Earlier this month, the entertainment world suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Norman Lear. At 101 years old, he never stopped working and creating. Known for creating popular series such as All in the Family and The Jeffersons, Norman Lear has been one of my biggest inspirations in this business. I am so tremendously honored to have known him and been able to interview him on Industry Standard. I hope his words and stories inspire you the way they did for me.

Judy Gold has had stand-up specials on HBO, Comedy Central, and appeared on Netflix’s Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come For The Comedians, We Are All In Trouble, a book all about free speech and cancel culture. She has also made numerous appearances on MSNBC, CNN, and News Nation as a free speech advocate. The book was turned into a solo show directed by B.D. Wong in March of 2023 and has received rave reviews and will begin touring in 2024. Judy also is the host of her own podcast Kill Me Now with Judy Gold. She has numerous guest appearances and recurring roles on countless series. She has also won two Emmy awards for her work writing on The Rosie O’Donnell Show.

Judy Gold has had stand-up specials on HBO, Comedy Central, and appeared on Netflix’s Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come For The Comedians, We Are All In Trouble, a book all about free speech and cancel culture. She has also made numerous appearances on MSNBC, CNN, and News Nation as a free speech advocate. The book was turned into a solo show directed by B.D. Wong in March of 2023 and has received rave reviews and will begin touring in 2024. Judy also is the host of her own podcast Kill Me Now with Judy Gold. She has numerous guest appearances and recurring roles on countless series. She has also won two Emmy awards for her work writing on The Rosie O’Donnell Show.

Nimesh Patel was born in New Jersey to immigrant parents. When he are up he moved to New York City and attended NYU where he got his degree in finance before pursuing comedy. He started his comedy career performing stand-up at the Stress Factory. In 2015 he was discovered by Chris Rock while performing inBrooklyn and was a part of Rock’s writing team for the 88th Academy Awards which earned him a Writers Guild Award nomination. He also wrote material for Hasan Minaj’s White House Correspondents dinner. In 2016 he became a finalist in Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud Network Pitch Panel at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. In 2017 he received his biggest break at that point when he became a full-time writer for Saturday Night Live, primarily contributing to the Weekend Update segments, work which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Nimesh Patel was born in New Jersey to immigrant parents. When he are up he moved to New York City and attended NYU where he got his degree in finance before pursuing comedy. He started his comedy career performing stand-up at the Stress Factory. In 2015 he was discovered by Chris Rock while performing inBrooklyn and was a part of Rock’s writing team for the 88th Academy Awards which earned him a Writers Guild Award nomination. He also wrote material for Hasan Minaj’s White House Correspondents dinner. In 2016 he became a finalist in Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud Network Pitch Panel at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. In 2017 he received his biggest break at that point when he became a full-time writer for Saturday Night Live, primarily contributing to the Weekend Update segments, work which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Dave Sirus is a writer, comedian, and actor who has worked on Saturday Night Live, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, co-wrote The King of Staten Island, and co-created Peacock’s original series Bupkis which released earlier this year to rave reviews. He started as a stand-up comedian in high school and eventually found success with the YouTube channel Brick Stone.  Dave is a frequent collaborator with Judd Apatow and Pete Davidson. He has worked with even more legendary names in the business such as Ron Bennington, Jon Stewart, and George Carlin. One of the most respected and hardest working artists I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with in this business.

Dave Sirus is a writer, comedian, and actor who has worked on Saturday Night Live, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, co-wrote The King of Staten Island, and co-created Peacock’s original series Bupkis which released earlier this year to rave reviews. He started as a stand-up comedian in high school and eventually found success with the YouTube channel Brick Stone.  Dave is a frequent collaborator with Judd Apatow and Pete Davidson. He has worked with even more legendary names in the business such as Ron Bennington, Jon Stewart, and George Carlin. One of the most respected and hardest working artists I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with in this business.

Adam Ferrara is a tremendous actor and comedian whom I’ve had the pleasure to know for a very long time in this business. He is known for co-hosting the BBC’S Top Gear U.S. for six seasons. He also starred on the Emmy-nominated FX drama Rescue Me with Denis Leary. He also featured on a number of episodes in the critically acclaimed Nurse Jackie starring Edie Falco. Some of his film appearances include Paul Blart: Mall Cop alongside Kevin James, Little Italy starring Emma Roberts and Hayden Christensen, and Definitely, Maybe with Ryan Reynolds. He has also made numerous guest appearances on hit shows like Criminal Minds, NCIS, and King of Queens over his long and storied career. He is also a two time nominee for the American Comedy Award for Stand-Up of the Year, has made 5 stand-up specials, and has performed for multiple U.S. senators as well as President Clinton.

Adam Ferrara is a tremendous actor and comedian whom I’ve had the pleasure to know for a very long time in this business. He is known for co-hosting the BBC’S Top Gear U.S. for six seasons. He also starred on the Emmy-nominated FX drama Rescue Me with Denis Leary. He also featured on a number of episodes in the critically acclaimed Nurse Jackie starring Edie Falco. Some of his film appearances include Paul Blart: Mall Cop alongside Kevin James, Little Italy starring Emma Roberts and Hayden Christensen, and Definitely, Maybe with Ryan Reynolds. He has also made numerous guest appearances on hit shows like Criminal Minds, NCIS, and King of Queens over his long and storied career. He is also a two time nominee for the American Comedy Award for Stand-Up of the Year, has made 5 stand-up specials, and has performed for multiple U.S. senators as well as President Clinton.

Keith and Kenny Lucas are brothers, actors, comedians, and writers currently rising as two of the freshest new faces on the comedy scene. Their first stand-up special, Lucas Brothers: On Drugs, premiered on Netflix in 2017. They also made appearances in season one of Netflix’s critically acclaimed Lady Dynamite. They also created their own animated series Lucas Bros Moving Co which aired for two seasons. They have also made appearances in the series Arrested Development and the 2014 summer blockbuster 22 Jump Street. More recently they received a story by credit and co-produced the critically lauded Judas and the Black Messiah, a film which earned them an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.