Stars to reveal the Isolation Song Contest results

Today's best comedy on demand

Every day during the coronavirus lockdown, Chortle will be bringing you a round-up of what's new to watch at home.

This list, updated at around 3pm daily, covers subscription services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, iPlayer and NextUp, to podcasts and shows that comedians are releasing themselves, is your essential guide to getting a daily dose of laughs.

As well as these highlights, you can search our listings for other online events using the blue box at the left or top of this page.

Or if you're a promoter wanting to add an event, details are here.

The Isolation Song Contest

Tonight is the results show of the Isolation Song Contest - the Eurovision stand-in which launched two weeks ago with the likes of Mel Giedroyc, Nick Helm, Tim Vine (pictured) and Kevin Eldon creating songs for various nations.

Special guests as we discover who wins will include Ainsley Harriott, David Walliams, Ed Balls, Gregg Wallace, Milton Jones, Paul Sinha, Susie Dent and Sir Tony Robinson.

And the 'interval entertainment' will be provided by Brit Award-winning singer/songwriter James Newman who would have been representing Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest this year if it hadn't been cancelled.

The event has already raised more than £38,000 for charity. Donate here and tune in for the show at 8pm. Or watch the entries again here

Comedy At The Covid Arms

One of the most successful of the virtual comedy nights returns at 7pm tonight (Saturday) with host Kiri Pritchard-McLean introducing the varied talents of Tim Key, Barbara Nice, Sindhu Vee and indie tunesters Ten Fé. So far the venture has raised more than £75,000 for food bank charity The Trussell Trust. Get tickets for tonight's show here

Virtual pub quiz

OK, so they're everywhere, but this trivia night has two things going for it. 1), it's hosted by Robin Ince, who promises a comic twist, and 2) it's for a good cause, The Bike Project, which provides cycles for refugees. It all kicks off at 7.30pm tonight (Saturday).

Details and tickets here

Key Worker

Plebs and Pls Like star Jon Pointing has been shooting this online sitcom while volunteering for a local food bank. He plays Bradley from Bromley, a twentysomething lifted from his inertia by a newfound purpose in life.

Pointing said: 'Just before the lockdown I'd been testing out the character of Bradley at gigs. His heart's is in the right place – he's a bit of an idiot at times but a well-meaning one. He's never made much of a life but lockdown has forced something of a level playing field on society and for some reason he finds himself flourishing in the most unlikely of situations.

'I wanted to make a character that people would enjoy spending time with. It feels sweeter than the sort of thing I would normally do - I think the reality of the situation dictated that.'

The series has been produced by Baby Cow Productions, whose creative director Steve Coogan called it 'warm, funny and beautifully observed.'

The fourth and final ten-minute episode dropped this lunchtime, and you can watch the full series here

The Lovebirds

Comedy hot properties Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani star in this new Netflix movie as a couple who were on the verge of breaking up before they became embroiled in a murder. Now they have to clear their name.

Despite the lure of the stars, the film - which had been due a cinema release before all Covid palaver– has been critically slated. The New York Times called it, bluntly, a turkey, while Deadline calls in 'thin and derivative' and Variety said it aims low and still misfires. In comparison. the CNN review looks like a positive rave, concluding: 'Charitably, The Lovebirds isn't bad.'

You can watch it here.

A Night of Comedy for Grief Support

This online gig from charity The Loss Foundation is raising money to support people losing their loved ones to Covid-19.

The line-up comprises Jen Brister, Rhys James, Angela Barnes, Barry From Watford, MC Tom Deacon and more.

Get tickets, priced £5, here. Links will be emailed by 7.15pm tonight (Friday) for a show that starts at 7.30pm.

BASEketball

Netflix is doing pretty well out of the new Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance, so perhaps recognising a demand for basketball-based content, it has snapped up this 1998 sports comedy film co-written and directed by David Zucker, of Airplane! and Naked Gun fame. Even if the sport at its core is a made-up one, featuring elements of baseball

It starsTrey Parker and Matt Stone, who signed up because they believed the new animated comedy that they had just launched Comedy Central, South Park, would be cancelled soon.

With its puerile humour, the film was not especially well received – co-star Yasmine Bleeth was nominated for worst actress at the 1998 Golden Raspberry Awards but lost out to the Spice Girls for Spice World – but the providence of the key players makes it an interesting curio that might we worth checking out now it's on the streaming service. Watch here.

Might Delete Later

Gina Martin is the activist who made upskirting illegal and her sister Stevie is a comic who co-hosts the Nobody Panic podcast with fellow performer Tessa Coates.

In this new podcast, which began today, the siblings delve into the social media timelines of interesting people they know. What do they regret posting? What was their first-ever post? And how has social media helped or hindered them?

Gina said: 'I worked in social media during my career in advertising, I ran my political campaign with it, and I have fun and learn on it every single day. But I do have a complex relationship with it, like everyone else. This podcast makes me feel less alone in that... and it's a right laugh looking at old posts!'

Martin added: 'I hate social media, but am absolutely addicted to and fascinated by it – looking at people's first ever tweets is my favourite part because they're just so pure. And embarrassing.'

Guests lined up include comedians Rose Matafeo, Nish Kumar and Phil Wang, but for episode one, Gina and Stevie examine their own social media feeds and find some regrettable posts.

Might Delete Later is made by Plosive Productions, whose credits include Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster and The Rob Auton Daily Podcast.

It is available on is available on Apple Podcasts, Acast and Spotify.

Alexander Bennett: They Call Me Daddy Punchlines

Billed as a 'show for those without hope, looking for some', this hour, originally performed at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, drops dark jokes into a longer discussion about identity. Alexander Bennett put it on YouTube last night, and if you'd like to make a donation, this is the link

The Edge: Backstage Pass

This podcast normally comes from backstage at The Edge, The Comedy Store's Tuesday night show, based around topical comedy games. Though of course it's performed in the stand-ups' homes at the moment.

Tiff Stevenson, Mick Ferry, Leo Kearse and Alistair Barrie appear in the episode released today, which also features some archive material from the club featuring Ian Stone, Tania Edwards and Sean Meo alongside Ferry.

You'll Do

Joe Lycett joins fellow comics Catherine Bohart and Sarah Keyworth on their frank podcast about relationships. And it's a first as Lycett isn't in a relationship, so they get to explore – if this isn't too cheesy a phrase – his relationship with himself.

They chat about getting on the dating apps, spontaneous holidays and finding time for therapy... and why he never appreciates a wedding invitation.

Listen here.

Ian Smith's walk

Is this the ultimate staycation? The stand-up offers this walking tour of Howden in East Yorkshire – not far from his Goole home town. Though don't expect too much in the way of history as you watch from home as he complains that the local civic society are 'shitting blue plaques' with too much dull information.

Lee Kyle: Precedented

Comedian Lee Kyle has set himself a Covid challenge of creating a new hour-long show each month for as long as lockdown lasts.

He kicks off tonight with Precedented, which is all about the current situation, promising all new material, 'which he hasn't had the luxury of previewing'

Kyle, who is based on the North East of England, says 'it's a risky way of performing a show, especially one that is set to be a lot angrier than usual'.

The shot-at-home special will be broadcast on Facebook and YouTube from 8pm tonight (Tuesday)

Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything

In his new Netflix special, the smart, amiable comic discusses turning 50, finding love again after the death of his wife Michelle in 2016, buying a house – and experiencing existential dread at a fast food joint.

Watch here

Pope Lonergan is Plimmin' and Lompin'

Comedian, Quaker, and drug addict Pope Lonergan – probably best known for his monthly comedy-meets therapy show Pope's Addiction Clinic – has launched this podcast with the aim of being candid about humiliating and awkward encounters.

The first episode, for example, covered elderly care, and included a conversation between Pope and a 98-year-old woman about how they'd like to be disposed of when they die. The woman, who Lonergan spent more than eight years caring for, subsequently did pass away, but the comic was unable to attend her funeral due to lockdown restrictions.

Lonergan says that through this podcast he hopes to transmit dark subject matters, and personal trauma, while maintaining an open and affable demeanour.

New episodes are released every Monday, with yesterday's discussing despondency. They are available on all the usual platforms, including Anchor FM

Chortle Comedy Book Festival Podcast

In the fifth and final episode of our podcast, recorded live at the British Library in London, Mark Searby examines the life and legacy of Rik Mayall, the subject of his recent biography entitled, simply, Comedy Genius.

Previous episodes have features Mark Thomas, Katy Brand, Jen Brister and Louis Barfe speaking about Ken Dodd – and they are all available here

Stamptown Comedy Night

It may have been online, but intense American comedian Jack Tucker – the alter-ego of Zach Zucker – barely toned down his energy while introducing for this assortment of alternative comedy acts from around the world last night.

Co-hosted by Zucker's long-time collaborator, the Norwegian clown Viggo Venn, the brisk 45-minute show featured the likes of Mark Silcox, as seen on Joe Lycett's Got Your Back, Australian puppet comedian Randy Feltface, America's Courtney Pauroso and cabaret star Reuben Kaye plus music from Movin' Melvyn Brown and Thumpasaurus:

Men Behaving Badly: Season 1

The first season of the classic 1990s sitcom - which might not have aged entirely well in its laddish attitudes – has arrived on Amazon Prime.

This series ran on ITV before being picked up by BBC where it became a hit – and features Harry Enfield as the flatmate of Martin Clunes's character Gary, before Neil Morrissey came on board. Leslie Ash and Caroline Quentin also co-star.

Infinite Sofa

Dara O Briain is the big guest on tonight's episode of Stuart Godlmsith's online chatshow, The Comedians' Comedian host will also be joined by comics Elf Lyons, Marcel Lucont and Richard Sandling from 9pm on Twitch

Happy Mondays

Catherine Bohart, Chris Martin, President Obonjo and Sarah Keyworth take part in tonight's online version of the London comedy night. Tickets, priced £5, are available here.

Patriot Act with Hasan Minaj

Hasan Minaj's topical comedy show returns for a sixth series today, with an episode looking at the plight of millions of Americans who can't pay rent as te Covid-19 pandemic bites, foreshadowing a widespread eviction crisis.

The comic recorded the epsiode – the first in a run of six - from his home in front of a green screen.

Watch on Netflix

Alistair Green: Volume One

The viral video comedian and 'paranoid recluse' has made a success of shooting short films on his iPhone in his front-room. So an ideal format for a lockdown broadcast (although this compilaiton has previously graced the screenof the Prince Charles cinema in London).

It's being screened on YouTube at 8pm, followed by a Q&A. Tickets are £6, bt free to NHS staff, careworkers and those feeling financially unstable. here

Old Jewish Jokes

Stand-up Ivor Dembina performs a live online version of his long-running solo show Old Jewish Jokes., tonight, mixing classic kosher gags with true stories from tthe life of the modern Jewish comic.

It kicks off at 6pm tonight (Sunday) and tickets are available here, priced £5 and £3.50.

Here is a preview from Chortle's Fast Fringe a few years back...

Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt's Creek Farewell

The sleeper comedy hit has come to an end after six series, and this documentary, featuring unseen behind-the-scene footage, including last table read, takes a look at the show and its stars, including Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara. Watch on Netflix

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