--- title: "Shows to Watch — Recommendations — Banter — Tough Crowd" description: "Live and recorded shows to study" lang: en json-ld: | { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebApplication", "name": "Tough Crowd", "applicationCategory": "MultimediaApplications", "operatingSystem": "Web", "inLanguage": "en-GB", "areaServed": { "@type": "Country", "name": "United Kingdom" }, "description": "The all-in-one workspace for working comedians — capture ideas, build sets, rehearse with evidence-based memory modes, track gigs and grow your audience.", "offers": { "@type": "Offer", "price": "149", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "description": "Annual plan with a free 24-hour day pass." } } --- [ Tough Crowd](/) Write Memory Lab Grow Career Network [Pricing](/pricing) [Login](/login)[Become a member](/register) [Banter](/banter)[Recommendations](/banter/recommendation)Shows to Watch # Shows to Watch Live and recorded shows to study Become a member to post in Banter Tough Crowd is a members-only community. Your first 24 hours are free — cancel anytime. [Become a member](/register) [](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-watch-a-comic-with-a-very-different-style-what-are-) [ T ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-watch-a-comic-with-a-very-different-style-what-are-) [ ## When you watch a comic with a very different style, what are you actually stealing from it? Not jokes, obviously. I mean the useful bits of craft. If someone’s act is nothing like yours — much slower, loads of crowd work, very story-heavy, whatever — do you still pick one thing to study, like how they earn silence or get into the first premise? I’m trying to stop only studying comics whose sets already look like the kind of set I’d naturally write. Feels a bit like only reading your own handwriting. ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-watch-a-comic-with-a-very-different-style-what-are-) [](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-watch-a-comic-with-a-very-different-style-what-are-)[TomNoCrowdwork](/banter/Stand-Up-Comedians/TomNoCrowdwork) 30 Aug 0 [](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-rewatch-a-stand-up-special-what-do-you-watch-the-se) [ D ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-rewatch-a-stand-up-special-what-do-you-watch-the-se) [ ## When you rewatch a stand-up special, what do you watch the second time? First watch I mostly just want to enjoy it. Second time, I’m tempted to pick one thing and follow it all the way through — how quickly they establish the premise, where the callbacks arrive, what they do after a huge laugh, how they move between bits. Does anyone actually rewatch a whole set with one craft question in mind, or do you just jump back to the sections that made you think “how did they make that work?” ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-rewatch-a-stand-up-special-what-do-you-watch-the-se) [](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-rewatch-a-stand-up-special-what-do-you-watch-the-se)[DanDoesFive](/banter/Stand-Up-Comedians/DanDoesFive) 29 Aug 0 [](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/do-you-study-the-act-who-follows-a-bomb-or-the-act-who-follo) [ T ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/do-you-study-the-act-who-follows-a-bomb-or-the-act-who-follo) [ ## Do you study the act who follows a bomb, or the act who follows a killer set? I keep thinking those are two completely different bits of stagecraft. Following a rough set means the room may need settling; following someone who smashed means you can start comparing yourself before you've said a word. If you're watching stand-up to learn rather than just enjoy it, which transition teaches you more? I'm especially interested in what you watch in the first thirty seconds — pace, first line, whether they acknowledge the previous act, or whether they just get on with their own thing. ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/do-you-study-the-act-who-follows-a-bomb-or-the-act-who-follo) [](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/do-you-study-the-act-who-follows-a-bomb-or-the-act-who-follo)[TomNoCrowdwork](/banter/Stand-Up-Comedians/TomNoCrowdwork) 29 Aug 0 [](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-study-a-great-set-what-do-you-watch-the-second-time) [ L ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-study-a-great-set-what-do-you-watch-the-second-time) [ ## When you study a great set, what do you watch the second time? First watch I’m obviously just watching the show. Second watch I keep trying to notice everything at once — wording, pauses, where they move, how they get into the next bit — and end up learning nothing. If you deliberately rewatch stand-up to study it, do you pick one thing each time? I’m tempted to do one pass just for transitions because mine still feel like someone changing tabs. ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-study-a-great-set-what-do-you-watch-the-second-time) [](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/when-you-study-a-great-set-what-do-you-watch-the-second-time)[LeahTenMinutes](/banter/Stand-Up-Comedians/LeahTenMinutes) 28 Aug 0 [](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/do-you-rewatch-the-same-stand-up-set-to-study-it-or-does-tha) [ L ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/do-you-rewatch-the-same-stand-up-set-to-study-it-or-does-tha) [ ## Do you rewatch the same stand-up set to study it, or does that kill the magic? I keep thinking I should actually study good sets instead of just watching more comedy, but I’m not sure what that means in practice. Do you watch the same set again focusing on structure, pauses, callbacks, transitions etc, or does analysing it that closely just make you start copying someone else’s machinery? Interested in what people actually look for on a second watch. ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/do-you-rewatch-the-same-stand-up-set-to-study-it-or-does-tha) [](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/do-you-rewatch-the-same-stand-up-set-to-study-it-or-does-tha)[LeahTenMinutes](/banter/Stand-Up-Comedians/LeahTenMinutes) 27 Aug 0 [ Tough Crowd member feature ### Turn bits into content World Stage turns any joke into social hooks, video openers and post ideas — so your best material works online too. Explore World Stage Explore World Stage ](/features/world-stage)[](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/shows-worth-studying-for-structure-and-timing) [ S ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/shows-worth-studying-for-structure-and-timing) [ ## Shows worth studying for structure and timing Beyond just watching for laughs — which recorded specials should a new comic study to understand set structure, pacing, and crowd work? ](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/shows-worth-studying-for-structure-and-timing) [](/banter/recommendation/shows-to-watch/shows-worth-studying-for-structure-and-timing)[StudentOfTheGame](/banter/Stand-Up-Comedians/StudentOfTheGame) 9 Aug 1 Tough Crowd The creative workspace for comedians to capture, build, rehearse and perform. 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