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Live comedy, or dead? Sides were drawn this week in the debate over the future of stand-up, with a longtime Manhattan comedy club co-owner pretty much writing an obituary for New York City and its cultural nightlife, which in turn got him called “a putz” by Jerry Seinfeld.

And while traditional comedy venues won’t be taking reservations anytime soon – Caroline’s owner Caroline Hirsh told Deadline that comedy clubs like hers will likely take their cues from Broadway, and Broadway won’t be reopening until next spring, at the earliest – some comics are finding ways to reach audiences without Zoom.

Just today, comedian Iliza Shlesinger announced a nine-city tour of drive-in theaters across the country during the month of October (see tour details below). Iliza’s Comedy Tailgate Tour, presented by Monster Energy, will see the star of five currently-streaming Netflix specials delivering her jokes live to audiences, safely distanced in their cars,...

“I’ve said before that additional rollbacks or closures must remain on the table,” said Los Angeles County public health director Barbara Ferrer on Monday. “But at this stage in the pandemic, we believe we have a lot of tools available that if fully utilized should allow us to slow the spread without going back to the more stringent Safer-At-Home orders that were in place earlier in the pandemic.”

Ferrer acknowledged the frustration expressed by some residents at the changing nature of health restrictions as the pandemic has progressed, but said adjustments were made as more was learned about the new virus.

“I’m the first one to admit, you know, how wrong we were when we thought there wasn’t a lot of asymptomatic spread, and how wrong we were when we didn’t think that masking up, wearing cloth face coverings, was going to afford a lot of protection,...

On Thursday, after two days of record coronavirus numbers, State Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Contra Costa, called for most counties in California to return to a strict stay-at-home order.

California reported a record number of daily deaths from coronavirus on Thursday. The toll rose to a grim 157 people over the prior 24 hours. The previous high, 149, was seen on July 12. That means the total number of Covid-related deaths in the state has now topped 8,000, standing at 8,027.

California also saw a massive 12,040 new Covid infections on Thursday. That’s just below the record, set on Wednesday, which was 12,807 new cases. Governor Gavin Newsom said that total was “the highest in the nation.”

“It’s clear that we have lost control of the coronavirus fight,” State Senator Glazer said during a Thursday press conference. “And you don’t have to look very far to see it in the numbers.”

“Unfortunately,” said Glazer, the numbers “never really declined.