is a television program about video games. The program, known for its reviews and comedy skits, aired on G4 in the United States and has aired on G4 Canada in Canada, FUEL TV in Australia, Ego in Israel, GXT in Italy, MTV Russia & Rambler TV in Russia, NET 25 & Solar Sports in the Philippines, and Adult Swim and MuchMusic in Latin America.
G4techTV was a short-lived American cable and satellite channel resulting from a merger between Comcast-owned G4 and TechTV. The network officially launched on May 28, 2004.
Marc David Maron is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician.
Louise Palanker is a co-founder of Premiere Networks, now a division of iHeartMedia. She currently co-hosts Media Path Podcast with Fritz Coleman.
Christopher Ryan Hardwick is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosts Talking Dead, an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, as well as Talking with Chris Hardwick, a show in which Hardwick interviews prominent pop culture figures, and The Wall, a plinko-inspired gameshow on NBC, Hardwick created Nerdist Industries, operator of the Nerdist Podcast Network and home of his podcast The Nerdist Podcast, which later left the network and was renamed to ID10T with Chris Hardwick. His podcast has broadcast 1,000 episodes as of December 2019.
Guy Branum is an American actor, comedian, and writer. Some first knew him through his work as a regular panelist on Chelsea Lately on the E! network and the head writer and a sketch performer on, X-Play on the G4 network. He used to host the podcast Pop Rocket on the Maximum Fun network and hosted TruTV's Talk Show the Game Show. He co-starred in the movie Bros.
Douglas Steven Benson is an American comedian, marijuana rights advocate, television and podcast host, and actor, best known for hosting the podcasts and TV series Doug Loves Movies (2006–present), The Benson Interruption (2010-2013), Getting Doug with High (2013-2019) and The High Court with Doug Benson (2017). As a comedian, he has released 10 comedy albums, starting with Professional Humoredian in 2008, and has regularly appeared on TV shows including Comedy Central Presents, Best Week Ever and @midnight. In 2007, he was a contestant on the 5th season of the reality competition show Last Comic Standing.
Joseph Glenn Herbert, known professionally as Jo Koy, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a frequent panelist on E!'s late night show Chelsea Lately. He has since had a total of six comedy specials released by Comedy Central and Netflix. In 2024, Koy hosted the 81st Golden Globe Awards.
Matt Kirshen is a British comedian, actor, writer, and presenter based in Los Angeles.
Maximum Fun is an independent, worker-owned cooperative podcast and radio show production organization founded by Jesse Thorn. The organization originated with Thorn's college radio show The Sound of Young America which continued in an adapted format and with a new name, Bullseye with Jesse Thorn. Maximum Fun has since grown to include several other programs. Shows on the network cover a wide variety of topics.
Jackie Kashian is an American stand-up comedian.
Bonnie McFarlane is a Canadian comedian and writer. She is best known for appearing on the second season of the TV reality show Last Comic Standing and for co-hosting the podcast My Wife Hates Me with her husband Rich Vos.
Revision3 was a San Francisco–based multi-channel television network that created, produced and distributed streaming television shows on niche topics. Founded in 2005, it operated as a subsidiary of Discovery Digital Networks since 2012. The network produced technology and gaming oriented programming in tandem with traditional comedic, political, DIY, and movie-related content. On March 31, 2017, Discovery Communications closed the website.
Nerdist Industries, LLC is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a network of podcasts, a premium content YouTube channel, a news division, and a television version of the original podcast produced by and aired on BBC America.
International Waters was a comedy podcast hosted by Dave Holmes since renamed as Troubled Waters and distributed by the Maximum Fun network. The show pits teams of comedians from the United States and the United Kingdom against each other in a panel game format.
Violet Benson, better known by her online alias and persona Daddy Issues, is a Russian-American comedian best known for running the Instagram account "Daddy Issues".
Melinda Hill is an American comedian and actress best known for her stand-up comedy and appearances in Lady Dynamite, Adventure Time, The Late Late Show, The Bonnie Hunt Show, Comics Unleashed, Who Wants to Date a Comedian?, and as the host of Comedy.TV.
