Watch “TS!W 720: Stephanie Drake Talks About Kissing Jon Hamm on “Mad Men”” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 252: “Hidden Cashed Out”

I’m a huge fan of “Mad Men,” so when we did our show for iO West’s 12th Annual Improv Comedy Festival and had as our special guest Stephanie Drake – aka Don Draper’s secretary Meredith – I thought it would be fun to do something about the big kiss she’d had on the midseason finale just a week earlier. Especially since we all know that right now Jon Hamm is the one exception that all straight guys would make…

TS!W 720: STEPHANIE DRAKE by Michael Hughes

Starring Stephanie Drake (Stephanie), Phillip Wilburn (Phillip), Josh Rachford (Josh), Tommy Bechtold (Tommy) and Bennie Arthur (Supergirl)

Directed by Kristina Adelmeyer

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Watch “Downton Marry” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 231: “Rocky Mountain High”!

I won’t lie: this episode of “Top Story! Weekly” wasn’t our strongest. But this sketch I wrote, in honor of the premiere of season 4 of “Downton Abbey” that very night, really hit. I guess if only one sketch in a show goes well, it’s nice that it’s the one you wrote!

DOWNTON MARRY by Michael Hughes

Starring Stacy Rumaker (Lady Mary Crawley), Lauren Miller (Lady Edith Crawley), Julia Wackenheim (Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham), Phillip Wilburn (Robert Crawley, Lord Grantam), Bennett Jones (Don Draper), Ashleigh Hairston (Sandra Weiner) and Bennie Arthur (Bennie)

Directed by Michael Hughes

Watch “Season Pass or Fail” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 194: “The Balcony Is Closed”!

A little confession for you guys: I first wrote this sketch for a class I’m taking and decided to tweak it for TS!W. It’s inspired by my own difficulties keeping up with all the TV shows we “have” to watch these days (I’m only halfway through season two of “Breaking Bad”!). Probably better in concept than execution, but take a look and enjoy!

SEASON PASS OR FAIL by Michael Hughes

Starring Kipleigh Brown (Amanda), Stacy Rumaker (Daphne), Julia Wackenheim (Karen), Sean Cowhig (Craig), Phillip Wilburn (Pete) and Brian Vestal (Walter Nielsen)

Directed by Michael Hughes

Watch “A Big Hunk of Hamm” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 192: “Ten Years After”!

Okay, so a sketch about how Jon Hamm’s penis is so big that “Mad Men” producers have asked him to wear underwear may not be the most sophisticated thing I’ve ever written. But this sketch (from the First Annual Los Angeles Scripted Comedy Festival, which featured our special guest Lucas Grabeel from “Switched at Birth” and “High School Musical” – check out some more hilarious sketches from the show on YouTube) seemed to get some good laughs from the audience. Very happy people picked up the allusion in the Jon Hamm/Don Draper monologue!

A BIG HUNK OF HAMM by Michael Hughes

Starring Gregg Lopez (Jon Hamm), Artemis Pebdani (Elizabeth Getzinger), Brian Vestal (Vincent Kartheiser), Jen Cain (Elisabeth Moss),
Josh Rachford (P.A.) and Phillip Wilburn (Makeup Artist)

Directed by Michael Hughes

Top Things Overheard At the Emmys!!

And the Emmy goes to. . . Whitney Cummings. Psych!

If “Mad Men” loses, you “comfort” Christina Hendricks, and I’ll “comfort” Jon Hamm.

Neil Patrick Harris just offered to show me his “statue.” In the men’s room.

Best Supporting Actor? Now they’re just giving everything to Betty White!

To get through this show, I bought a little something from the guys from “Breaking Bad”.

I just stood between Sofia Vergara and Christina Hendricks. So I guess for me this just became the Golden Globes!

And this is your mother. Now you’ve finally met her.

In person, Zooey Deschanel is even more adorkable!

Look, Lady Gaga’s here! Oh, it’s just Mike from “Mike and Molly”.

I sure hope Best Comedy goes to the Mitt Romney campaign!

I just saw Jessica Lange up close. Talk about an “American Horror Story”!

Watch “A Supreme Performance” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 144: “Stop! In the Name of Health Care!”

Thinking about how to approach the Supreme Court argument about the health care bill in a comedic way, I thought I could combine it with the other great meme of last week: Megan Draper’s dance at Don’s birthday party on “Mad Men.” Of course, the success of such a conceit depends upon the audience recognizing what’s going on, and I don’t think many folks in our audience got the reference – maybe because “Mad Men” airs at the same time our show goes up! Still, Grasie Mercedes did a great job with the dance.

A SUPREME PERFORMANCE by Michael Hughes

Starring Grasie Mercedes (Megan Draper), Brian Vestal (Chief Justice John Roberts), Jen Cain (Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg), Brent Pope (Justice Antonin Scalia), Mitchel Baldwin (Justice Samuel Alito) and Marco Ragozzino (Justice Anthony Kennedy)

Directed by Michael Hughes