Comedy Means Business
Deadline’s Comedy Means Business Podcast is a definitive resource on the inner workings of the comedy industry, spotlighting the people — on and off stage — who help it thrive. Hosted by Matt Grobar, the show delves into the work that goes into building a modern-day comedy career, with an emphasis on stand-up, while also covering comedy in film and television.
Episodes
American High’s Comedy Factory Faces Biggest Tests Yet
This week on Comedy Means Business, Matt Grobar sits down with American High’s Jeremy Garelick and Will Phelps to discuss the genesis of a singular comedy business. Based out of a decommissioned middle school in upstate New York that they converted into a private production facility, American High has in less than a decade produced more than 20 films, amassed billions of views on social, incubated
Blood, Sweat & Pizza: Jeremiah Watkins’ Comedy Grind
In this week's episode of Comedy Means Business, host Matt Grobar speaks with Jeremiah Watkins about his new self-financed special, Crazy Pizza, and how he hopes the meticulously crafted hour reflects on him as a comic. Alongside discussion of the special, Watkins dissects the blood, sweat and tears of his nearly 15-year comedy grind — including the four-and-a-half years it took to get p
Carisa Hendrix’s Magic Algorithm
Carisa Hendrix found her niche in live entertainment — and built an entirely unique business around it. On Deadline’s Comedy Means Business, the Canadian magician, comedian and variety artist traces her path from arts programs for at-risk youth to the creation of Lucy Darling, the glamorous, razor-tongued vintage socialite character that’s helped her become a global touring phenomenon.
In a dis
The Blueprint: Micro-Drama, Major Money: The Kountry Wayne Blueprint
In this episode of Comedy Means Business, host Matt Grobar sits down with Kountry Wayne to break down the blueprint behind one of the most unusual comedy empires in entertainment. Alongside his work on stage, the comic is making eight figures annually on social media — not with stand-up clips, but with serialized micro-drama soap operas that generate billions of monthly views. Wayne gets into the
The State of Comedy Development — Live at JFL
In the first-ever live edition of Comedy Means Business, kicking off ComedyPRO programming at Just for Laughs Montreal 2026, host Matt Grobar examines the state of comedy development from three distinct vantage points.
Guests on the panel included Reg Tigerman, manager/producer and founder of The Laugh List; Maureen Taran, former JFL VP and newly appointed head of original content at Heliu
How Wife Katie Thurston’s Cancer Battle Changed Jeff Arcuri
Jeff Arcuri joins Comedy Means Business to promote his debut special — and first for Netflix — Jeff Arcuri: Nice to Meet You, which cracked the global Top 10 for English TV series in its first week. At the heart of both the hour and this conversation: the hardest stretch of Arcuri’s life, navigating a year-and-a-half saga with his now-wife Katie Thurston’s stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis. We get i
Josh Johnson On Timelessness, Topicality, Greedy Thinking & New Beginnings
Comedian Josh Johnson joins Matt Grobar to discuss Symphony, his first HBO special, and how it represents the beginning of a new creative chapter, reflecting his longtime interest in juxtaposing music and comedy in his work, and his interest in crafting timeless art. As someone who has built something genuinely singular in comedy — pairing the mainstream credibility of work on The Daily Show with
Eric André Talks Jackie Chan, Mob-Run Stand-Up Venues, New Netflix Comedy Little Brother
Eric André joins Comedy Means Business to discuss the making of his new Netflix comedy Little Brother —which he describes as What About Bob? meets Parasite — and the discipline with which he’s cultivated his singular brand of raunchy chaos, on and offscreen. In conversation with Matt Grobar, he also delves into mob-run comedy venues, his punk rock ethos, his admiration of Jackie Chan and new album
Sarah Sherman Talks Maximalist HBO Special, Awkward SNL Dynamics, Bombing Like Oppenheimer
Sarah Sherman joins Comedy Means Business to discuss the crafting of her gonzo, body-horror variety hour, Sarah Squirm: Live and in the Flesh (HBO), and the building of one of the most singular brands of anyone at SNL. We get into the craft and cost of making a tactile, visually ambitious hour, the challenge of scaling weirdness without sanding off its edges, and what it takes to tour material thi
Inside Ben Gleib’s At-Home YouTube Late-Night Show
As traditional late-night contracts under the weight of collapsing linear economics, Ben Gleib is making a bet on what comes next. In this episode of Comedy Means Business, the comedian, host, and entrepreneur breaks down the launch of Good Night with Ben Gleib, a late-night show built natively for YouTube — which he’s taping at his house. He reflects on what YouTube offers that network TV can’t,
Atsuko Okatsuka On Emulating Lucille Ball, Embracing Inner Weirdo
Atsuko Okatsuka joins host Matt Grobar to discuss her latest special, Father, and the long journey toward trusting what she had to offer as a stand-up. She also talks growing up undocumented in Los Angeles, learning stand-up in a class off Craigslist, performing at the ocean and to the trees in her backyard, her appreciation of recent performances from Justin Bieber that prove “it’s ok to go small
‘The End’ Of An Era For Ari Shaffir
Ari Shaffir joins Matt Grobar to discuss The End, the culmination of work producing longform comedic storytelling shows that goes back 15 years.. Fresh off seven months off the grid in Latin America, he also reflects on the nomadic lifestyle that’s shaped both his material and his outlook on the business.
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Pete Holmes: Reclaiming Show Biz Magic In A New Era
Pete Holmes chats with Matt Grobar about coming up through a version of Hollywood that no longer exists — and how he’s reclaiming that magic on his own terms. Promoting his new special Silly Silly Fun Boy, Holmes reflects on the disappearance of talent incubators that once helped build careers, the importance of mentorship and knowledge-sharing across generations, how he would approach building a
David Cross on New Special, Club Comeback, Live Nation Settlement
David Cross speaks to host Matt Grobar about his new special The End of the Beginning of the End, his return to comedy clubs after decades away from that circuit, the impact of the recent Live Nation-Ticketmaster antitrust settlement, and more.
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Why Ali Siddiq Is Bypassing Streamers — And Hates Crowd Work
Matt Grobar speaks with comedian Ali Siddiq about his commitment to a direct-to-consumer career where he retains full ownership over his work, a journey that has recently led him to win an NAACP Image Award, becoming the first comic to achieve major awards recognition for an independently produced special.
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Max Amini’s Madison Square Garden Moment
Max Amini joins Comedy Means Business on the heels of his biggest year yet. We unpack how he cultivated one of comedy’s biggest and most passionate audiences — with nearly 26 million followers and billions of views across platforms — how India became a major international stronghold for him, and what it means to him to have become the first Iranian-American to headline Madison Square Garden.
Learn
Matt McCusker's Journey From His Broke Era To His First Netflix Special
In this episode of Comedy Means Business, host Matt Grobar talks with Matt McCusker about his first Netflix special and the path that led there. McCusker reflects on experiences with social anxiety, his brokest years as a comic, and working with Shane Gilis to turn Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast into a major grassroots success story. He shares how a “small business” mindset fuels everything he do
Michael Strassner's Journey From Rock Bottom to The Baltimorons
Matt Grobar speaks with Michael Strassner, the co-writer, producer, and star of SXSW breakout The Baltimorons, about turning personal setbacks into creative fuel, culminating in the best year of his life. Strassner reflects on getting sober, his collaboration with filmmaker Jay Duplass, and how his scrappy, deeply personal indie built its audience through word of mouth.
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Inside Stapleview: Sam Grey, Daniel Lantsman On Mission With Digital Comedy Co.
Matt Grobar sits down with Stapleview founders Sam Grey and Daniel Lantsman to discuss the origins of their comedy-focused management and production company and how they’re looking to rethink how comedy gets made, distributed, and monetized. On Comedy Means Business, the pair share their predictions for the next era of digital comedy, touching on what it takes to turn internet bits into valuable I
Unpacking Nurse John’s 5-Year Rise From Frontline Nurse To Global Comedy Headliner
Matt Grobar sits down with comedian Nurse John and his manager, Logan Watkins of Select Management Group, to unpack John’s extraordinarily rapid transition from nurse to internationally recognized touring stand-up. The pair breaks down what it took to translate digital fandom into sold-out live shows and get into the realities of scaling a live business at warp speed, plus what John’s building tow
Kumail Nanjiani Talks Return To Stand-Up With ‘Night Thoughts,’ ‘Fallout’ Season 2 & An Unforgettable Encounter With Robin Williams
Today on Comedy Means Business, host Matt Grobar speaks with Kumail Nanjiani about returning to stand-up after more than a decade and the process of crafting new special, Night Thoughts. Kumail breaks down the unglamorous reality of restarting this side of his career, also revisiting the Chicago alt scene that shaped his voice and the wild energy of L.A.’s Meltdown era — including an unforgettable
The Mindful Grind Of Developmental Representation — With Business Casual and Omnipop’s Carly Hoogendyk
Today on Comedy Means Business, host Matt Grobar chats with the sketch group Business Casual and their manager Carly Hoogendyk of Omnipop Talent about the mechanics of developmental representation — from the POV of both the artist and their rep. Jeremy Elder, Corey Peter Lane, and Hunter Saling trace their path from UCLA improv kids to Edinburgh Fringe regulars and the creators of their signature
Essential Social Media Strategies For Comics — With Authentic Talent’s Logan Potter & Allen McRae
Today on Comedy Means Business, host Matt Grobar speaks with Authentic Talent’s Logan Potter and Allen McRae about the social media strategies they’d recommend to any comic, in a moment when the digital space has become an essential revenue driver. They explain why Reddit is the platform every stand-up should be looking further into, why “influencer” shouldn’t be a dirty word, the value a manager
Danny Frenkel’s Plan to Fix Live Event Ticketing With Punchup Live
Today on Comedy Means Business, host Matt Grobar sits down with Danny Frenkel, co-founder and CEO of Punch-Up Live, who unpacks his vision to build the company into “the Amazon of live entertainment.” From his early years in ads measurement at Facebook to rolling out his own e-commerce platform, the goal of which is to give comedians more direct ownership over their audience, Frenkel breaks down t
Caleb Hearon’s Guide to Breaking Out Without Selling Out
Today on the Comedy Means Business podcast, host Matt Grobar speaks with Caleb Hearon about his debut special, HBO’s ‘Model Comedians,’ and how he built a major platform for himself in the digital space.
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How Tamra Goins Went From Rapping With Too Short As A Teen To Leading Innovative’s Comedy Department
Deadline’s Comedy Means Business today profiles Tamra Goins, who details her journey from the Oakland rap scene to her current role of Managing Partner & Head of Comedy at Innovative Artists. Tamra gets into the A-to-Z of modern agenting and what it takes to properly support a comic’s career today.
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Desi Lydic
Today on Comedy Means Business, The Daily Show’s Desi Lydic joins host Matt Grobar to discuss her latest trio of Emmy nominations, her transition in recent years from correspondent to rotating host, the challenges of keeping up with the headlines under Trump 2.0, and more.
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Michael Angelo Covino + Kyle Marvin
In today’s episode of Comedy Means Business, Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin join host Matt Grobar to discuss their new Neon film Splitsville and challenge the conventional wisdom that comedy doesn’t travel internationally.
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Isabel Hagen
This week on Comedy Means Business, comedian and Juilliard-trained violist joins host Matt Grobar to discuss the makings of a uniquely multi-faceted artistic career — touching on her stand-up, recent experiences touring with Vampire Weekend, and her feature directorial debut On a String, which won an award for Best Screenplay at this year's Tribeca Festival.
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Leanne Morgan + Chuck Lorre
On this episode of the Comedy Means Business podcast, host Matt Grobar chats with comedian Leanne Morgan and TV icon Chuck Lorre about their new Netflix comedy, the creative process behind building a show around Leanne’s voice, and why the multi-cam sitcom still matters in today’s streaming world.
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Joe List + Chris Burns
Today on the Comedy Means Business podcast, host Matt Grobar speaks to comedian Joe List and his manager Chris Burns about the manager-client relationship, the decision to go theatrical with Joe’s latest special ‘Small Ball’ — his fourth in five years — and the kind of work required to succeed in comedy today, from the point of view of both the artist and his rep.
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Just for Laughs
Today on the Comedy Means Business podcast, host Matt Grobar reflects on the rise, fall, and return of Just for Laughs — the world’s biggest comedy festival — joined by the team steering it into the future: President & CEO Sylvain Parent-Bédard, head of development and creative strategy Spencer Griffin, and head of programming Nick Brazao.
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Tom Segura
In this episode of Comedy Means Business, Tom Segura joins us to talk about the bold moves behind his Netflix series Bad Thoughts, why he self-financed the pilot, and how the show surprisingly resonated more overseas than his stand-up. We get into the state of comedy films, the importance of a singular creative vision, and why most modern comedies just don’t hit.
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The State
In the second episode of Comedy Means Business, we’re talking Long Live the State, a new documentary on the iconic sketch group The State. Formed at NYU in the late 1980s, this is a group that’s produced countless names that any comedy fan knows — David Wain, Ken Marino, Michael Showalter, Joe Lo Truglio, Michael Ian Black, Thomas Lennon and more. Recently premiering at the Tribeca Festival, the d
Nate Bargatze
In the inaugural episode of Comedy Means Business, presented by Nateland Entertainment, comedian Nate Bargatze takes a break from work on TriStar’s The Breadwinner to reflect on his mission with his recently launched media company, his ambitions in film and television, his efforts to transform Nashville into a major entertainment hub, his upcoming stint as Emmys host, and much more.
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'Comedy Means Business' Teaser
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