Comedy

In an interview with Terry Gross, taped in front of a live audience in New York City, the Daily Show host deconstructs his upcoming "Rally to Restore Sanity" on the National Mall and explains how The Daily Show comes up with material.

Actor and comedian Zach Galifianakis is best known for his shaggy red beard and his hilarious role in the bachelor-party comedy The Hangover. He tells Terry Gross how he prepared himself for his latest part -- a dramatic role as a mental patient in the film It's Kind of a Funny Story.

Today is the official start of the 2010-11 TV season, and for the first time in many years, all of the major networks are unveiling most of their new and returning shows in a single, event-packed week. Our TV critic, David Bianculli, is impressed by the effort -- but not, this year, by the results.

The 60-year-old comedian, who often joked about his own life in his raunchy stand-up routines, died Friday from injuries suffered in a car accident. Fresh Air remembers Schimmel with highlights from a 2008 interview in which he discusses his memoir Cancer On $5 A Day.

On the FX series Louie, comedian Louis C.K. plays a divorced father of two — in other words, a guy just like the real Louis C.K. The series is a sequel of sorts to his first show, Lucky Louie, in which he played a married father of two — which he was at the time.

Few topics are off-limits for the brash comedian: She has joked about her many face lifts, her husband's suicide, her bankruptcy and the sacrifices she made as a female performer. The documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work follows the comedian as she fights to still make people laugh.

The Daily Show's senior correspondent opens up about her crush on Jesus Christ, her introduction to sex and her ability to coax total strangers into conversation on national TV — all in her new memoir, I Know I Am, But What Are You?

Lehrer, whose topical songs include "Pollution" and "The Vatican Rag," is the subject of a new multimedia release called The Tom Lehrer Collection. David Bianculli reviews the two-disc set, which includes Lehrer's greatest hits and never-before-seen concert footage.

The comic actor, who played Jack on TV's Will and Grace, makes his Broadway debut in a revival of Neil Simon's musical Promises, Promises. He has also portrayed comedian Jerry Lewis in the made-for-TV movie Martin and Lewis and Jack Nicholson's valet in The Bucket List.

The bawdy, crudely animated sitcom South Park is about to celebrate its 200th episode. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone go behind the scenes of some of their favorite episodes and explain how they come up with the weekly parodies.

The British comedian's latest project is an animated series on HBO, developed from his wildly successful podcast, The Ricky Gervais Show. He talks to David Bianculli about the new show -- and explains what it was like to create the award-winning sitcom The Office.

Comedian Aziz Ansari has appeared on HBO's Flight of the Conchords, ABC's Scrubs and MTV's Human Giant. Nowadays he stars opposite Amy Poehler on NBC's workplace comedy Parks and Recreation.

For the last three years, comedian John Oliver has been telling some serious jokes as "Senior British Correspondent" on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. He won an Emmy for his work on the show in 2009, but his comedic career is not confined to the fake newsroom. On January 8, 2009, Oliver debuts his newest act: John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show. The title, as he explains to Fresh Air host Terry Gross, pretty much says it all.

Terry Gilliam's new film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, is another entry into his long line of dream-like films. But it's also the final performance of the late Heath Ledger. Gilliam joins host Terry Gross to talk about the personal and professional challenges of creative filmmaking.

In the late 1960s, Tommy and Dick Smothers challenged those who tried to tame their wildly popular show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. TV critic David Bianculli joins host Terry Gross to talk about the legendary comedy duo who tackled political issues and censorship.

The seventh season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm capped a year-long storyline about Larry finally agreeing to a produce a reunion episode of Seinfeld when he co-created with Jerry Seinfeld. TV critic David Bianculli explains how both programs -- the show and the show within the show -- were a comedic cop and a perfect end to the season.

Tracy Morgan, a Saturday Night Live alumnus and one of the stars of NBC's 30 Rock, has a new memoir — I Am the New Black — about growing up in what he calls "Ghetto, USA."

A new six-hour documentary about Monty Python's Flying Circus commemorates the show's 40th anniversary. Reviewer David Bianculli calls it entertaining and "completely different."