What does it mean to be a successful comedian? How far can the boundaries of taste be pushed to get a laugh? This Friday, four top comics – Ricky Gervais, Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock – discuss and debate their craft on HBO’s TALKING FUNNY.
The quartet reveal the secrets of their success, share hysterical anecdotes and jokes and remind each other of the valuable lessons they’ve learned along the way (including how to shamelessly pilfer each other’s material). Each comic answers questions such as: “Who was the first funny kid you ever met?”
“When is it time to add new material to your act?” and “How do you know when you’ve hit on the proverbial ‘thing’ that sets you apart?,” giving quirky insights into what rocketed them to being the best in the business and at the top of their game.
The comedians also examine their own distinctive styles of comedy and discuss whether or not to use profanity, how one comic can recycle another comic’s material into something new and fresh, and deciding whether a topic is off-limits, no matter how shocking it may be to the audience.
TALKING FUNNY debuts FRIDAY, APRIL 22 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT).
Other HBO playdates: April 27 (9:00 p.m.) and 30 (2:35 a.m.), and May 3 (midnight), 9 (11:15 p.m.) and 12 (1:30 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: May 1 (10:00 p.m.), 5 (3:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m.), 10 (11:00 a.m.), 14 (3:30 a.m.), 20 (7:00 p.m., 1:00 a.m.) and 26 (3:05 a.m.)