Comedy Means Business

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 Robin Williams drop-in. Kumail also opens up about navigating the “actor doing stand-up” stigma, his plans to get behind the camera for his feature directorial debut, and how he came to join Fallout Season 2.

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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 show Cowboys, while Carly breaks down how she scouts talent and helps artists to scale their careers responsibly. The group also digs into the realities of a “no new friends” Hollywood, why loss-leader gigs are worth the investment, and how long-game relationship building and relentless output have shaped Business Casual’s rise.

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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 adds to a comic’s rep line, and more.

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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 the issues plaguing the broader ticketing ecosystem and the solutions as he sees them.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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