Sept. 7, 2026

Pete Davidson Donates $20K, Netflix Renews His Podcast, and Ricky Gervais’ New Tour Gets Mixed Reviews

Show Notes
Transcript

Johnny Mac delivers daily comedy news on the last day of summer, led by Netflix renewing The Pete Davidson Thing and ordering a new project from Katt Williams. Davidson also meets aspiring comic Liam, who has 5p syndrome, while filming Tommy Karate in Brooklyn and reportedly donates $20,000. Joe Rogan criticizes a claim that Lake Ontario was renamed “Lake America,” calling it a distraction from war concerns with Iran. The Telegraph reviews Ricky Gervais’ new tour Legend, saying it recycles material, mixes an identity crisis with familiar routines, and includes bits about his father and online culture. Stavros Halikis promotes a Netflix special and answers Maria Bamford’s questionnaire. Kelsey Cook discusses foosball and her mother’s dementia. Josh Johnson discusses topical videos versus timeless specials, Jamie Foxx announces a Hulu special (Oct. 7), and Daniel Sloss talks travel preferences.

00:15 Netflix Podcast Push
00:36 Pete Davidson Kindness
01:23 Rogan on Lake America
01:44 Gervais Tour Review
03:24 Stavros Questionnaire Bits
05:13 Kelsey Cook Foosball Life
06:37 Josh Johnson on Timeless Sets
07:02 Jamie Foxx Hulu Special
07:32 Daniel Sloss Travel Habits

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/daily-comedy-news-with-johnny-mac--4522158/support.

Today's DCN is brought to you by MyBookie use promo code DCN!

Daily Comedy News is hosted by Johnny Mac and releases every weekday. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite app. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network. For transcripts and show notes visit www.dailycomedynews.com

Daily Comedy News with Johnny Mac is a daily podcast covering comedians, stand-up comedy, late night television, and the comedy industry. New episodes every morning. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

Contact John at John@thesharkdeck dot com

For Uninterrupted Listening, use the Apple Podcast App and click the banner that says Uninterrupted Listening. $4.99/month

John's Substack about media is free.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.290 --> 00:00:12.119
Oh boy, it's the last day of summer. Make it

2
00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:14.480
a good one. Hi, I'm Johnny Mac with your daily

3
00:00:14.580 --> 00:00:18.859
comedy news. Netflix is doubling down on podcasts. They have

4
00:00:18.929 --> 00:00:23.170
renewed the Pete Davidson thing, and they have ordered a podcast,

5
00:00:23.190 --> 00:00:26.070
you know, well, I don't have that argument. It's not

6
00:00:26.089 --> 00:00:28.769
a podcast. It's a TV show. There's nothing podcast about it,

7
00:00:28.789 --> 00:00:32.049
but they've ordered a thing from Cat Williams. It is

8
00:00:32.109 --> 00:00:34.570
unclear what Cat Williams will do, but I'm sure it

9
00:00:34.609 --> 00:00:38.049
will be interesting, as he always is. Meanwhile, Pete Davidson

10
00:00:38.090 --> 00:00:40.490
met a fan in Brooklyn who had a genetic disorder.

11
00:00:41.229 --> 00:00:45.310
Liam is an aspiring comic who has 5P syndrome. According

12
00:00:45.350 --> 00:00:48.670
to People magazine, the condition can cause symptoms including high-pitched

13
00:00:48.750 --> 00:00:52.130
crying that's like a cat's voice, and physical symptoms like

14
00:00:52.170 --> 00:00:55.990
a small jaw, round face, and low-set ears. Pete ran

15
00:00:56.030 --> 00:01:00.880
into the guy while filming Tommy Karate. and apparently made

16
00:01:01.270 --> 00:01:05.930
a $ 20, 000 donation. Liam's mom shared a photo and captioned it,

17
00:01:05.969 --> 00:01:08.670
a heartfelt thank you to actor, writer, comedian, and native

18
00:01:08.709 --> 00:01:10.950
New Yorker Pete Davidson for taking the time to learn

19
00:01:10.969 --> 00:01:14.260
about 5P syndrome. Meet our Liam the lion and show

20
00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:16.260
him so much love. We couldn't help but smile knowing

21
00:01:16.299 --> 00:01:18.819
that along with being New York kids, you both have

22
00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:22.250
something pretty special in common. You're both comedians. Nice job

23
00:01:22.409 --> 00:01:25.420
out of Pete. Joe Rogan, not happy with the president

24
00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:28.900
of the United States claiming to have renamed Lake Ontario

25
00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:31.920
to Lake America, which is, of course, nonsense. I'm not

26
00:01:31.939 --> 00:01:34.959
going to pull a punch here. Nonsense. Send your letters

27
00:01:34.980 --> 00:01:38.060
to me. Joe Rogan said it's to distract you from

28
00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:40.019
the fact we're in a war. We can't win with Iran.

29
00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:42.939
It doesn't make any sense. Who cares if it's Lake Ontario?

30
00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:45.569
It's a good name. We've had that name forever. Ricky

31
00:01:45.590 --> 00:01:47.780
Gervais kicked off a new tour. The folks at The

32
00:01:47.819 --> 00:01:50.709
Telegraph went to see him and apparently did not enjoy it.

33
00:01:50.739 --> 00:01:52.900
The Telegraph writes Ricky Gervais kicked off the opening night

34
00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:55.120
of his new tour in Guildford with a recycled joke

35
00:01:55.140 --> 00:01:58.340
from his 2024 show Mortality. That joke is about how

36
00:01:58.420 --> 00:02:01.120
Ricky feels like he's still working class, so when builders

37
00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:03.780
come by, he's rude about the artworks in his own house,

38
00:02:03.890 --> 00:02:07.549
insulting Monet in his most working class accent. The Telegraph

39
00:02:07.569 --> 00:02:10.229
says it's one of several familiar routines that he revisits

40
00:02:10.349 --> 00:02:12.669
in Legend. The second is all about the hostile tweets

41
00:02:12.710 --> 00:02:15.569
he receives. And I don't want to repeat what he said.

42
00:02:15.669 --> 00:02:17.550
You can go see this show. I don't want to

43
00:02:17.569 --> 00:02:21.169
get in trouble. We're told in this slightly confused new show,

44
00:02:21.229 --> 00:02:24.120
Ricky Gervais seems to be caught between rehashing old gags

45
00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:26.379
and his own identity crisis. He hates the middle class

46
00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:28.080
that makes up his audience and feels bad about the

47
00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:31.759
builder joke because it's perpetuating middle class myths about working

48
00:02:31.780 --> 00:02:35.219
class people and prejudice. The evening feels like a hodgepodge

49
00:02:35.259 --> 00:02:39.120
of brief ideas, which are superbly connected due to Gervais's

50
00:02:39.259 --> 00:02:42.020
sheer will of confidence, but are rather short and underexplored.

51
00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:45.439
Spoilers here, but this is pretty good. Ricky sets his

52
00:02:45.500 --> 00:02:48.939
father's life story. Born 1919 in Canada, volunteered in the

53
00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:51.460
Second World War, fought in Europe, met Ricky's mother, worked

54
00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:55.050
on building sites till he was 72. Against the modern

55
00:02:55.150 --> 00:02:58.770
Sunday dads taking babies out for avocado in Hampstead cafes.

56
00:02:59.310 --> 00:03:01.810
The only time Ricky saw his father cry was wiping

57
00:03:01.889 --> 00:03:04.250
away a tear at the news of his own father's death.

58
00:03:04.909 --> 00:03:06.719
Ricky said, we never spoke about it again, but if

59
00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:09.599
you go online today, you'll see a 20-year-old film himself

60
00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:12.430
in his car. crying out his eyes because he was

61
00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:15.810
misgendered in Starbucks. One more spoiler, at the end of

62
00:03:15.909 --> 00:03:19.030
a Holocaust routine, Ricky said, whatever you think of this joke, remember,

63
00:03:19.469 --> 00:03:22.770
I did The Office. Stavros Alkias has a special out

64
00:03:22.810 --> 00:03:27.099
on Netflix tomorrow. He did The Bamford Questionnaire, which is

65
00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:31.360
a series of 25 questions designed by Maria Bamford. Vulture

66
00:03:31.400 --> 00:03:33.159
had this story. Let's take a look at a couple

67
00:03:33.180 --> 00:03:34.819
of them. Stavros, what do you like to eat or

68
00:03:34.860 --> 00:03:37.629
drink right before bed? He said ice cream. It's a

69
00:03:37.650 --> 00:03:39.949
big problem, actually. The addiction I have not been able

70
00:03:39.969 --> 00:03:42.069
to kick for real is night ice cream. It has

71
00:03:42.129 --> 00:03:45.129
ruined my life. Actually, this is so pathetic. I'd almost

72
00:03:45.189 --> 00:03:47.490
kicked my night ice cream addiction two years ago. The

73
00:03:47.509 --> 00:03:49.889
Ravens lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship.

74
00:03:49.949 --> 00:03:51.669
I was at home. I was at the game. The

75
00:03:51.710 --> 00:03:53.509
Super Bowl was on my 35th birthday, and I had

76
00:03:53.530 --> 00:03:55.289
convinced myself that it was fate. We were going to

77
00:03:55.310 --> 00:03:58.159
win because it mattered so much. I was clean off

78
00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:00.000
night ice cream. Then that loss sent me on a

79
00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:02.439
three-week bender where I was getting Ben and Jerry's stuff.

80
00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:05.319
Now I'm on Halo Top. I'm on that low-cal stuff,

81
00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:08.340
which is basically the methadone of ice cream. But honestly,

82
00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:10.530
I eat it every night. Now, I'm on a Klondike

83
00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:12.370
bar jag, and that's a big problem. I don't like

84
00:04:12.379 --> 00:04:15.509
where that leads. These are great answers. Next question. What

85
00:04:15.530 --> 00:04:17.089
would your religion be like if you could make up

86
00:04:17.110 --> 00:04:19.290
your own? Stavros said, Unfortunately, there's a part of me

87
00:04:19.310 --> 00:04:20.689
that really wants to be at the top of a

88
00:04:20.769 --> 00:04:23.079
sex cult. I got a buddy who just moved up

89
00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:24.860
to Tilson, New York, and I spent a weekend there

90
00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:26.699
and had a great time. What if, instead of my

91
00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:29.199
buddy's place, I had a nice meadow and it was me,

92
00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:31.670
12 people, it's mostly women, but maybe some gay guys

93
00:04:31.699 --> 00:04:33.350
in the mix because I still want some bros around,

94
00:04:33.389 --> 00:04:35.949
but I don't want that much sexual competition. That's my

95
00:04:36.029 --> 00:04:39.089
ideal religion. It's just me pampered. I think I'd be

96
00:04:39.129 --> 00:04:40.850
really good at that. I just love how every cult

97
00:04:40.889 --> 00:04:43.170
starts with these beliefs and then everybody sold their possessions

98
00:04:43.230 --> 00:04:44.829
and moved across the country and they're like, oh, by

99
00:04:44.870 --> 00:04:47.480
the way, this is nuts. But God said I have to,

100
00:04:47.540 --> 00:04:49.759
I'll clean this up, hook up with everybody's wife, so

101
00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:51.839
I'd love to be the figurehead of that type of religion.

102
00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:56.459
A hedonistic, pleasure-based, I'll skip the next phrase, style religion.

103
00:04:56.519 --> 00:04:58.819
He was quite naughty there. You can read this on Vulture.

104
00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:02.639
Let's do one more. What's your most repetitive long-term fear?

105
00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:05.360
Stavros said death, without question. The Reaper's coming for us,

106
00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:07.259
and this year is the year I realized I'm dying.

107
00:05:07.300 --> 00:05:09.360
I mean, you always know you're dying, but this is

108
00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:11.259
the year I was like, oh, stuff's starting to go.

109
00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:13.699
My back is messed up. I broke my arm. My

110
00:05:13.740 --> 00:05:16.009
shoulder will never be the same again. It's like when

111
00:05:16.029 --> 00:05:18.009
you stop taking a car to the mechanic and you're like,

112
00:05:18.029 --> 00:05:19.410
am I going to replace the muffler or am I

113
00:05:19.430 --> 00:05:21.230
going to get a new car? That's what's happening with

114
00:05:21.269 --> 00:05:25.279
my body. Kelsey Cook talked about her love of foosball

115
00:05:25.420 --> 00:05:27.959
and said, it's generally a solo sport. You can play

116
00:05:28.019 --> 00:05:30.079
doubles in foosball, but if something goes wrong, it's not

117
00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:31.300
like a team sport where you have a bunch of

118
00:05:31.339 --> 00:05:35.040
other people to blame. Same with comedy. You're accountable for

119
00:05:35.060 --> 00:05:37.009
your own stuff. I love both of them so much.

120
00:05:37.069 --> 00:05:39.910
It sounds silly because it's foosball, but it's literally the

121
00:05:39.949 --> 00:05:43.720
reason I exist. She explains. My parents met playing in

122
00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:46.259
a professional foosball tournament, so I would not exist if

123
00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:48.920
it weren't for foosball. I still go to the weekly

124
00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:51.480
Minneapolis tournaments. I can't go all the time with a

125
00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:53.360
tour schedule, but I'll still try to go quite a

126
00:05:53.379 --> 00:05:56.459
bit if I'm back in Spokane. My dad has started

127
00:05:56.480 --> 00:05:58.040
to get back into it again, so I'll go with him.

128
00:05:58.420 --> 00:06:01.019
I have this wonderful foosball table. My wife was trying

129
00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:02.470
to have me get rid of it because it wasn't

130
00:06:02.490 --> 00:06:04.970
being used because the kids are grown, empty nest. So

131
00:06:04.990 --> 00:06:06.579
I move it up to the lake house. I have

132
00:06:06.620 --> 00:06:08.649
this fantasy that someday, like, my children are going to

133
00:06:08.689 --> 00:06:10.029
visit me at the lake house and we can play

134
00:06:10.050 --> 00:06:13.750
foosball and use the new dartboard that I hung. But

135
00:06:13.790 --> 00:06:16.930
nobody comes. Nobody visits, Dad. Very sad. But I do

136
00:06:16.970 --> 00:06:19.629
have a nice foosball table that I'm fond of. Kelsey said,

137
00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:22.899
my mom and I won women's expert doubles together at

138
00:06:22.939 --> 00:06:26.759
the Hall of Fame foosball tournament in Vegas. And that was, like,

139
00:06:26.860 --> 00:06:28.600
somebody got the winning shot on video and I have

140
00:06:28.620 --> 00:06:30.810
it and I cherish it because... As you would know

141
00:06:30.870 --> 00:06:32.990
from my special, my mom has dementia, and I'm so

142
00:06:33.050 --> 00:06:34.670
happy we got to do that together that I have

143
00:06:34.689 --> 00:06:37.050
that moment on video because we both look so happy.

144
00:06:37.709 --> 00:06:41.930
Josh Johnson and Ronnie Ching had a conversation for Interview Magazine.

145
00:06:42.769 --> 00:06:44.449
Josh said, when I look at YouTube and what I

146
00:06:44.470 --> 00:06:46.790
put out each week, those are very topical videos, very

147
00:06:46.810 --> 00:06:48.629
of the moment. They're also me trying to share as

148
00:06:48.670 --> 00:06:50.310
if we're just chilling in your living room, like having

149
00:06:50.350 --> 00:06:53.300
a conversation with a friend. The special was intended to

150
00:06:53.329 --> 00:06:55.240
be timeless. I'm fully aware that a year from now,

151
00:06:55.250 --> 00:06:56.759
there'll be plenty of sets that I've done that people

152
00:06:56.779 --> 00:06:59.420
don't care about. That'll happen. I also think that specials

153
00:06:59.459 --> 00:07:02.790
are how you distinguish certain areas of your evolution. My

154
00:07:02.829 --> 00:07:05.970
former co-worker Jamie Foxx is putting out a comedy special.

155
00:07:06.069 --> 00:07:09.540
Take Care of Yourself will be on Hulu October 7th.

156
00:07:10.029 --> 00:07:12.949
Regular listeners to this program know that I fear when

157
00:07:12.980 --> 00:07:16.240
your comedy special goes to Hulu, you're a little past

158
00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:20.019
prime here. Sorry, Foxx. The Hoolaria specials, if you want

159
00:07:20.060 --> 00:07:23.990
a list, Hannah Berner, Ralph Barbosa, Bill Burr, Chris DiStefano, Gaffigan,

160
00:07:24.050 --> 00:07:27.870
Zarna Garg, Nikki Glaser, Alana Glaser, Jessica Kirson, Mateo Lane,

161
00:07:28.029 --> 00:07:32.120
and Sebastian Maniscalco. I don't know, but okay, I'll watch it.

162
00:07:34.050 --> 00:07:36.410
The Boston Globe asked Daniel Sloss, if you could travel

163
00:07:36.610 --> 00:07:40.810
anywhere right now, where would you go? He said, Mallorca, Spain.

164
00:07:41.089 --> 00:07:44.089
His wife likes hotels with swimming pools, so he's been

165
00:07:44.129 --> 00:07:47.089
converted to those type of holidays. Does he like being

166
00:07:47.189 --> 00:07:49.490
unplugged on vacation? I would never want to be fully

167
00:07:49.529 --> 00:07:51.810
unplugged because it's not a reality anymore. But I'm for

168
00:07:51.829 --> 00:07:53.639
things like agreeing to leave the phone in the hotel

169
00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:56.439
room when you're out and sticking to it. But yeah,

170
00:07:56.500 --> 00:07:57.800
I don't need to be in my head that much.

171
00:07:57.860 --> 00:07:59.300
I got a therapy to get out of my head.

172
00:07:59.540 --> 00:08:01.519
If you hang out with me, my phone is almost

173
00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:03.790
always in my hand. I am a phone addict, but

174
00:08:03.930 --> 00:08:07.009
I'm really good when I do travel. That phone stays away.

175
00:08:07.689 --> 00:08:10.069
You won't find me like doing that at all. When

176
00:08:10.110 --> 00:08:13.709
I go somewhere, I am there to see something. Daniel,

177
00:08:13.730 --> 00:08:16.129
do you vacation to relax or for the adventure of

178
00:08:16.189 --> 00:08:17.970
it all? He said, to relax and to spoil my

179
00:08:18.009 --> 00:08:20.250
wife and children. Thankfully, I've been forced to travel from

180
00:08:20.310 --> 00:08:22.720
a very young age because of my job. If I

181
00:08:22.750 --> 00:08:24.600
hadn't done stand-up, I wouldn't have gone to 90% of

182
00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:26.220
the countries I've gone to. I think it's important to

183
00:08:26.259 --> 00:08:28.279
travel to learn. It gets rid of so much ignorance.

184
00:08:29.019 --> 00:08:30.920
If you could travel with one famous person or celebrity,

185
00:08:30.939 --> 00:08:33.580
who would it be? He said, Gordon Ramsay. I feel

186
00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:35.139
like he would take me to good spots. He would

187
00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:36.629
treat with me and I wouldn't have to sort out

188
00:08:36.649 --> 00:08:39.389
my accent or stop my swearing. Best gift to give

189
00:08:39.429 --> 00:08:42.659
a traveler? Sloss said, a universal adapter. The number of

190
00:08:42.700 --> 00:08:44.159
times I go to a country and don't remember the

191
00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:47.169
different plug sockets. And just for the record, every socket

192
00:08:47.190 --> 00:08:49.049
in the world should be a British plug socket. It's

193
00:08:49.090 --> 00:08:52.330
the strongest, it's the best, it's the fastest. The most

194
00:08:52.389 --> 00:08:54.389
nationalistic I've become about my country is I go to

195
00:08:54.429 --> 00:08:56.940
Switzerland or Australia or America and I see your flimsy

196
00:08:56.980 --> 00:08:59.879
little wall sockets where nothing stays plugged in. I have

197
00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:03.490
this hole right here. You hear that? That's a shoebox

198
00:09:04.309 --> 00:09:06.529
under the desk where I record here in the studio.

199
00:09:06.970 --> 00:09:10.730
And that is filled with like a million international adapters.

200
00:09:11.409 --> 00:09:14.250
And that, my friends, puts a wrap on summer. Tomorrow

201
00:09:14.370 --> 00:09:16.750
is the worst day of the year. So sad. And

202
00:09:17.070 --> 00:09:20.090
that's also your comedy news for today. See you tomorrow.