Jokerman – Tommy Tiernan Takes On America

2006 – Power Pictures – RTE- Dir: David Power, Ken Wadrop, John Butler

This is a 4 part Documentary series about Irelands number one comedian Tommy Tiernan’s attempts to crack the American comedy market. It was directed by David Power, Ken Wadrop and John Butler over a period of 2 and a half years. With so much footage i was editing this for a couple of months but it was worth it. I am very proud of this series .The show was nominated for an IFTA but was criminally robbed of the gong!
The show follows Tommy as he celebrates his 100th show in Vicar Street, his first shows in New York clubs – sometimes performing to as little as 10 to 12 people, Edinburgh Comedy Festival, playing to 5000 people in Cork, to shows in Washington, Nebraska, Texas and to long runs in L.A. and New York and finishing with an apperance on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Here is a selection of clips from the series to give you a taste of what was involved.

Episode 1
The First episode follows Tommy as he embarks on a creating a new show, bringing it on the road, another Late Late Show controversy and his decision to try and make it in America. Along the way Tommy has the highs of his 100th show in Vicar Street to going to play in front of ten people in a small club in New York.

You can see another clip from this episode here

Episode 2
In the second Episode Tommy is preparing for his headlining show at the Montreal Comedy Festival by trying out longer stints in California. ALongside this Tommy and his management team have to balance his desire to do well in the states with Tommy’s personal commitments.

You can see another clip from this episode here

Episode 3
After a break from life on the road, Tommy is ready to dip his toes in the American market again, starting with a tour of nightclubs in Washington, hitting the heartland of Omaha and Houston. Along the way Tommy gets to experience some of what the country of America has to offer

Episode 4
A look back at the three previous episodes and a move forward to Tommy’s first performance on the Letterman Show. A significant milestone for any comedian Tommy has to somehow whittle his 90min show down to four minutes for his US Network debut