Sean L. McCarthy has written about comedy for the New York Daily News, Entertainment Weekly, the Boston Herald and other publications. Before that, he also worked as a professional stand-up and improv comedian, opening for many comedians you know and some you don't know but should.

He won New York's Funniest Reporter, judged by the folks from mediabistro and gawker, which means it got blogged here. Gothamist also interviewed him, and you can find that here.

Most importantly, though, you can read all of his round-the-clock reports about comedy on The Comic's Comic.

Blog Entries by Sean L. McCarthy

14 Reasons I'm Looking Forward To Montreal's Just For Laughs Festival

Posted July 22, 2009 | 06:34 AM (EST)


In an almost last-minute decision, strings were pulled, favors were called in, nouns were verbed, and I found my passport, which means it's time to head across the border for the 2009 Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal. Sure, talk to any member of the show business industry...

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"Bruno" And The Irony Of Satire

4 Comments | Posted July 14, 2009 | 11:32 AM (EST)


All of the to-do over Sacha Baron Cohen's new Bruno movie left me wondering what the big to-do was supposed to be about. Oh, that's right. Homophobia! Hands were wrung in the mainstream media over whether Bruno's uber-gay character would pose more harm to real gay people than to the...

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Seeing Stars in Chicago, Just For Laughs

Posted June 19, 2009 | 12:49 PM (EST)


What would happen if TBS, the cable network that claims to be "Very Funny," put on a comedy festival with the Canadians responsible for "Just For Laughs" (a long-running annual celebration of funny in Montreal, but also a Candid Camera style prank show on TV), and held it in Chicago...

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The SNL FAQ: Season Finale (Will Ferrell)

6 Comments | Posted May 17, 2009 | 03:35 PM (EST)


You have questions about the season finale of Saturday Night Live. We have answers.

Did they open with a political sketch? YES. Unpopular former Vice President Dick Cheney (Darrell Hammond, in his SNL swan song), got interrupted from his newfound love of media appearances by Will Ferrell in his now...

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The SNL FAQ: #34.22 (Justin Timberlake)

4 Comments | Posted May 11, 2009 | 03:37 PM (EST)


It's late. You have questions about last weekend's Saturday Night Live. We have answers.

Did they open with a political sketch? YES. Will Forte, as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, revealed that the feds had given the nation's banks a written test in addition to the "stress test" to see if...

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The SNL FAQ: Zac Efron and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

1 Comments | Posted April 12, 2009 | 03:47 PM (EST)


It's Sunday. You have questions about last night's Saturday Night Live. We have answers.

Did they open with a political sketch? YES. Vice President Joe Biden (Jason Sudeikis) got caught acting all too comfy in the oval office when President Obama (Fred Armisen) returned from his first big trip overseas....

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The SNL FAQ: #34.20 (Seth Rogen)

Posted April 5, 2009 | 02:09 PM (EST)


It's Sunday. You have questions about last night's Saturday Night Live. We have answers.

Did they open with a political sketch? YES. Fred Armisen delivered a speech supposedly from Europe as President Barack Obama, and after acknowledging all of the Euro love for him, told business leaders that his administration...

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Jim Gaffigan's "King Baby" Reviewed

Posted March 27, 2009 | 05:17 PM (EST)


It's no secret that I am a fan of Jim Gaffigan, and over the past couple of years, hundreds of thousands of you have agreed with me. Many more probably will hop on board with the release of King Baby, Gaffigan's new 71-minute stand-up comedy special that debuts...

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Craig Ferguson's "A Wee Bit O' Revolution"

Posted March 21, 2009 | 06:37 PM (EST)


In four years as host of The Late Late Show on CBS, Craig Ferguson already has established his own personal stamp on American late-night chat shows, right from the start each night with a cheeky prelude before the opening credits that may or may not involve hand...

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The SNL FAQ: Tracy Morgan

Posted March 15, 2009 | 03:01 PM (EST)


It's Sunday. You have questions about last night's Saturday Night Live. We have answers.

Did they open with a political sketch? NO! Hooray for that. SNL took a break (mostly) from politics last night and embraced the carefree nature of its host, Tracy Morgan.

How did the host do, and...

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Will HBO Beam "George W. Bush's Penis" Live From Broadway?

Posted March 14, 2009 | 05:21 AM (EST)


Will Ferrell delivers his penultimate farewell to President George W. Bush tonight on Broadway, and perhaps it is no coincidence that at approximately 9:11 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, HBO will face its own decision during the first ten minutes of its live broadcast of You're Welcome America: A Final Night...

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The SNL FAQ: #34.18 (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson)

Posted March 8, 2009 | 11:13 AM (EST)


It's Sunday morning. You have questions about last night's Saturday Night Live. We have answers.

Did they open with a political sketch? Of course they did. They almost always seem to since the 2008 election campaign. Will Forte played Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, taking calls from Americans with ideas to...

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The Celebrity Apprentice: Now Officially a Sitcom!

Posted February 26, 2009 | 02:16 PM (EST)


Just when you thought your 2009 was going to be Trump-free...the second edition of The Celebrity Apprentice starts on Sunday night, because, well, I don't know why NBC has trotted the Trumps back out, but I'm almost compelled to watch this.

Why not have a silly rich man who's always...

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Inside the Last Days of Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Posted February 20, 2009 | 12:44 PM (EST)


The elevators open on the sixth floor of 30 Rockefeller Center to reveal a hallway full of activity. We're hours away from another taping of NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien (not to mention test shows underway in an adjacent studio for Jimmy Fallon!). Three floors up on...

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Larry Wilmore Shares His "Black Thoughts" On Life

Posted February 10, 2009 | 02:04 PM (EST)


Daily Show correspondent Larry Wilmore didn't plan on having his new book debut the same day Barack Obama took the presidential oath of office, but it's a happy coincidence he'll live with all the same. In I'd Rather We Got Casinos (and Other Black Thoughts), Wilmore reveals, among other...

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Eugene Mirman Talks About "The Will To Whatevs"

Posted February 6, 2009 | 10:20 PM (EST)


Readers of The Huffington Post got to know a lot more about comedian Eugene Mirman in 2008, thanks to his funny takes on Scientology, the news, and his field reports from the presidential campaign for 23/6 (now part of The Huffington Post Comedy 23/6). Now, after years of entertaining...

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Will Ferrell's Broadway Debut: The Reviews Are In!

Posted February 6, 2009 | 11:12 AM (EST)


There is no doubt that "You're Welcome America. A Final Night With George W. Bush" is the hottest ticket on Broadway. Even in this economy, which already cut short several big Broadway productions. Or perhaps despite that, the cheapest balcony seats for this show go for $61.50 on Telecharge...

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Brotherly Love & the Secrets to Paul Blart's Success

Posted February 3, 2009 | 06:07 PM (EST)


Blart When Kevin James went to bed last night, he knew his reign as king of the box office had ended, with Taken dislodging Paul Blart: Mall Cop from the top of the charts. But the King of...

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SNL's Super Bowl Ad: MacGruber Drinks Pepsi?

Posted February 2, 2009 | 04:39 PM (EST)


Debate all you want about who had the best or the funniest Super Bowl ad on Sunday (two of the "amateur" Doritos contest entries placed in the top five in USA Today's insta-poll, with one winning $1 million for coming out on top), but only one of these ads...

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