Deadline’s Comedy Means Business Podcast will be a definitive resource on the inner workings of the comedy industry, spotlighting the people — on and off stage — who help it thrive. Hosted by Matt Grobar, the show will delve into the work that goes into building a modern-day comedy career, placing an emphasis on stand-up in particular, while also covering comedy in film and television.
Kate Berlant joins Comedy Means Business to discuss her debut HBO special Parmesan and finding the humor in today’s very weird and “precarious” new reality. She talks about growing up around artists, the influence of academia on her work, the instinctive nature of her approach to physical comedy, and her tendency to deconstruct her art form as she performs it. She also discusses reluctantly entering the world of comedy clipping and stand-up’s changing career ladder. Plus: her New York alt-comedy roots, hecklers, AI, acting — from Lizzie McGuire to Tarantino and the “Jesse Plemons roles” she craves— and recent inspiration from A24’s You Can See Everything.
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6 Oct 2026
American High’s Comedy Factory Faces Biggest Tests Yet
This week on Comedy Means Business, Matt Grobar sits down with American High’s Jeremy Garelick and Will Phelps to discuss the genesis of a singular comedy business. Based out of a decommissioned middle school in upstate New York that they converted into a private production facility, American High has in less than a decade produced more than 20 films, amassed billions of views on social, incubated talent and developed a low-cost pipeline designed to identify what projects deserve to scale. Now, the company finds itself at an inflection point, with the festival comedy Rolling Loud — marking its biggest wide theatrical release to date — and Minimum Wage — a series adapted from their viral web series, marking another departure from their usual base at Hulu. The duo discusses what success for the projects could mean for American High’s future, expanding recently via a new Georgia campus, and more.
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In this week's episode of Comedy Means Business, host Matt Grobar speaks with Jeremiah Watkins about his new self-financed special, Crazy Pizza, and how he hopes the meticulously crafted hour reflects on him as a comic. Alongside discussion of the special, Watkins dissects the blood, sweat and tears of his nearly 15-year comedy grind — including the four-and-a-half years it took to get passed at The Comedy Store. Over the course of an hour, the comedian discusses his early days as a founding member of Kill Tony, the surprise commercial windfall that bankrolled his early stand-up days, why he considers his live show Stand Up on the Spot "the hardest in comedy,” and more.
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Who has been a guest on Comedy Means Business
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Carisa Hendrix
Kountry Wayne
Reg Tigerman
Maureen Taran
Danny Jolles
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.5 / 5
10 ratings
Spotify
4.7 / 5
12 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 11 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
9
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
Contact Comedy Means Business
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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