Based on William Knoedelseder’s book of the same name and also inspired by the real-life experiences of Executive Producer Jim Carrey, I’m Dying Up Here focuses on the lives of up-and-coming comedians in the ’70s comic scene in Los Angeles. The show follows the comedians and the comedy club owner trying to make them success as they struggle with the difficult business of making people laugh.
Sounds like fertile ground for a damn good show to me. Check out the trailer below:
https://youtu.be/6kye0QwGX9E
Contrary to the actual job, finding success as a comic requires an understanding of humanity that can lead to some dark places. Not to mention the actual difficulty of creating jokes which consistently land. This show looks like it will try to do justice to the psychological side of the profession. It will also seemingly get across the era’s Holy Grail of landing a spot on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, which would make or break a stand-up comedian.
I hope they pull this off. There’s plenty of fascinating material to make it happen.
I’m Dying Up Here premieres on June 4th. It stars Melissa Leo, Ronald Cyler II, Ari Graynor, Clark Duke, Stephen Guarino, Erik Griffin, and Andrew Santino.
Video and Images Courtesy of Showtime
