Starz gives the great "Party Down" a second season before they even finish off their first. The renewal of "Party Down" does not come without some bad news: perpetual scene stealer Jane Lynch is committed to another sitcom (Fox's "Glee"). It's still a Party without Jane, but not nearly as fun.

Fox's pulls the animated "Sit Down, Shut Up" before it's final episode. So the "Arrested Development" reunion is over rather quickly, which is kind of apropo. But this time, I'm on Fox's side. Still want that "Arrested Development" movie however.

• On DVD, the short-lived sketch series The Dana Carvey Show which gained a mythic status after its sponsor-scaring run.
• "Au Contraire", the 1st hour special from the likely long-lived Christian Finnegan comes to DVD and CD. Lots to smart, relatable stuff here. The small dog material was eerily familiar to me.

"I don't understand the macho comic. The comic with the tight T-shirt and the delts... When did stand-up comedy become the thing that cool guys did? To me, it goes against the whole point. And I'm not saying they're not funny. I'm saying I don't get it. Comedy comes from vulnerability, being the guy who talks his way out of a fight. Comedians don't do reps." - Dana Gould (AV Club)

Ben Stiller's comedy "Used Guys" appears to be back on. Set in the future run by woman where cloned men are sold and traded, the story previously revolved around two (Stiller and Jim Carrey) past their prime hunting for a male paradise. Now it looks to be tilting more romantic comedy with Reese Witherspoon.

Fox previously balked at "Used Guys" $110 million budget. (Although when I attended a 2007 Tribeca film event, previously-attached director Jay Roach suggested Fox was uncertain of the female appeal of a futuristic comedy.) Fox didn't treat the futuristic comedy "Idiocracy" very well, so I'm not sure I have much hope for this either.

Independent Film Channel, perhaps sensing that there's more than funny than twee, is growing their comedy offerings. One will be a three-part mockumentary with Chris Kataan as himself moving to India for a role in a Bollywood movie. Another will be a six-part documentary on Monty Python entitled "Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)." (I love the Pythons, but is there new ground to cover?) A compliment to all this is "Details are Sketchy", a comedy blog loosely about sketch by stand-up Jeff Kreisler. Welcome, Jeff...

SNL's Thursday Night Weekend Update gains a spot on NBC's fall schedule. The network is ordering at least six episodes, and possibly as many as 13. The fake-news segments did pretty well during an election year when SNL became politically relevant, but in an off-year will they hit as hard?

Before audiences even see it, Fox gives a renewal to "Family Guy" spinoff "Cleveland." Never been a fan, but it's interesting to note that Fox didn't even get "Family Guy" years ago until Adult Swim, and now they're giving them almost all of Sunday night. Those comedy-writing manatees are going to be busy.

Because of "Behavioral Problems", Ron White is getting his own show on Comedy Central. As always, the description of a Comedy Central show featuring a solo comedian sounds nebulous. The formula - "branded segments, remotes and storytelling" through White's "opinionated persona" - sounds like anything between "Mind of Mencia" to "Important Things with Demetri Martin." 'Cept, y'know, with Ron White. Still... I like Ron White, so hopes are high.

Talent manager Naomi Odenkirk and Literary manager Marc Provissiero join forces to form the comedy-targeted Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment. Between the two they handle Jenna Fischer, Jerry Minor, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader and a lot of writers (At one point Provissiero handled nearly half "The Office" writing staff). Lots of great potential here for comedy nerds.

SNL writer / performers Seth Myers and Bill Hader have penned a one shot Spider Man comic called "The Short Halloween"the preview pages suggest a few jokes about both Hunter S. Thompson and "Shaun of the Dead" are in the offing. The comic hits stores May 13th.

After two performances in Michigan, Jay Leno continues his free show tour. Next stop: Wilmington, Ohio on May 10th. The town has what Leno describes as "80% unemployment" after DHL closed a shipping facility. Tickets are available for free starting April 27th at the Roberts Centre Conference Center, limit two per person. Again, it's on the honor system on whether your unemployed or not. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

NBC is now taking ticket requests for the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. All tickets are free and there's a limit of 4. Full details on site. Shows start production June 1st. For some, it's a sign that their long late-nightmare is almost over.

Maria Bamford: "...there is something beautiful about comedy where it’s like, you’ll see somebody go up, and you’ll be like, 'Uh-oh, oookay.' And just a month later, a year later, it’s like, 'Oh. My. God. They just blossomed!' I mean, it is sort of a humbling profession..." (AV Club)

• From Ron White, his new special "Behavioral Problems" on both CD and DVD.
• And from Maria Bamford, her new CD entitled "Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome".

The Rooftop's College Stand-Up Tourney has advanced to it's next round, slimming 32 college teams to 16. Now your votes will slim that to eight. Plus: Their initial block of 48 Student Funny Films begin competition. Those have to be cut in half as well, based on, you guessed it, your votes. The ultimate finalists of these match-ups will be featured in the still unlikely comedy mecha of Aspen, Colorado at the Rooftop Comedy Fest.

Saturday Night Live looks to end the season strong with the final two hosts of the season: Justin Timberlake (who always seems like he's hanging aroung Studio 8H) and Will Ferrell (who's also shown up this year in the Thursday night specials. (TV Squad)

Ben Karlin, formerly of The Daily Show, developing a comedy entitled "Women's Studies" for HBO, which focuses on a woman who was once a leading light in feminism but now teaches as a smalll Northeast liberal arts college.

Among the nominees for the 2009 Webbys: Prop 8: The Musical (Best Writing, Comedy Short), Childrens Hospital and You Suck at Photoshop for Comedy Series. Complete List.

Brian Regan: "...a formula for comedy is comedy equals tragedy plus time.... Sometimes I wonder if I could be so mentally healthy to subtract the time part. Like what if there is a flat tire, and it's raining outside? Instead of laughing a month later, why not laugh while you are changing tires in the rain?" (CNN)

For Easter, Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan performed stand-up for 36 hours and 15 minutes, a Guinness World Record. Show profits were to go to the charity Galway Diocesan Youth Services, but the religious organization withdrew. Tiernan hopes they'll reconsider.

The Post Office has revealed the look of the new Simpsons stamps, allowing folks to vote for their favorite. The stamps go on sale May 7.

Improv mecca UCB just announced the new players for Harold teams. If you didn't make it, here's where you can find your excuse for why. (via IRC)

HBO shows some fucking comedy balls and renews Eastbound and Down. There's no stopping Kenny Powers now, baby.

Joan Rivers targeted for the next Comedy Central roast. No word on the dais, but hopefully the many female comedians who followed in her wake will get a crack at Joan. The Roast will air August 9th at 10PM.

Larry Charles, the director and other half of the genius of "Borat" and "Bruno", has picked out his next comedy film to helm. It's called "Winter's Discontent" and it's about old guys moving into a retirement home to get laid. Start squirming now.

New deal between Comedy Central and Levity Entertainment brings twelve stand-up specials to the network in 2009-2010, including performances from Christopher Titus, Gabriel Iglesias, Pablo Francisco, Mitch Fatel and Jim Breuer.

The State's Joe Lo Truglio posts that the long-awaited-and-delayed DVD set for the sketch group will most likely be released July 14th. Failing that, definitely Summer of 09. Like others, I'll believe it when it's in my DVD player.

Bo Burnham on web feedback: "It’s very rarely like, 'You know, that joke could have used a little more development.'… I want it to feel very do-it-yourself, almost like voyeurism, just watching some kid experiment with his comedy. I try not to become too crowd-pleasing, because I think one of the appeals is that it’s not." (AV Club)

Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat" follow-up Bruno has gotten an initial rating of NC-17 from the MPAA. No need to get up in a tizzy, as it's far from final. The harder footage will likely make the DVD.