For the first 30 years of his career, Alan Ruck (2023 Emmy nominee for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series) was sure he would always be remembered as Ferris Bueller’s sad best friend. Then ‘Succession’ came along and changed everything. In this episode, Ruck shares his thoughts on the end of ‘Succession,’ including what lies ahead for Connor and Willa’s marriage, the story behind filming that “virtual dinner” with Brian Cox, and why creator Jesse Armstrong made the right decision to quit while he was ahead. The actor also reveals why he asked for his character to be killed off in Season 2 and how the role he was waiting his entire career for has forever altered his professional legacy. 
This episode was originally published on June 6th, 2023.
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Alan Ruck (‘Succession’)

Welcome to ‘The Last Laugh’: Real conversations with really funny people. Every Wednesday, The Daily Beast’s Matt Wilstein interviews some of the biggest names in comedy—as well as the new voices crashing the party—about what it’s like to make people laugh during this current cultural and political moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Comedy Interviews

Live from Netflix Is a Joke Fest in Los Angeles this past week, comedian Mae Martin returns to the podcast to share stories about making out with ‘Ted Lasso’s’ Brett Goldstein on stage, making Jon Stewart laugh on ‘John Mulaney Presents: ‘Everybody’s in LA’ and the exhilarating feeling when a new stand-up bit that kills for the first time. Martin also looks back on the surreal experience of watching their autobiographical show ‘Feel Good’ take off on Netflix at the very start of the pandemic and teases their new narrative series for which they are strongly considering becoming a brunette. And make sure to stick around until the end of the show to hear a very special acoustic performance by Claud. 
Plus, ‘John Mulaney Presents: ‘Everybody’s in LA’ wildly exceeded our expectations, leading Matt and Allegra to wonder whether we deserve more or should just be happy with the perfect six episodes that streamed during the festival.
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Mae Martin (Live From Netflix Is a Joke Fest) + John Mulaney’s ‘Everybody’s in LA’

The last time Nikki Glaser was on The Last Laugh podcast, our conversation ended up producing material for her stand-up act. Now, in her return to the show, she apologizes for throwing me “under the bus” before sharing even more unfiltered thoughts about her objections to motherhood, struggles with suicidal thoughts and the very tricky balance between self-censorship and saying something she knows could get her “canceled”—all of which are integral to her latest HBO special ‘Someday You’ll Die.’ The comedian also reveals her approach to roasting Tom Brady at Netflix’s epic live event, explains why she decided to leave it all on the table with her jokes about Ted Cruz, Majorie Taylor Greene and other political figures while guest-hosting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ and shares how she’s feeling about turning 40 next month. 
Come to a live taping of The Last Laugh podcast with special guest Mae Martin at Netflix Is a Joke Fest on May 8.
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Nikki Glaser Returns: ‘Someday You’ll Die’ and Roasting Tom Brady

The massive, sprawling Netflix Is a Joke Festival kicks off in Los Angeles today and host Matt Wilstein is joined by The Daily Beast’s Allegra Frank and Sean L. McCarthy to preview what comedy fans can expect—including a starry roast of Tom Brady, a live Katt Williams stand-up special, a John Mulaney-hosted late-night show and a lot more. They also delve into how Netflix came to dominate the streaming comedy world—for better and, occasionally, for worse. 
Come to a live taping of The Last Laugh podcast with special guest Mae Martin at Netflix Is a Joke Fest on May 8.
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Netflix Is a Joke Fest + The State of Stand-Up on Streaming

Laura Benanti has been nominated for five Tony Awards (with one win) and appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies since making her Broadway debut at 19 years old as Maria in ‘The Sound of Music.’ But as the title of her new solo stage show attests, she still reminds herself on a daily basis that ‘Nobody Cares’ about her many accomplishments. In this episode, Benanti talks about mining her most embarrassing life stories for musical comedy in her new show, which returns to the New York stage and premieres on Audible next month. She also reveals how playing Melania Trump on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ finally made people take her “seriously” as a comedic actress and what she thinks is going through the former first lady’s head as her husband stands trial for paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels.
But first, Matt and Allegra break down Conan O’Brien’s triumphant (or is it?) streaming premiere after his decades-long run on late-night TV with the new travel series ‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’ on Max. 
Come to a live taping of The Last Laugh podcast with special guest Mae Martin at Netflix Is a Joke Fest on May 8.
Get tickets for Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares at Audible.com
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Laura Benanti Tells All! | Plus: ‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’

Demetri Martin just put out his first new stand-up hour in six years. But when he sits down for this interview with The Last Laugh podcast, he’s about to tape the second of what will be a trilogy of specials for Netflix. It’s quite a comeback moment for the (shockingly) 50-year-old comedian, who has remained mostly out of the spotlight in recent years as provocative, autobiographical stand-up comedy has overtaken the one-liner “joke machine” style that he has been honing for more than half of his life. In this episode, Martin breaks down the meta-concept behind his new ‘Demetri Deconstructed’ special, reveals why he started bringing drawings on stage, shares his take on some of the more concerning comedy trends and a lot more. 
Plus, Matt and Allegra take on the state of ‘Saturday Night Live’ and why this past weekend’s Ryan Gosling-hosted episode was the show at its very best. 
Follow Demetri Martin on Twitter @DemetriMartin and Instagram @demetrimartinofficial Follow Matt Wilstein on Threads @mattwilstein Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod and Threads @lastlaughpod
Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast 
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Alan Ruck (‘Succession’)

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