Comedy careers, told from the basement.
Behind The Funny mixes comedy talk with interviews about how comedy careers actually develop. The mood is casual and quick, with bourbon chatter, booking lore, open-mic advice, festival stories, and enough side riffs to keep the room moving.
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Behind The Funny is a comedy-career interview show that sounds like comics talking after the show, before the room has fully emptied. It starts loose. Scott Higgins and Ace Aceto trade quick lines, tease the setting, talk bourbon, mention local shows, and let the conversation find its pace before the formal interview takes over. That informality is the point. The show is less interested in a polished origin story than in the messy working details of becoming a comic. Guests describe open mics, early uncertainty, crowd work, hecklers, road bookings, festival submissions, talent coordination, and the long hunt for an authentic voice. The advice is often blunt. One episode turns into a useful talk about doing comedy for years before asking for anything, while another conversation focuses on writing from real insecurity instead of chasing what an audience might want. Another episode brings in the wow moments and nerves around getting into a comedy festival. Another visit leans into road-work stories, Irish-comic bookings, and the kind of lucky break that comes from saying yes before everything is certain. The show also spends real time on the social fabric of comedy. Names, rooms, credits, festivals, and bookers come up naturally, as part of the shared map comics use to understand each other's paths. It can be chaotic. The hosts interrupt, repeat questions, circle back, and break sincerity with a quick joke. That pace gives the show its charm, because it keeps career talk from becoming self-important. Behind The Funny works best for listeners who like stand-up not only as performance, but as a craft, a scene, and a strange long game. It is warm without being slick. It is practical without sounding like a seminar. The recurring pleasure is hearing comics explain how they got from wanting stage time to actually knowing what to do with it.
Made for: For stand-up fans, newer comics, and comedy-room regulars who enjoy hearing how performers find their voice, get booked, and survive the early grind.
What sets it apart: Behind The Funny stands apart by keeping the career advice inside loose, lived-in comic conversation. It feels less like an interview desk and more like a room full of working comics comparing notes.
Scott Higgins and Ace Aceto have 50 years combined of standing in front of crowds and making people laugh. Now they go Behind The Funny with entertainers in all stages of their career from national headliners, to comedy writers, to newer comics just starting out. Why did they start, what drives them, and what were some of the obstacles? Join Scott and Ace as they go Behind The Funny.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Scott Higgins and Ace Aceto turn comedian interviews into candid working histories of finding a voice, surviving bad sets, and building a career.
Behind The Funny treats a comic's career as a working history, with Scott Higgins and Ace Aceto asking guests how they found their voice, recovered from bombing, earned bookings, and learned the trade.
At the Acement, your open-mic curiosity gets career advice with a bourbon chaser.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Shiv's move from impressions to personal material gives this conversation a grounded look at finding a comic voice.
Behind The Funny spends this episode with Shiv on the slow, uneasy process of finding a comic voice. He looks back on moving from impressions and topical bits, including Usain Bolt material, toward stories shaped by dating anxiety and insecurity.
A loose basement hang turns into a blunt seven-year lesson in doing comedy for the work first.
Behind The Funny makes the basement feel like a comic clubhouse, with Scott Higgins and Ace Acido welcoming everyone to the "Acement" before wandering through beer, bourbon, Crestwood Liquors, pricey bottles, bundled bottles, and finally comedy advice.
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A rough contest set turns into a candid story about bombing, advice, and choosing to improve.
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Comedians Scott Higgins and Ace Acido introduce their podcast Behind the Funny, discuss past episodes, and welcome guest Jerry Caruso.
Scott Higgins and Ace Aceto interview comedian Brett Davey, who returned to stand-up two years ago after a long hiatus.
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Comedians Scott Higgins and Ace Acido introduce their podcast Behind the Funny, welcoming guest Sara Poulin in a casual, humorous setting.
Comedians Scott Higgins and Ace Asito introduce their podcast Behind the Funny, joking about their basement studio and recent podcast rankings.
Scott Higgins and Ace Acido introduce their podcast Behind the Funny, discuss their 400th episode, and welcome guest Jerry Caruso.