Comedy Now: Marc Maron Will Get Real On Netflix And Steve Martin Makes A Music Video

Getty/Netflix

Welcome to Comedy Now, a weekly column cataloging what comedy fans should know about what’s available in the streaming world. Whether it’s a brand new special, an old classic, or the oddball show that defies categorization, we’ll list as many as we can for your enjoyment right here. Who knows? We may even throw in a few non-streamable bits on occasion, like tour announcements from our favorite comics. You can check out the previous column here.

What’s New

Marc Maron: Too Real (Netflix)

Netflix

In addition to the phenomenal Netflix wrestling series GLOW, comedian and actor Marc Maron has also been working on a new stand-up special for the streaming giant. Little is known about Too Real, but during a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Maron revealed the new hour would premiere Tuesday, September 5th. “That’s my problem,” he joked when Fallon asked whether or not he actually kept things “too real” in his everyday life. Considering the pair’s opening conversation about the American president whose last name rhymes with “lump,” chances are that’s a definite “yes.”

“Caroline” by Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers (YouTube)

Aside from doing his first stand-up set in 35 years in 2016, and “teaching” online classes in comedy, Steve Martin generally sticks to playwriting and music these days. Which is perfectly fine, because he and his trusty Steep Canyon Rangers have a brand new album debuting on September 22nd. Appropriately titled The Long-Awaited Album, the group released a quirky new music video for its first single, “Caroline,” which stars Saturday Night Live regulars Bill Hader and Cecily Strong as former lovers. It might not be for everybody, but if you enjoy watching and listening to Martin play banjo, then it’s right for you.

Ryan Hamilton: Happy Face (Netflix)

Aside from a cameo as himself in Robert De Niro’s recent film The Comedian, Ryan Hamilton has largely made a name for himself doing stand-up on the late night talk show circuit. His routines have also scored him airtime on Comedy Central and Showtime, but on Tuesday, August 29th his debut special Happy Face will attempt to make sense of our crazy timeline on Netflix. A former “Five Comics To Watch” entry in Rolling Stone, Hamilton’s first filmed hour will “[take] a hilarious, self-deprecating look at his unusual cheerful disposition” and “[reflect] on the culture shock of adjusting from small town Idaho to life in the big city.”

Tiffany Haddish: She Ready! From the Hood to Hollywood! (Showtime)

Between the hugely successful Girls Trip and Jay-Z’s recent “Moonlight” video, Tiffany Haddish is on fire. Then again, if you ever watched the wonderful (but sadly canceled) The Carmichael Show or caught Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele’s Keanu, you already knew who Haddish was. She frequently guested on Comedy Central’s @midnight, and thanks to Showtime, the comedian will debut her first special on Friday, August 18th at 9pm ET/PT. In She Ready! From the Hood to Hollywood!, Haddish will discuss everything from “getting revenge on ex-boyfriends” to “introducing Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to Groupon.”

The Chris Gethard Show Pitches to Conan (TBS/truTV)

TBS

The Chris Gethard Show‘s return to live television on truTV has been one of comedy’s greatest gifts in recent weeks. However, if the titular host’s recent pitch to Conan‘s Conan O’Brien even remotely comes true, the late night program that gave us an entire episode dedicated to guessing a fake Dumpster’s contents just might up the ante significantly. “I want to fill my studio entirely with french fries,” Gethard explained to O’Brien. “Me and you spend the entire hour on live TV looking for [a single] onion ring. That’s it!” As the former subsequently explained to Uproxx, “I couldn’t be more serious about it.”

Sarah Silverman’s Norm Macdonald Live Appearance (YouTube)

If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, Norm Macdonald Live has produced several wonderful, longform interviews with the likes of David Letterman and Jerry Seinfeld. This week, the former SNL star’s podcast / internet talk show spent a whopping two hours speaking with comedian Sarah Silverman, who discussed just about everything (and more) with Macdonald. Among other topics, they dove right into her firing from SNL, a possible spin-off for The Sarah Silverman Program, the loss of comedy writer Harris Wittels, and the distinction between being funny and being offensive.

What’s Wrote

George Carlin’s “Seven Dirty Words” Bit Lives On (Books)

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The late comedy legend George Carlin will always be counted among the greats, but his most famous bit, “The Seven Dirty Words” will go down in the history books forever. Quite literally, in fact, as a recent study determined English-language literature — especially of the American variety — uses Carlin’s infamous words more often than not. Researchers from San Diego State University and the University of Georgia combed through Google Books’ entries between 1950 and 2008 and found, among other things, that there has been “a notable decline in social taboos against swear words.”