5 Things Improvisers Need to Stream Right Now

Like many of you, I love to catch up on entertainment late at night before bed, and lately, I've seen some really great TV shows, movies, stand-up specials and documentaries that have reminded me of my own journey as an improviser. So if you're looking for a little creative inspiration, here are a few things I recommend you check out.

1. The Bear Season 2 (Hulu)
   For those of you who haven’t seen The Bear, the show is about a brilliant young chef named Carmy who returns home to Chicago to run his family’s beef sandwich shop. Season two opens with trying to open a fine dining restaurant where the beef stand used to be. What I loved about this season is that they go into the backstory of the characters who work at the restaurant. The show is so well written, acted and directed and deserved all of the Emmys it received. And if you are contemplating moving to Chicago to pursue improv, it’s going to make you fall in love with this city. I found this season's storyline of opening a new restaurant is similar to starting an improv group. We can create something wonderful if we all work together, but often in the process, creative tension runs high, and people sometimes struggle to find their roles in the project. I can’t recommend this show enough. It’s a masterpiece.
   
2. The Greatest Night in Pop Music (Netflix)
   This documentary is about the recording of the smash hit of ’80s song “We Are The World,” which was used as a way to raise money and awareness about world hunger. The all-star lineup included Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Lionell Ritchie and Diana Ross, to name a few. What is so crazy is they got all these big-name musicians together and they had one night to record this song. I think the musicians in this show and improvisers have so much in common, and not because all comedians want to be rock stars. I have found that what bands go through personally and creatively is a lot like my experience in being in an improv group.  Improvisers will be able to relate to how they these famous recording artists had to "check their ego at the door" to be able to collaborate and create something truly memorable.

• The Holdovers (Peacock)
  When was the last time you went to a movie that had characters in relationships you really cared about? Well here it is: Paul Giamatti plays a grumpy teacher who is forced to spend Christmas break at the prep school where he works and ends up bonding with a troubled student (Dominic Sessa) and the head cook (Da'Vine Joy Randolph). Although this is a comedy, director Alexander Payne grounds his characters in situations with real emotional moments and pathos — kinda how I like my improv.
  
• Too Funny to Fail (Hulu)
  As you can tell, I have watched a lot of documentaries lately, and this one is about the failed Dana Carvey sketch show that was on ABC back in the ’90s. This documentary does a great job of showing us what happens when a group of passionate people come together and create a show that they think is funny. It captures the rebellious attitude that we as improvisers and comedians need to create things that make us laugh, but also the pitfalls of not knowing your audience. It really left me thinking that if they realized that who their audience was in prime time, maybe they would have had a different result.
  
• Gary Gulman’s “Born On 3rd Base” (Max) 
  Gary Gulman is a stand-up comic who has done tons of comedy specials and has appeared on all of the late-night talk shows. What I love about this underrated stand-up is how he continues to evolve, and in this special he is working at the top of his craft. Gulman is personal and relatable, and what I loved about his latest special is how he talks about growing up poor and uses it to talk about the broader issue of pay inequality in this country. He is passionate about this topic and pulls it off without being preachy.

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