Comedy Central Insider Blog

They're still adding live shows to Conan O'Brien's Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour. Also, Conan will be MC-ing as part of Bonnaroo (which has a bunch of other great people). [Bonnaroo]

Congratulations, internet, you officially got Betty White to host an episode of SNL. Now you can celebrate by trying to get the dad from Family Ties on The Today Show or something.  [Reuters]

Jason Segel and Ed Helms are going to star together in the next Duplass brothers film. I just got a call from the King of Hollywood. He said he decided to start making good casting decisions in order to please his fickle Queen. [THR]

No one asked for it, but here it is. A short history of the male comedy orgasm. [NY Mag]

Eugene Mirman and British comedian Phill Jupitus are in a new British show called Comedy Exchange, where they both trade places, performing in each other's home turf. It's kind of like Wife Swap but with fewer crying children and more crying adults. [Eugene Mirman]

Steve Martin may star alongside Jack Black and Owen Wilson in an upcoming movie about bird watchers. I can't wait for all the puns about boobies. [ABC]

Comix is holding an auction to benefit Haiti featuring such items as a copy of Stephen Colbert's issue of Amazing Spider-Man autographed by Stephen and tickets to a sold-out Aziz Ansari show. [Comix]

Speaking of Haiti, Lewis Black and Dave Attell were among those who performed at a benefit at Caroline's this week. Here are some pictures. [Punchline]

There's a small update on that musical Matt and Trey are doing with the Avenue Q guy. [NY Times]

This was on the front page of the internet this morning, so you probably already saw it, but here's a video where Pee Wee Herman gets an iPad. It's great. [Funny or Die]

Speaking of Apple, Aziz Ansari is doing a Q&A at the SoHo Apple store on Tuesday. [Aziz is Bored]

Matt Braunger did an interview about the SF Sketchfest, which is happening this weekend. [SF Weekly]

This is probably the funniest cartoon about a sexually ambiguous manic-depressive arctic animal you'll see all day. [Atom]

What do Will Ferrell, Rob Riggle, Ed Helms, Zooey Deschanel, Zach Galifianakis and Don Cheadle have in common? No, they're not each starring in competing David Duchovny biopics. They're all in the trailer for HBO's Funny or Die Presents. [Buzzfeed]

I don't know if you guys know this, but the banjo is my favorite instrument. It always just struck me as the thinking man's mandolin (I don't know what that means, but it is probably true). Ed Helms is the best, so it makes sense he would know how to play the best instrument. Here he is bluegrassing it up with the Turkey Creek Ramblers.

[video via Fuck Yeah Ed Helms]

What's that, you say? You want more Ed Helms playing instruments? I don't know if I can do that. I mean, I don't know if there is another video of him playing an instrument singing that I can post after the jump.

But I guess if you're really desperate you can try clicking after the jump and seeing if there's anything there.

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By the end of this young decade we'll surely laugh at ourselves for getting excited about high definition television. "Can you believe people used to not watch TV via ingestible holograms? What a bunch of porridge-dicks!" But it's only 2010, "porridge-dick" has yet to become the most damning insult in our lexicon, and HD is still a big deal. That's why it's so exciting that The Daily Show and Colbert Report will both begin airing in high-definition for the very first time tonight. But what is HDTV? Ed Helms from 2004 is glad you asked.

The Daily Show and Colbert Report air Monday through Thursday starting at 11pm / 10c.

So far, I think The War on Christmas has gone pretty well this year. I was worried the secularists might be gaining in strength, but then Christmas from the future sent a robot back in time to kill John Connor's mom. Of course, then the secularists from the future sent a different robot back to kill that robot, so it's really still anyone's game at this point. Anyway, happy birthday, Jesus. Hope you like fake news.

The list continues below.

The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 10c.

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A few years back, some Hollywood executive named Franklin Leonard started releasing a list of the best unproduced screenplays circulating 'round the 'wood. He called it The Black List, probably because words, when printed on white paper, are black. Or because The Black List just sounds really cool. Whatevs.

Anyway, when this list comes out, many of these unproduced screenplays are magically produced. Probably because Hollywood producers are very impressionable! Many writers with weirder sensibilities also start getting work shortly after being on the list.

The new Black List just came out, and here are some interesting-sounding comedy films that now have a decent shot of being produced…

1. The Muppet Man
By Christopher Weekes
What it’s about: The life and times of the late Jim Henson (pictured), the man behind Sesame Street and The Muppets.
What it’s like: The Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon, but with puppets. This moving story depicts the life of a creative genius, with occasional surreal appearances by the likes of Kermit and Miss Piggy.
Status: Set up at The Jim Henson Co.

This doesn't really sound like a comedy, but the Muppets are very funny, and I'm assuming Statler and Waldorf will have great quips over the closing credits: "Boy, this movie sure looks like it might win an Oscar." "Yeah, for worst movie ever!" "Hahahaha!" "We are very old and grumpy!"

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Obviously everyone's talking about golf this week. Even non-sports-fans. Try as we might, it's just hard to ignore. I mean, it's not every day that Italian brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari win the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in Shenzhen, China. So, in honor of this huge golf story that people can't seem to get enough of, here are The Daily Show's most subpar (subpar is good in golf) golf moments.

Golf War

The list continues below.

New episodes of The Daily Show return tonight at 11pm / 10c.

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This week Americans all over the country will gather together to share a meal with their loved ones and reflect on the things for which they're most thankful before going out shopping at 3am and trampling each other for $200 laptops. Which is basically what the Pilgrims and Indians did 400 years ago when you think about it. Of course, Black Friday wouldn't truly be Black Friday without Wal-Mart, so in the spirit of the season, here are the finest Wal-Mart-related clips from The Daily Show archives.

Martsy Fartsy

The list continues below.

The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 10c.

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Everyone called me crazy when I said all the best comedians are in a secret cabal and hang out all the time and sing songs together and control the weather with their minds. But this video features Paul F. Tompkins, Patton Oswalt, Weird Al, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Paul Scheer and basically every other funny person on earth having a grand old time covering "Do They Know It's Christmas," so who's the crazy one now?

Do They Know It's Christmas? from Scott Aukerman on Vimeo.

This song is from Comedy Death Ray's Christmas CD, which is available free when you purchase a Comedy Death Ray calendar. It's probably the best way to wish the baby Jesus a happy birthday without taking your clothes off.

[Via Paul Scheer]

Dane Cook has a list of the top 10 things never to do at a concert. If I had written this list, number one would have been straying too far from my chaperon. Because I am a baby. [SPIN]

A brief look into the nighttime activities of Weird Al, "I'd like to go back and re-edit [UHF] and add a couple scenes and maybe take a few out. I re-edit the movie in my mind every night before I go to sleep." [College Humor]

Every once in a while, some wonderful nerd out there compiles a list of the top South Park Kenny deaths, and each time I am there to link to it. Such is life. [IGN]

Right after The New York Times profiled Jeff Dunham, The Los Angeles Times jumped on the bandwagon, writing an article about Dunham, proving once and for all, New York is better than LA. [Los Angeles Times]

As part of 30 Rock's campaign to have everyone ever guest star, James Franco and Padma Lakshi are both going to appear in future episodes. [Entertainment Weekly, Eater via Videogum]

John C. Reilly, Sigourney Weaver and Alia Shawkat  joined the cast Cedar Rapids, starring Ed Helms and Anne Heche. Good job, Hollywood! Want a treat? [Variety]

Law & Order has cast so many comedians in roles, maybe they should rename it LOL & Order. Said menacingly: "This guy [Jim Gaffigan] has got an answer for everything." See? LOL! [Huffington Post]

Tom Green talks about getting back into the stand-up game for the New York Comedy Festival. [THR]

Oscar Nuñez talks about being both the straight man and a gay man in The Office. [Zoiks Online]