Female Comedians: Women of the Daily Show

The Daily Show has launched the careers of many comedians, including Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Wyatt Cenac, Mo Rocca, and John Stewart himself. There have been a few less of the ladies than men on the Daily Show in general, but those that have are some of the best around. In the earlier days, there was Nancy Walls, Beth Littleford, Olivia Munn, and Rachael Harris. Some of the most recent ladies, however, have been truly amazing both on the show and in their later work.

Desi Lydic

Desi Lydic is one of the newbies, joining TDS during the Trevor Noah era. Her “What the Actual Fact?” segment is necessary throughout the bullshit slinging of the 2016 presidential election and this piece on shaming new mothers is beautiful. Since Jessica Williams' departure from the show, she’s the one shining female correspondent left (and no, I am not forgetting Michelle Wolf; this is a blog about those I find inspiring so I will stop myself from saying anything more).

Kristen Schaal

I adore Kristen Schaal. Every time she was on the show I knew it was going to be amazing. It was a rarity that her bit didn’t have me laughing out loud (not in text speak, but actually laughing in real life). Her piece on birth control was tops but I cannot find it on YouTube, so here’s another that’s up there too.

Outside of The Daily Show, she rocked the character Hazel in 30 Rock. And her post-TDS career has been booming, what with shows like Bob’s Burgers and The Last Man on Earth.

Jessica Williams

Jessica Williams burst onto the show in 2012, was pretty immediately amazing, and left one of the most beloved correspondents. I wrote a little about her in my post about her podcast, “Two Dope Queens,” but I can keep talking her up. The day it was announced she was leaving the show was a sad one. But it quickly turned around with the announcement that she will soon have her own show and the comfort of still hearing her on the Two Dope Queens podcast.

I have high hopes for Jessica Williams and her career. If Samantha Bee is any indication of success for brilliant women post TDS, Jessica Williams will be providing us with the comedy fix we need for many years to come.  

Samantha Bee

Sam Bee was the longest running regular correspondent on the Daily Show.  As great as she was on the show, however, my favorite work of hers has been after her departure. In her own show, Full Frontal, Bee unleashes a fury of intelligent analysis and humor. One of my all time favorite pieces she has done was last week. This was one of several segments on “Pussy Gate” and the second presidential debate.

And when two powerful comedians get together, it’ll knock your sock off. Thank you, Daily Show, for introducing these ladies to us and for bringing them together.

Female Comedians: Women of Saturday Night Live

My appreciation of Saturday Night Live comes and goes throughout the years. There are times when I have tuned into the show religiously knowing there would be some great material, for instance when Will Farrell played George W. Bush. Other times, I could barely watch it and cringed when I tried to. Then, in 2008 this happened:

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey made SNL in those days, especially when they together anchored Weekend Update. As a team, they were unstoppable. Individually they were still so good! Yes, it was sad to see them leave SNL but then we got their sitcoms, 30 Rock and Parks & Recreation, two of the best sitcoms of all time in my opinion.

30 Rock – Here’s a montage of the best moments by another wonderful comedian, Jane Krakowski. Her character, Jenna, was one of the funniest.

Parks & Recreation – We are all Leslie Knope. And some of us are Ron Swanson and/or Donna Meagle....

Tina more recently gave us the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Amy gave us Broad City. Unlike their original sitcoms, they give the spotlight to other female comedians. Funny ladies supporting more funny ladies, here here!

Maya Rudolph also shined on SNL around the same time as Tina and Amy.  Her Beyoncé was amazing!

The current ladies of SNL have been killing it! Cecily Strong, who usually makes for a funny sketch, spoke at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. And although the audience did not always appreciate her jokes, she rocked it.

The most notable project for a few of the SNL ladies was this summer’s re-versioning of the Ghostbusters. Controversy laden because some people who ain’t afraid of no ghosts apparently are afraid of women portraying busters of ghosts. Kristin Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon (along with non-SNLer Melissa McCarthy) were truly funny in this movie that showed respect to the original but made the story its own. This movie was the inspiration for this series of posts – well, okay this and Inside Amy Schumer – because female comedians are rocking it! And, I don’t know if you have noticed, but there are a lot people who are loving it (me included, obvs!).

Female Comedians: The Classics

This week’s post is part one of several because there are so many people to include. Though I hesitate to call them “female comedians” because, let’s face it, they are “comedians”. However I am particularly writing about the ladies here so it’s kinda necessary. There are so many wonderful comedians of the female gender right now and they are killing it! They are evidence against those who think women cannot be funny. (And if that is you, I don’t even know what to say to you except that really, you can discount an entire gender from having a sense of humor?)

There are many good comedians in general at present, including the fellas, like Nick Offerman, Stephen Colbert, Wyatt Cenac, Aziz Ansari, etc. But I feel like it’s never been a better time to enjoy the funny ladies. The first category I will cover is the classics. These are women who have made me laugh throughout much of my life and are still going strong.

There have been some seriously funny women in the past that have paved the way for the female comedians of today. I cannot fit them all here but these are some that are still working the funny and making the world a better place. And also, I find them particularly hilarious.

Lily Tomlin

Lily Tomlin is a hoot! Her stand up goes back to 1969 and she has been consistently awesome since. I particularly enjoy her in the current show, Grace and Frankie, where she and Jane Fonda play two women whose long-time business partner husbands came out in their 70’s and got married. The show itself is amazingly done, with sensitivity and insight into all of the characters involved. Lily is perhaps the comic relief in what would otherwise be a heavy story. Though some of the most intense moments include those with Lily's character, Frankie. She's such an amazing actress!

My favorite aspect of Lily’s humor is in her facial expressions. With more than words she leaves you laughing heartily when she gives a look of cunning, surprise, or mischief.

Paula Poundstone

If you do not remember her by name you may by her clothing style. Known for wearing big bright suits with shoulder pads or suspenders and usually a tie, it’s hard to forget. She has some skeletons from her celebrity past but has managed a solid career. She’s frequently one of the two best panelists on NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me (the other is Mo Rocca and the two of them together makes for great episodes) and continues to perform stand up, as well as occasionally write books, record albums, etc.

Paula’s humor comes best in her interactions with others. Half of her stand-up includes engaging the audience and simply working off of the interaction. Before you know it, you are laughing hysterically.

Ellen DeGeneres

I remember falling a little more for my husband when I said to him early in our relationship, “club soda, be right back” and he knew the reference. I have heartily enjoyed Ellen’s stand up, her sitcom, that terrible movie with Bill Pullman, and eventually her talk show. I am so excited to see her succeed and also to become a strong proponent of LGBT rights who is easily beloved and accepted across many homes across America where LGBT rights are less supported.

Ellen’s style is simple and relatable. Her amusement in everyday events is what makes her so special as a comedian.

Thank you, ladies, for making the world a funnier place, inspiring others to do the same, and paving the way for more women to do so. There will be future posts that include more recently famous ladies who have followed these three women (and others) in making light the weight of the world, sharing laughter with others, and finding amusement in the everyday.  Our society is certainly better for it.

Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson (aka 2 Dope Queens)

Until recently I have not looked forward to Tuesdays, days with more traffic and less parking (why worse on Tuesdays, I don’t know…). But now the commute home on Tuesday means listening to the 2 Dope Queens podcast, which translates to a calmer and less road ragey me. Yay Tuesdays!

This second post is back to the present day to recognize two smart and funny ladies, Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson. Their podcast 2 Dope Queens is not only amazing but gives the spotlight to fantastic stand up comedians. The premise is this: Phoebe and Jessica chat about their lives and have an amazing chemistry, and then they allow some comics to make us laugh.

I have been a fan of Jessica Williams after seeing her as a correspondent on the Daily Show.  The clip in the video below pretty much cinched my love of her. She has a way of highlighting the idiosyncrasies of racism and sexism in a way that is comical while still addressing the seriousness. This is the beauty of the podcast as well.

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/z2b627/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-the-fault-in-our-schools

This is a more recent favorite of mine.

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/qplr4o/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-breaking-down-the-vagina-vote

I admittedly have not known of Phoebe Robinson until this podcast but have since come to appreciate her comedic style.  Here is a sample.

https://vimeo.com/118540189

She and Jessica together are magical and giving voice to comedians from many walks of life, this podcast is an essential part of American culture. The podcast as a whole invites conversations about race and gender, especially the absence of black women in many public arenas, in a way that is comfortable and often funny. But don’t think this means that they are avoiding uncomfortable issues to appease those who don't want to hear it. They call out BS when they need to call out BS and are unapologetic about it.  And ladies, your fans are dying for more! Please don’t stop, we need you in our lives!

*End note: I have included links to the videos here and apparently Blogger only lets you embed videos from YouTube, on which these videos were not available.