It’s the end of 2022, which means it’s time once again for my annual year-end check-in with Jason Zinoman, critic at-large for The New York Times. Jason and I talk about the top trends we saw in comedy this year, the best up-and-comers in stand-up, the craziest ways comedy intersected with politics. And after all that, could we determine a Most Valuable Performer for the year? It’s our Comedy MVPs of 2022 episode.
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!
Mike Bridenstine is based in Los Angeles, was raised in Iowa, but it was his time in between in Chicago that helped form him and his friendships as a comedian. Bridenstine has written a book about the rise of the alt-comedy scene in Chicago in the early 2000s, which included his role in starting up a stand-up and video collective called Blerds — among them: Kumail Nanjiani, Kyle Kinane, T.J. Miller, and director Jordan Vogt-Roberts. Since going Hollywood, Bridenstine’s credits have included multiple national TV ad campaigns, Adam DeVine’s House Party and The Eric Andre Show. He has just released his second stand-up comedy album, “Hustle,” and sat down with me to talk about his career and how pivoting his podcast during the pandemic helped get him back into the game.
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!
Kenice Mobley is a comedian from North Carolina, now based in Brooklyn, NY, whose star has been on the rise since the start of the pandemic. Mobley landed on Vulture’s Comedians You Should and WiIll Know list in 2021, made her late-night debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and performed at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival in 2022 as part of the “Introducing…” showcase. She also launched an Instagram Live and podcast called Make Yourself Cry. Now she’s more fully introducing herself to the world with her debut comedy album, Follow Up Question, out now via Blonde Medicine. Mobley joined me over Zoom to talk about how she pivoted from studying psychology to performing comedy, her work with a nonprofit seeing how comedy can change hearts and minds on critical issues, and what has made her cry along the way.
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!
Billy Wayne Davis is a comedian who has performed on Conan, Last Comic Standing and Comedy Central, lent his voice and producing skills to SquidBillies, hosted a travel doc for CMT, Morgan Spurlock Presents Freedom! The Movie , opened for Sturgill Simpson, and worked with Sacha Baron Cohen on both Who is America? and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Davis has just released his second stand-up comedy festival, Testify, which premiered exclusively on the Moment platform in November 2022. He sat down with me to talk about taking risks in comedy, his previous experiences in and around Seattle, fatherhood and his new special.
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!