Music Gives New Meaning to Josh Johnson's Comedy in His HBO Special 'Symphony'

Releasing standup weekly on YouTube builds a large online community, but free distribution raises questions about what a paywalled HBO special adds. The special answers by centering music as a way to bring the comedy community into a new era. The performance includes brief musical interludes between stories and culminates with a full-orchestra piece composed by Derrick Hodge. The idea was originally pitched years earlier but was difficult to mount without major support. When HBO approached, it provided time and backing, allowing the production team to build stagecraft for the orchestral elements and integrate them into the standup set.

"There's a lot of upside when you release an hour of standup on YouTube each week, as Josh Johnson has been doing for the past three years now. The comedian and his signature gray hoodie have built a robust online community by exploring hyper-topical sets on Drake's ill-advised beef with Kendrick Lamar and Elon Musk's ill-advised... everything. In the process, Johnson advanced to a role on the writing staff and in the hosting rotation for "The Daily Show." Now he has a new HBO standup special, as well: "Josh Johnson: Symphony.""

"But there is one downside to releasing dozens and dozens of hours of standup online each year, for free. What does a Josh Johnson hour on HBO do that the video he released this week (on Trump's visit to China) does not? How do you tempt viewers behind the paywall when, at its core, the game of standup remains telling jokes on a stage that people either understand and enjoy, or they don't? It's not as though he can parlay HBO money into getting a commercial pilot's license, or something."

"For Johnson and his longtime collaborator and director Jacob Menache, the answer is music. Music and the intention to bring the comedy community they've built online into a new era of Johnson's comedy. It starts with "Symphony," which - seriously, spoilers - incorporates brief musical interludes in between stories inside Johnson's hour of standup at the Wiltern theater in Los Angeles and then brings them together (plus a full orchestra; there's your HBO money right there) for a performance of a piece composed by Derrick Hodge at the end of the set."

"When HBO approached Johnson about a special, though, suddenly they had the support and, crucially, the time. It took Menache and his production team two months to build out the stagecraft that s"

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