Funny is hard to choose. Search for comedy podcasts and you get thousands of them, all promising a good time. As a full-service podcast production agency, we also look at how they’re made.
So we grouped seven favorites by format and mood, using their live Apple Podcasts listings. The table below should help you find a first episode in under a minute.
How we picked these comedy podcasts
Our filter was simple: no live Apple page, no entry. For each show we noted the host, publisher, episode count, rating and recent episode lengths.
We didn’t try to crown the funniest show, because funny is personal. Instead, we sorted by format. A brilliant two hour show is the wrong choice for your 20 minute commute.
Every show here is marked Explicit on Apple. Listening at work or with kids nearby? Use headphones and preview an episode first.
We also paid attention to how each show is made. Keeping jokes landing for an hour, week after week, takes craft, and we share a few of those lessons near the end for anyone curious.
The quick comparison
| Show | Who makes it | Typical episode | Episodes on Apple | Format |
| Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend | SiriusXM Podcasts, Team Coco and Earwolf | About 24 minutes to just over an hour | 748 | Guest conversation |
| SmartLess | SiriusXM Podcasts, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett | About 55 minutes to 1 hour 6 minutes | 384 | Mystery guest, improvised chat |
| Comedy Bang Bang | SiriusXM Podcasts, Earwolf, Scott Aukerman | About 1 hour 17 minutes to 1 hour 33 minutes | 161 | Interview with games |
| My Brother, My Brother And Me | Maximum Fun, the McElroy brothers | About 55 to 59 minutes | 850 | Comedy advice show |
| How Did This Get Made? | SiriusXM Podcasts, Earwolf | About 41 minutes to 1 hour 16 minutes | 410 | Bad movie panel |
| Office Ladies | Audacy, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey | About 48 minutes to 1 hour 46 minutes | 497 | Deep dive into one sitcom |
| Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard | Wondery, Dax Shepard and Monica Padman | About 42 minutes to 2 hours 11 minutes | About 1,100 | Long, personal interviews |
Counts, ratings and lengths come from the Apple Podcasts listings as of October 29, 2026, and lengths reflect the recent episodes listed. They move weekly, so read them as rough scale.
The seven comedy podcasts
1. Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Conan O’Brien uses the show to hang out with the people he enjoys most. It has 748 episodes on Apple, a 4.8 rating from more than 58,000 ratings and an Explicit tag.
The show lives in the gap between a polished TV interview and a loose chat. Its Apple description promises none of the limits of his television work. Recent full episodes run about an hour, with shorter ones around 24 to 35 minutes.
Best for: you, if you like celebrity conversation with a dry, self-mocking host. It’s a weaker fit if you want fast, scripted jokes. Listen on Apple Podcasts.
2. SmartLess
Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett run a simple trick. One host reveals a mystery guest to the other two, and the conversation that follows is improvised. It has 384 episodes on Apple and a 4.6 rating.
Episodes sit between roughly 55 minutes and just over an hour, so the show is easy to plan around. It updates weekly, and SiriusXM Podcasts+ offers new episodes a week early and ad-free.
Best for: banter between friends and a guest who’s surprised. Skip it if you want a deep dive on one topic. Listen on Apple Podcasts.
3. Comedy Bang Bang
Scott Aukerman interviews celebrity guests like Jon Hamm and Bob Odenkirk. The show’s open-door policy also brings in eccentric characters who chat and play games. It has run since 2009 and has led to spin-off podcasts, a New York Times bestselling book and a TV series on IFC.
Recent episodes run about 1 hour 17 minutes to 1 hour 33 minutes, so it needs a real time slot. The humor comes from odd visitors and games more than from a plain interview.
Best for: fans of offbeat characters and games. It’s a harder first listen if you want a straight talk show. Listen on Apple Podcasts.
4. My Brother, My Brother And Me
Griffin, Justin and Travis McElroy dish out free advice as “the world’s most qualified, most related experts.” It has 850 episodes on Apple, a 4.9 rating and a new episode every Monday.
Recent episodes run 55 to 59 minutes. The show has run since 2010, so the back catalog is huge. Start with a recent episode and go back only if you like the tone.
Best for: people who love running jokes and brotherly chaos. It’s less useful if you want advice you can actually follow. Listen on Apple Podcasts.
5. How Did This Get Made?
Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas watch and discuss bad movies, from box office flops to 1980s action films and Lifetime thrillers. Guests join now and then.
It has 410 episodes on Apple, with new releases on Fridays and classic episodes re-released on Tuesdays. Recent episodes range from about 41 minutes to 1 hour 16 minutes.
Best for: movie fans who enjoy picking things apart. You’ll enjoy it more if you’ve seen, or at least know, the film in question. Listen on Apple Podcasts.
6. Office Ladies
Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, co-stars of The Office, give The Office “the ultimate deep dive.” It has 497 episodes on Apple.
Alongside the episode deep dives, the hosts run Second Drink rewatch episodes and themed episodes with guests. Recent episodes run from about 48 minutes to 1 hour 46 minutes.
Best for: anyone who loves the sitcom and wants the story behind each scene. It makes little sense if you’ve never seen the show. Listen on Apple Podcasts.
7. Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Dax Shepard and Monica Padman talk with guests about their lives, with a focus on the messy, human parts of the story. It has about 1,100 episodes on Apple and a 4.6 rating.
Recent episodes run from about 42 minutes to 2 hours 11 minutes. The show also airs Armchair Anonymous episodes where the hosts talk with listeners.
Best for: you, if you want long, personal interviews with a funny edge. It’s the longest pick on this list, so plan your time. Listen on Apple Podcasts.
Which comedy podcast fits your mood?
| If you want… | Start with | Why | Skip it if… |
| A celebrity chat with a dry host | Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend | Short and long episodes, easy to dip into | You dislike interview shows |
| Easy banter on a commute | SmartLess | Predictable length near an hour | You want scripted jokes |
| Offbeat characters and games | Comedy Bang Bang | Eccentric visitors and games | You want a plain interview |
| Running jokes and chaos | My Brother, My Brother And Me | A deep back catalog | You want real advice |
| Movie fun | How Did This Get Made? | A clear topic each week | You have not seen the film |
| Comfort listening for a sitcom fan | Office Ladies | A deep dive into one sitcom | You have not seen The Office |
| A long, personal interview | Armchair Expert | Time to go deep | You only have 20 minutes |
Comedy podcast formats: which kind fits you?
Comedy shows come in different shapes, and the shape changes how you listen. Here’s how these seven break down:
- Interview: Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend and Armchair Expert. A host talks with one guest, and the laughs come from the exchange.
- Improv and games: SmartLess is improvised, with a mystery guest. Comedy Bang Bang invites eccentric visitors to chat and play games.
- Advice: My Brother, My Brother And Me answers questions with jokes and rarely with answers.
- Panel: How Did This Get Made? has several comics pick apart one bad movie.
- Deep dive: Office Ladies goes deep on one sitcom, The Office.
People often pick the wrong show because they pick the wrong format. If you love quiet conversation, you may bounce off improv, and if you love absurd characters, a plain interview may feel flat. Choose the format first, then the show. On a short commute, start with the shows that have shorter episodes in the table above.
Before you press play: rating, length and release day
All seven are marked Explicit on Apple Podcasts, so none of them is a kids’ pick. Use headphones if others are in the room. Recent episodes run from about 24 minutes (some Conan O’Brien episodes) to 2 hours 11 minutes (Armchair Expert), so on a 20 minute commute, skip Armchair Expert’s longest ones. Most of these update weekly. Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend posts twice a week, My Brother, My Brother And Me posts on Mondays, and How Did This Get Made? posts new episodes on Fridays and classics on Tuesdays.
Apple star scores in the 4.6 to 4.9 range all look alike. A score tells you fans like a show, not that you will, so use length and format to decide and the score as a tiebreaker.
What makes comedy podcasts work: format, chemistry and cadence
These shows all run on the same three parts. The first is format: each has a repeatable shape, whether that’s a SmartLess mystery guest, a bad movie on How Did This Get Made? or one sitcom episode at a time on Office Ladies, so you know what you’ll get. The second is chemistry, since several are built on hosts who are friends, co-stars or family, and you’re eavesdropping on a relationship. The third is cadence. Most update weekly, some add a second slot for classic re-releases, and that regular timing builds a habit.
Length doesn’t seem to matter much. Recent episodes on this list range from about 24 minutes to more than two hours. What they share is a promise that stays the same from week to week.
If you make a show of your own, comedy or not, that’s the part worth borrowing: a repeatable shape a listener can describe in one sentence.
For podcasters: three comedy habits not to copy
If you’re making a show yourself, these are easy habits to pick up from comedy podcasts and hard ones to pull off:
- Leaning on inside jokes: A show relies so heavily on running jokes that a new listener feels shut out. Comedy veterans can get away with it. A new show usually can’t.
- Running a guest parade: Every episode is a famous guest with no shared theme. Listeners come for the guest and leave when the guest is gone. Give the show a point of view.
- Going long with no map: Long episodes are fine when the listener knows what to expect. Without chapters or a clear shape, a two hour episode feels like a chore.
Making a show for a business? Our guide to B2B podcast best practices covers formats that work for business audiences.
Why video is changing how comedy podcasts reach people
Video now shapes how people find podcasts. Edison Research’s top findings of 2025 put the share of Americans 12 and up who have taken in a podcast as audio or video at 73%. Also, 52% count YouTube-only discussion videos as podcasts.
YouTube also said in February 2025 that more than 1 billion people watch podcasts on its platform each month, as of January 2025. The company didn’t define the term, so treat the number as a signal, not a precise count.
For a comedy show, video can matter because facial reactions are part of the joke. Video also gives any show short clips to share on social. A good editing process turns one recording into several formats.
What the best comedy podcasts get right about production
Comedy is a timing business, and timing is an editing job. A pause that’s too long kills a joke, and a cut that’s too tight makes a conversation feel rushed.
Clean audio keeps the listener in the room. If a guest sounds thin or distant, the laugh doesn’t land. A good recording workflow, such as how to record a podcast with local backups, protects the material before editing begins.
Planning your own show? A production partner can help with strategy, recording and editing, so your team can focus on the talking. Our podcast launch service can help you get started.
What we can’t tell you
We can’t tell you which show will make you laugh. Taste in comedy is personal. Apple’s ratings show how fans scored a show, not how funny it is, and the listings change weekly.
Our advice: pick two shows from the table that fit your mood and your commute, listen to one recent episode of each and keep the one you’d play again.
Enjoyed these? Our other lists cover true crime podcasts and history podcasts, grouped the same way. If you’re budgeting a business show, see our cost breakdown.
Conclusion
The best comedy shows share three things: a format you can describe in one sentence, hosts with real chemistry and a steady schedule.
Pick one show from the table and listen to a recent episode tonight. If you’re planning your own show, book a call and we’ll map the format with you.
