Lizz Winstead
Encyclopedia
Lizz Winstead is an American
comedienne, radio and television personality, and blog
ger. A native of Minnesota
, Winstead was co-creator of The Daily Show
along with Madeleine Smithberg, and served as head writer.
Winstead made her standup comedy debut in 1983 in Minneapolis at the Brave New Workshop
.
She was a successful national headlining comedian appearing on shows like HBO's Women of the Night and the Aspen Comedy Festival. She wrote and performed for early Comedy Central
shows like Women Aloud, and produced the syndicated talk series The Jon Stewart Show
, starring the future Daily Show host
.
She also created Court TV
's Snap Judgment
and served as the consulting producer on the pilot of The Man Show
.
During her time at The Daily Show she helped staff the program with signature talents like Stephen Colbert
, Beth Littleford
, Brian Unger
and Lewis Black
.
Winstead has appeared on various shows on CNN
and MSNBC
as well as a panelist on shows such as Politically Incorrect
, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
and the public-access television
cable TV/PBS program Mental Engineering
(where she was notably featured in an episode that aired following Super Bowl XXXVI
in 2002). In 2002, she and Brian Unger
created, wrote and co-hosted O2Be
, a satire of network morning programs that was broadcast on the Oxygen network.
In 2003, she co-founded and served as the program director at Air America Radio
. Until March 2005, she was also co-host of Unfiltered
on Air America Radio
, along with Rachel Maddow
and Chuck D
.
Since May 2005 she has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post
.
In 2006, she served as the executive producer of the Weekends with Maury and Connie
program on MSNBC. The show was canceled later that year and in the last episode Connie Chung
performed a musical number with lyrics by Winstead that became an Internet sensation called "Thanks for the Memories."
Ironically, the video was viewed by a larger audience than the show ever was.
Since 2007, she has produced and hosted a live show in New York City
called Shoot the Messenger, a satirical
wrap-up of the week's news as seen through the eyes of six-hour morning show Wake Up World, and featuring interviews with such media notables as Rachel Maddow, Andy Borowitz
, Ted Rall
, Kurt Andersen, Paul Rieckhoff
, and Mark Crispin Miller
.
Starting in April 2009, she has been appearing every Friday on MSNBC's The Ed Show
.
In December 2009, she was interviewed on the RadioChick on Shovio's "Talk Back TV".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedienne, radio and television personality, and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger. A native of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Winstead was co-creator of The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
along with Madeleine Smithberg, and served as head writer.
Winstead made her standup comedy debut in 1983 in Minneapolis at the Brave New Workshop
Brave New Workshop
The Brave New Workshop Comedy Theatre , located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been writing, performing and producing live sketch comedy and improvisation performances for 50 years – longer than any other theatre in the nation...
.
She was a successful national headlining comedian appearing on shows like HBO's Women of the Night and the Aspen Comedy Festival. She wrote and performed for early Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
shows like Women Aloud, and produced the syndicated talk series The Jon Stewart Show
The Jon Stewart Show
The Jon Stewart Show was a short-lived talk show hosted by comedian Jon Stewart on MTV. It premiered in 1993 and became the second highest-rated program on the network behind Beavis and Butt-Head....
, starring the future Daily Show host
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
.
She also created Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
's Snap Judgment
Snap Judgment (legal comedy show)
Snap Judgment was a daily American legal comedy television program, which aired on CourtTV from 1999 to 2000, hosted by commentator Lionel, and created by The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead....
and served as the consulting producer on the pilot of The Man Show
The Man Show
The Man Show is an American comedy television show on Comedy Central. It was created in 1999 by its two original co-hosts, Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla, and their executive producer Daniel Kellison.-Format:...
.
During her time at The Daily Show she helped staff the program with signature talents like Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
, Beth Littleford
Beth Littleford
Elizabeth Anna Halcyon "Beth" Littleford is an American actress, comedienne, and television personality. She is perhaps best known for being one of the original correspondents on the popular Comedy Central satirical news series The Daily Show from 1996 to 2000; she is also known as Tripp's mother...
, Brian Unger
Brian Unger
Brian Unger is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and commentator.-Biography:Born in Granville, Ohio in a family with Romanian ethnic heritage, Unger graduated from Ohio University in 1987, where he majored in communication...
and Lewis Black
Lewis Black
Lewis Niles Black is an American stand-up comedian, author, playwright, social critic and actor. He is known for his comedy style, which often includes simulating a mental breakdown, or an increasingly angry rant, ridiculing history, politics, religion, trends and cultural phenomena...
.
Winstead has appeared on various shows on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
as well as a panelist on shows such as Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect is a late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002. It premiered on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997, and later on ABC in 1997, which cancelled it in 2002....
, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn is a comedic talk show that aired on Comedy Central. The show featured roundtable discussions, inviting various guests of many views, mixing mostly comics/entertainers expressing themselves with journalists and political figures. Quinn's regular guests consisted mainly...
and the public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV/PBS program Mental Engineering
Mental Engineering
Mental Engineering is a public television series where show creator and host John Forde leads a panel discussion featuring critical and humorous analysis of TV commercials. The show originated as a public-access television cable TV program on the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network in St...
(where she was notably featured in an episode that aired following Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 2001 regular season. The American Football Conference champion New England Patriots won their first Super...
in 2002). In 2002, she and Brian Unger
Brian Unger
Brian Unger is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and commentator.-Biography:Born in Granville, Ohio in a family with Romanian ethnic heritage, Unger graduated from Ohio University in 1987, where he majored in communication...
created, wrote and co-hosted O2Be
O2Be
O2Be is an American comedy television series starring Lizz Winstead and Brian Unger. The series premiered September 22, 2002, on Oxygen. After October 27, 2002, they began showing reruns on Nickelodeon until December 31, 2002. The program is a parody of daytime television with Winstead and Unger as...
, a satire of network morning programs that was broadcast on the Oxygen network.
In 2003, she co-founded and served as the program director at Air America Radio
Air America Radio
Air America was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk programming...
. Until March 2005, she was also co-host of Unfiltered
Unfiltered
Unfiltered was a morning show on Air America Radio hosted by Rachel Maddow, Lizz Winstead and Chuck D.The show's theme song was "Exploration" by The Karminsky Experience Inc.....
on Air America Radio
Air America Radio
Air America was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk programming...
, along with Rachel Maddow
Rachel Maddow
Rachel Anne Maddow is an American television host and political commentator. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program, The Rachel Maddow Show, aired on Air America Radio...
and Chuck D
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour , better known by his stage name, Chuck D, is an American rapper, author, and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious rap music in the mid-1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy.- Early life :Ridenhour was born in Queens, New York...
.
Since May 2005 she has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
.
In 2006, she served as the executive producer of the Weekends with Maury and Connie
Weekends with Maury and Connie
Weekends with Maury and Connie is an MSNBC television news series featuring light-hearted take on news of the week.It was hosted by talk show host Maury Povich and his wife, television news anchor Connie Chung. Beginning in early 2006, it appeared every weekend morning on MSNBC until Dan Abrams was...
program on MSNBC. The show was canceled later that year and in the last episode Connie Chung
Connie Chung
Connie Chung, full name: Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich is an American journalist who has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von Bülow and U.S...
performed a musical number with lyrics by Winstead that became an Internet sensation called "Thanks for the Memories."
Ironically, the video was viewed by a larger audience than the show ever was.
Since 2007, she has produced and hosted a live show in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
called Shoot the Messenger, a satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
wrap-up of the week's news as seen through the eyes of six-hour morning show Wake Up World, and featuring interviews with such media notables as Rachel Maddow, Andy Borowitz
Andy Borowitz
Andy Borowitz is a comedian and New York Times bestselling author who won the first National Press Club award for humor. He is best known for creating the satirical website , which has an audience in the millions...
, Ted Rall
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is an American columnist, syndicated editorial cartoonist, and author. His political cartoons often appear in a multi-panel comic-strip format and frequently blend comic-strip and editorial-cartoon conventions. The cartoons appear in approximately 100 newspapers around the United States...
, Kurt Andersen, Paul Rieckhoff
Paul Rieckhoff
Paul Rieckhoff is a veteran of the United States Army and the Iraq War. He is the Executive Director and Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America . He served as an Army First Lieutenant and infantry rifle platoon leader in Iraq from 2003 through 2004. Rieckhoff was released from active...
, and Mark Crispin Miller
Mark Crispin Miller
Mark Crispin Miller is professor of media studies at New York University, and the author of the book: Fooled Again, How the Right Stole the 2004 Elections. He is known for his writing on American media and for his activism on behalf of democratic media reform...
.
Starting in April 2009, she has been appearing every Friday on MSNBC's The Ed Show
The Ed Show
The Ed Show is an hour-long weeknight news commentary program on MSNBC. The program is hosted by Ed Schultz, who hosts the nationally syndicated radio program, The Ed Schultz Show. It debuted on MSNBC on April 6, 2009, at 6 P.M. ET. It moved to 10 P.M. ET, filling the time slot previously...
.
In December 2009, she was interviewed on the RadioChick on Shovio's "Talk Back TV".
External links
- The official Lizz Winstead site/blog
- Lizzland Tripod.comTripod.comTripod.com is a web hosting service owned by Lycos. Originally aiming its services to college students and young adults, it was one of several sites trying to build online communities during the dot-com bubble...
-hosted fan site (last updated 2002) - Shoot the Messenger site
- Review of live show in New York, 2008, Jesterjournal.com
- Winstead with Christopher Hitchens on "Pop Culture & Politics" panel, June 17, 2008 @ fora.tv