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Brent Butt is one of the biggest names in Canadian comedy. Turning a successful stand-up and TV writing career through the 90s into a legendary run as creator and star of one of the most iconic sitcoms in Canadian history, Corner Gas, the Tisdale, SK native continues to tour to sold out crowds across the country. And while he's lived in Vancouver for over 30 years, it's been over a decade since Brent has done a big theatre show in his adopted hometown. That will change on Saturday, February 21, as he hits the Vancouver Playhouse stage as part of this year's Just for Laughs Vancouver. Paul Little caught up with Brent over Zoom last week to talk about his early years on the road (and how that inspired his #1 bestselling horror novel, Huge), his sustained success in Canada, and his recent guest appearance on the hilarious CTV Comedy sitcom Acting Good. Tickets are selling fast for his JFL Vancouver show, so get yours now if you want to catch this one!

David Zucker has written and directed some of the biggest comedies of all time, including Airplane! and The Naked Gun. Along with his brother Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, the legendary ZAZ (Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker) trio essentially created the film spoof, making audiences laugh with glee through straight-faced delivery of their actors since the late 70s. On the heels of his 2023 bestseller, Surely, You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!, (a behind-the-scenes look of the making of the cult classic), the Milwaukee-born Zucker has now embarked on his own unique spoof comedy masterclass called MasterCrash. The 9-hour course promises to teach aspiring comedy filmmakers the dos and don'ts of effective comedy filmmaking. Plus, he's not done making films! Zucker is developing a new project to direct, The Star of Malta, which he's written with his longtime writing collaborator Pat Proft and is hoping to get to lens soon, while he's also executive producing Octoberfest from German production company Traumfabrik Babelsberg. Matt Ardill had the opportunity to chat over Zoom with David Zucker last week, and their sprawling half-hour conversation covered everything from 1977's The Kentucky Fried Movie through Airplane!, Top Secret!, Ruthless People, The Naked Gun, Scary Movie 3, his new projects, and his thoughts on comedy in Hollywood over the last few years. To join up for MasterCrash and learn ZAZ's 15 essential rules for making spoof comedy (along with collaborating with other students, taking part in Q&A's with Zucker, etc.), visit www.mastercrash.com.

Matt Ardill sits with comedian John Mostyn to catch up on storytelling, comedy, and their shared love of Britpop bands. Having previously recorded his special The Scotsman (available on streaming services of your choice) at Comedy Bar, John returns to one of his favourite venues to record his second special, this time as part of 2025's Just for Laughs Toronto.

Stand-up comic, writer, and actress Chloe Radcliffe has been hitting milestone after milestone the last several years. The Minnesota native moved to New York City in 2018 after appearances at Oddblock Comedy Festival, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and a stand-out performance at the New York Comedy Festival, being named by TBS as a “Comic to Watch”. She’s also made up-and-coming comedian lists from Deadline and Vulture in recent years, while establishing herself as a writing force with a year on The Tonight Show and a Writers Guild of America nomination for the Steven Soderbergh-directed Command Z (which she also starred in alongside Roy Wood Jr. and Michael Cera). Appearing at Just for Laughs Toronto September 25 & 26 with a pair of headlining shows, Paul Little talked with Chloe over Zoom about her earlier years coming up to Canada for those Winnipeg-based festivals; the development of (and next stages for) her one-woman show, Cheat; and her incredible web series In Tandem, where she talks with other comics while riding a tandem bike through NYC or L.A. Tickets for Chloe’s JFL Toronto shows can be found at toronto.hahaha.com, and other tour dates beyond that can be found at chloeradcliffe.com.

James Adomian, if you don't already know him, is your favourite comedian's favourite comedian. He can also do an impression of your favourite comedian so accurate that you don’t realize he's not your favourite comedian. Then when you do realize, he will be your favourite comedian. It is one thing to do an impression, and it's another to actually be funny as the impression itself. He seamlessly jumps between a flow of improvisation and solidly-written material. Go see his most recent comedy special "Path of Most Resistance" on YouTube to find out for yourself. If you don't recognize him from comedy, you might recognize his voiceover work on some of the best animated shows of the past 20 years. He also recently worked with Mel Brooks on the History of the World, Part II miniseries. He’s hosting "The Alternative Show" September 18–20 as part of this year's Just for Laughs Toronto. Andrew Lizotte connected with James over Zoom about everything from where an impression comes from to the significance of voices from the under culture, for better or worse.

Matthew Ardill got the chance to connect over Zoom with actor and musican Jeremy Hoffman to discuss his time playing Marshall in the new Andrew Ahn-directed film The Wedding Banquet, which is in theatres now. Jeremy discusses the welcoming and natural experience working on a queer film, an unexpected setback right before his days on set, the film's music, and his dream project, a most unexpected horror movie. Photo credit: Charles Zuckerman

Matthew Ardill chatted over Zoom with Bobo Le, who plays Kendall in director Andrew Ahn's The Wedding Banquet, which released in theatres April 18. The Wedding Banquet is a movie about found family, and Bobo talks about the family feelings on the set, the great experience the film's director Andrew Ahn created making the movie, and the joy of showing the cast – which includes Emmy nominee Bowen Yang from Saturday Night Live, Kelly Marie Tran of Star Wars fame, and Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone – around her home town of Vancouver.

If you've been following Canadian comedy over the last 15 years, you've probably seen Evany Rosen on TV, and you've definitely seen her work. Originally breaking out as part of the Halifax sketch comedy troupe Picnicface, she's since worked on the brilliant Baroness Von Sketch Show (writing for it and also appearing in many sketches over its 5 seasons) and co-created and starred in the Crave comedy series New Eden alongside Kayla Lorette. She's now behind a brand new series, Davey & Jonesie's Locker, which is streaming on Prime Video in Canada and Hulu in the U.S. The hilarious show stars Veronika Slowikowska and Jaelynn Brooks as best friends thrust into a multiverse saga without ever leaving their high school, and besides showrunning, Evany also appears on screen as the school's principal. Paul Little got the chance to catch up with Evany -- 13 years after their last interview for ShowbizMonkeys.com! -- to chat about combining the teen comedy with campy sci-fi, writing female friendships, working with the leads of Davey & Jonesie's Locker, and easter eggs.

Hunter March is a host, actor, producer, and comedian. He was one of the early faces of AwesomenessTV's collection of digital shows, hosted the game show Emogenius, and was one of the host of E!'s late night show Nightly Pop. After a successful run hosting Netflix's Sugar Rush, the streamer has brought him on board to host the 4th season of the popular glass-blowing competition series, Blown Away, which films in Hamilton, Ontario. Matthew Ardill got a chance to talk with Hunter about his experience working on the show, how talented the glass-blowing artists competing are, his advice not just for contestants of Blown Away but for anyone entering new experiences, and some of the things he did with his spare time in the Toronto area. At the start of their chat, Hunter also gives Matt some celebrity lookalikes to ponder, while Matt throws in some others he's gotten before. Season 4 of Blown Away can be streamed now in its entirety on Netflix, along with all past seasons of the show. You can find Hunter on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/huntermarch.

Many know Brandon T. Jackson from his film career starring in Tropic Thunder, Percy Jackson, and the upcoming I'm Beginning to See the Light. But before that, he was a young stand-up comic. When I say young, I mean young -- starting at the age of 14, catching the comedy bug after watching his father minister to his congregation. Brandon's career started on the stages of Detroit, but eventually he worked his way west to Hollywood, and for many years spent much of his time on screen. But after recent events, Brandon decided to return to the stage with his "Still Detroit" tour. He launches his tour November 30 at the Comedy Loft in Washington, D.C., with more dates and cities to follow (tickets available at brandontjackson.love). Brandon recently took the time to sit with Matthew Ardill for a chat, and they discussed this tour, his inspirations, and the weirdest experience he's had performing comedy.

During 2023's JFL Toronto, Matthew Ardill got to chat over Zoom with Toronto stand-up comic and producer Jessie Olsen to discuss her long-running live show "Hot Babe Energy" (part of JFL Toronto), her podcast "Your Place or Mine", and the many other shows she hosts around the city. They touch on creating safe, sex-positive spaces, what makes a good sexy joke, and the more non-traditional comedy opportunities that have arisen over Jessie's meteoric rise in the Toronto comedy world. Catch Jessie on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jessie__olsen Visit her website at https://jessieolsencomedy.com/ Listen to "Your Place or Mine" at https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/your-place-or-mine/id1536752936 or https://open.spotify.com/show/6O8R4JluNeGa9iPfqezxAf

Ottawa's Graham Kay, who has called New York City home for years, has built up quite the comedy résumé. He's toured clubs around North America, appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and featured in festivals like Just for Laughs in Montreal and the Halifax Comedy Festival. Recently, Graham has shifted his focus to a new one-man show called "Pete and Me: A Non-Depressing Look at Autism and Family", where he uses fuses storytelling with his incredible joke-writing to talk about his experiences growing up with an autistic brother, from childhood to today. The show, which was workshopped at small venues around NYC, tackles difficult subject matter head-on with plenty of levity, and has earned great reviews. Now he's bringing the show to Toronto for JFL to end off September, with more dates at the Under St Marks Theater in NYC to follow in October. Before coming to Toronto, he chatted with Andrew Lizotte about what went into the show, the lack of support for adults with autism, how his childhood shaped his sense of humour, his podcast "Autastic" with fellow comic Kirk Smith, and the perfect set-up for a stand-up comedy venue. (Also note: Fred Penner is a national treasure, and there is no secret dirt behind behind a paywall to be accessed.)

Comedian and Second-in-Command at Howl & Roar Records caught up on Zoom with the charming and talented Sydnee Washington ahead of her appearance at the Toronto Just for Laughs Festival. You can catch Syndee's solo show "How to Start a Fire" at JFL Toronto every night at Comedy Bar from September 27-30. Find more info and get tickets at toronto.hahaha.com.

Among the first crop of winners at this year's Juno Awards was Jon Dore, who won the Comedy Album of the Year Juno for A Person Who is Gingerbread, the veteran Canadian comic's debut comedy album from Howl & Roar Records (headed by his sister, Allison Dore). The Ottawa native has had a long career working on both sides of the border, first becoming a household name as a correspondent for 3 seasons of CTV's Canadian Idol before hosting The Jon Dore Television Show on the Comedy Network for 2 seasons. Jon was the first stand-up comic to appear on TBS' Conan when it debuted on November 11, 2010 (his first of many appearances on the late night show), and he hosted multiple seasons of HBO Canada's Funny as Hell, an alternative comedy showcase shot each year during Just for Laughs in Montreal. He's appeared multiple times on the Comedy Central sketch shows Inside Amy Schumer and The Kroll Show, as well as CBC's Baroness von Sketch Show, and in 2021 created and starred in CBC's Humour Resources, shot during the early days of the pandemic. (You can -- and should -- watch all the episodes now on CBC Gem.) Leading up to this year's Junos, Andrew Lizotte got the chance to chat with Jon from his home in Juneau, Alaska about how his album got more personal than his previous material, growing up with a funny sister, the process of filming Humour Resources, what it's like living in Alaska, and work-life balance before and after having a baby. Jon Dore's A Person Who is Gingerbread can be purchased from Howl & Roar Records and streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music.

If you don't know who Vir Das is by this point, that's on you, because he's very busy. Most recently, the stand-up comic released an all-crowd work special which was recorded over Zoom -- two phrases that make him a comedy daredevil. This marks his 4th special for Netflix. He was also in the latest Judd Apatow film, The Bubble, shot in the heart of the pandemic that's also about a major motion picture being shot during the pandemic. In advance of his appearances this week at JFL Toronto, Andrew Lizotte chatted with Vir over Zoom about those two latest projects, and Vir spoke about how breaking into the North American market so successfully involved mostly happy accidents that forced him to be the most himself he could be.