You might recognize Richard Kind from sitcoms like ‘Mad About You’ or ‘Spin City.’ Or from his voice work as the imaginary friend Bing Bong in Pixar’s ‘Inside Out.’ Now, he has become the ultimate late-night TV sidekick on ‘Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney,’ which wraps up its first season run on Netflix this week. In this episode, Kind talks about what it’s like to be just famous enough to work all the time but not famous enough to play himself on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ He also shares showbiz stories about almost getting cast on ‘Seinfeld,’ playing Rudy Giuliani in the film ‘Bombshell’ and offers up some very strong opinions about Woody Allen.

This episode was originally published on July 14, 2020.

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Jillian Bell has a bad habit of talking herself out of acting jobs. She was supposed to play a much bigger role in Adam Sandler’s ‘Murder Mystery 2’ and almost starred in one of Netflix’s biggest hit shows. So when it came time to make her directorial debut ‘Summer of 69’ (now streaming on Hulu), she decided to stay (almost entirely) behind the camera. In her return to this podcast, Bell talks about casting SNL’s Chloe Fineman as a stripper fairy godmother-type character opposite newcomer Sam Morelos in her surprisingly sweet teen sex comedy. She also gets into her own complicated history with SNL 15 years after she spent one season at the show as a writer who desperately wanted to be in the cast. Plus, Bell reveals what it was like to reprise one of her first TV roles in the series finale of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and tells a deeply embarrassing story about the first and only time she met Justin Timberlake. 

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For most of his career, Kumail Nanjiani has been asked to play the same type of brash nerd character that he perfected over six seasons on HBO’s ‘Silicon Valley.’ Then, a few years back, everything changed. The Pakistani-American comedian transformed his body to appear in the Marvel movie ‘Eternals’ and ever since, strange new doors have opened for him in Hollywood. One of those unexpected opportunities came when Natasha Lyonne reached out to him to play the bleach-blonde-haired, heavily tattooed Florida panhandle cop named Gator Joe on this week’s episode of her Peacock hit ‘Poker Face.’ At first, he thought she might have been joking. In this episode, Nanjiani talks about how he nailed the character’s very specific Southern accent only days before they started filming. Then, he looks back at the earlier part of his career, including how close he came to playing Abed on ‘Community,’ what he learned about “amoral” tech giants like Elon Musk through ‘Silicon Valley,’ and the deeply rewarding experience of bringing his real-life story to the screen in ‘The Big Sick.’ And he also discusses his long-awaited return to stand-up comedy with his first special in 12 years set to hit Hulu later this year. 

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Kerri Kenney-Silver never thought she’d get a part like Anne on ‘The Four Seasons.’ After more than two decades playing the disturbingly odd Deputy Trudy Wiegel on ‘Reno 911!,’ the 55-year-old actress believed Hollywood saw her as little more than outrageous comic relief. But then Tina Fey gave her the gift of a lifetime by casting her opposite Steve Carell on Netflix’s latest hit series. In this episode, Kenney-Silver talks about finding the nuance in what could have been a stereotypical caricature of the jilted ex-wife. And she also discusses co-founding perhaps the most successful college sketch comedy group of all time with The State, the terrible career advice she gave her one-time co-star Ellen DeGeneres, and the bizarre longevity of ‘Reno 911!’ 

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Mike Sweeney started writing for Conan O’Brien 30 years ago and has been right there by his side ever since. His work has fueled not only the host’s two big late-night shows—with a tumultuous stint on the ‘Tonight Show’ in between—but also his recent gig hosting the Oscars and his newest project, the travel show ‘Conan O’Brien Must Go,’ which arrives Thursday, May 8 on Max. In this episode, Sweeney discusses this particularly momentous time in O’Brien’s career, including how Donald Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center threatened to derail his acceptance of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (streaming Sunday, May 4 on Netflix). Instead, like with so much of their other work together, Sweeney and O’Brien found a way to marry a hopeful outlook on the world with deeply silly jokes. 

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Brett Goldstein got so famous for his Emmy-winning role as Roy Kent on ‘Ted Lasso’ that most people have no idea he has been a professional stand-up comedian for nearly 20 years. Now, that is all about to change when he debuts his first-ever stand-up special, ‘The Second Best Night of Your Life,’ on HBO this Saturday night, April 26. In this episode, Goldstein talks about why he resisted putting his live show on tape for so long, how fans of his TV work are often surprised by the real him, and how his comedy serves as a much-needed counterweight to the toxic “manosphere” trend. He also discusses his accidental acting career in both ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘Shrinking,’ why he’s just as surprised as everyone else that he’s returning as Roy Kent, and addresses the swirling rumors that he is dating his upcoming rom-com co-star Jennifer Lopez. 

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Comedian Robby Hoffman is having a moment. This month alone, she appears in prominent, memorable roles on two critically acclaimed TV shows—‘Hacks’ and ‘Dying for Sex.’ And, as Hoffman reveals in this episode, she is on the verge of some very big announcements regarding the future of a comedy pilot about her life and a high profile stand-up special. Of course, all of this comes after what has become her biggest claim to fame as one half of a queer power couple with reality TV star Gabby Windey, who she secretly married earlier this year. During our conversation, Hoffman breaks down how she went from a Hasidic Jewish family of 10 siblings to the alt-comedy world, why she has rejected the opportunity to perform stand-up on late-night TV, and why she would never follow in her wife’s footsteps to compete on ‘The Traitors.’ 

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‘The Daily Show’ has undergone a lot of turmoil in the two and half years since Trevor Noah shocked even his closest colleagues by giving up the host chair. And even Michael Kosta can’t quite believe that he has emerged as one of four rotating hosts—along with Jon Stewart on Monday nights. In his return to the podcast, Kosta talks about his experience taking the reins of the long-running political late-night show every few weeks and how he’s striving to make it more than just a mouthpiece for the #Resistance. Kosta also discusses learning Jon Stewart, the backlash to his recent appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, and his new memoir ‘Lucky Loser,’ which tells the story of how he went from a semi-successful professional tennis player to achieving his wildest comedy dreams. 

But Michael Kosta’s ‘Lucky Loser: Adventures in Tennis and Comedy’

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Riki Lindhome spent her 20s and 30s as one half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates. Now that she is solidly in her 40s the comedian is finally going solo with a debut album ‘No Worries if Not,’ which tackles the unique challenges of being a “middle aged” woman, as she put it. In this episode, Lindhome breaks down the process of turning real-life struggles into comedy songs and shares what it has been like to perform music for the first time without her longtime bandmate Kate Micucci. She also talks about the surreal experience of attending ‘SNL50’ as a “plus one” with husband Fred Armisen, the moment in her career where she had to choose between pursuing ‘SNL’ or sticking with Garfunkel and Oates, and how bizarre it was when the first movie she ever appeared in won the Oscar for Best Picture. 

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The Last Laugh listeners, please enjoy this excerpt from the latest episode of The Daily Beast Podcast! Comedian Amber Ruffin joined hosts Joanna Coles and Samantha Bee to talk about how she planned to pregame for comedy’s toughest gig and least receptive audience, and the challenge of roasting both sides in D.C. Shortly after this interview dropped, the White House Correspondents’ Association fired Ruffin as host of its annual dinner—and now won’t be having a comedian performer at all. 

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