Episode
Why Stand-Up and Sitcom Writing Are NOT the Same
- Podcast
- The comedians paradise
- Published
- Jun 28, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3550
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://instant-laughs.com/davecohen
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Summary
Dave Cohen is a British comedian, author, and multi-award-winning comedy writer with a career spanning over four decades in UK television, radio, and live performance. He is best known as the lead lyricist for the hit BBC children's series Horrible Histories, which earned him eight BAFTA Awards. Here is an overview of what we discussed: [[02:06]] How I got started in comedy: why many great comics actually started out as punks [[10:28]] [[10:28]] Comedy in the 80s and 90s, the 2008 economic crash and how it hindered stand-up’s recovery, and how Covid almost killed the industry [[15:00]] [[15:00]] Why I stopped performing stand-up, and the ongoing clashes between this generation and the last [[17:00]] [[21:00]] Why everything you’ve heard about the legendary Malcolm Hardee is probably true [[27:24]] [[27:32]] Why being a stand-up comedian and a sitcom writer are two very different disciplines [[31:39]] [[49:19]] Is a deep understanding of human behaviour essential to becoming a brilliant comedy writer? [[59:10]] If you would like to know more about Dave, you can find his podcast, The Shakespeare Mindset, on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/2baFbflqUTH35qbKRSftoQ. If you want more information on him, you can go to his website to buy his book at https://www.davecohen.org.uk/. You can follow this podcast on Youtube at https://bit.ly/41LWDAq, Spotify at https://spoti.fi/3oLrmyU,Apple podcasts at https://apple.co/3LEkr3E and you can support the pod on:https://www.patreon.com/thecomediansparadise.