Madonna described herself as “kind of a closeted comedian” when she made her stand-up debut on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon seven years ago. It wouldn’t be unlike the polymath to have her finger on the pulse of the comedy world’s innovative edge, but it’s still surprising to see names from the alternative comedy scene on Madonna’s manic guest list. We’d wager that the only other celebrity over 60 years old who is familiar with Stalter’s surrealist character comedy would be her Hacks co-star Jean Smart.
Even if we cynically assume that Stalter, Owens and Berlant were cast in order to help Madonna appeal to a younger audience that was barely out of kindergarten when Tina Fey accused the pop superstar of “clinging to youth with her Gollum arms,” publicity stunts like that raise the profiles of everyone involved — and anything that helps out uniquely talented comedians is a force for good in our hellish modern media landscape.
If only Madonna had made this announcement a couple years earlier — someone could have dared Judd Apatow to not make The Bubble.