Scott Huver In earlier sitcom eras, the stage personas of seasoned real-world stand-up comics made for reliable main characters, but rarely were they actually performing jokes professionally onstage.
Only later would supporting characters dip into the standup arena — think “Full House’s” Dave Coulier or “Facts of Life’s” Geri Jewell — until finally Jerry Seinfeld and Garry Shandling took their funnymen and, to varying degrees, their craft, center stage on “Seinfeld” and “The Larry Sanders Show.”Today, however, two widely admired, multi-Emmy-nominated comedies — “Hacks,” set in contemporary times, and “The Marvelous Mrs.
Maisel,” at the midcentury dawn of a new style of comedy — are taking deep, hyper-detailed and subtly nuanced dives into the stand- up world, both looking uniquely thorough a female lens.
Ironically, both series are headlined by actors known for their stage, film and TV work without any stand-up background — Jean Smart as Deborah Vance on “Hacks,” Rachel Brosnahan as Midge Maisel on “Maisel” — as well as supporting actors with genuine experience in the stand-up spotlight, though playing non-stand-up characters — Hannah Einbinder and Alex Borstein, respectively.With each of the four actresses vying for Emmys this year, it’s clear that audiences are finding more than just laughs in nightclubs and showrooms; they’re finding drama, pathos and richly drawn characters, too.“It’s really a difficult subject, profession, ego, etc., to do justice to,” says Einbinder, who’s touring her own stand-up show around the country. “A lot of comedians tell me how much they feel that [the fact that] ‘Hacks’ has accurately depicted stand-up was a shock to them and has been really rewarding.
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