The Last Laugh

Ricky Gervais joins this week’s show from home in London to talk about his darkly funny and surprisingly moving Netflix series ‘After Life,’ which just got picked up for a third season. The comedian explains how he ended up creating a show about grief and shares his strong opinions about political correctness in comedy, free speech and cancel culture. Plus, Ricky looks back at his most controversial Golden Globes jokes and reveals what it was like to work with the late David Bowie on ‘Extras,’ Larry David on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and a lot more.  Twitter: @rickygervais and @mattwilstein | Instagram: @rickygervais and @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ron Swanson has been “social distancing” his entire life. Nick Offerman, on the other hand, is a “social animal.” On this episode, the actor opens up about staying busier than ever under quarantine, from hosting his podcast “In Bed with Nick and Megan” with his wife Megan Mullally to tearing up at the end of the “Parks and Recreation” reunion special. Offerman also breaks down his most intense performance to date on ‘Devs,’ looks back on his earliest TV roles on ‘ER’ and ‘24,’ shares how his priorities have shifted on the cusp of turning 50 and a lot more.Twitter: @Nick_Offerman and @mattwilstein | Instagram: @nickofferman and @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedian Patton Oswalt is here to talk about his new Netflix special ‘I Love Everything.’ The title is a huge turnaround from his 2017 special ‘Annihilation’ and on today’s episode Patton opens up about how far he’s come emotionally since the sudden death of his former wife, ‘I’ll Be Gone in the Dark’ author Michelle McNamara. The comedian, who turned 50 last year, also shares his unvarnished thoughts on the futility of making Trump jokes, why he thinks Fox News is the “height of evil” for pushing the country to reopen during a pandemic, and the fate he believes the Golden State Killer deserves. Then he looks back on highlights from his career, including his acting debut as a video store clerk on ‘Seinfeld,’ his late-night stand-up debut on ‘Conan,’ his epic ‘Star Wars’ filibuster on ‘Parks and Rec’ and a lot more. Twitter: @pattonoswalt and @mattwilstein | Instagram: @pattonoswalt and @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Reno 911’ creators and stars Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenney-Silver and Robert Ben Garant come together for this very special bonus episode of ‘The Last Laugh’ podcast. 11 years after the show ended its original run on Comedy Central, ‘Reno 911’ is back this month on Quibi. These three comedic geniuses tell us all about how it came together, what’s different this time around and what they’re most excited for fans of the show to see. Twitter: @thomaslennon, @KerriKenney and @mattwilstein | Instagram: @thomaspatricklennon, @kerrikenneysilver and @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedian Jimmy O. Yang is best known for playing Jian-Yang on HBO’s ‘Silicon Valley.’ Now, he is finally revealing his true self to the world in a new stand-up special called ‘Good Deal,’ which is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. In this episode, Jimmy tells the story of how he broke into comedy after moving from Hong Kong to Los Angeles at 13 years old and why he thinks humor might be the best way to combat anti-Asian-American racism during the coronavirus pandemic. We also talk about why T.J. Miller’s dramatic departure from ‘Silicon Valley’ was the “end of an era” for him, the “life-changing” experience of appearing in ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and a lot more.Stream ‘Jimmy O. Yang: Good Deal’ on Amazon Prime Video.Twitter: @FunnyAsianDude and @mattwilstein | Instagram: @funnyasiandude and @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Wilmore is a comedy writer, producer, former host of ‘The Nightly Show’ and current host of the podcast ‘Black on the Air.’ In this episode, we go deep on the current state of comedy and politics, including how he feels the coronavirus pandemic has upended the race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump and why he thinks conservative podcast host Ben Shapiro is actually a “really nice guy.” Larry also shares behind-the-scenes stories from ‘The Daily Show,’ ‘The Office,’ and his infamous speech at President Obama’s final White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Twitter: @larrywilmore and @mattwilstein | Instagram: @ldub61 and @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thomas Middleditch is best known for playing Richard Hendricks on six seasons of HBO’s ‘Silicon Valley.’ Now, he is leaving that ultra-specific persona behind to take on dozens of different characters alongside his friend Ben Schwartz in three new improvised comedy specials for Netflix called—what else?—‘Middleditch & Schwartz.’ In this episode, Thomas breaks down the tricky business of bringing live improv to the screen. Plus, he looks back on his big SNL audition, recalls almost starring in a spinoff of ‘The Office,’ expresses regret over telling ‘Playboy’ that swinging “saved” his marriage and a lot more. Twitter: @mattwilstein | Instagram: @tombini and @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cameron Esposito made a huge splash in the comedy world seven years ago when she made her late-night stand-up debut on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. The other guest on the show, Jay Leno, called her the “future” of comedy and declared “Lesbians rule!” Since then, Cameron has created her own TV show called ‘Take My Wife,’ released a stand-up special called ‘Rape Jokes’ and this past month published a memoir with the inadvertently timely title ‘Save Yourself.’ On this episode, Cameron talks about all of that, plus getting “zoom-bombed” with hardcore pornography, starting to tell jokes about divorcing her ex-partner comedian Rhea Butcher, her current girlfriend’s battle with the coronavirus and a lot more. Twitter: @cameronesposito and @mattwilstein | Instagram: @cameronesposito and @lastlaughpodOrder 'Save Yourself' by Cameron Esposito.Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eugene Mirman is perhaps best known for voicing Gene Belcher on ‘Bob’s Burgers.’ But as his new documentary ‘It Started as a Joke’ proves, he is also one of the most innovative and influential stand-up comics of his generation. In this episode, we check in with Eugene via Zoom from his home on Cape Cod before sharing the longer interview we taped with him before the coronavirus pandemic forced us all indoors. He talks about starting the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival “as a joke,” learning to get more personal in his comedy and of course, ‘Bob’s Burgers.’Twitter: @EugeneMirman and @mattwilstein | Instagram: @eugenemirman and @lastlaughpodStream ‘It Started as a Joke’ on Amazon Prime Video.Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Starting next week, The Last Laugh returns with all-new episodes featuring great conversations with comedians about how they’re staying funny when the world around them is falling apart. Stay tuned!Twitter: @mattwilstein | Instagram: @lastlaughpodGo to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.