David Zucker’s 15 Rules of Comedy
What does David Zucker know about comedy that Hollywood forgot? Why does “trying to be funny” ruin everything?
April 12, 2026
1 hr 18 min
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April 12, 2026
David Zucker’s 15 Rules of Comedy
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1:18:02This episodeDavid Zucker’s 15 Rules of Comedy
Summary
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What actually makes something funny? And why do so many modern comedies feel… off?
This week we’re finding the answers with comedy film legend David Zucker. It all starts with a deceptively simple idea: what if the secret to comedy is actually doing LESS?
From there, we get a peak inside David’s brain and find out his entire philosophy for comedy. If comedy can be broken down into principles, why does so much of it still miss? And are creators overcomplicating something that used to feel effortless?
We also explore the shockingly harsh reality of making comedy films in the modern media landscape. Why is it so hard to get the right movies made? Why do financiers push for big stars, even to the detriment of the project? And what happens when studios try to reboot something like The Naked Gun without fully understanding what made the original work in the first place?
After that, we branch out into the creative process at large, and the myth that great comedy comes from chaos or being “out of your mind.” What if it’s actually the opposite? Structured, disciplined, and kind of… boring? Well, if you’re as curious as we are, you can find out all that and more in David’s newest course “Master Crash.”
By the end, we’re left with a single question… if everyone can be funny now, what separates the wheat from the chaff?
Big thanks to our patrons, we’ll see you next week.
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CREDITS:
Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor
Executive Producer: Ben Webster
Editor: Spencer Vann
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City Animation: Eric Langlay
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