Top Story! Weekly Nominated for Two 2012 INNY Awards!!

This is cool.

My show, Top Story! Weekly, has been nominated for two 2012 Inny Awards! These are national awards, so it’s very exciting.

We’ve received nominations for Best in Sketch Comedy (we’re the only show in Los Angeles to be so recognized, and one of only two outside New York and Chicago!) and Best Comedy Song (for “Sad Christmas Songs,” with lyrics by me and music by Gregg Lopez! We’re even nominated in the latter category with Flight of the Conchords!

And other folks in the TS!W family were nominated as well:

– Our home venue, iO West, was nominated for Best Venue and Best Training Program!

– One of our head writers, Matt Manser, was nominated for Best in Stand-Up!

– Bro Squad 5, featuring our writer/segment co-producer Phil Ranta, was nominated for Best in Long Form!

– And one of our writers, Keith Saltojanes, was nominated for Best Instructor, his team English Speaking Moose was nominated for Best in Long Form, and his school ImprovLA was nominated for Best Training Program!

If you could take a moment and vote for us in categories #7 and #11, I’d really appreciate it! Just follow this link!

Watch “Grill the Candidates: Newt Gingrich” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 136: “Three Amigos”

As I mentioned in my last post, our special Super Bowl Sunday episode of Top Story! Weekly had just three actors, so we did a “Grill the Candidates” format, where Mike McLendon and Kipleigh Brown questioned each of the four remaining Republican candidates, all played by Phillip Wilburn. We took question ideas from our writers, then assigned each of the four candidates to a specific writer to write a segment. I did the Gingrich one (although the rules were written by Matt Blitz).

GRILL THE CANDIDATES: NEWT GINGRICH by Michael Hughes

Starring Kipleigh Brown (Kipleigh), Mike McLendon (Mike) and Phillip Wilburn (Newt Gingrich)

Directed by Phillip Wilburn

Watch “TS!W 720: The SAG/AFTRA Merger” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 136: “Three Amigos”

We did a special show Super Bowl Sunday, just three actors in a “Grill the Candidates” format. (It was really good; you should check it out on the Top Story! Weekly YouTube channel.) Throughout the show Kipleigh Brown and Mike McLendon had only been anchors, so we thought that for the desk piece we’d give them the chance to play characters. Mike mentioned he does the spokesman in the GEICO ads, so he became AFTRA’s spokesman, and Kip did Angelina Jolie, as we looked at the proposed merger between SAG and AFTRA. Mike’s non sequitors, many of which he wrote, are pretty hilarious.

TS!W 720: THE SAG/AFTRA MERGER by Michael Hughes and Phil Ranta

Starring Kipleigh Brown (Angelina Jolie), Mike McLendon (Mike McGlone the GEICO Guy) and Phillip Wilburn (Anchor)

Directed by Phillip Wilburn