Stairway to Stardom was a NYC public access TV show, described in The Onion as "without exaggeration, it was one of the greatest shows ever to be on television."

Airing in the 70s through the early 90s, Stairway to Stardom was YouTube, before YouTube, and has fans ranging from Bjork to the Found Footage Festival.

Performers of very questionable talent, ranging from off-key lounge singers to interpretive dancers, attempted to stairway to stardom – and performed their hearts out – without fear of snark and comment trolls tearing them down.

Archivist Mitch Friedman joins CH101 to explore how the show was nearly lost to history, how he helped save it, and why its' awkward sincerity helped inspire the comedy of Tim & Eric, Adult Swim, and SNL.

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Former Daily Show head writer Elliott Kalan (MST3K, The Flop House), Joke Farming) joins CH101 to discuss his new book, Joke Farming, and the nuts-and-bolts behind professional joke writing.

We go inside the Daily Show writers’ room with Jon Stewart, why MST3K once had too many jokes, how comedians write jokes on deadline, why inspiration is overrated, and how audiences complete every joke.

A behind-the-scenes look at joke writing, comedy craft, and how humor helps us make sense of the world.

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We pulled together the sharpest moments from our 2025 interviews with comedy impresario guests - who shaped modern comedy:

• Larry Charles: Writer and director of Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, & Borat
• Kevin McDonald: Founding member of Kids in the Hall
• Ryan Cunningham: Producer of Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer
• Alex Braverman: Director of Thank You Very Much on Andy Kaufman
• Will Becton: Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Team Coco, Clueless Gamer
• Paul Myers: Author of John Candy: A Life in Comedy

• Michael Seth Starr: Author of Rodney Dangerfield: Nothing Comes Easy
• Seth Porges: Director of Class Action Park and the new Santacon documentary

Plus Jean-François Brisson with the Nubian Show and a special Canadian Comedy History 101 recap.

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Reprise Episode: Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer producer Ryan Cunningham and Gold Comedy founder Lynn Harris take us deep into the world of inclusive comedy and comedy as social change.

From behind-the-scenes Broad City stories (yes, that pegging episode) to how diverse voices are reshaping the comedy landscape, we explore why women being “gross” on screen was a cultural breakthrough—and how laughter can be a tool for empowerment, visibility, and social impact.

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CH101 Reprise: Larry Charles won an Emmy writing for Seinfeld, directed Borat, Brüno, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and has collaborated with Larry David, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Bob Dylan .

Larry joins CH101 for some serious comedy inside baseball:

• How he helped shape the voice of Seinfeld with Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld

• The chaos behind Borat's infamous poop-bag dinner scene

• What it was really like making subversive comedy with Sacha Baron Cohen

  Get the inside scoop on one of comedy's most fearless minds and check out Larry's new book: Comedy Samurai.

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Before SantaCon became the most hated event in NYC history, it began as a San Francisco subversive experiment of fun by the same anarchic collective that spawned Burning Man and inspired Fight Club’s Project Mayhem.

We talk to filmmaker Seth Porges, who has a new documentary about SanCon on how a subversive performance-art happening turned into a worldwide holiday of drunken chaos that’s now belittled by the likes of John Oliver, Colin Jost, Jimmy Fallon and all of NYC.

You might know Seth’s previous HBO Max documentary, Class Action Park, about America’s most dangerous amusement park.

SantaCon premieres at DocNYC, Nov 13th

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CH101 Reprise: Kevin McDonald is best known as a founding member of the legendary Canadian sketch comedy troupe – Kids in the Hall –which appeared on CBS, HBO, and Comedy Central, and had a revival season aired on Amazon Prime Video in 2022.

Kevin joins CH!01 with tales of KITH, Winnipeg, & comedy in general.

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We go inside the PBS documentary series United States of Comedy with director Habib Yazdi. The five-part series spotlights diverse voices shaping stand-up comedy across America—capturing the next comedic generation redefining American comedy culture.

Habib shares stories from filming United States of Comedy, as we dive into creative resilience and what unites comedians across America.

WATCH: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/united-states-of-comedy/

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As you heard, they yanked Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air - because the Trump administration has declared a War on Comedy. Holy Overton window!

In this reprise episode, we celebrate Jimmy Kimmel Live, and talk to Adam Spiegelman, who was a comedy producer for this iconic late-night talk show.

Adam was at Jimmy Kimmel Live right from the start, and we do a deep dive into producing comedy and comedians for Kimmel, where he brought such comedians as Neil Hamburger, Eddie Pepitone, and Andy Dick to the airwaves.

Adam gives the lowdown of what he looked for when booking standup comedians for the Kimmel show.

Also, remember, boycott parent company Disney, for yanking Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air!

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The legendary Comedy Cellar - is the Yankee Stadium of NYC comedy clubs. Founded in 1982, the club has helped launch the careers of Jon Stewart, Dave Chappelle, Colin Quinn, Dave Attell, Amy Schumer, Ray Romano...(you get the idea).

In this reprise episode, we talk to comedian Dave Juskow, who is a Comedy Cellar regular and host of the Comedy Cellar Tuesday podcast, on the history of this beloved and iconic club.

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Before Hollywood, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck, and Splash, John Candy was the heart of SCTV and Toronto’s Second City.

Paul Myers, author of John Candy: His Life in Comedy, shares Candy’s comedic rise alongside Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Aykroyd, and Joe Flaherty—and his iconic collaborations with John Hughes and Steve Martin.

Paul also reveals how his brother, Mike Myers, met Candy as a teen—and how Candy encouraged him to start his comedy journey at Second City. Candy’s influence didn’t stop at comedy: he even partnered with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to buy the Toronto Argonauts football team.

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