Why are so many comedians dying to go on Kill Tony?

There's a line comedians love to repeat when their jokes are deemed too offensive, which is that "comedians aren't allowed to talk about anything these days."

Enter Kill Tony, a competitive comedy showcase that prides itself on being a space where comics can be as crass, nasty and rude as they want to be. Hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe, Kill Tony broadcasts live every Monday for over a million viewers. Comedians jump at the chance to appear on the podcast — either as a celebrity guest or a competitor. 

Kill Tony has been running for over 10 years, but recently, it seems to have entered a new realm of popularity — a realm that involves two nights hosting from Madison Square Garden. To explain why Kill Tony has become such a sought out opportunity in the comedy world, comedian Ali Hassan and comedy aficionado Matt Hart join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud on Commotion.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, plus a chat about why Vera Drew's The People's Joker is the most compelling take on one of cinema's most iconic villains, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast on your favourite podcast player.

LISTEN | Today's episode on YouTube:

Elamin: Let's talk about this experience of Kill Tony. Matt, I'm going to start with you on this. For people who have not experienced what Kill Tony is, what would you see if you're tuning in every Monday?   

Matt: 200 or 300 people put their names in a hat at this huge comedy club called The Mothership in Austin, which is quickly becoming what Seattle was for grunge, but for comedy. Now, if you get your name pulled, you are given one minute uninterrupted on stage to perform stand-up. 

You're doing this in front of the host and his name is Tony Hinchcliffe and that's where the reference to Kill Tony comes from. Then he has a famous celebrity comedian guest there. He's had Howie Mandel, he's had Roseanne Barr. He's had a lot of people on the show. And it's grown organically over these years from a curiosity on YouTube to this empire.

Elamin: Ali, you're a comic dude. 60 seconds. Is that enough time to make an impression? 

Ali: It's very, very challenging. Sometimes if you have a weird look and you can lean into that immediately, that is like a great gift. 

Elamin: Mike Birbiglia, for example, is a storyteller who takes an hour to unfold his act. Not the kind of act you'd see.

Ali: If you're storytelling and that's your style, you don't want to shoehorn in a new style, be discovered, and then all of a sudden they're like, "We want more of that." 

I don't have more of that. I just have a minute of that.

Matt: I think the challenge there is to do your set in a hyper condensed version. Your best in and out.

Elamin: Matt, comedy competition shows are not new. Last Comic Standing debuted in 2003. What makes Kill Tony an interesting variation of this format?

Matt: What I really like about it is seeing what someone is going to do with this minute, which arguably might be the biggest minute of their life. You see people go up there and excel and sell out arenas and buy their mother a house and they're set for a long time because the Kill Tony stamp is on them. Are they prepared in that minute? Did they do the homework? Are they well seasoned or are they just an interesting character? That minute long format, to me, is so fascinating because it cuts all the fat and it shows you: Is this person a viable entertainer? 

Elamin: Ali, you've played all kinds of rooms from large rooms to my cubicle. When you think about Kill Tony, what's the most interesting aspect of this format?

Ali: I watched it in the early days, hopeful that somebody was actually going to Kill Tony. That's why I watched it. Tony Hinchcliffe himself is quite the bully. And in many ways, I'm sure we're going to talk about this. There's a despicability that surrounds this man. So I was hoping he was going to be embarrassed in some way. It was quite the opposite. 

And somebody on Reddit said this: "The bullied have risen." And I think Tony would probably say, "Yeah, that was the point." That was not the point. I will tell you, that was not the point. Yeah, it was about mocking people, making fun of them and roasting them.

Matt: I disagree there. He's got what a comedian would describe as the acerbic wit. He goes one way and it's always kind of mean and I'm not a fan, to be honest. But I do think that there's no denying how quick he is when he does these roasts with random people.

And I don't think it's always mean spirited, unless it's someone that comes up and makes a mockery out of the profession of stand-up — and maybe their friends have said, "You're a free spirit, you're really funny," — and then come up unprepared and crap on their career.

Ali: It's a hate to love situation, but I do enjoy it. I do enjoy this show and I think I enjoy it despite Tony Hinchcliffe.

Matt: He's what we would call in wrestling, a heel. Someone who's supposed to be a bad guy. It's called Kill Tony because you're supposed to hate this guy. He's probably a sociopath.

Elamin: So we just heard 30 seconds of the comedian Casey Rocket performing on Kill Tony last year. Matt, tell us about the impact that a successful Kill Tony appearance can have on somebody who's up and coming.

Matt: Full disclosure I am Casey Rocket's number one fanboy. Casey was at that time, a guy recovering from being addicted to Robitussin. Okay. Living in his car, he came up, did that set and absolutely crushed it. Standing ovation from the audience. And he's now gone on to sell out arenas. He's got his own podcast. He's getting a rumoured Netflix thing. He's a wild character who really succeeds in this format because he's all over the place. A minute is good and consumable, but to see him take off like this, is amazing. And that's why I watch the show, to see those moments of hope where guys like this just skyrocket.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Stuart Berman