The Comedy Panel with Host Eliza Coupe

Presented by The Morning Buzz

You can thrill an audience with an action-packed aerial sequence…  You can draw a dramatic tear with a heartbreaking set of circumstances…  However, it can be really friggin’ hard to make someone laugh!  Join a handful of entertaining performers and writers for a lively conversation about getting comedy onto the screen.

With some fun surprises up her sleeve, actress Eliza Coupe returns as the illustrious host of this highly-anticipated annual event.  Come prepared to listen, laugh and pose questions as she and guests share photos, stories and anecdotes from their experiences in this crazy business.

HOST: ELIZA COUPE

Eliza Coupe is perhaps best known for her leading role on the ABC hit comedy series Happy Endings. She is currently featured in Netflix’s cartoon series Haunted Hotel, and was recently seen in a splashy stint on Shondaland’s The Residence for Netflix opposite Uzo Aduba as well as recurring on the CBS drama So Help Me Todd. Previously, Eliza led the cast of the FOX series Pivoting alongside Ginnifer Goodwin and Maggie Q. Prior to that, she starred opposite Josh Hutcherson in Hulu’s Future Man and was the lead of USA’s legal comedy Benched. Eliza’s other credits include Steve Levitan’s Reboot, The Mindy Project, Hulu’s Casual, Scrubs from creator Bill Lawrence, Marlon Wayans’ Naked for Netflix, as well as What’s Your Number from director Mark Mylod. She grew up in Plymouth, NH and has been part of the comedy panel since 2023.

MICHAEL IAN BLACK

Michael Ian Black is an actor, writer, and comedian who began his career with the legendary sketch comedy troupe, The State. He then went on to co-create several television shows, including Viva Variety, Stella, and Michael & Michael Have Issues. For four years, he played Phil Stubbs on NBC’s Ed, and has starred on many shows including Another Period, The Jim Gaffigan Show, and the Wet Hot American Summer franchise. Michael has appeared in many films including This is 40, Sextuplets, The Baxter, Linoleum, and most recently, Superman. He wrote and directed Wedding Daze, starring Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher, and wrote Run, Fat Boy, Run starring Simon Pegg. Michael has also authored many books, and hosted several game shows and podcasts. His current podcast project is called Obscure, in which he picks a work of classic literature, reads it aloud, and comments on it as he goes. Finally, Michael is an accomplished stand-up comedian who regularly tours and is currently a team captain on CNN’s Have I Got News For You, which is about to start filming season 2.

TIM HERLIHY

Tim Herlihy has written or co-written the feature films Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, Big Daddy, Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds, Bedtime Stories, Grown Ups 2, Pixels, The Ridiculous Six and Hubie Halloween. He has also served as producer or executive producer of seventeen films, including the recent releases Kinda Pregnant and You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. Herlihy was previously writer, head writer and ultimately producer of the television variety series “Saturday Night Live.” He was nominated for a Tony Award® for the Broadway musical version of The Wedding Singer, which he co-wrote. Herlihy co-wrote, produced and appears in Happy Gilmore 2, which was released on Netflix in July 2025.

JON RUDNITSKY

Jon Rudnitsky is an actor and comedian whose screen credits include Netflix’s Set It Up, Reese Witherspoon’s Home Again, and the Hulu series Catch-22 opposite George Clooney. He also starred in FOX’s The Big Leap and appeared as Young Larry on Curb Your Enthusiasm. A former cast member on Saturday Night Live, where his “Dirty Dancing” Weekend Update sketch went viral, Rudnitsky brings his comedic sensibility to both stage and screen, performing stand-up across the country. He has appeared on Conan and Comedy Central’s The Comedy Jam, and was selected as a “New Face” at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal. Rudnitsky tours nationally, and when at home in New York City, can often be found on stage at the Comedy Cellar.

JIMMI SIMPSON

Actor Jimmi Simpson earned an Emmy nomination for his role on HBO’s Westworld and a BAFTA nomination for Black Mirror‘s popular USS Callister episode, a role which he recently reprised for the final season of the show. He recently joined the cast of The Walking Dead: Dead City and has completed production on Season 2 of Apple’s Dark Matter. Simpson is also currently featured in Netflix’s cartoon series Haunted Hotel, voicing the fan favorite character of “Abaddon.” Simpson also appeared in Apple’s Pachinko, Showtime’s The Man Who Fell To Earth and USA’s Unsolved. In film, he last starred opposite Natalie Dormer in Audrey’s Children, opposite Lewis Pullman in Bleecker Street Films’ The Starling Girl, and the indie comedy Home Delivery, opposite Rainn Wilson. Other previous film credits include Breaking News in Yuba County, Under the Silver Lake, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and Zodiac.