This week in comedy: Goodbye, Colbert Nation

It finally happened. The moment everyone dreaded as much as they anticipated, the final episode of The Colbert Report, defined this week. The send-off wouldn’t have been complete without something truly grand and spectacular, which is exactly what viewers received in the form of guests ranging from Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy to news reporting icon Katie Couric. It was such a big deal that mentor Jon Stewart even stopped by. Not that he had to travel far or change his schedule much, though; the two have always had back-to-back shows, a role that The Nightly Show will take over in 2015. One of the most exciting things that appeared this week was, after lots of speculation, a promo for the new show, which, from the looks of it, will be a solid replacement. Elsewhere in the comedy world:

– Between his comedic stint on The Office and his more dramatic role in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit films, Martin Freeman almost seemed to good to be true leading up to his SNL hosting this week. But Freeman met all expectations, even bringing his Hobbit into said Office.

– What a way to start last weekend! Kyle Dunnigan’s stand-up appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers was as magic as his hands.

– After much anticipation, Tom Scharpling’s The Best Show finally returned to radio. No one knew to expect this until the day before it happened, but the surprise was worth it.

– More great news in the world of stand-up specials: Matt Braunger’s Big Dumb Animal is set to premiere February 6 on Comedy Central.

– Actually, even more great news in the world of stand-up specials: Iliza Shlesinger’s got one coming up too, and sooner than Braunger does. Check out Freezing Hot when it arrives to Netflix January 23.

– Last week, we stopped by the Sweet Wine Productions Showcase, where we had a pretty awesome time courtesy of comedians like Ryan Beck, Greg Stone, and and Yamaneika Saunders. Check out the goods here.

– More guys for Guy Code: it turns out that Monroe Martin and Byron Bowers, among others, will hop aboard the show for its upcoming fifth season, set to premiere January 14 on MTV2.

– The Lonely Island may have started on SNL, but that doesn’t mean they can’t bring their zany humor to other shows. When they visited Comedy Bang! Bang! they were just as funny as ever, even under the circumstances of Reggie Watts’ final episode before leaving the show.

– Robin Williams’ passing still haunts the comedy community, but we have two more works coming our way from him. Both completed before his death, the first of them, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb arrived at the end of this week.

– You’ve gotta be pretty confident to challenge Conan O’Brien to a battle of monologues. That wild, unpredictable comedian Eric Andre did just this on Conan’s very own late night talk show is fitting, and pretty funny too.

– Bon Qui Qui will appear on record for the first time when her debut album Gold Plated Dreams graces the shelves January 20.

– Ever thought Matt Ingebretson might murder you? Probably not, but in case you did, be alerted that he does know how to get away with it.

– Last week, we had the pleasure of catching Breaking Bad‘s Lavell Crawford in nearby Montclair. This week, we reflected on how this little big guy may well be funnier than the big little guys out there.

– We said a solemn goodbye to Minneapolis comedian Gus Lynch, who will be missed dearly both within his home scene and across the world.

– Another week, another SNL, or so it seems these days. Check out the latest addition to the ever-growing lineup of memorable promos, this time starring Taran Killam and a very enthusiastic Amy Adams as host.

– It looks like Kim-Jong-un won after all. James Franco and Seth Rogen’s fictional assassination comedy The Interview didn’t premiere in New York as expected this week due to the latest round of threats from the pouty, whiny dictator who’s only worth listening to because he might have nukes.

– Ever laughed at Super Troopers or Beerfest? This is a rhetorical question, of course you have. Broken Lizard are responsible for both these films, and now TBS is bringing their first ever TV pilot, Quality Time, to fruition.

– Parks and Recreation will return in just about a month. Actually, it’ll return in 2017. What? How can it be both? This trailer has your answers.

– James Corden continued his meta discussions on late night TV about late night TV. He’s set to take over the Late Late Show March 23, so it’s very clearly on his mind. Who better to take advice from than the newest in the game, Seth Meyers? Check out these two discussing the ins and outs of the gig on Late Night with Seth Meyers here.

– Fun fact: just south of New York University’s campus, there’s a whole store dedicated to The Big Lebowski. Oh, did you know the movie has its own festival too? So it’s about time then that this classic be entered into the National Film Registry, which Ferris Bueller’s Day Off concurrently joined. Congrats to both for this well-deserved honor!

– The well established FXX struggle will probably be lessened by this week’s announcement that the channel will begin a late night animated comedy block in the vein of Adult Swim starting Thursday, January 22. Lucas Bros. Moving Co. and Stone Quackers are among the first shows announced for this segment, but more will probably be revealed soon.

– New York City’s Podfest will reappear for a third time very early next year, so to prepare ourselves for the joyride ahead, we interviewed its founder, Jeremy Wein.

– The Serial craze is even entering the comedy world now, but in the funniest way possible. No, the podcast isn’t about to go humorous or anything, but Michaela Watkins and Funny or Die have been making some pretty Funny jokes about this series about Dying.

– It’s a blessing to the comedy world that Sarah Silverman never slows down. This week, she revealed that she’ll follow up her hilarious recent album We Are Miracles with a starring role in an HBO pilot that the network just ordered. Details are scarce for now, but this is a story to keep paying attention to.

– The nerve-wracking experience that Chris Gethard Show fans have tolerated in finding the show a home on cable TV may finally be ending, or so rumor had it this week.

– Hopefully, The Daily Show‘s next cast member to get their own show will be Jessica Williams. Her take on Fox News’ ridiculous need to bring up rapper Jay-Z’s former life when judging his current position is as hilarious and important as ever.

– It might be too late by the time you read this, but Jeff Dunham did a Twitter thing this week where you could’ve won some prizes. Fret not, though – knowing Dunham, he’s sure to have another fun contest again sometime soon.

– Not quite sure what could be better than Hannibal Burress working as Grantland’s basketball correspondent. Maybe the fact that it’s on video?

– In the holiday spirit of giving, this week we took the time to detail nine great comedy shows nationwide. Find this gift, which might contain some shows coming to your area soon, here.

– At least once during Parks and Recreation, Nick Offerman’s character, the nearly omnipresent Ron Swanson, reduced crying to some sort of moral weakness. It turns out the show’s actors don’t embody their roles offscreen; according to Offerman, there were lots of tears and, um, vomiting and “filling his pants with the saddest oatmeal” when the finale was finished filming. He revealed this all in a chat with Jimmy Fallon, which you can watch here.

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