# I'm Dying Up Here (2017)

> A 1970s Los Angeles stand-up comedy ensemble drama following damaged comics chasing their break in the city's celebrated and infamous clubs.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/58696

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: comedy, drama
- Created by: Jim Carrey
- Network: Showtime
- Cast: Melissa Leo, Ari Graynor, Clark Duke, Michael Angarano, RJ Cyler, Erik Griffin, Andrew Santino, Sebastian Stan
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4938700/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: none
- Tone: sardonic, melancholic, raw, bittersweet, frenetic

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, with praise for its portrayal of the 1970s stand-up scene and its flawed, driven characters.

## Synopsis

I'm Dying Up Here (2017-2018) is a Showtime comedy drama series created by Jim Carrey that runs for two seasons and twenty hour-long episodes before its cancellation. Melissa Leo plays Goldie, a formidable club owner who runs the room where the struggling comics perform, and Ari Graynor plays Cassie Feder, a comic whose ambition pushes her against the boundaries of the scene. Clark Duke as Ron Shack, Michael Angarano as Eddie Zeidel, and RJ Cyler as Adam Proteau round out the principal ensemble of performers trying to land the break that could change their lives. The engine of the show is the nightly grind: sets that bomb or soar, auditions, bookings, rivalries, and the personal debts that follow comics off the stage. Each episode is built from the rhythms of the club circuit, and the season-long arcs follow how these damaged personalities keep reinventing themselves to get a laugh. Set in 1970s Los Angeles, the series captures the smoky, rain-free glamour and the anxious hustle of the Sunset Strip comedy world. Its tone blends sardonic wit with melancholy and raw emotional stakes, and its take on laughter as a wound gives it a bittersweet edge. Fans of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Atlanta will find resonance in its portrait of show business ambition, though its darker, more adult edge is its own.

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- [The Standups (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/63343)

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