Finding the Funny
Finding the Funny is a preorder and will not be available for playback until 03/16/2027.
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“Smithberg took a chance, hiring an unknown, untested, aspiring actor from the Chicago Theater scene. It was his biggest break and it changed his career forever. But enough about Stephen Colbert. She hired me right after that, and I owe her a lot.”
Steve Carell
Madeleine Smithberg, co-creator and original executive producer of The Daily Show, takes readers on a VIP backstage tour as she relives some of the most seminal moments in late-night comedy.
For more than four decades, Madeleine Smithberg helped shape the world of late-night comedy from behind the scenes. A three-time Peabody Award winner and Emmy-winning producer, she was instrumental in some of television’s most influential late-night comedy programs. From producing outrageous segments for Late Night with David Letterman to helping create and build the original Daily Show, she shares the triumphs, disasters, and unexpected lessons behind some of television’s most memorable moments.
Warm, candid, and laugh-out-loud funny, Finding the Funny is both a backstage pass to the evolution of modern comedy and the story of a trailblazing woman who built a remarkable career. Part memoir, part comedy history, and part master class in creative risk-taking, it is an entertaining and inspiring look at what it really takes to find the funny.