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Johnny Pemberton has been on your movie theatre and TV screens for a long time. Johnny appeared in 21 Jump Street and its sequel, voiced the titlular role in the criminally-underrated animated show Son of Zorn, did scene-stealing work amongst a sea of comedy heavyweights on the NBC sitcom Superstore, starred in 2025's dark comedy thriller Mermaid, and recurs on Amazon's incredibly popular and critically-acclaimed Fallout. Between the film and TV roles, he also keeps busy touring across North America with his stand-up, which includes 2 upcoming dates at Just for Laughs Toronto on September 30 and October 1. Paul Little caught up with Johnny as he was on his way out of Florida following a string of shows there. He talked about taking improv classes in the early years of UCB in L.A., accompanying Paul Walter Hauser to the ring at a wrestling show while shooting a curling movie in Winnipeg, the rollercoasters at Valleyfair in Minnesota, how much he loves performing in Toronto and how many great stand-ups are from there, and what you can bring to his JFL shows in exchange for a signed headshot.

Mark Little has made his mark in every possible corner of the Canadian comedy scene. Starting out in his hometown of Halifax with the sketch comedy troupe Picnicface (pioneers of online video sketch comedy), he eventually moved to Toronto and continued working regularly in sketch, improv, and stand-up. In 2015, he made his late night debut with a set on Conan, and he's appeared in TV shows (including the long-running sitcom Mr. D), movies, and web series in the years since. Three years ago, Mark made the move to New York City, and he's been carving out his place there performing at Upright Citizen's Brigade and various stand-up spots. He's come back to Canada regularly for comedy, though, including various Just for Laughs stops. This weekend, he's heading out to JFL Vancouver to host back-to-back nights of "The Alternative Show", a JFL classic that goes back years in Montreal with Andy Kindler as host. Paul chatted with Mark over Zoom to talk about his last few years, what he's looking forward to in Vancouver, and at Paul's behest, a look back at his far-too-short-lived 2019 CBC sitcom Cavendish.

If you've been anywhere on the internet, you've probably at some point encountered Grace Helbig, either in the form of her successful YouTube vlogs, her TV Show The Grace Helbig Show, late night appearances, or collaborating with creators like Mamrie Hart and Hannah Hart (no relation) on film and television projects. Grace is one of those rare people who is a delight to chat with, bright, fun, and full of joy, even when tackling difficult subjects. In a chat over Zoom, she and Matt Ardill discussed her comedy inspirations, her YouTube journey, and her current show "Let Me Get This Off My Chest" appearing at the Rio Theatre this Sunday, February 15 as part of Just for Laughs Vancouver.

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.)