Uptown Comedy Club

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox television

| image = UptownComedyClub.png

| image_upright =

| image_size =

| image_alt =

| caption =

| alt_name = The BET Uptown Comedy Club

| native_name =

| genre = Sketch comedy
Stand-up comedy
Variety

| creator = Kevin Brown

| based_on =

| developer =

| writer = Jim Breuer
Kevin Brown
Monteria Ivey
Debra Wilson
Corwin Moore
Tracy Morgan
Flex Alexander
Ian Edwards
Paul Mooney
Joe Torry

| screenplay =

| story =

| director = Don Weiner

| creative_director =

| presenter =

| starring = Flex Alexander
Arceneaux & Mitchell
Jim Breuer
DJ Scratch
Ronda Fowler
Monteria Ivey
Little Rascal
Rob Magnotti
Tracy Morgan
Corwin Moore
Domencio 'Macio' Parrilla
Aries Spears
Debra Wilson

| judges =

| voices =

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer =

| opentheme =

| endtheme =

| composer =

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 2

| num_episodes = 44

| list_episodes =

| executive_producer = André D. Brown
Kevin Brown
Bob Banner
Keith Samples
Don Weiner

| producer =

| news_editor =

| location =

| cinematography =

| animator =

| editor =

| camera = Multi-camera

| runtime = 60 minutes

| company = Bob Banner Associates
Don Weiner Productions
Rysher Entertainment

| budget =

| network = Syndication

| released =

| first_aired = {{Start date|1992|09|28}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1994|03|07}}

| related =

}}

Uptown Comedy Club is a sketch comedy show filmed in the Harlem{{cite news |last=Marriott|first=Michel|date=August 17, 1994|title=Many Faces of Harlem's Main Street; A Day in the Life of 125th: From Bustling to Restless to Cool|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/17/nyregion/many-faces-harlem-s-main-street-day-life-125th-bustling-restless-cool.html|work=The New York Times}}{{cite book |last=Simmons|first=Russell|date=September 2002|title=Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, and God|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6Cqs4jngHcC&q=uptown+comedy+club+harlem&pg=PA125|publisher=Three Rivers Press|page=125|isbn=9780609807156}}{{cite book |last=Fearn-Banks, Burford-Johnson|first=Kathleen, Anne|date= 3 October 2014|title=Historical Dictionary of African American Television|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wxa7BAAAQBAJ&q=uptown+comedy+club+1992&pg=PA485|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|page=485|isbn=9780810879171}}{{cite news |last=Zinoman|first=Jason|date=November 11, 2016|title=Why 'Def Comedy Jam' Gets No Respect|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/arts/television/why-def-comedy-jam-gets-no-respect.html|work=The New York Times}} neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City that aired in first-run syndication{{cite news |last=Johnson|first=Allan|date=February 18, 1994 |title=FUNNINESS CAN BE READ AS WELL AS HEARD|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-02-18-9402180217-story.html|work=Chicago Tribune}}{{cite web |url=http://tvseasons.tripod.com/id45.html|title=1992|website=TV Seasons}}King, Susan. “Preview ‘92: Syndicated Hype...”. Los Angeles Times. 13 September 1992. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-13-tv-1122-story.html for two seasons,{{cite web |url=https://bestcomedytickets.com/comedian-profile/kevin-brown-4/|title=Kevin Brown Comedian|website=Best Comedy Tickets}} from 1992{{YouTube|title=WNYW 1992 Fox 5 The Uptown Comedy Club Commercial|id=rPYgSv-XZFY}}{{cite news |last=Rosenberg|first=Howard|date=December 16, 1992|title=Bigotry on TV: The Stain Still Lingers|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-16-ca-2001-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times}} until 1994.{{cite news |last=Lewis|first=Gregory|date=February 11, 1994|title=Dozens is oral legacy rooted in survival|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-02-11-1994042244-story.html|work=The Baltimore Sun}} The series was produced by Bob Banner. Repeats of the series eventually found their way onto BET.

Taped before a live audience at a club in Harlem, Uptown Comedy Club provided a mixture stand-up comedy, musical guests usually from the world of hip-hop, and sketch comedy from a troupe of mostly black comics. Jim Breuer and Rob Magnotti were the only regular white cast members. Uptown Comedy Club would in hindsight, provide a springboard for future Saturday Night Live cast members Jim Breuer and Tracy Morgan and future Mad TV cast members Aries Spears and Debra Wilson. Monteria Ivey{{cite book |last=George|first=Nelson|date= 26 April 2005|title=Hip Hop America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7TRApef2zW4C&q=Monteria+Ivey+uptown&pg=PT88|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9781101007303}}{{cite book |last=Brooks, Marsh|first=Tim, Earle F.|date= 24 June 2009|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&q=uptown+comedy+club+1992&pg=PA1460|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|page=1460|isbn=9780307483201}} served as the host for the first season, while the regular cast members rotated in that capacity for the second. DJ Scratch meanwhile, was the resident DJ.

A recurring segment on Uptown Comedy Club was pitting stand-up comedians against each other in a game of The Dozens.{{cite news |last=Leigh|first=Pressley|date=March 4, 1994|title=GET READY FOR A SNAPPY COMEBACK|url=https://www.greensboro.com/get-ready-for-a-snappy-comeback/article_0d0a0697-b85b-55d5-8a02-6a2cadcedf25.html|work=News & Record}} The audience picked the winner.