On tonight’s episode of The Marriage Ref (NBC, 10 pm EST) — executive produced by Jerry Seinfeld and hosted by comedian Tom Papa — one of my top three favorite comedians Greg Giraldo will sit on the judges panel– next to friggin’ Gwyneth Paltrow. I never thought I’d see the day where these two were rubbing elbows. Paltrow is in one of those presumably fake Hollywood marriages to Coldplay mope Chris Martin; Giraldo is fresh off his second divorce. I love where this can go.
It seems, from the video below — a behind the scenes look at tonight’s episode — that it all went well between the two. That’s to be expected, I guess. I would’ve liked to see Giraldo strip Paltrow of all her hopes and dreams for an everlasting marriage, but something tells me that didn’t happen. That something is this video. Check it out!
We’ve been eagerly posting any updates we could on the forthcoming Jerry Seinfeld produced show The Marriage Ref. It’s not really because we love reality shows or embrace most network television. The reason is simple. We love it when we see one of our favorite, yet under-utilized comedians get a chance to expose themselves to the nation in a big way.
Tom Papa’s career has been intimately on our radar since our launch in 2005 — he even performed at our third anniversary show last year! — and we’ve seen him deservedly grow exponentially in popularity. And now he’s set to host this new NBC show. And given the current landscape of television and the fact that Seinfeld rarely makes bad business choices, we can’t imagine the show won’t earn decent ratings and move Papa to an even higher echelon of the stand-up comedy elite.
Anyway, we’ve pasted below an adorable video of Papa and Seinfeld — real-life close friends — dealing with their marriages in their own special way. We also get a glimpse into the couples Papa will be dealing with. You see, as the Marriage Ref, he gets to listen to real marital disputes and decide who’s right and wrong. will have a special sneak peak after the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 28 and will then officially premiere Thursday, March 4 at 10 pm.
You may not know it if you watch the news, but NBC has other things going on besides the Late Night War or 2010. In fact, one of the shows that will help fil the gap of Jay Leno’s 10 pm chat show, is the Jerry Seinfeld-helmed The Marriage Ref hosted by comedian Tom Papa.
The show, wherein we get to see real American married folks fight and then Papa concludes who the winner is, is already getting an incredible promotional push, despite its official announcement only coming Jan. 10.
Mainstream stars Eva Longoria Parker, Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey as well as Larry David and Charles Barkley have signed on to act as panelists. And longtime sports announcer Marv Albert will also play a small roll, handing out prizes to winner of the marital disputes.
Check out a funny promo for the show below, starring Seinfeld and Papa. The video after is a look inside of a production meeting at The Marriage Ref offices, wherein the staff, including Jerry and Tom, discuss the differences between being married and just living together.
The Marriage Ref will have a special premiere after the closing ceremony of the Winter Olypmics on Feb. 28 and will then move to its regular slot at 8 pm on Sundays starting on March 14. Check out our interview with Papa here.
Veteran comedian and longtime Jerry Seinfeld collaborator and live opener Tom Papa will be the host of NBC’s newest reality series, The Marriage Ref, it was announced just hours ago in Pasadena, CA. Executive produced by Seinfeld, the show will set out to comically examine married couples’ most divisive domestic squabbles and choose which mate is right and which is dreadfully wrong.
Ref will debut with a sneak preview on Feb. 28 at 10:30 pm following the Olympics’ closing ceremonies; its regular time slot will be Sundays at 8 pm, starting on March 14.
We fired a few questions at Papa about his new role on the show. And he kindly fired some answers back. The proof is below.
What exactly, as the host, is your role on this show?
As the Marriage Ref, it’s my job to end couple’s marital fights once and for all by declaring a winner. But at it’s heart this is a comedy panel show with me as the host and three celebrity guests. My role in that regard is to be adorable and hilarious.
Will you be making the judgments as to who is right or wrong or are you mostly there to antagonize each couple?
We watch footage of these couples in their real homes, having real fights and then give them something they desperately need– a declared winner. We’re on their side. They’re married, they don’t need anyone else antagonizing them.
How do you think your role on this show will affect your life at home with your own wife and kids?
I have been telling jokes about my family life my entire career. So from past experience I would have to say that this show will guarantee that my wife and kids are going to be getting a lot of gifts to keep them happy.
Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman…and entertainers, athletes and comedians, beginning on March 14, when Marriage Ref premieres on NBC. Tom Papa will host the new series from Jerry Seinfield. On it, a panel of showbiz and sports celebs will give advice to squabbling spouses.
“This isn’t a therapy show; it’s a comedy show,” Seinfeld says. “After nine years of marriage, I’ve discovered that the comedic potential of this subject is quite rich.”
Most husbands and wives fight more than hockey players, so it’s about time the sacred institution of marriage (actually an asylum for the matrimonially insane) hired officials to break up the brawls.
We mentioned yesterday that one of our favorite comedians, Tom Papa was going to be be the first stand-up to perform on the new Jay Leno Show. In case you missed his set, here it is. Also, The Informant! with Matt Damon opens today nationwide. Papa is in it. So go see it.
It’s a huge week for Tom Papa. Tonight he becomes the first stand-up comedian to perform on the new Jay Leno Show and his new movie, The Informant! – with Matt Damon – opens tomorrow. Papa plays boss to Matt Damon (a newly-enlisted FBI agent) in the Steven Soderbergh flick. So with these two events in mind, we wanted to reach out to Tom and ask him a few questions about his performance tonight.
How did you get the news that you would be the first comedian to perform on the new Leno show?
It was pretty simple. The bookers from the Leno show called and checked for my availability. I think it worked out for the first week because I have The Informant! coming out the same week. Lucky.
Did you do anything different to prep for this Leno set than you have for your other late night TV appearances?
Not at all. There is only one way to prepare for any stand-up set, which is to just do it– over and over and over again.
How do you see the new Leno show helping the state of stand-up comedy in America?
It seems very comedian friendly. In addition to stand-up he’s using a list of comics to do comic pieces on the show.
Where does this rate on your career achievements.
I have to say it’s up there. There’s nothing I work harder at than this and to be asked to be first shows me that someone other than my mom is paying attention.
Who would win a laughs-per-minute stand-up comedy contest, you or Leno?
There’s no such contest. But I do get points for cuteness.
For more on Papa, check out his official site as well as our archived interview with the man here. And why not check out a clip of Papa performing at last year’s Punchline Magazine anniversary show?
If you’ve never checked out comedian Michael Loftus, you’ve been missing out on something we’d like to call a solid, utility comic. That’s someone who can relate to most people, can craft solid jokes and be consistently funny all while maintaining a sharp enough edge to keep you hooked in, but not so sharp he’d highly offend, say, more than 20 percent of his audience. Think someone in between Tom Papa and Robert Hawkins.
Anyway, Loftus will premiere his hour special You’ve Changed on Comedy Central this Friday, Sept. 4 at 10 pm EST. The man was nice enough to shoot a wee greeting just for you, the readers of Punchline Magazine. Check it out below.
You can pre-order Loftus’ DVD version of the special — with bonus features, of course — on Amazon. Just click the graphic below.
The new Steven Soderbergh film starring Matt Damon The Informant doesn’t hit theaters until Oct. 9, but the first trailer just hit the Web. And if you didn’t know anything about the cast before today, you’ll be happily surprised to know there’s a handful of great stand-up comedians co-starring alongside Damon including Tom Papa, Joel McHale, Paul F. Tompkins, Patton Oswalt, Andrew Daly, Rick Overton, Bob Zany, Bil Dwyer and Jimmy Brogan.
The Patriot-Ledger in Quincy, MA describes the plot thusly:
Based on Kurt Eichenwald’s 2000 book, “The Informant” is the tale of Mark Whitacre (played by Matt Damon), an Ivy League Ph.D. who was a rising star at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in the early 1990s. The bipolar hero wound up blowing the whistle on the company’s price fixing tactics and became the highest-ranked executive to ever turn whistleblower in US history. Whitacre secretly gathered hundreds of hours of video and audio tapes over several years to present to the FBI which became one of the largest price fixing cases in history.
We have to say, the movie looks highly entertaining and quite funny. We’ll be there — good or bad — if only to support some of our favorite comics.
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Veteran comedian and longtime Jerry Seinfeld collaborator and live opener Tom Papa will be the host of NBC’s newest reality series, The Marriage Ref, it was announced just hours ago in Pasadena, CA. Executive produced by Seinfeld, the show will set out to comically examine married couples’ most divisive domestic squabbles and choose which mate is right and which is dreadfully wrong.
Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman…and entertainers, athletes and comedians, beginning on March 14, when Marriage Ref premieres on NBC. 
