Comedy

The bawdy, crudely animated sitcom South Park is about to celebrate its 200th episode. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone go behind the scenes of some of their favorite episodes and explain how they come up with the weekly parodies.

The British comedian's latest project is an animated series on HBO, developed from his wildly successful podcast, The Ricky Gervais Show. He talks to David Bianculli about the new show -- and explains what it was like to create the award-winning sitcom The Office.

Comedian Carol Leifer has written for Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show, The Ellen Show, and Saturday Night Live. She talks to Fresh Air about her career in comedy, her coming out story, and her memoir, When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win.

This interview was first broadcast on April 23, 2009.

Comedian Aziz Ansari has appeared on HBO's Flight of the Conchords, ABC's Scrubs and MTV's Human Giant. Nowadays he stars opposite Amy Poehler on NBC's workplace comedy Parks and Recreation.

For the last three years, comedian John Oliver has been telling some serious jokes as "Senior British Correspondent" on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. He won an Emmy for his work on the show in 2009, but his comedic career is not confined to the fake newsroom. On January 8, 2009, Oliver debuts his newest act: John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show. The title, as he explains to Fresh Air host Terry Gross, pretty much says it all.

The British are crazy for actor and comedian Russell Brand, but he's not content to stop with his compatriots. With a comic triumph as a bad-boy rocker in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and a startlingly frank memoir called My Booky Wook, Brand is shooting for Stateside stardom.

This interview was first broadcast on April 6, 2009.

The star of NBC's 30 Rock talks to Terry Gross about his tough childhood, how he made the grade in the comedy college that was Saturday Night Live, and why even though he may cry a little on the radio, "the funny bus is still sitting downstairs." (Rebroadcast from Oct. 22, 2009)

Terry Gilliam's new film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, is another entry into his long line of dream-like films. But it's also the final performance of the late Heath Ledger. Gilliam joins host Terry Gross to talk about the personal and professional challenges of creative filmmaking.

Jay Leno has been in the world of late night programming since he took over The Tonight Show from Johnny Carson in 1992. In this archival interview, he speaks to Terry Gross about his struggle to break into comedy.

Former Saturday Night Live writer and producer Robert Smigel uses animal puppets to say and do the lewdest things. His most infamous creation is Triumph, The Insult Comic Dog, who made a name for himself "pooping" on guests of Late Night With Conan O'Brian.