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Talking Funny is a one-hour comedy television special featuring four comedians: Louis C.K., Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock, and Jerry Seinfeld. In the informal conversation, which aired in 2011 on HBO, the four comedians discussed subjects like race, crude language, the motivations driving their comedy, their inspirations, and the comedy industry in general.

Cast

• Jerry Seinfeld
• Chris Rock
• Ricky Gervais
• Louis C.K.

Content

Throughout the special the comedians debate various topics such as the merit of "stupid jokes" as well as crude language in their sets. They also compliment each other on specific bits they do. Seinfeld praised C.K.'s describing him as a comedian who "tap danced over six laser beams". C.K. described Seinfeld as a "singular comedian". He also reminisced about when he was a young comic opening for Seinfeld. Chris Rock mentions his heroes as being Prince and Woody Allen for their work ethic as they had new material every year. They also talk about the comedy industry at large, ticketing innovation, and their fears on stage.

Production

In an interview C.K. stated the initial conversation ran over 4 hours before being cut down to an hour long discussion.

According to the BBC the special was organized by Ricky Gervais who serves as an executive producer on the one-off special.

Reception

The review aggregator website Metacritic gave the television special a 75% rating, indicating generally favorable reviews. Ben Wicks of BBC wrote, "Imagine Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Don Rickles, and George Carlin all gathered in a room, circa 1979, musing wittily on the secrets of their success. This is the closest approximation to such a summit we’re gonna get".

Critic Kevin Jagernauth from IndieWire gave a mixed review stating, "Neither as deep or delightful as it wants to be, “Talking Funny” shows us four guys having a great time hanging out with each other and makes us wish we were having as much fun watching it as they did making it."

Annie Barrett from Entertainment Weekly praised the show for its "intellectual discussion", and that she wished "this were a weekly series instead of a one-time special. Even a podcast would work." She elaborated saying, "My favorite thing about the special was that these four guys have very different approaches to comedy."

Variety critic Brian Lowry, criticized the special for its loose nature, saying " isn't perceptive enough to stick in your head", however he praised the chemistry between the four comedians, saying "the special is interesting enough that again watching these four guys (or perhaps another assorted quartet) sit around bullshitting isn't an unattractive thought."

References

1. ^ "Watch: Ricky Gervais Leads Comic Roundtable on HBO's 'Talking Funny'". BBC America. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
2. "Taking Funny - TV show reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
3. "Review: 'Talking Funny' Isn't Quite The Same As Being Funny". IndieWire. 22 April 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
4. "HBO's 'Talking Funny': Are you having a laugh?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
5. "Talking Funny". Variety. 21 April 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2020.

v t e Chris Rock
Filmography Awards and nominations
Television	The Chris Rock Show (1997–2000) Everybody Hates Chris (2005–2009) Awards and nominations Everybody Still Hates Chris (since 2024)
Films directed, written and produced	Head of State (2003) I Think I Love My Wife (2007) Top Five (2014)
Films written and produced	CB4 (1993) Down to Earth (2001) Good Hair (2009) Spiral (2021)
Comedy albums	Born Suspect (1991) Roll with the New (1997) Bigger & Blacker (1999) Never Scared (2005)
Comedy specials	Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen (1988) Big Ass Jokes (1994) Bring the Pain (1996) Bigger & Blacker (1999) Never Scared (2004) Kill the Messenger (2008) Tamborine (2018) Selective Outrage (2023)
See also	"Niggas vs. Black People" "No Sex (In the Champagne Room)" "Blame Game" Talking Funny Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo Tony Rock Chris Rock–Will Smith slapping incident
Category

• Stand-up comedy specials and films
• 2011 television specials
• HBO network specials
• Works by Chris Rock
• Works by Ricky Gervais
• Works by Louis C.K.