The 2018 Billy T Award Nominees were announced today. Sam Brooks goes deep on who they are, and why this slate is so great.

The NZ International Comedy Festival is over for another year, and so our two Comedy co-editors Sam Brooks and Natasha Hoyland take their final bows. Read on for their farewell messages.

Spinoff Comedy co-editor Sam Brooks takes a look at the recent history of the Billy T Award, what felt different about this year's nominees, and what that means for New Zealand's comedy industry as a whole.

Urzila Carlson is straight up the biggest comedian in the country today. Spinoff Comedy co-editor Sam Brooks talks to her about how she got so good at being funny.

There’s the Billy T Award, there’s the Fred Award, but now we’ve got comedy co-editor Sam Brooks’ completely biased and very serious comedy festival awards.

For the fourth and final episode of our comedy festival podcast, actor, writer and comedy expert Chelsea McEwan Millar is joined by comedy co-editors Sam Brooks and Natasha Hoyland.

For years New Zealand comedy has – with some notable exceptions – had a reputation as something of a boys' club. Last night its three key awards were all won by women for the first time. Natasha Hoyland, a young comedian herself, describes how that moment felt.

Rose Matafeo won the Fred Award last night. It's New Zealand's most prestigious comedy award, along with the Billy T Award (which she has also won). Sam Brooks talks to her about her comedy, life overseas, and their shared passion for musical flop Nine.

On the heels of today's Fred nominee announcements, comedian Jonny Potts digs deep into the non-Fred Dagg work of John Clarke, including a book, a podcast and some handy YouTube clips.

Sam Brooks roars into the third week with two of this year's Billy T nominees, an impressive hour from local comedian Louise Beuvink, and a great one from Australian Joel Creasy.

Just as the biggest annual event in NZ comedy was getting underway, Spinoff Comedy co-editor Natasha Hoyland ended up in hospital. But now she's back and raring to go – in time for the festival to enter the home straight.