WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we're doing a 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:05.960 really granular look at a fascinating career. 00:00:06.259 --> 00:00:09.380 It's, I think, a perfect case study in, well, 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:12.519 resilience, adaptation, and really taking creative 00:00:12.519 --> 00:00:14.619 control in entertainment. We're talking about 00:00:14.619 --> 00:00:17.559 the journey of Canadian -American comedian, writer, 00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:20.780 director Bonnie McFarlane. She's a true multi 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:22.679 -hyphenate, isn't she? Oh, absolutely. And today 00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:24.989 we're not just... you know, listing things she's 00:00:24.989 --> 00:00:27.550 done. Our mission here is really to track her 00:00:27.550 --> 00:00:29.469 evolution. We're using the biographical facts, 00:00:29.730 --> 00:00:32.109 the milestones we've gathered, but we really 00:00:32.109 --> 00:00:34.149 want to zero in on those pivot points. Strategic 00:00:34.149 --> 00:00:37.030 leaps, right? Exactly. Those leaps, like from 00:00:37.030 --> 00:00:39.090 winning a regional comedy contest up in Canada 00:00:39.090 --> 00:00:41.289 to getting onto basically every major late night 00:00:41.289 --> 00:00:44.649 stage in the U .S. And crucially, how she seems 00:00:44.649 --> 00:00:46.350 to have turned professional disappointment, we'll 00:00:46.350 --> 00:00:48.770 get into that, to fuel for writing, directing, 00:00:48.909 --> 00:00:50.990 even publishing a memoir. So for you listening. 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:54.380 The goal is to really extract the definitive 00:00:54.380 --> 00:00:57.640 knowledge. How does a comedian actually maintain 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:01.100 relevance, like sustained relevance over decades? 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:03.960 Right. OK, let's unpack this. Let's unpack this 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:06.640 whole trajectory. And we're starting, well, pretty 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:08.420 far from the bright lights of late night TV, 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:10.900 actually. We need to set the scene, I think, 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:15.260 for a career that seems built entirely on self 00:01:15.260 --> 00:01:17.799 -determination. OK, so let's start with the roots. 00:01:18.500 --> 00:01:21.750 Geographical. familial because they give that 00:01:21.750 --> 00:01:24.370 necessary contrast to where she ended up. The 00:01:24.370 --> 00:01:26.109 sources confirm Bonnie McFarlane, born March 00:01:26.109 --> 00:01:32.090 28, 1969. So 56 this year in Cold Lake, Alberta, 00:01:32.290 --> 00:01:34.170 Canada. And that's important, isn't it? Cold 00:01:34.170 --> 00:01:36.390 Lake. It really is because, you know, her comedic 00:01:36.390 --> 00:01:38.709 voice, it's often very observational kind of. 00:01:39.219 --> 00:01:40.959 dry, grounded. And you can trace that grounding, 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:42.760 I think, right back to her upbringing, raised 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:45.620 on her parents' rural farm, like outside of Cold 00:01:45.620 --> 00:01:48.760 Lake. We're talking genuine rural life here, 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:51.000 maybe even isolation and that kind of lifestyle. 00:01:51.099 --> 00:01:53.939 It breeds self -sufficiency, right? And a very 00:01:53.939 --> 00:01:56.459 specific worldview, often skeptical, which is 00:01:56.459 --> 00:01:58.299 gold for comedy. Yeah, you can see that. And 00:01:58.299 --> 00:02:00.379 the family dynamic, too. Youngest of four daughters 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:02.140 being the youngest of four girls, especially 00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:04.879 maybe in a rural setting. Yeah. That suggests 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:06.939 maybe having to fight for attention. A built 00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:09.080 -in audience, maybe. Could be. Test material. 00:02:09.180 --> 00:02:11.919 Maybe develop that sharp observational eye just 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:14.819 from constant sibling interaction. So you take 00:02:14.819 --> 00:02:16.800 that combination, that sort of rural Alberta 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:20.699 setting, plus that immediate, maybe competitive 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:22.680 little world of four daughters. And it gives 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:24.879 you a framework for her material, potentially. 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:29.240 But the distance from actual entertainment hubs 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:31.860 meant that the jump to professional stand -up, 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:34.710 it had to be deliberate. And probably had to 00:02:34.710 --> 00:02:36.430 work kind of quickly. Okay, so how does she make 00:02:36.430 --> 00:02:39.610 that leap from a farm outside Cold Lake to, you 00:02:39.610 --> 00:02:42.009 know, a stage? The sources point to the very 00:02:42.009 --> 00:02:46.030 first step. Her first open mic happened in Vancouver, 00:02:46.270 --> 00:02:48.550 British Columbia. Right. Vancouver. Which is 00:02:48.550 --> 00:02:50.930 a massive distance from Alberta, geographically 00:02:50.930 --> 00:02:53.830 and culturally, maybe. It suggests a really clear 00:02:53.830 --> 00:02:56.909 initial move just for comedy. And what's fascinating, 00:02:57.069 --> 00:02:59.689 apparently, is the immediate validation she got. 00:02:59.770 --> 00:03:01.590 Like, right away. She gets on stage in Vancouver. 00:03:01.770 --> 00:03:05.289 And a club manager, someone... whose job is spotting 00:03:05.289 --> 00:03:07.710 talent, right? Yeah. Doesn't just say, hey, good 00:03:07.710 --> 00:03:11.409 set. No. The manager gives her this really specific 00:03:11.409 --> 00:03:14.210 kind of high -stakes instruction, enter this 00:03:14.210 --> 00:03:17.750 contest. It was called The Search for Canada's 00:03:17.750 --> 00:03:20.449 Funniest New Comic. Wow. Okay. So the manager 00:03:20.449 --> 00:03:23.789 saw something legit fast. Yeah. And it's interesting 00:03:23.789 --> 00:03:26.409 because maybe that manager realized, look, to 00:03:26.409 --> 00:03:28.629 even think about the U .S. market later, she 00:03:28.629 --> 00:03:31.090 needs a credential, like a professional calling 00:03:31.090 --> 00:03:33.620 card from Canada. Makes sense. And she took the 00:03:33.620 --> 00:03:37.020 advice. She did. Entered the contest and won 00:03:37.020 --> 00:03:39.620 it. Okay, so she wins Canada's Funniest New Comic. 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:42.539 Yeah, and that win becomes the definitive launch 00:03:42.539 --> 00:03:45.580 pad. For a Canadian comic looking south, I mean, 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:48.919 this wasn't just like... bragging rights, it 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:51.080 was the push she needed for the next big career 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:53.620 move. Like a passport, you said? Kind of. A professional 00:03:53.620 --> 00:03:56.180 passport. It gave her the confidence, sure, but 00:03:56.180 --> 00:03:58.680 also that demonstrable proof of marketability, 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:01.120 the kind you need to get attention from agents 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:03.780 and managers in the States. And the sources show 00:04:03.780 --> 00:04:06.080 that transition was quick, right? After the win, 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:08.219 she moves directly to New York. Yep. New York 00:04:08.219 --> 00:04:10.889 City. And it wasn't a slow build. It says she 00:04:10.889 --> 00:04:13.770 landed both a manager and an agent pretty much 00:04:13.770 --> 00:04:16.889 on arrival. Hang on, though. Landing major representation 00:04:16.889 --> 00:04:19.810 immediately after coming from, like, the regional 00:04:19.810 --> 00:04:22.029 Canadian circuit? Yeah. That sounds really unusual. 00:04:22.329 --> 00:04:24.800 It is unusual. Highly unusual. The source material 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:27.319 doesn't give us like a specific anecdote about 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:30.560 how exactly. But the fact she got both right 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:33.139 away, it speaks volumes about how good that contest 00:04:33.139 --> 00:04:35.139 winning set must have been. Right. Must have 00:04:35.139 --> 00:04:38.139 killed. Yeah. I mean, managers and agents in 00:04:38.139 --> 00:04:39.980 New York, they're looking for talent that can 00:04:39.980 --> 00:04:42.819 work the U .S. circuit basically now. And having 00:04:42.819 --> 00:04:44.879 that Canadian title meant she was kind of pre 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:47.180 -vetted, you know. OK. And she wasn't just content 00:04:47.180 --> 00:04:50.040 with New York either. She kept up this crucial 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:53.139 bi -coastal strategy, spent time. in Los Angeles, 00:04:53.259 --> 00:04:55.480 too, focusing on stand -up but also writing. 00:04:55.660 --> 00:04:57.980 Right, the L .A. writing connection. Yeah. Still, 00:04:57.980 --> 00:05:00.699 maintaining a presence on both coasts, especially 00:05:00.699 --> 00:05:03.339 back then, late 90s, early 2000s, that sounds 00:05:03.339 --> 00:05:05.899 incredibly tough. Whoa. Financially, logistically. 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:08.560 Oh, grueling. Double the travel, double the instability, 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:12.860 probably finding places to crash. So why? Strategically, 00:05:12.860 --> 00:05:15.379 why was that so important? Well, the goals were 00:05:15.379 --> 00:05:18.399 different on each coast. Right. New York really 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:21.379 cements your standup club credibility, gives 00:05:21.379 --> 00:05:23.740 you those vital late night bookings. But Los 00:05:23.740 --> 00:05:26.339 Angeles, that's the engine for writing rooms, 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:28.779 for development deals, maybe eventually getting 00:05:28.779 --> 00:05:31.279 into film or sitcoms. Gotcha. Covering all the 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:34.360 bases. Exactly. By hitting both markets at the 00:05:34.360 --> 00:05:36.860 same time, she positioned herself not just as 00:05:36.860 --> 00:05:39.639 a performer, but as a potential writer. a creator 00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:42.139 right from the start and that early strategic 00:05:42.139 --> 00:05:44.360 diversification i think that's absolutely key 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:47.240 to her longevity we see that play out later hashtag 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:49.939 tag three the stand -up grind and late night 00:05:49.939 --> 00:05:52.860 visibility okay so she in the us she's got representation 00:05:52.860 --> 00:05:56.259 she's working both coasts now the next big hurdle 00:05:56.259 --> 00:05:58.360 especially before social media really took over 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:00.720 it was late night tv right getting a stand -up 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:02.579 spot on one of the big shows that meant instant 00:06:02.579 --> 00:06:05.639 national recognition and a huge boost to your 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:08.449 like headlining fiat clubs totally and And we 00:06:08.449 --> 00:06:10.910 see her establishing that credibility pretty 00:06:10.910 --> 00:06:13.189 quickly. She achieved what you might call the 00:06:13.189 --> 00:06:15.529 late night trifecta. She appeared on The Tonight 00:06:15.529 --> 00:06:18.370 Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, 00:06:18.430 --> 00:06:21.430 and The Late Late Show with Craig Kilbourn. Okay, 00:06:21.470 --> 00:06:25.209 so Leno, Letterman, Kilbourn. That's huge. For 00:06:25.209 --> 00:06:28.129 a comedian, especially then, that's like getting 00:06:28.129 --> 00:06:30.569 three Michelin stars or something. Pretty much. 00:06:30.649 --> 00:06:32.189 These weren't just, you know, five minutes on 00:06:32.189 --> 00:06:34.269 stage. They were stamps of approval from the 00:06:34.269 --> 00:06:36.870 biggest gatekeepers in American TV at the time. 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:39.540 It solidified her status way beyond just the 00:06:39.540 --> 00:06:41.540 club circuit. Yeah, it's more than just currency. 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:43.959 It's like an established brand identity almost. 00:06:44.420 --> 00:06:47.199 Those sets proved she had material that worked 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:49.560 for a mass audience, a mainstream audience. And 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:51.300 that opens doors, right, to pivot into different 00:06:51.300 --> 00:06:54.319 TV formats, which you need for sustainability. 00:06:54.779 --> 00:06:57.220 Absolutely essential. And we see her doing that, 00:06:57.259 --> 00:07:00.060 moving beyond just the pure stand -up sets into 00:07:00.060 --> 00:07:04.060 the world of panel shows, guest roles, which 00:07:04.060 --> 00:07:06.199 demand different skills entirely. Like what? 00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:08.620 Well, she was a panelist on two really distinct, 00:07:08.779 --> 00:07:11.660 often debate -heavy shows, Tough Crowd with Colin 00:07:11.660 --> 00:07:14.259 Quinn. Oh, yeah, I remember that. Intense. Right. 00:07:14.360 --> 00:07:17.259 And Red Eye W. Greg Gutfeld. Also intense, but 00:07:17.259 --> 00:07:19.560 different. More political, maybe. Yeah, different 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:22.879 flavors of intensity. Tough Crowd really required 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:26.379 comics to think super fast. Argue points sometimes 00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:29.079 get... genuinely kind of aggressive with their 00:07:29.079 --> 00:07:32.660 wit. Red Eye involved more like synthesizing 00:07:32.660 --> 00:07:35.319 current events, delivering commentary, often 00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:38.170 with a political slant. So appearing on both 00:07:38.170 --> 00:07:40.569 shows, she was transitioning from just telling 00:07:40.569 --> 00:07:43.970 jokes to having like a recognizable, marketable 00:07:43.970 --> 00:07:45.829 perspective on things. Which is a different skill 00:07:45.829 --> 00:07:48.089 set entirely. It really is. It shows she could 00:07:48.089 --> 00:07:50.810 integrate her viewpoint into almost a journalistic 00:07:50.810 --> 00:07:53.189 or quasi -political setting. Yeah. And there's 00:07:53.189 --> 00:07:54.790 another detail here that I think is really cool. 00:07:54.829 --> 00:07:57.129 It ties her into the sort of foundational comedy 00:07:57.129 --> 00:08:00.029 ecosystem of that era. What's that? She appeared 00:08:00.029 --> 00:08:01.990 as one of Dr. Katz's patients on the animated 00:08:01.990 --> 00:08:04.430 show, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. Oh, wow. 00:08:05.069 --> 00:08:07.310 Dr. Katz, that's a deep cut for comedy nerds. 00:08:07.310 --> 00:08:09.930 That show was legendary. Totally legendary. Often 00:08:09.930 --> 00:08:12.860 improvised with, like... The absolute top club 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:14.740 comedians of the day, Jonathan Katz talking to 00:08:14.740 --> 00:08:17.579 Don Marrera, Ray Romano, Laura Keitlinger. So 00:08:17.579 --> 00:08:20.339 being featured there, even as a voice, meant 00:08:20.339 --> 00:08:22.339 she was already operating in the highest tiers 00:08:22.339 --> 00:08:24.639 of that New York stand -up community, recognized 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:27.100 by her peers as, you know, a legitimate voice. 00:08:27.379 --> 00:08:30.040 Okay, so she's got late night, she's got panel 00:08:30.040 --> 00:08:32.519 shows, she's got the respect of her peers. What 00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:35.019 about specials, the sort of pinnacle for a stand 00:08:35.019 --> 00:08:37.100 -up? Right. Beyond just guest spots, the ultimate 00:08:37.100 --> 00:08:39.139 validation is getting your own televised special. 00:08:39.529 --> 00:08:41.529 shows you could hold an audience, deliver a whole 00:08:41.529 --> 00:08:44.730 cohesive hour or half hour. And she hit two major 00:08:44.730 --> 00:08:47.919 milestones there. First, in 2005, she got her 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:50.980 own HBO One Night Stand special. HBO. That was, 00:08:51.019 --> 00:08:53.600 and still is, pretty prestigious. The prestige 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:56.559 slot, yeah. Often seen as career -defining. Then, 00:08:56.700 --> 00:08:59.320 just three years later, in 2008, she landed her 00:08:59.320 --> 00:09:01.440 own Comedy Central Presents half -hour special. 00:09:01.799 --> 00:09:04.320 Okay, Comedy Central. Different vibe, maybe wider 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:07.299 reach to the core comedy fans. Exactly. Two different 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:11.179 beasts. HBO signals that industry quality standard. 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:13.320 Comedy Central gives you that broader, maybe 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:16.360 younger, more targeted exposure. right to the 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:19.559 comedy audience. So hitting both networks kind 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:21.340 of proved she was successfully bridging that 00:09:21.340 --> 00:09:25.440 gap between prestige and mass market appeal. 00:09:25.700 --> 00:09:28.419 So by 2008, you look at her career on paper, 00:09:28.539 --> 00:09:30.940 it looks kind of bulletproof, right? Canadian 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:34.360 success, top representation, late night trifecta, 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:37.419 key panel roles, two major network specials. 00:09:37.460 --> 00:09:39.840 Seems like a straight lineup. But success is 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:42.299 rarely that simple, is it? Usually not. Which 00:09:42.299 --> 00:09:44.360 brings us to a really, really important pivot 00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:46.580 point. Or maybe a bump in the road, depending 00:09:46.580 --> 00:09:48.740 on how you look at it. Hashtag tag I've a reality 00:09:48.740 --> 00:09:51.500 TV hosting and the pivot points. OK, this is 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:53.240 where we get into something different. Competitive 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:55.679 reality TV, specifically season two of the NBC 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:58.100 show Last Comic Standing. This was in 2004. Right, 00:09:58.139 --> 00:10:00.000 2004. Now, for a comedian who'd already done 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:02.639 Letterman, done HBO, entering a competition like 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:04.399 Last Comic Standing, which was super visible, 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:07.120 high stakes, that feels like a big move, like 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:09.279 a declaration of intent or something. It does. 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:12.559 But the sources reveal this major unexpected 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:16.580 twist. Despite all that prior success, all that 00:10:16.580 --> 00:10:19.600 established credibility, she was the first comedian 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:22.340 eliminated from the competition in season two. 00:10:22.419 --> 00:10:25.179 Wait, the first one out? The very first one eliminated. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:27.120 Did you wait her? She'd done Leno? She'd done 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:29.220 Letterman? How does that happen? If you're already 00:10:29.220 --> 00:10:31.700 headlining clubs and doing top tier late night, 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:34.279 why are you the first one voted off a reality 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:36.379 competition? That's the million dollar question, 00:10:36.460 --> 00:10:39.559 isn't it? And it's critical for analysis, I think. 00:10:39.580 --> 00:10:41.740 It probably speaks less about her actual talent. 00:10:41.860 --> 00:10:44.139 Right. And more about the very specific, sometimes 00:10:44.139 --> 00:10:46.720 kind of brutal nature of reality TV competition 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:49.179 humor. It's often different from established 00:10:49.179 --> 00:10:51.820 club humor. How so? Well, first, the competition 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:54.220 itself was fierce. You have to contextualize 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:56.320 Last Comic Standing. Just look at some names 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:59.120 associated with the show over its run. Amy Schumer, 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:02.340 Kathleen Madigan, Ralphie May, Rish Voss. Right, 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:04.620 her future husband. We'll get to that. Yeah. 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:07.539 So it was packed with serious talent, future 00:11:07.539 --> 00:11:11.360 stars. But the format of LCS, it often prioritized 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:14.480 stuff that was like easily digestible, high energy, 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:17.500 designed for quick TV soundbites. And sometimes 00:11:17.500 --> 00:11:19.799 that format could penalize humor that's maybe 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:22.539 drier, more observational, more subtle, the kind 00:11:22.539 --> 00:11:24.940 of stuff that kills in a dedicated club setting 00:11:24.940 --> 00:11:28.320 over an hour. So it's possible her style, maybe 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:31.100 more nuanced, just didn't deliver the kind of 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:34.139 immediate competitive punch the show's structure 00:11:34.139 --> 00:11:37.039 needed. Or maybe the judges or voters just didn't 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:39.379 fully grasp the depth of her existing reputation. 00:11:39.720 --> 00:11:41.179 That's tough. Being the first one eliminated, 00:11:41.340 --> 00:11:43.059 especially that publicly, I mean, that could 00:11:43.059 --> 00:11:45.039 have been totally ego crushing, could have ended 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:47.320 things for some people. Absolutely. But her next 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:49.799 moves, they suggest she didn't see it as a defeat, 00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:52.580 maybe more like a redirection. She seemed to 00:11:52.580 --> 00:11:55.179 use that very public stumble as a strategic inflection 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:57.950 point. How so? What does she do next? Well, maybe 00:11:57.950 --> 00:12:00.590 it taught her a lesson. Like relying solely on 00:12:00.590 --> 00:12:03.669 stage performance and those traditional gatekeepers 00:12:03.669 --> 00:12:06.950 network TV competition producers bookers. Maybe 00:12:06.950 --> 00:12:09.370 that wasn't the only way. Or maybe not sustainable 00:12:09.370 --> 00:12:11.909 long term. Because she seemed to pivot pretty 00:12:11.909 --> 00:12:14.250 quickly towards roles that emphasized her personality, 00:12:14.490 --> 00:12:18.830 her facilitating skills. Hosting roles. Oh, OK. 00:12:18.950 --> 00:12:21.049 Hosting. That makes sense. Less pressure to win 00:12:21.049 --> 00:12:23.549 a set. More about being a stable presence. Exactly. 00:12:23.570 --> 00:12:27.590 And we see her shift into media targeting specific 00:12:27.590 --> 00:12:30.429 demographics, which shows versatility, too. She 00:12:30.429 --> 00:12:32.529 was one of the hosts for that Nickelodeon program, 00:12:32.789 --> 00:12:35.309 Nick Mom Night Out. Right. Nick Mom. That launched 00:12:35.309 --> 00:12:37.629 around, what, 2012? Around then, yeah. August 00:12:37.629 --> 00:12:40.070 2012. Yeah. And she also hosted something called 00:12:40.070 --> 00:12:42.850 Comedy .TV. Okay, so these roles, they require 00:12:42.850 --> 00:12:45.169 a different muscle, like you said. Not the pressure 00:12:45.169 --> 00:12:47.590 of landing every single joke perfectly in a five 00:12:47.590 --> 00:12:50.250 -minute set, but the stability of being, you 00:12:50.250 --> 00:12:52.610 know, a welcoming, quick -witted host who can 00:12:52.610 --> 00:12:55.149 guide a show. And it probably provided some necessary 00:12:55.149 --> 00:12:57.429 financial and visibility stability after that 00:12:57.429 --> 00:12:59.950 LCS bump. But the real shift, maybe towards more 00:12:59.950 --> 00:13:02.029 control, seems to come through audio, doesn't 00:13:02.029 --> 00:13:05.509 it? Radio, then podcasting. Yes. This laid the 00:13:05.509 --> 00:13:07.539 groundwork, I think, for the... Platform she 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:09.720 has now, which is really enduring. She started 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:12.919 making occasional appearances on the very popular 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:15.059 Opie and Anthony radio program back in the day. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:18.740 Right. O and A. Huge loyal audience. Huge. And 00:13:18.740 --> 00:13:20.820 she later continued appearing when it became 00:13:20.820 --> 00:13:23.659 the Opie and Jim Norton show. Why was that exposure 00:13:23.659 --> 00:13:25.919 so important, do you think? Well, Opie and Anthony, 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:28.700 they cultivated this large, very loyal, often 00:13:28.700 --> 00:13:30.700 pretty demanding comedy fan base. They valued 00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:34.100 raw, long form conversation, behind the scenes 00:13:34.100 --> 00:13:37.679 honesty. Less polished. less polished and that 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:39.809 environment It was kind of the perfect training 00:13:39.809 --> 00:13:42.169 ground for developing that intimate, unfiltered 00:13:42.169 --> 00:13:45.009 persona that works so well in modern podcasting. 00:13:45.169 --> 00:13:47.529 The audience she built there, they were probably 00:13:47.529 --> 00:13:49.610 directly transferable to her own independent 00:13:49.610 --> 00:13:52.809 work later. Which brings us neatly to her most 00:13:52.809 --> 00:13:55.529 significant and probably most enduring media 00:13:55.529 --> 00:13:58.370 project currently, the podcast My Wife Hates 00:13:58.370 --> 00:14:00.649 Me, which she co -hosts, of course, with her 00:14:00.649 --> 00:14:03.470 husband, Rich Voss. Yes. And this move, this 00:14:03.470 --> 00:14:05.629 is the ultimate act of creative autonomy, isn't 00:14:05.629 --> 00:14:07.889 it? Bypassing networks, bypassing gatekeepers. 00:14:07.950 --> 00:14:10.350 entirely. It's like the ultimate evolution of 00:14:10.350 --> 00:14:13.110 the comedic persona. They took their actual lives, 00:14:13.269 --> 00:14:16.210 their personal relationship, which the public 00:14:16.210 --> 00:14:17.669 already had some interest in because they were 00:14:17.669 --> 00:14:20.210 both comics, and they monetized the dynamic itself. 00:14:20.529 --> 00:14:22.509 It's kind of genius, really, turning the everyday 00:14:22.509 --> 00:14:24.590 stuff of marriage, especially a marriage between 00:14:24.590 --> 00:14:29.870 two comedians, into content. Right. Direct, uncensored 00:14:29.870 --> 00:14:31.970 relationship with their audience. It's really 00:14:31.970 --> 00:14:35.830 a modern model of comedy entrepreneurship, building 00:14:35.830 --> 00:14:38.049 your own platform. So that podcast represents 00:14:38.049 --> 00:14:40.570 one kind of creative control. But there's another 00:14:40.570 --> 00:14:43.149 major pivot point we need to discuss, especially 00:14:43.149 --> 00:14:45.950 after experiencing the, let's say, limitations 00:14:45.950 --> 00:14:49.190 of being just a performer in someone else's system, 00:14:49.230 --> 00:14:51.669 like the last comic standing format. She took 00:14:51.669 --> 00:14:54.750 even fuller creative control, right, by moving 00:14:54.750 --> 00:14:57.110 into filmmaking, actually writing and directing. 00:14:57.149 --> 00:14:59.789 Yes. That's a huge structural shift in a career. 00:14:59.970 --> 00:15:03.009 She decides to basically critique the very industry 00:15:03.009 --> 00:15:06.009 she spent years navigating by writing and directing 00:15:06.009 --> 00:15:08.279 the. film, Women Aren't Funny. Women Aren't Funny. 00:15:08.340 --> 00:15:11.440 OK, so the title itself is provocative. Extremely 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:14.340 provocative. And it wasn't just like a standard 00:15:14.340 --> 00:15:16.659 movie. It was more of a documentary or maybe 00:15:16.659 --> 00:15:19.940 a docu -comedy hybrid. And it directly questions 00:15:19.940 --> 00:15:23.279 that old pervasive industry assumption or maybe 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:25.639 just tired joke that women are inherently less 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:28.159 funny than men. Wow. So that's a really powerful 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:31.639 move. It transforms her from being like a subject 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:34.039 within the industry to becoming an authorial 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:36.460 voice commenting on the industry. Precisely. 00:15:36.460 --> 00:15:39.620 And we have a timeline for it. The film was previewed 00:15:39.620 --> 00:15:41.820 at Caroline's on Broadway. a major comedy club 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:44.259 in November 2012. Then it was officially released 00:15:44.259 --> 00:15:46.559 in August 2014. So that, you know, almost two 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:49.159 year gap suggests a real commitment. Seeing a 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:50.919 big independent project all the way through. 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:53.419 Yeah. Making an indie film is a marathon. For 00:15:53.419 --> 00:15:55.820 sure. And creating that film, which tackles gender 00:15:55.820 --> 00:15:58.340 politics and comedy head on, feels like a necessary 00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:00.899 response maybe to the kind of turbulence she'd 00:16:00.899 --> 00:16:02.700 experienced, including that LCS elimination. 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:05.179 It's basically her saying, OK, you tried to. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:08.120 Define me or dismiss me based on these weird 00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:10.440 industry rules. Now I get to define the terms 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:13.159 of the debate. That's a strong statement. And 00:16:13.159 --> 00:16:16.899 then she moved into yet another medium, the literary 00:16:16.899 --> 00:16:19.720 world. She released her memoir, You're Better 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:23.860 Than Me, in 2016. Right. The memoir, which is 00:16:23.860 --> 00:16:26.940 often a comedian's way of. like providing the 00:16:26.940 --> 00:16:29.340 footnotes to their act, isn't it? Giving context 00:16:29.340 --> 00:16:32.279 to the pain, the jokes, the journey. Totally. 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:34.220 But there's a detail about the publication here 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:36.659 that's really interesting and surprising. Yeah, 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:38.919 this is genuinely surprising and I think offers 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:41.399 this profound external validation for the book. 00:16:41.659 --> 00:16:44.120 The memoir was published by Anthony Bourdain. 00:16:44.259 --> 00:16:46.940 Anthony Bourdain, the chef, the writer, the traveler. 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:49.820 Anthony Bourdain. He had his own publishing imprint. 00:16:49.980 --> 00:16:52.759 And that connection is really significant. Bourdain's 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:56.340 editorial brand, it was all about candor, brutal 00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:59.860 honesty, the outsider perspective, often focusing 00:16:59.860 --> 00:17:02.919 on people who came up through tough, maybe unglamorous, 00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:05.579 uncompromising systems like kitchens or maybe 00:17:05.579 --> 00:17:07.519 comedy clubs. So getting published under the 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:09.819 Bourdain imprint, it immediately signals something, 00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:12.200 doesn't it? That this isn't just like a standard 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:15.539 celebrity tell -all. Exactly. It signals it's 00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:18.329 likely a serious work. of nonfiction, probably 00:17:18.329 --> 00:17:21.529 pretty raw, connecting her personal story to 00:17:21.529 --> 00:17:23.769 maybe a broader cultural commentary. And the 00:17:23.769 --> 00:17:27.069 content reinforces that. It does. The book explicitly 00:17:27.069 --> 00:17:30.190 recounts her upbringing, that crucial rural farm 00:17:30.190 --> 00:17:32.930 life we talked about, and of course her comedic 00:17:32.930 --> 00:17:34.769 career. And make sure the reader understands 00:17:34.769 --> 00:17:37.490 that the voice they hear on stage or on the podcast, 00:17:37.750 --> 00:17:41.500 that self -reliant... often critical voice, it's 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:43.700 rooted directly in those early, maybe isolated 00:17:43.700 --> 00:17:46.259 experiences back in Alberta. So she's basically 00:17:46.259 --> 00:17:48.559 capitalizing on the full circle narrative. Yeah. 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:50.819 Turning every bit of her life right down to the 00:17:50.819 --> 00:17:53.480 farm into, well, commercial art. Effectively, 00:17:53.480 --> 00:17:55.579 yeah. It connects all those threads we've discussed, 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:58.500 the geographic isolation, maybe sibling rivalry, 00:17:58.700 --> 00:18:01.359 the drive to leave, the struggles, the successes, 00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:03.819 and frames it all as kind of necessary prep work 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:06.920 for who she became. She transformed the biographical 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:09.700 facts into a real literary asset. Okay, so we've 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:12.039 covered a lot of ground, stand -up, TV, film, 00:18:12.180 --> 00:18:14.140 writing. But we have to circle back to something 00:18:14.140 --> 00:18:16.980 central now, that personal and professional collaboration 00:18:16.980 --> 00:18:19.200 that really defines her current media footprint, 00:18:19.500 --> 00:18:22.099 her partnership with Rich Voss. Absolutely fundamental. 00:18:22.970 --> 00:18:25.710 As we know, Farling married fellow comedian Rich 00:18:25.710 --> 00:18:29.049 Voss in 2005. They have one child together, which, 00:18:29.109 --> 00:18:31.190 you know, grounds that professional collaboration 00:18:31.190 --> 00:18:35.250 in a very real share life. But their relationship 00:18:35.250 --> 00:18:37.970 itself. immediately became the content. Through 00:18:37.970 --> 00:18:40.509 the podcast, My Wife Hates Me, which is, by all 00:18:40.509 --> 00:18:42.910 accounts, very successful. Hugely successful. 00:18:43.130 --> 00:18:45.049 It's a masterful crossover, really, taking the 00:18:45.049 --> 00:18:47.809 dynamic, the tensions, the everyday annoyances 00:18:47.809 --> 00:18:50.569 of a long marriage, especially between two comics 00:18:50.569 --> 00:18:53.309 with strong personalities, and making that the 00:18:53.309 --> 00:18:56.549 core reliable output. It's daily relatable stuff, 00:18:56.789 --> 00:18:59.210 right? And it requires minimal external production. 00:18:59.349 --> 00:19:01.130 It just relies on their chemistry, or maybe their 00:19:01.130 --> 00:19:03.390 anti -chemistry sometimes. Exactly. Their dynamic 00:19:03.390 --> 00:19:07.240 is the show. And just to layer it in again, if 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:09.960 we look back at that competitive context, we 00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:11.920 should remember Rich Voss was also a contestant 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:14.039 on Last Comic Standing. Right. Different season, 00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:16.799 I think. Different seasons, yeah. But that shared 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:20.500 experience, navigating that specific, intense, 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:24.759 televised competition, even with different outcomes, 00:19:25.019 --> 00:19:28.400 it must add another layer of, I don't know, shared 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:30.700 professional understanding or maybe shared trauma. 00:19:31.160 --> 00:19:34.259 to their relationship dynamic. They both know 00:19:34.259 --> 00:19:36.640 that specific kind of pressure cooker. Yeah. 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:38.779 And maybe what failure in that context feels 00:19:38.779 --> 00:19:42.299 like. Yeah. They both get it. So when we try 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:45.460 to synthesize this whole journey now, what does 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:48.859 it tell us about her professional identity? We've 00:19:48.859 --> 00:19:50.859 seen her identified as a Canadian stand -up, 00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:53.160 a Canadian woman comedian, a Last Comic Standing 00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:55.500 contestant, a successful Canadian expat in the 00:19:55.500 --> 00:19:58.059 U .S., and now a resident of New Jersey who's 00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:00.160 built this sustainable collaborative media thing. 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:02.470 There's a lot of labels. It is. But if you connect 00:20:02.470 --> 00:20:04.630 those diverse roles for longevity, it doesn't 00:20:04.630 --> 00:20:07.009 seem accidental at all. It looks like a masterclass 00:20:07.009 --> 00:20:10.190 in strategic adaptation and crucially self -authorship. 00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:13.569 Meaning she understood maybe early on or maybe 00:20:13.569 --> 00:20:16.630 after that LCS experience that relying only on 00:20:16.630 --> 00:20:18.789 the traditional stand up path clubs, late night 00:20:18.789 --> 00:20:22.400 bookers, network competitions. was precarious, 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:25.539 unstable. The real key to her durability seems 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:28.640 to be that pivot from being primarily a performer 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:31.460 of material to becoming a creator of platforms 00:20:31.460 --> 00:20:33.460 and intellectual property. So she didn't just 00:20:33.460 --> 00:20:35.119 like survive the volatility of the business. 00:20:35.299 --> 00:20:37.960 No, she leveraged her experiences, even the rejections 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:42.000 like LCS. She used them to develop IP, the film, 00:20:42.059 --> 00:20:45.940 the memoir, the podcast platform. And that allowed 00:20:45.940 --> 00:20:48.440 her to control her own narrative and crucially 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:51.099 create multiple independent. revenue streams. 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:53.160 It was the holy grail for creatives, right? Pretty 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:55.200 much. The fact that she was the first one eliminated 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:57.460 from a major network competition, in the grand 00:20:57.460 --> 00:20:59.519 scheme of her career now, it's just a chapter. 00:20:59.619 --> 00:21:02.319 An interesting anecdote, not the defining moment. 00:21:02.460 --> 00:21:04.640 Right. Because the true story is what happened 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:07.440 after. Exactly. She immediately went on to do 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:10.779 that HBO special and ultimately wrote and directed 00:21:10.779 --> 00:21:13.740 a film that offered a structural critique of 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:15.920 the very industry that contained that competition 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:19.519 in the first place. She literally turned institutional 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:22.839 failure or perceived failure into creative fuel. 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.200 She used her own experience as the material, 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:27.619 building a career based on authenticity, yes, 00:21:27.720 --> 00:21:30.400 but also incredible resilience. And that ability, 00:21:30.579 --> 00:21:33.339 that constant adaptation to media shifts, demanding 00:21:33.339 --> 00:21:35.559 self -control over her work, that seems like 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:37.759 the biggest lesson anyone trying to make it in 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:39.460 a creative field can take from this deep dive. 00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:45.539 Outro. So let's quickly recap this pretty remarkable 00:21:45.539 --> 00:21:47.920 evolution for you listening. Bonnie McFarlane's 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:49.839 foundation, it started way back on that rural 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:52.259 farm, Cold Lake, Alberta. Gave her a specific, 00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:54.819 maybe skeptical, observational lens. That perspective 00:21:54.819 --> 00:21:56.980 gets validated early by winning that key comedy 00:21:56.980 --> 00:21:59.460 contest in Vancouver, which acted like a professional 00:21:59.460 --> 00:22:01.400 passport, right? Got her into the U .S. late 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:03.500 night scene, achieved that ubiquity. Yeah. And 00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:05.480 then we saw those critical pivot points, especially 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:08.980 that very public rejection, being the first contestant 00:22:08.980 --> 00:22:10.839 eliminated on Last Comic Standing season two. 00:22:11.150 --> 00:22:14.190 But that perceived failure, it seemed to immediately 00:22:14.190 --> 00:22:17.210 fuel her strategic shift, becoming a creator. 00:22:17.990 --> 00:22:19.970 Writing and directing the film Women Aren't Funny, 00:22:20.089 --> 00:22:22.269 which really critiqued the industry. Authoring 00:22:22.269 --> 00:22:24.430 her candid memoir, You're Better Than Me, which 00:22:24.430 --> 00:22:26.490 got that amazing Anthony Bourdain validation. 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:29.880 Right. And finally, she successfully leveraged 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:31.740 her actual life or personal partnership with 00:22:31.740 --> 00:22:34.460 Witch of Us into a sustainable, very personalized 00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:37.519 media platform that popular podcast My Wife Hates 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:40.279 Me, proving the value of, you know, collaboration 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:43.440 and just consistent output, maybe over relying 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:46.539 on traditional gatekeepers. Which really raises 00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:48.599 an important question, I think, for you, the 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:50.579 listener. As you look at the media landscape 00:22:50.579 --> 00:22:53.400 today, which is always shifting, given McFarlane's 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:55.119 success across so many different roles, stand 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:57.089 up panelists, director, author. or podcaster, 00:22:57.250 --> 00:23:00.430 what actually is the single most valuable platform 00:23:00.430 --> 00:23:03.170 for a comedian right now? Good question. Is it 00:23:03.170 --> 00:23:05.490 still the stage, you know, where you get immediate 00:23:05.490 --> 00:23:07.690 feedback, tighten the material, earn money night 00:23:07.690 --> 00:23:10.769 to night? Is it the screen TV or film that gives 00:23:10.769 --> 00:23:14.150 you maximum reach? Or is it the really personalized 00:23:14.150 --> 00:23:17.269 medium like the podcast that builds that direct, 00:23:17.410 --> 00:23:19.549 super committed audience that will follow you 00:23:19.549 --> 00:23:21.609 anywhere, buy your merch, come to your shows? 00:23:21.849 --> 00:23:25.220 Her career arc seems to suggest. Maybe the answer 00:23:25.220 --> 00:23:28.359 isn't any one of those things. Maybe not. Maybe 00:23:28.359 --> 00:23:30.900 the answer is the constant necessity of self 00:23:30.900 --> 00:23:32.980 -authorship that we talked about. That ability 00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:35.740 she demonstrated to shift her identity from being 00:23:35.740 --> 00:23:39.119 just a comedian who performs material to being 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:41.259 a creative professional who creates her own platforms, 00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:43.680 owns her own intellectual property. That seems 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:45.900 to be what ensured her remarkable longevity. 00:23:46.599 --> 00:23:48.720 and allowed her ultimately to define success 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:51.960 completely on her own terms. And that right there, 00:23:52.039 --> 00:23:54.640 that adaptability and control, is probably the 00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:56.740 key knowledge we hope you walk away with today.