Robert Smigel's 'Humor Me With Robert Smigel & Friends' is a heartwarming creative collaboration between comedy legends helping everyday people find joy through humor. The show celebrates the universal desire to be funnier and showcases the legendary writer's generosity in sharing his comedic genius with regular folks.
Sources say the submissions have been absolutely wild — one guy literally crapped in his boss's bathroom and needed help writing a Christmas party apology speech. Another wanted to roast his father-in-law in a eulogy before the man even died. The podcast is basically a confessional booth for people with zero filter.
The podcast premieres May 8, 2026 on iHeartMedia and Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network. They've received 'several hundred' submissions via speakpipe.com/humorme in just the lead-up to launch. The initial run is 10 episodes with a star-studded guest list including David Letterman, Bob Odenkirk, Jim Gaffigan, Ellie Kemper, and Mikey Day.
Smigel's finally taking his comedy genius to podcasting — and if these submissions are any indication, the 'TV Funhouse' mastermind is about to make a whole lot of people very uncomfortable (in the funniest way possible).
After decades of making America laugh through "Saturday Night Live's" TV Funhouse and that foul-mouthed puppet Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Robert Smigel is finally entering the podcast space — and his debut show sounds absolutely unhinged in the best way. "Humor Me With Robert Smigel & Friends" premieres May 8 on iHeartMedia and Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network. The concept is simple but brilliant: real people submit requests for comedic help, and Smigel and rotating comedian friends brainstorm ways to zhuzh up their humor.
We're talking best man speeches, Tinder profiles, fan letters, sermons — even breakups with entire friend groups. But here's where it gets juicy. According to Variety, the submissions have been absolutely wild.
One poor soul — dubbed "Big Dumper" by his boss after taking a dump in the office bathroom that stunk up the place — reached out for help writing an apology speech. To his coworkers. At the Christmas party.
Smigel told Variety they helped him craft "an appropriately self-deprecating, but also humorously defensive" speech, and apparently it went over well. Then there's the guy who wanted to write a eulogy for his father-in-law — because everyone hates the man and he hasn't even died yet. The outcome on that one remains TBD, which is somehow both tragic and hilarious.
"We've had several rabbis wanting help with sermons," Smigel revealed. "There was a woman who wanted to break up with her mom group in a diplomatic way that was still funny." The comedian's wife Michelle Saks Smigel, credited as the show's creator, came up with the interactive concept after Smigel's original idea — assembling a writers room for a fake TV show — felt too insular. "Because almost the most fun part of being in comedy is just generating ideas," Smigel explained.
"And then you actually have to execute them. And that's where the pain comes in." The guest roster reads like a comedy hall of fame: David Letterman, Jim Gaffigan, Bob Odenkirk, Ellie Kemper, Dave Attell, Colin Quinn, Rob Riggle, Mikey Day, and SNL head writer Streeter Seidell. The first episode features Smigel working with Mikey Day and Seidell to help an a cappella group make their between-song banter more amusing.
In true Smigel fashion, the show embraces chaos over polish. "In a funny podcast, there are bad ideas," he observed. "And that's what makes them good. If they're funny bad ideas, that's just as entertaining as a good idea." The initial run is 10 episodes, with hopes for another batch if it takes off — and given these submissions, it's hard to imagine this won't become comedy's most gloriously awkward essential listen.
