Watch “TS!W 720: Herb Koss’ 80th Birthday from Top Story! Weekly Episode 240: “Crimea River”!

Hey! It’s been a while! But when our show’s most loyal fan, Herb Koss, celebrated his 80th birthday a few days before our March 9th show I knew we had to do something to address it. Brian Vestal does an absolutely amazing characterization of Herb here – even if you don’t know him, you’ll really enjoy it!!

TS!W 720: HERB KOSS’ 80TH BIRTHDAY by Michael Hughes

Starring Brian Vestal (Herb Koss) and Phillip Wilburn (Phillip)

Directed by Michael Hughes

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Watch “Arrested Delivery” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 202: “Believe It or Not”!

My look at the mania surrounding the premiere of the new episodes of “Arrested Development” on Netflix!

ARRESTED DELIVERY by Michael Hughes

Starring Jimmy Guidish (Matt), and Kipleigh Brown (Caroline)

Directed by Adam Campbell-Schmitt

Top Story! Weekly’s Guide to the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival!!

This Sunday, June 3rd, is the first night of the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival at iO West! Top Story! Weekly is very excited to be taking part – we’ve put together a special show at a special time – Sunday June 3 at 10 (right after the Mad TV Reunion!). And joining us is one of the top comics in America – Bill Burr!!

Tickets are just $10, so make sure you get them now!! Not only will you see an awesome show, but you’ll help a great cause – part of the proceeds will go to the Chris Farley House, a residential sober living facility.

The festival runs from Sunday, June 3 till Saturday, June 9, with amazing shows and workshops every night. The cast of Top Story! Weekly will be hosting all week. And we’ll also be performing in other shows, and teaching workshops that you shouldn’t miss. Check them out after the jump:

Watch “The Tide is High” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 142: “Road to the Final Four”

When I saw the story that Tide laundry detergent was being stolen from supermarkets and drug stores, I thought of how Herb Koss always says that Jimmy Guidish reminds him of a young James Cagney. And thus the idea for this sketch was born.

THE TIDE IS HIGH by Michael Hughes

Starring Jimmy Guidish (Rico), Kipleigh Brown (Dollface) and Phillip Wilburn (O’Malley)

Directed by Michael Hughes

Watch “How (Not) To Write A Holiday Classic” From Top Story! Weekly Episode 131: “So This Is Christmas”

Christmas gave me the chance to write the least topical thing I’ve written in a while, spurred by a comment at our writers’ meeting by Colin Hughes (no relation) about how many Christmas songs are sad. To be honest, I think some of the rewriting done here didn’t help things – Judy and Bing shouldn’t have been singing at either the top or bottom of the sketch, for instance – and the actors weren’t as precise as I would have liked. But Kipleigh Brown’s Judy Garland is a thing of beauty!

HOW (NOT) TO WRITE A HOLIDAY CLASSIC by Michael Hughes

Starring Phillip Wilburn (Bing Crosby), Kipleigh Brown (Judy Garland), Gregg Lopez (Frank Loesser) Brent Pope (Hoagy Carmichael) and Jimmy Guidish (Walter Winchell)

Directed by Kristina Adelmeyer

Watch “Golden Sentence” From Top Story! Weekly Episode 130: “Leaving the Jet Plane”

When Rod Blagojevich got sentenced last week, I figured I’d throw myself into the cast of Top Story! Weekly to reprise my role. Jimmy and James did a great job with the pace of this one.

GOLDEN SENTENCE by Michael Hughes

Starring Michael Hughes (Rod Blagojevich), James Warfield (Sheldon Sorosky), and Sean Cowhig (Judge James Zagel)

Directed by Tom Repetto

Watch “Words with Alec” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 130: “Leaving a Jet Plane”

The Alec Baldwin “Words with Friends” incident was almost a self-parody, so this sketch is pretty straightforward. Fun fact: Sean Cowhig was actually tweeting while on stage.

WORDS WITH ALEC by Michael Hughes

Starring Phillip Wilburn (Alec Baldwin), Kipleigh Brown (Stacy), Artemis Pebdani (Gwen), James Warfield (Pilot), Jimmy Guidish (Passenger) and Sean Cowhig (Passenger)

Directed by Tom Repetto

Watch “El Alcalde Es Occupado” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 129: “Maybe Cain Isn’t Able”!!

Mayor Villaraigosa negotiates the end of the “Occupy L.A.” protests the same week that Top Story! Weekly has Neil Garguilo (Principal Cox from MTV’s “Awkward” and iO West‘s Dr. God, and one of our regular cast members as well) in the cast? That makes it time to revisit one of our favorite recurring sketches – the telenovela with Los Angeles’ Mayor, “El Alcalde de la Pasion!!”

EL ALCALDE ES OCCUPADO by Michael Hughes

Starring Neil Garguilo (Antonio Villaraigosa), John Druska (Police Chief Charlie Beck), Jen Cain (Mae), Kipleigh Brown (Tiffany), Jimmy Guidish (Troy), Tammie Smalls (Gloria), Derek Reid (Donovan) and Phillip Wilburn (Announcer),

Directed by Michael Hughes

Watch “Trick or Literally” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 125: “Top Scary! Weekly”!!

I always urge the cast members to be proactive in generating material for themselves. For Top Story! Weekly’s Halloween show, Jimmy Guidish did just that – coming to the writers’ meeting, pitching ideas, and asking me to help him write a sketch showcasing one of his signature bits, Joe Biden. I helped a little with structure and formatting, but most of what you see here is Jimmy’s work. He was nervous about how it would turn out, but it played so well in readthrough that we opened the show with it, and as you’ll see the audience loved it. Good job Jimmy!

TRICK OR LITERALLY by Jimmy Guidish and Michael Hughes

Starring Jimmy Guidish (Joe Biden), Michael Hughes (Beau Biden), Grasie Mercedes (Mother),Derek Reid (Vampire Kid), Damien Fahey (Bert), Brent Pope (Ernie), Jen Cain (Teen Girl), Jim Nieb (Teen Boy) and Phillip Wilburn (Charlie Sheen)

Directed by Tom Repetto

Anthony Weiner and Other Congressmen Complain that Their Twitter Accounts Have Been Hacked with Penis Pictures – From Top Story! Weekly Episode 105: “Weiner’s Schnitzel”!

On Sunday, June 5 Top Story! Weekly does my sketch about how Congressman Anthony Weiner tries to explain how pictures of a penis ended up on his Twitter account. On Monday, June 6, the real Anthony Weiner admits that the pictures were in fact of him. Coincidence? You be the judge!

WEINER-MOBILE by Michael Hughes

Starring <a href="http://www.phillipwilburn.com/">Phillip Wilburn (John Boehner), Andy Harris (Anthony Weiner), James Warfield (Congressman O’Toole), Tommy Bechtold (Congressman Cox) and Jimmy Guidish (Congressman Thimbledick)

Directed by Michael Hughes