Life’s Laugh Lessons

Life’s Laugh Lessons is a 30 min, low budget/No CGI comedy for TV that takes place in a comedy class. You’ve heard, “laughter is the best medicine.” Is it? Always? Some of life’s ills are very severe. That’s what the show explores. Each episode begins in class as a student struggling with one of life’s challenges. During the episode the comedy class helps them learn to get better by joking about it. By the end, the student is able to put their struggle into a comedy set making it easier to cope and survive. Each show’s tone starts a dark comedy and then becomes an uplifting one. This is not a show of standup comedy routines, it’s a scripted teleplay. This is a show about when you take a standup comedy class and life happens. Standup comedian Maurice Flake was excited, about to become a comedy teacher at Slappy’s Comedy Club. A sold-out class! Then Covid shut everything down. Only five diverse students decide to stick with it. They bond in the pandemic and find that comedy heals them; helps them survive. Now nothing is off limits. They make a vow that anything can be joked about. Maurice Flake is a comedy therapist who allows you to find the humor in your adversity. Slappy is a Comedy Club owner who comes off as gruff, caring about money and keeps pressure on Flake but underlying is a warm friendship. Slappy’s wife, Gladys represents people who are easily offended. She makes Slappy’s life tough. Their rocky, but happy, marriage provides a bunch of laughs. 5 young students learn the art of comedy and about life. Seth Tanenbaum is disheveled looking, Jewish and a pessimist at heart. When his father commits suicide, he considers it too. Flake shows Seth his father’s disappointment was not the cause. Cindy Hampton’s a cute girl and a bit privileged. When she is diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, she decides not to get the chemo. The students show her that the fight is worth it, and Cindy shows the world that being bald can be funny. Jessica Pilsner is a put together African American with too much confidence. We learn she's in an abusive relationship. She believes she deserves it because she had an affair. Flake shows Jessica that no one deserves abuse. She resolves to never cheat again but in future relationships. She must leave this abuse. Joey Diaz is a gangly looking Latino, with a crush on Cindy. Cindy is giddy with excitement. She’s getting married, but her dream wedding is a nightmare when her groom doesn’t show up. Cindy takes drastic action that Flake, and Joey must undo, especially when she holds her ex-fiancé captive! Joey helps Cindy feel the freedom of breakup and laughs with her about it in the Class Showcase. Jake Bennet, older, tall and tattooed is part of political bickering on Social Media that tears the class apart. Thanks to Flake, Jake learns he should have political views but needs to let other people have theirs. “I'm not changing anything; I'm just making enemies”. The Showcase becomes a ‘Political Fight Club’ as Flake has the students to make fun of their own politics. The show can be compared to ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’. She’s going through hell, but to cope she’s making a joke of it and healing by becoming a comedian. This is a story engine that can really last. So many tragedies can be healed through comedy. Series Treatment and 7 fully scripted episodes available. It was 6, for a 'short run' but when Covid hit it became the Pilot. It perfectly fits the show’s theme.