Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: birthday boys, comedy bang bang, comic con, entertainment, new york, new york comic con, NYCC

IFC Comedy Block: Comedy Bang! Bang! & The Birthday Boys

Andy Bentley wrote for Bleeding Cool from New York Comic Con.

After a the second time the IFC highlight reel ran (now with audio), the host of Comedy Bang Bang!, Scott Aukerman, took to the stage to find his mic was not live. The technical snafus would not end there, but Aukerman used them to his comedic advantage. He was soon joined by nearly all of the titular Birthday Boys (Jefferson Dutton, Dave Ferguson, Mike Hanford, Tim Kalpakis Matt Kowalick and Chris VanArtsdalen) but unfortunately not by his band leader, Reggie Watts. It was clear The Birthday Boys weren't the primary draw to the panel. But rather than avoid the issue, Aukerman took it head on, mocking the audiences ability to even name one of the Birthday Boys cast without tent cards. It allowed the audience to empathize with the cast and caused a lot more laughs when their highlight reel ran.

Aukerman teased several guests for the tail end of Comedy Bang Bang!'s third season including Horatio Sanz, Ellie Kemper, James Adomian, and Wayne Coyne from the band, The Flaming Lips. Like last year, we were treated to an advance screening of the CBB Haloween episode. It featured the aforementioned Wayne Conye and was a send up of the Tales of the Crypt TV show as well as the classic EC Comics of the 1940's and 50's. Through a near non stop run of puns, the show featured several short stories akin to a horror anthology. Plenty of laughs were heard throughout the audience. When the lights went up, we learned that The Birthday Boys were also writing for Comedy Bang Bang! and that IFC is very lenient on the show's racier topics.

Next up was The Birthday Boys highlight reel for season two. Having been to their debut season panel, there seemed to be a definite improvement to the sketch show. Bits seemed tighter and drew a larger crowd response. One highlight was watching Mike Mitchell and guest Fabio play expecting parents via artificial insemination. When the couple they're dining with realizes they're using Mitchell's sperm rather than male model Fabio, only a spit take can suffice. The crowd's amusement continued as it's revealed that Fabio's character in not only genetically superior, he's also a ivy league neurosurgeon. The reel ended by highlighting many popular guest stars which affirmed the show is definitely moving in the right direction.

Next up was a Q+A session where Aukerman clarified they indeed had a 40 episode order for season 4. He explained it would be broken up and that they were keeping a more relaxed weekly production schedule. The Birthday Boys were asked if they would have recurring characters but they didn't seem to have any plans. They confirmed Bob Odenkirk's presence in the second season despite his Better Call Saul production schedule. There were also a few questions about the Comedy Bang Bang! Podcast which was the starting ground for the show.

The panel ended after 9:30pm with handouts of a dynamic 11X17" poster advertising the upcoming seasons. Comedy Bang Bang! returns to IFC on Friday, October 17 at 11p followed by The Birthday Boys at 11:30p

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