Russell Howard's Good News. Russell Howard. Copyright: Avalon Television
Russell Howard's Good News

Russell Howard's Good News

  • TV stand-up
  • BBC Two / BBC Three
  • 2009 - 2015
  • 84 episodes (10 series)

Topical stand-up comedy and chat show hosted by Russell Howard.

Press clippings Page 11

Russell responds to your tweets

Thanks for all the great stuff you have been sending in.

Tris Cotterill, BBC, 18th March 2010

And we are back!

Russell and the Good News team are back in the office and its all go prepping for our first show. Last time round you all did an amazing job sending in stories and funny bits. For series two we would love you to do the same again.

Tris Cotterill, BBC, 12th March 2010

BBC Three orders up two more helpings of Good News

Following the huge success of his first series, Russell Howard will be returning to BBC Three with two more helpings of his topical news show.

BBC Press Office, 16th February 2010

More Good News!

Good news, Good News fans! Russell Howard's topical BBC Three show will return - and in just a month's time!

David Thair, BBC Comedy, 16th February 2010

Russell Howard Interview

Grabbing a chat with Mock The Week's Russell Howard is like trying to grab a tin of tartan paint - tricky.

Tommy Holgate, The Sun, 10th December 2009

Russell Howard Interview

A 60 Second interview with Russell Howard in Metro.

Metro, 20th November 2009

Review: Russell Howard's Good News

"Know thy lot, Know thine enemies, Know thyself." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

With this in mind, I bid you all take a good long look at the bottom of this review where you should find a photograph of one Mr. Danny Cohen. If you ever see this man in the street, walk up to him. Say nothing. Then punch him squarely in the face. Nothing else.

R.D. Goodwin, Scunt, 26th October 2009

Russell Howard's Good News. Is he? Good news, I mean. Stand-up comedian Russell Howard is best-known as a regular on satirical panel show Mock The Week, and has proven himself a likeable enough panellist. But he's not a particularly extraordinary talent in my eyes. His comedy sticks to exaggerated anecdotes aimed at students - the kind of stuff a witty 19-year-old friend would come up with in the pub and could themselves work-up into a five-minute set if they were so inclined. Maybe that's Howard appeal to student-kind; he's walking proof that a middle-class lad from the countryside can make a living telling forgettable jokes with enthusiasm and cheekiness.

Russell Howard's Good News is his first solo project; another satirical show revolving around the week's news, which is part stand-up and part clip-show. As such, half its success can be attributed to the team of researchers who scour the airwaves for funny moments that Howard just has to provide a feed to. Imagine Russell Brand's Ponderland if the topics were all related to current affairs and the clips came exclusively from contemporary news. The show also likes to dramatise a few of Howard's punchlines, killing the gag in the process because we don't need to see a mouse being ejaculated on by a scientist, thank you very much. The joke worked much better in my imagination. Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle was also guilty of this, so hopefully it's not becoming a trend.

Was the show any good? Well, it wasn't bad. In fact, I rather enjoyed the first 15-minutes or so, but then the format started to drag its heels and it lost all momentum when a "mystery guest" (a cackling, tattooed pensioner) was wheeled on to be ridiculed. From there, it limped to the finish. Afterwards, I couldn't remember a single joke Howard had made and didn't feel informed about politics through a comedy prism (a la The Daily Show). You know the funny clips on Have I Got News For You, and how you can't remember any of them after the credits roll? This is half an hour of that level of comedy; good for a few giggles at the time, instantly forgotten afterwards - much like Howard's stand-up.

Dan Owen, news:lite, 25th October 2009

The very good news for the likeable Mock The Week panellist and stand-up is that he's been rewarded with his own show. The bad news is it sounds like a strangely similar format to Mock The Week (a knock-off Have I Got News For You) with Russell taking the mickey out of news and topical events.

Other comedy shows like Pulling and Gavin And Stacey which started on BBC3 were repeated on non-digital channels, but it seems unlikely here.

They'd have to rename it Russell Howard's Old News which sounds vaguely insulting. It's being recorded at the last minute and viewers will also be able to make their own suggestions via the BBC website or Twitter.

Jane Simon, The Mirror, 22nd October 2009

Mock the Week star and comedian Russell Howard returns with a new show. Just look at that impish grin and cheerily goofy mug - there's no way that's a face to impart grim economic updates or news of brutal violence during major civil unrest. Therefore, it makes complete sense for Russell Howard off Mock the Week to report on stories that won't have you reaching for a Joy Division CD and a tin of black paint to decorate the walls, as he does in this sparky new show.

What's On TV, 22nd October 2009

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