When TBS announced the lineups for its inaugural stand-up showcase series, The Very Funny Show, I looked at the list yesterday, posted it, then did a double- and triple-take wondering what was missing. What were missing were several of the comedians who performed sets for the show when it taped at Zanies in Chicago's North End during the TBS/Just For Laughs Chicago festival. I knew this -- not only because I had posted the initial press release in May with a different set of stand-ups, but also because I was there to watch some of it in person. You can see me filming Godfrey behind Zanies during production (and also other comics in the background). Roll it, me!

What happened? When the 10-episode order went from production to reality, and TBS decided upon pairings of two per half-hour, that wasn't going to leave enough room for everyone. Network sources told me they made edits based upon who paired well. Those who didn't make the cut still could show up on TBS at a later date. Whether that's in a second "season" of the show, or in ads promoting the series, or other interstitials, is something TBS is going to have to figure out.

Sorry to be the messenger of this unlucky Friday the 13th news, my funny friends. One of the comics I contacted last night had no idea what was going on.

To wit. Here was the Just For Laughs Chicago taping list for The Very Funny Show, or how it appeared to us then:

Tim Meadows (TBS's The Bill Engvall Show, Saturday Night Live) hosts thirty of the freshest and funniest faces in stand-up as they take the stage at Chicago’s legendary Zanies comedy club. The Very Funny Show will be taped as part of a new series slated to air on TBS. Note: The Very Funny Show will have a different lineup of comedians each night. Please confirm the lineup before completing your ticket purchase.
SCHEDULE OF PERFORMERS
Friday, June 19 at 8:30pm: Sebastian, Henry Cho, Jeff Dye, Bob Oschack, Patti Vasquez, John Caparulo
Friday, June 19 at 10:30pm: Steve Byrne, Rachel Feinstein, Joe Matarese, Billy Gardell, John Mulaney, Hannibal Buress, Danny Bhoy
Saturday, June 20 at 7:00pm: John Roy, Dwayne Perkins, Andrew Kennedy, Godfrey, Wendy Liebman, Kyle Kinane, Dale Jones, Rocky LaPorte
Saturday, June 20 at 9:15pm: Al Madrigal, Erin Jackson, Dwight Slade, Roy Wood Jr., Matt Braunger, Mike Palascak, Bob Marley
Saturday, June 20 at 11:30pm: Tommy Johnagin, Ian Edwards, Pete Correale, Nick Thune, Whitney Cummings, TJ Miller, Louis Ramey

Actually, that list had 35 comedians. And here again is the list of 20 comedians appearing on The Very Funny Show when it's on TBS this winter:

Thursday, Nov. 19, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Henry Cho and Nick Thune 
Thursday, Nov. 19, at 12:30 a.m. (ET/PT) Danny Bhoy and Whitney Cummings 
Thursday, Nov. 26, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) John Roy and Louis Ramey 
Thursday, Dec. 3, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Rocky LaPorte and Andrew Kennedy 
Thursday, Dec. 10, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Jeff Dye and Wendy Liebman 
Thursday, Dec. 17, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) John Caparulo and Kyle Kinane 
Wednesday, Dec. 23, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Mike Palascak and Patti Vasquez 
Thursday, Dec. 31, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Sebastian and Tommy Johnagin 
Thursday, Jan. 7, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) John Mulaney and Pete Correale 
Thursday, Jan. 14, at 12 a.m. (ET/PT) Al Madrigal and Billy Gardell

Oschack and Jeff Cesario are listed in the second TBS press release as contributing additional materials.

What's most likely is that TBS had planned to do 10 hours of programming for the series, only to decide later to go with half-hours, which then put the squeeze on for 15 unlucky stand-ups. I'm absolutely certain some of them will be just fine without this credit.

I'm not going to give you the ins and outs of every night's episode of The Jay Leno Show -- and especially not going to stoke the flames of sensationalistic speculation that the mainstream media is doing regarding Leno's fate at NBC (weren't we supposed to wait until all of the other networks went into reruns for that?). But I do feel a need to say something about his show's Laugh Squad. At first, I thought, hey, great idea giving more exposure to stand-up comedians. But the more I think, and the more I watch, I wonder, hey, wait a second. Why are Bob Read and Ross Mark asking random Internet watchers to tell them if they agree that certain up-and-coming comedians are ready for TV? I can do that, and I don't even have a job as a booker for a network TV show -- which is the job Bob and Ross have had for many years, including both Leno's current and former shows, as well as Last Comic Standing. If you think they're ready for TV, put them on the TV! That's your job, isn't it? Or we now focus-grouping stand-up comedy? My apologies in advance to the two comedians cited in this video, as this isn't meant to malign your potential abilities. (Note: Click on the link above if you cannot watch Hulu, foreigners!)

What do they say about New York City: There are eight million stories, and sometimes it seems as though eight million of the people telling them think they're comedians? No, that's not it. It is a fact, though, that America's biggest city is also its biggest comedy mecca. Hollywood may be Hollywood, but New York City is where comedians are born funny, become funny or arrive to thrust their funny upon us. I think we should meet some of these people. This is a new recurring feature, a mini-profile of newcomers, up-and-comers and overcomers of New York's vibrant comedy scene. It's called Meet Me In New York.

In this installment, we take a look at a guy who surprised me last year with his pitch-perfect Dave Chappelle impersonation. He'll make his TV debut on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham on Dec. 11. But meet him now: It's Dan Soder.

Name: Dan Soder
Arrival date: Jan. 6, 2007
Arrived from: Denver by way of Tucson
When and where did you start performing comedy? Tucson in July/August 2004
What was your best credit before moving here? Opening for Troy Baxley and Ben Creed.

Why did you pick NYC over LA or anywhere else? New York is notorious for making people better comics, there’s more stage time and you’re exposed to a ton of different styles. I just didn’t feel like L.A. fit me, plus my car was on its last legs and I didn’t want to sink more money into it.

How long did it take to get your first paid gig in NYC after moving here? About a year.

How is this scene better/same/worse than the scene you moved from? Tucson was a great place to start, I got to go from open mics to MC’ing to featuring all in the comfort of the same club. There were other clubs and casinos within reasonable driving distance so you got a taste of what the road was like, plus I got to work with comics that are really funny and influence me to this day. When I got to New York, I quickly saw how competitive and talented a lot of the comics were, so it made me rethink my act and what I was doing. In Tucson, if you worked, the worst-case scenario was going up in front of 15 people, even the mics had an audience (besides comics), but in New York you can go up in front of three people at 1 a.m. On the other hand, in New York you get to see national headliners work out new stuff and do the same room you’re doing, which kind of blew me away at first.

Do you already have an "only in New York City" moment yet? My second month in the city I was waiting to go up late at Stand-Up NY and the producer of the show taps me on the shoulder and tells me I’m not getting up that night, when I ask why, she pointed and Chris Rock was standing there.

What tip would you give to any comedian who moves here? Be out in clubs/shows/mics every night.

Where do you see yourself five years from now? Maybe sober, a nonsmoker, telling everyone the world should of ended in 2012. Basically waiting for the apocalypse.

Here's a recent clip of Soder performing at the "Comedy as a Second Language" show, Thursday nights at Karma in the East Village. Roll the clip!

Which NYC comedian would you like to see me style and profile next for Meet Me In New York? Send your nominations to: thecomicscomic AT gmail DOT com

The Mo'Nique Show is a daytime talk-show masquerading as a late-night party. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

While George Lopez is whipping up hysteria over on TBS with his new late-night talk-show party atmosphere, and Wanda Sykes looks to shake things up on Saturday night on FOX with her frank stand-up and panel discussions, it's easy to overlook what Mo'Nique is doing on BET. Part of that is because the mainstream media tends as a rule to overlook BET; but some of it is because the cable network isn't giving the mainstream a reason not to.

Mo'Nique's show opened a month ago with Steve Harvey and 1.5 million viewers. On cable. On BET. If The Daily Show with Jon Stewart got those kinds of numbers on Comedy Central, newspapers and magazines across the country would talk about how influential that is. Oh, wait. Snappity snap snap. Seems as though we've learned that there's another audience out there for late-night television.

What they get, as I mentioned earlier, could just as easily be shown at 3 p.m. or 11 a.m. as it is at 11 p.m. The backdrop signals it's supposed to be at night, and the show opens with Mo'Nique dancing down the stairs along with the band and the audience, and comedian sidekick Rodney Perry with his own chair over to the side. Mo'Nique doesn't open with a traditional late-night monologue, but rather a short moral lesson peppered with some sort of physical interaction that elicits laughter. When it comes down to it, though, whether it's a talk segment, a musical number or even a cooking demonstration with Coolio, the atmosphere isn't so much about late-night hijinx than it is about conversations. Think more like Oprah, with a dash of Ellen. But that duo dominates daytime. And really, having Mo'Nique on in the afternoon isn't what audiences need -- a need she fills by bringing more black entertainment (and more often than not, black empowerment) to Black Entertainment Television. That's a smart move by the network. Taping Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in Atlanta, the show also manages to have a different sensibility that comes from being far away from New York City and Los Angeles, as well as the headlines of the day. What The Mo'Nique Show is saying is we'll give you what you're looking for. Heck. Here's what Mo'Nique had to say herself:

George Lopez said he was going to bring the party to late-night TV and revolutionize the game. Can you do that in just one night? Probably not. But Lopez Tonight debuted on TBS on Monday night, anyhow, and you want to know if you missed out, and if so, what did you miss? Was it "very funny"?

Lopez has been using "Low Rider" as his musical theme for all of his promos, and there it was opening his show on Monday night. "The revolution begins right now!" Lopez declared to the audience. In English and en Espanol! "This is what America looks like," he told them. "It's young, and it's old. It is black. It is white. It is Asian. It is Latino." This has been his push, his mantra, his goal, to hit all of the demographics. But why is the audience continuing to stand during his monologue? Do they not have chairs in this studio? Meanwhile, Lopez gets in a topical joke on Sammy Sosa and one not-so topical (unless you're going literal) about Sinbad. There's also an edit or two. You see that sometimes in panel interviews, but in monologues? How long did he talk for last night? Or was it to cut out language -- he was joking about saying the word "bitch" right before one jump. Lopez got about 10 minutes on the air, which could be seen as too long, but for an established stand-up, better to lead with what you're known/loved best for, right? Draw the viewers in. Roll the clip!

Ellen DeGeneres made a stunt appearance in her robe and pajamas to deliver his mail, saying she had his old office, and also offered up a couple of nice things about Lopez: "This is a very important show to add to our television. Everybody needs to be represented on television, so I'm very happy for him." Then, to play a game about stereotyping appearances, he brought two audience members up onstage to weigh in on people interviewed on the streets of Hollywood. Will the answers surprise you? What about the lady asking the questions? Let's roll that clip...after the jump...

As far as the interview segments go, I'm not sure you really can gauge this show by the first night -- unless things went horribly (see: Chase, Chevy) -- because most of a debut is spent talking about how it's a debut and how they're all just so happy to be there. Eva Longoria Parker failed on a stripper pole. Guests can enter through a door that brings them up in between audience sections. I suppose these things add to a "party" atmosphere. That and the jello shots. Kobe Bryant said trash talk in Spanish that got everyone whooping in a way that made it seem like you couldn't say it on TV in English. Audience members screamed, and a couple of them were allowed to ask questions (one of Bryant's questioners was Derek Fisher). And for his first musical guest: Carlos Santana. Predictable? Maybe. But upon first impression, this could become the worthy successor to The Arsenio Hall Show.

Let's just see where this thing goes from here.