This Week In Comedy: Dan Aykroyd Launches His New Blues Brothers Audible Series, "The Arc Of Gratitude"

The Blues Brothers. Courtesy of Universal Pictures.

This Week In Comedy: Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi's famed blues band, The Blues Brothers, is getting its own Audible series diving deep into the story about the duo that paved its way from their iconic appearances on Saturday Night Live in the 70s, to their hit 1980 film for Universal Pictures & how they positioned themselves as part of the pop culture lexicon. The new series, Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude, hosted by Aykroyd, will be taking listeners through “late nights in the early days with John Belushi at Dan’s speakeasy in Toronto, to working with blues legends Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Ray Charles on  The Blues Brothers  movie, through the founding of House of Blues, the  Blues Brothers 2000 sequel, and beyond.”

On the television front this week are two new & very different comedy series hitting streaming services this week. Taika Waititi's new series on Apple TV+, Time Bandits, follows "a young boy discovers a time travel portal in his bedroom in this TV adaptation of writer-director Terry Gilliam's 1981 film." Netflix's newest comedy series, The Decameron, we find "a group of nobles and their servants retreating to the countryside to wait out the Black Death in this medieval black comedy."

Kicking off the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris this week is Kevin Hart & Kenan Thompson's latest commentary series Olympic Highlights on Peacock. The new series will find the two mainstay comedians bringing "their signature hilarious insights to recap the 2024 Olympics’ best and most unexpected moments throughout the Games."

On the movie front: arguably one of the biggest comedies of 2024, Deadpool & Wolverine, opens in theaters. The two comedic partners & longtime friends Ryan Reynolds & Hugh Jackman are guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! this Wednesday among other press stops - we look forward to seeing this new installment and what else these two have in store while promoting the likely blockbuster smash this week.

And finally: while we're still mourning the devastating loss of Bob Newhart this past week, CBS has put together a primetime special to celebrate the comedy icon tonight at 7 PM CT: Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter.

• Television: Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter premieres on CBS at 7 PM CT
• Television: Ryan Reynolds on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
• Television: Sebastian Maniscalco on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with guest host Lamorne Morris
• Television: Joe Mantegna, Zach Gilford, & Laci Mosley on After Midnight With Taylor Tomlinson

• Stand-Up: Franqi French: Let Me Be Franq premieres on 800 Pound Gorilla’s YouTube channel at 7 PM CT
• Stand-Up: Myka Fox: My Joke, My Choice releases via Comedy Dynamics
• Television: Hugh Jackman & John Owen Lowe on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
• Television: Anna Faris, Melissa Villaseñor, & Andy Richter on After Midnight With Taylor Tomlinson

• Stand-Up: Kevin James releases his new comedy album, Irregardless, via 800 Pound Gorilla
• Podcasts: Chris Kattan launches his new podcast, Idiotically Speaking
• Television: Time Bandits premieres on Apple TV+
• Television: Emma Corrin on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with guest hosts Ryan Reynolds & Hugh Jackman
• Television: Dustin Nickerson, Reggie Watts, & Irene Tu on After Midnight With Taylor Tomlinson

• Stand-Up: James McCann: Christmas In July premieres on 800 Pound Gorilla’s YouTube channel at 7 PM CT
• Podcasts: Dan Aykroyd launches his new podcast, Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude, on Audible
• Television: The Decameron premieres on Netflix
• Television: Kevin Hart on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
• Television: Bowen Yang & Matt Rogers on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with guest host Lamorne Morris
• Television: Pete Holmes, Maria Bamford, & Vinny Thomas on After Midnight With Taylor Tomlinson

• Movies: Deadpool & Wolverine opens in theaters
• Movies: The Fabulous Four opens in theaters
• Television: Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart & Kenan Thompson premieres on Peacock