Mike Farah was the first producer hired at Funny or Die, and he has been a vital part of the upstart digital production studio since 2008, when Funny or Die was still known only as an online comedy video platform. The company has produced the critically-acclaimed Brockmire for IFC, Emmy-nominated Billy on the Street, the Peabody award-winning American Vandal for Netflix, the Emmy-nominated Sarah Silverman series I Love You, America for Hulu, and the feature films, Between Two Ferns: The Movie for Netflix, and Impractical Jokers: The Movie for Warner Bros. In the fall of 2022, they’ll present Pickled, a celebrity pickleball tournament hosted by Stephen Colbert for CBS and Paramount+, as well as WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story, a feature film biopic spoof that premieres on Roku. As CEO since 2016, Farah sat down with me in his Hollywood offices to take a look back at all the twists and turns in Funny or Die’s history.
If you like this conversation, please consider subscribing to my Substack called Piffany at Piffany.Substack.com so you can read bonus commentary on this episode as well as more comedy news and insights. Thanks in advance, and now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to it!
Tenacious D. Flight of the Conchords. The Lonely Island. We have plenty of examples of goofy guys getting together and making mirthy music. Where do the Wolves of Glendale fit in? Eric Jackowitz and Ethan Edenburg both came out of South Florida rock bands, and after performing for the Todd Glass podcast, formed a comedy band called The Cooties who were New Faces at Montreal’s Just For Laughs in 2017 and performed on Conan before fizzling out. Eric and Ethan then added Tom McGovern, a former dueling piano player from New York City who performed on the 2021 season finale of American Idol. The trio formed Wolves of Glendale, who already featured in the 2022 Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival. They met up with me before a gig at El Cid in Los Angeles to talk about where they’ve been and where they’re heading next.
If you like this conversation, please consider subscribing to my Substack called Piffany at Piffany.Substack.com so you can read bonus commentary on this episode as well as more comedy news and insights. Thanks in advance, and now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to it!
Subhah Agarwal is a bicoastal writer and stand-up comedian who grew up outside of Chicago, where she first started hitting open mics while still in high school. Subhah has written for Comedy Knockout on TruTV, The Jim Jefferies Show on Comedy Central, and Arsenio Hall’s live 2022 talk show for Netflix. She made her late-night TV debut telling jokes on NBC’s A Little Late with Lilly Singh, and acted in shows such as Westworld and General Hospital. She has released her first comedy album, “Dog Show,” via Blonde Medicine, and sat with me to talk about explaining her comedy career to her immigrant parents, breaking out of the open mic scene, writing for other comedians, and finding her own voice.
If you like this conversation, please consider subscribing to my Substack called Piffany at Piffany.Substack.com so you can read bonus commentary on this episode as well as more comedy news and insights. Thanks in advance, and now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to it!
Yvonne Orji first came to our attention as Molly, Issa's best friend on Issa Rae's HBO series, Insecure.
The Nigerian-born actress and comedian hasn't let the end of Insecure keep her down, though. Since the series wrapped at the end of 2021, Orji has put out her first book, "Bamboozled by Jesus," hosted the Yearly Departed comedy special for Amazon Prime Video, hosted the International Emmy Awards, and hosted a reality dating show for HBO Max, My Mom, Your Dad. Orji sat down with Decider to talk about her second HBO stand-up comedy special, Yvonne Orji: A Whole Me, what's changed in her life in the two years since her first special, Momma, I Made It!, how she's able to separate her work from her worth, and how casting other actresses in her special is good for everyone.
If you like this conversation, please consider subscribing to my Substack called Piffany at Piffany.Substack.com so you can read bonus commentary on this episode as well as more comedy news and insights. Thanks in advance, and now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to it!