Louis C.K.Louis Alfred Székely (ˈluːi_ˌseɪˈkeɪ; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (ˈluːi_ˌsiːˈkeɪ), is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. C.K. won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award as well as numerous awards for The Chris Rock Show, Louie, and his stand-up specials Live at the Beacon Theater (2011) and Oh My God (2013). In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked C.K.
Conan O'BrienConan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009) and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) on the NBC television network, and Conan (2010–2021) on the cable channel TBS. Before his hosting career, O'Brien was a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1991, and the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993.
Steve CarellSteven John Carell (kəˈrɛl born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in The Office (2005–2011, 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Carell also worked as an occasional producer, writer and director. Carell has received numerous accolades for his film and television roles, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for his work on The Office.
Cat StevensYusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. To date, he has sold over 100 million records and has over 2 billion streams. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in his career, Islamic music. Following two decades in which he only performed music which met strict religious standards, he returned to making secular music in 2006.
Improvisational theatreImprovisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script. Improvisational theatre exists in performance as a range of styles of improvisational comedy as well as some non-comedic theatrical performances.
SatireSatire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposing or shaming the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society.
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or FearThe Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was a gathering that took place on October 30, 2010, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The rally was led by Jon Stewart, host of the satirical news program The Daily Show, and Stephen Colbert, in-character as a conservative political pundit, as on his program The Colbert Report, both then seen on Comedy Central. About 215,000 people attended the rally, according to aerial photography analysis by AirPhotosLive.com for CBS News.
Last Week Tonight with John OliverLast Week Tonight with John Oliver (often abridged as Last Week Tonight) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in April 2014 on HBO. Last Week Tonight shares some similarities with Comedy Central's The Daily Show (where Oliver was previously featured as a correspondent and fill-in host), as the show takes a satirical look at news, politics and current events, but on a weekly basis.
Rob CorddryRobert William Corddry (born February 4, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (2002–2006) and for his starring role in the film Hot Tub Time Machine. He is the creator and star of Adult Swim's Childrens Hospital and has been awarded four Primetime Emmy Awards. He previously starred in the HBO series Ballers and the CBS comedy The Unicorn. Corddry was born and raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Political satirePolitical satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly forbidden. Political satire is usually distinguished from political protest or political dissent, as it does not necessarily carry an agenda nor seek to influence the political process. While occasionally it may, it more commonly aims simply to provide entertainment.
