What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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T2 WHATS UP! May 6 - 12, 2018 BY FRANCIS BABIN TV Media S tandup comedy is hard, and it's definitely not for everyone. It takes a special someone to bare it all and try to make a crowd full of strangers laugh. Accurate depictions of stand- up comedy and comedians on the big and small screen are arguably even harder to pull off, but "I'm Dying Up Here" seems to have finally succeed- ed where many have failed be- fore. The highs and lows of those trying to make it big in Hollywood continue in the second-season premiere of the comedy-drama, airing Sunday, May 6, on Showtime. "I'm Dying Up Here" is hardly the first series to exam- ine comedians working on their craft, but such shows generally tend to be over-the- top portrayals of behind-the- scenes antics. Fan favorites such as "30 Rock" and "The Larry Sanders Show" depict how comedy shows come to- gether, but not the grueling lives of the comedians who work on them. Based on the 2010 bestsell- ing book by William Knoedel- seder, the series produced by Jim Carrey ("Man on the Moon," 1999) explores the famed Los Angeles standup scene of the 1970s and follows a group of young comedians attempting to make it big by performing on Johnny Car- son's "The Tonight Show." Be- fore they can go mainstream, however, these up-and-com- ing comics must succeed at Goldie's comedy club. When we were first intro- duced to Goldie (Melissa Leo, "The Fighter," 2010) and the club that bears her name last season, they were on top of the comedy world. Her club was the place to be, and through her in-your-face toughness, encouragement and mentoring, she helped ris- ing stars gain confidence and succeed, as we saw with fresh- faced Boston buds Eddie (Mi- chael Angarano, "Sky High," 2005) and Ron (Clark Duke, "Hot Tub Time Machine," 2010). She also helped the comics get sitcom roles, radio Ari Graynor in "I'm Dying Up Here" Feeling funny continued on page T10 TV FEATURE