Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast · Earwolf and Scott Aukerman

Bonus Bang: 2020 Holiday Spectacular (Jason Mantzoukas, Paul F. Tompkins, Andy Daly, Jon Gabrus, Lauren Lapkus, Ego Nwodim, Carl Tart, Lily Sullivan, Tim Baltz, Shaun Diston, Dan Lippert)

·2 hr 38 min

Scott Aukerman frames the hour as another Bonus Bang release from behind the paywall. He points listeners back to the 2020 Holiday Spectacular and notes that this is part of the Yo-Yo, It's Santa and Ho-Ho series. Paul F. Tompkins shows up as Santa Claus. Lauren Lapkus returns as Ho-Ho the Elf. Jason Manzoukas is in the room too, which is never a minor detail. Andy Daly joins as pretzel maker August Lindt, and John Gabrus arrives as Gino Lombardo. Ego Wotum plays the kid who saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus. Carl Tartt turns up as Chief. Lily Sullivan and Tim Baltz come in as Nookie and Tootie. Sean Diston appears as Sprague the Whisperer. Dan Lippert plays Frankenstein. That is less a guest list than a pile of parts waiting to become something loud. The banter settles into the show’s usual rhythm of mock seriousness and quick derailment. Santa gets questioned. Ho-Ho gets needled. Everyone keeps treating tiny phrases like they need a formal ruling. The conversation wanders into Christmas-movie preferences. Santa is asked what he watches, and the room starts poking at what counts as a holiday watch and what does not. That drift is the point. A bit about women, comments, and what people think they are allowed to say turns into the sort of over-literal social panic this show likes to use for laughs. The joke keeps moving because nobody wants the premise to sit still. Thomas the Tank Engine becomes its own strange side chamber. Ringo Starr, George Carlin, Shining Time Station, and Alec Baldwin all get dragged into the conversation as if this were a very serious inquiry. The special keeps stacking unrelated jokes until they start to feel like one long argument with Christmas itself. There is talk of being on a flight to Dubai. There is talk of being oiled up. There is even a joke about Frankenstein’s OnlyFans. Scott closes by reminding listeners to come back for the best ofs. The whole thing plays like a crowded holiday table where nobody finishes one sentence before the next one crashes in. It is noisy, specific, and allergic to any clean wrap-up.

As heard by us

A stacked holiday CBB special that turns festive setup into crowded, fast-moving chaos.

This holiday Bonus Bang centers Santa and Ho-Ho, then keeps adding guests until the room feels deliberately overstuffed. Paul F. Tompkins and Lauren Lapkus carry the setup, while Jason Manzoukas, Andy Daly, John Gabrus, Ego Wotum, Carl Tartt, Lily Sullivan, Tim Baltz, Sean…

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Why you'd press play

You want a holiday CBB special that stacks Santa, Ho-Ho, and a parade of guests into one crowded room.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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