WNYC Studios is launching kids podcasts featuring all adult's favorite comedian

Podcasting is one of the best inventions in consuming media. In an hour and a half - sometimes less, sometimes more -  listeners can learn or laugh or cry or become intrigued or experience any other number of emotions thanks to the easy to understand format. Best of all: a majority of podcasts are free.

WNYC Studios (a podcasting division of New York Public Radio) is extending their reach to children' podcasts. Their first series is titled This Podcast Has Fleas and features a few comedy stars like Jay Pharoah, Alec Baldwin, and Eugene Mirman. Emily Lynne stars as a dog named Waffles with not so good luck. Pharoah plays an auto-tuned cat that is very cool. Both pets live together and have their own podcasts.

This Podcast Has Fleas comes from kid's programming staples Koyalee Chanda and Adam Peltzman who developed Blue’s Clues!, Odd Squad, and The Backyardigans. 

Peltzman and Chanda welcomed the challenge of moving between the television and podcast realms: “These podcasts are essentially cartoons with no pictures, and we hope kids will be completely absorbed in this immersive audio experience. As longtime listeners of WNYC, we cannot imagine better partners to bring this experiment to life.”

WNYC was nice enough to provide a snippet of what listeners can expect.

Another podcast called Pickle will premiere on WNYC on December 11. The story follows Pickle who are taken through a five episode ethically based journey. Each episode will cover topics like “When is it okay to tell on a friend?” and “Should elephants be in zoos?” Pickle be joined by Shumita Basu, Carl Smith and College of New York ethicist Jennifer Morton.

Listeners can find both show on their podcasting platform of choice on December 4th and 11th.

Showtime's new comedies "White Famous" and "SMILF" get premiere dates and trailers

Showtime might not be known as the king of half hour comedy shows but at least its trying. The premium cable network is set to premiere two new comedies to its slate this season. 

Deadline reports White Famous is coming on Sunday, October 15 at 10 PM. The show comes from Jamie Foxx and will star Jay Pharaoh as Floyd Mooney. He tries to relate to his black audiences as his fame grows broader. Californication creator Tom Kapinos and director Tim Story are also along for the ride. Foxx will play a recurring role.

The second series, SMILF, airs on November 5 at 10 PM. It stars Frankie Shaw and follows experiences from her life. She plays a young mother who wants to continue dating, sex and a working relationship. Shaw will direct and produce on top of starring. The show comes from Shaw's Sundance Film Festival Jury Award-winning short film. Rosie O’Donnell will co-star.

Three exits and no baby's at SNL

It happened a lot later than most thought it would. Saturday Night Live has let go of two of its funniest cast members and a first year featured player. It was reported late last night that both Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah were not brought back for another season of the sketch series. BUt the most interesting thing about it was that their contracts were not completely up. Both men had at least one more year to go, leaving with six out of their seven years finished. /Film speculates that the releases may be because the two of them were so busy. After all, Killam is directing an action comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger -- a movie that will be produced by SNL head man Lorne Michaels. Killam had an interview with Uproxx stating that the release caught him off guard but he'd already communicated that his movie production scuedule would coincide with SNL's schedule:

“I don’t know the other side of it. You sign for seven years, so I had one more year. I had sort of had it in my head I would make this upcoming year my last year, but then heard they weren’t going to pick up my contract. I was never given a reason why, really. I can assume until the cows come home. ”

There's no clear answer on why Pharoah was let go. He's a touring comedian and featured actor on movies but he's not that big. No matter the case, his stable of characters and impressions will be missed. And finally, featured player Jon Rudnitsky was announced to not returning either. He didn't really stand out last season and you'd be forgiven to forget he was on the cast. But at least he can say that he was there.

Funny or Die's Oddball Comedy Festival returns with Aziz Ansari, Amy Schumer & other comedians

Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival 2015 Announcement - watch more funny videos

The Oddball Comedy Festival returns next month and Funny or Die has released the full schedule and dates. Aziz Ansari and Amy Schumer are hosting while John Mulaney, Nick Kroll, Anthony Jeselnik, Jay Pharoah, Nikki Glaser, Jeff Ross, Michael Che, Nick Thune, Rachel Feinstein, Rory Schovel, T.J. Miller and more are set to perform at various points in the festival. Tickets will go on sale starting this Friday. You can find all the dates, information and featured comedians over on the website. In the meantime, there's a neat, old timey announcement video you can watch.

Martin Freeman and Kate McKinnon Chase Each Other in these SNL Promos

Martin Freeman is our favorite impish little bugger. Or should I say hobbit. I bet he hears that a lot. But, this week, he's hosting SNL this week probably to promote that new Hobbit film. And now we're back at square one. Just watch these promos where he and Kate McKinnon run around to Benny Hill-esque music, play with The Ring and have a sexy dance party.