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Chocolate Paninis
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Chocolate craving? Try these delicious and sinful chocolate paninis with gooey, melty chocolate.
These chocolate paninis came about as a result of reading all the food magazines in February (they make me feel hopelessly unromantic). I don't even remember the last time I made my husband a romantic dinner for two. (Do people really do this? On weeknights?)
Valentine's Day at our house, I'm sorry to say, is a family affair. We might exchange a card now an then but we're mostly opening dozens of homemade Valentines stuffed with cheap candy from all the kids' classmates, and the card my 91-year-old grandmother sends me every year with a lipstick kiss on the envelope and Hershey's Kiss tucked inside.
Last year, I made this easy Chocolate Fondue for dessert. The kids loved it and, honestly, when else are you going to make chocolate fondue? This year, I'm making Chocolate Paninis for breakfast. Not romantic, I know, but chocolate nonetheless.
What you'll need to make Chocolate Paninis
You don't need a panini maker for this recipe. The word "panini" simply means a toasted or pressed sandwich. I actually prefer to make theses paninis in the oven because a panini press smashes them too flat.
The most important thing is to start with good quality ingredients. For the bread, I like to use challah or brioche, but any good bread with a soft crust will do (once toasted, a hard crust can be difficult to eat, especially for kids). For the chocolate, I always use Ghirardelli or Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips. You can use a finely chopped baking bar as well, but I wouldn't bother because it's more work and the chips melt just fine.
How to make chocolate paninis
Begin by buttering one side of all the bread slices, then place half of the slices, buttered side down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Place the chocolate chips over the bread, then top with the remaining slices, buttered side up, to form sandwiches.
Bake in a hot oven until golden on the bottom side. Before flipping the sandwiches, use a spatula to press down on the top slice and smash the chocolate chips into gooey melted chocolate.
Carefully flip the sandwiches, and then bake until the other side is golden brown. Keep a close eye on them — they go from perfectly golden to burnt very quickly!
Let cool slightly — melted chocolate can burn — then slice and serve.
You may also like
- Easy Chocolate Fondue
- Molten Chocolate Cakes
- Bailey's Chocolate Truffles
- 15-Minute Chocolate Walnut Fudge
Chocolate Paninis
Chocolate craving? Try these delicious and sinful chocolate paninis with gooey, melty chocolate.
- 8 ½-inch thick slices from 1 loaf challah, brioche, white or Italian bread
- 3-4 tablespoons salted butter, softened*
- 4 ounces (⅔ cup) semisweet chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate, best quality such as Ghirardelli or Guittard
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Spread one side of each bread slice with about 1½ teaspoons butter and place 4 slices, buttered side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Spread about a quarter of the chocolate chips evenly on each of the 4 slices, leaving a ¼-inch border around the edges. Cover with the remaining bread slices, buttered side up.
- Bake until the bottoms of the paninis are crisp and golden brown, 7-9 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Using a metal spatula, gently press down on sandwiches to spread the soft chips into melted chocolate. Carefully turn the sandwiches over and continue baking until the bottoms are crisp and golden, about 5 minutes longer. (Keep a close eye on it; the sandwiches go from golden brown to burnt quickly!) Let cool slightly, cut paninis in half and serve.
- Note: If you don't have salted butter, use unsalted and sprinkle a pinch of salt on top of the sandwiches.
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That loaf of bread looks amazing! Do you have a recipe for that, too?
What a great idea! I have never thought of making a sweet panini. I made mine with brioche and used a mixture of semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips. I also sprinkled a little powdered sugar on the top – messy but delicious!
I want to make these for school, but I will need to make them the night before. Would that be ok with this recipie?
We loved these …but by request from the kids we added a bit of nutella — they came out perfect!
I added Nutella to this recipe and it gave it a nice nutty flavor. Not too much, but just that hint of hazelnut. It was great!
I wonder what this would be like with pound cake slices… Hmmm…
Great recipe. Keeping it on my plan if I need a quick dessert
Needing a chocolate rush I made the chocolate paninis. Filled the bill to the T! Phew they were fantastic. Thanks for the inspiration.
Also made these with nutella …simply divine
made these and added marshallow fluff, good with nutella also
I made these for dessert at my daughters' bday party and added marshmallow fluff and they were devoured
Utterly decadent. My granddaughter loves these.
I have made these a few times they are delicious!
These are addicting! It is also that perfect recipe for those "iffy" times where you want dessert, but not sure what to make. Recently, I decided I wanted to have some friends over for "happy" hour. It was kind of last minute, but I made your hummus recipe, my wings, and my daughter's avocado salsa recipe up and then, was like…well, not sure we will have dessert. I did not have time to bake. So, I bought the bread and already had chocolate chips and the salted butter. Long story short. Our guests stayed late…and we decided we wanted something sweet…and like magic I produced this and it was absolutely perfect and impressive! Thank you. Problem is, we now look for every excuse to make these. (I make sure I have the bread on hand always now!)
I tried this, and it turned out delicious for father's day. He love them.
We are empty-nesters, but I assure you I don't need our three offspring home in order to make these! Looks delicious!
These so good and simple! I make mine with some good brioche (yum) and less chocolate chips with a smear of nutella.
I make Nutella sandwiches for my kids all the time and they love it…so I thought I'd give this a try! Followed the recipe exactly the first time and my kids really enjoyed it with a glass of milk. The next few times I made it I just used Nutella and toasted it in a pan on the stove top and it turned out just as good… Though a bit more runny, but still delicious!
I'd recommend cooking it in a skillet so you can more easily monitor the sandwich so the bread and chocolate don't get burnt. Otherwise great idea! Also, I used to make something similar in one of those pocket press sandwich makers with peanut butter and chocolate chips (no butter needed because the press was nonstick) = peanut butter cup sandwich. Delish and sinful.
I made this for my boys for breakfast this past Valentine's Day. It is now our go to special breakfast treat. I added some bananas because….well….it's always nice to sneak in fruit where you can.
Now THIS is my kind of breakfast! Great idea!
I make this with Nutella and marshmallow, we love it!
Oh yeah! I am definitely going to have to make these for my kids. They are going to love them.
Looks delicious! will try this sometimes
Oh, this is a great recipe. I found that if you do not have chocolate chips nutella works great, and is just as delicious.
Finally, something my son will eat for breakfast!
This looks good and do believe the kids would love it!
Chocolatey goodness. Im thinking about adding a little nutella as well. Thanks for another great recipe!
Was a unique surprise to give my grandchildren a treat
Yum these were delicious!
I made these and OH MY! Perfect for a chocolate fix! This recipe is going to stay on my shelf for that fast chocolate fix.
Get out of town!
Chocolate Paninis. They sound sinful! Can't wait to try them.
Perfect for a quick desert.I added fresh berriers on top, raspberries were great.
Great idea! I made something very similar with nutella and bananas for Valentine's Day! Thanks for the idea!
These look absolutely delicious! Must try asap!
Wow! These look amazing. I will definitely be trying this one. Good bread is a must for paninis!
These also make a tasty afterschool treat!
chocolate heaven! cant wait to try this
Bread and chocolate, two of my favorite things! Combined for a tasty breakfast.
This post had me drooling! My husband wouldn't go for it but my 3 kids sure would! Cannot wait to make this! I bet it would be good with Nutella too!
This was great! The kids loved it too!
I am now the Mom of choice to make Saturday morning breakfast for my daughter and her girlies! This was a total hit the morning after her last sleepover! Thanks for the new badge of honor! LOL
This was delicious!
they look great! will be trying them this weekend. might cut them into quaters and have them for dessert after a light supper – just an idea.
These look fabulous! I can't wait to try them.
Once again, you woo me with your simple decadence. What better way to celebrate than with your family. You are so lucky to still have your Grandma! Love to all. Thank you.
Jenn, the romantic dinners at home start when the kids are gone to college! We do lobster and Champaigne.
Can't wait to try these chocolate paninis!!
That looks great. I make mine with nutella & fresh raspberries…so good!
Our Valentines Day is a family affair too. Just more love to share!
Romance..whats romance? Yeah, its a magazine/movie thing! Love your chocolate paninis!


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This gem of a city with its stunning historical architecture is easily explored on foot and, what's more, there are plenty of places to visit which won't cost you a penny. We happened to be holidaying in Northumberland during Summer 2019 and fancied visiting the Scottish capital on a day trip. Well, it couldn't have been easier, thanks to an efficient LNER train whizzing us up the coast to the city. We had a fab time and have listed a few of our favourite "free" things to do/see.
This is a good place to start your day's adventure because not only is it close to the train station but will afford you a spectacular panoramic view of the city before you begin exploring.
There are various paths to the top. We chose the climb near the Playhouse Theatre which took about ten minutes and returned via the other side of the hill, closer to town.
As well as the fab views at the summit, you can also explore a number of monuments scattered across the hilltop, including the unfinished National Monument, Nelson's Monument and City Observatory.
We wandered around in awe at the amazing architectural standards displayed in this building. Founded in 1124, it sits within the Royal Mile and is a must for your itinerary. Guided tours are available Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and for a fee you can join a roof-top tour during weekends. Oh, and outside your kids might enjoy becoming a highlander for a few moments – Peter certainly found it highly amusing!
This was, allegedly, the first museum in the world dedicated to the history of childhood. It must be among the biggest too, because it holds over 60,000 objects, spanning from the 18th century to current day. Overall, it's a fascinating peep into all aspects of childhood through the decades.
Whatever age, you're sure to find something which rekindles those rich childhood memories, whether it's the newest addition, Buzz Lightyear, or a Steiff Peter Rabbit toy dating back to the early 20th century.
This stretch of the Old Town runs downhill from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace. Perfectly positioned to explore many of the other museums of Edinburgh and several iconic buildings, it's the busiest tourist street in the city. Basically, it's a series of streets forming the primary thoroughfare within Edinburgh's Old Town and is, as expected, around a mile long. Not to be missed.
Situated a short walk from Princes Street, this vegan/veggie pizza restaurant has a huge range of pizzas on offer topped with both vegetable and substitute meat toppings; there is also a large pasta menu.
We sampled pizzas and pasta; both were equally delicious and very filling. Mind you, we did manage to squeeze in a dessert and were all very jealous of Peter's Nutella pizza!
This 100% vegan café is located in a basement shop near the bus station. It exudes a relaxed, friendly atmosphere with menus using local, organic and seasonal ingredients. Choose from burgers, sandwiches and an array of cakes.
While visiting Northumberland, we extended our stay and enjoyed a day trip to Edinburgh, travelling by train with LNER from Morpeth.
The train was clean, on time and whizzed by some lovely coastal scenery during the 80-minute journey.
Arriving at Edinburgh Waverley Station promptly, we were pleasantly surprised to find the central location was ideal for exploring Princes Street and the rest of the city.
Further information:
www.lner.co.uk, tel: 03457 225 333
www.novapizza.co.uk, tel: 0131 237 5695
Reviewed: August 2019

subset: commoncrawl


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We've had strange weather for the most of 2016. Even the early winter of 2017 was almost uneventful but hold on to your snow shovels! The latest storms started a couple of days ago and this last one is still adding to the three feet that's already fallen in the past 24 hours.
I had plans to refinish the wood strip canoe this winter but right now it's buried under a snowbank along with the kayak. There's still plenty of time to get that beautiful Northern White Cedar to jaw-dropping condition before the fishing season is upon us.
This year, there will be lots of canoeing and lots of fishing with many friends but my best and joyful buddy won't be joining us. Cancer finally took Woody and the days since are empty without him.
Well, I'm heading outside to shovel the truck out, get a bottle of wine, and come back to stoke the fire and enjoy a glass of that wine with cheese and a fresh sourdough bread that's just about ready to come out of the oven.
We'll ride this storm out in each others' company in the warmth from the fireplace.


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This Is the Best State for Military Retirees
If you've served your country, here's where to head for a new lease on life.
Many of us view retirement as a chance to finally live life at a slower pace after decades of hard work. But for people entering retirement following military service, the transition can often be a particularly difficult one. The average age of military retirees is 47, and many struggle with what to do next. To give our nation's heroes a better sense of where they can enjoy their post-military years the most, the financial website WalletHub released a study, comparing all 50 states along with the District of Columbia, to determine which is the best state overall for military retirees.
Many military retirees are dealing with mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder. And considering how unfriendly the job market can be to veterans—and the kind of benefits they can expect varies from state to state—not every state is a good one for life after the service. WalletHub assessed each state according to a variety of factors, including quality of life and health care, the number of job opportunities for veterans, and the presence of state help.
Virginia had one of the highest percentages of veteran-owned businesses, as well as one of the highest concentrations of veterans, making it the best state for military retirees. Additionally, the state's number of homeless veterans has been declining for years. In fact, Virginia's homeless veteran rate is one of the lowest in the countries.
After Virginia, some of the other states that provide the most comfortable life for military retirees, according to WalletHub's findings, were Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts (which was also recently named the best state for working mothers).
Overall, red states provided a better environment for veterans than blue ones, which is why it's perhaps no surprise that some of the worst states for military retirees were New York, Vermont, and Oregon. But the absolute worst place for vets was the nation's capital: Washington, D.C. had worst quality of life ranking and health care ranking for military retirees.
And for more advice on where to retire, check out The 50 Best Cities to Spend Your Golden Years.
To discover more amazing secrets about living your best life, click here to follow us on Instagram!


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In entertainment, an awful lot of stuff happens behind closed doors, from canceling TV shows to organizing music festival lineups. While the public sees the end product on TVs, movie screens, or radio dials, they don't see what it took to get there. In Expert Witness, The A.V. Club talks to industry insiders about the actual business of entertainment in hopes of shedding some light on how the pop-culture sausage gets made.
Comedian Allan Murray works, during the TV season, as a "warm-up," a title that can be applied to less than 20 people in the country at this moment. What this means is that Murray is the guy who stands in front of the live, studio audience at a sitcom taping and keeps them invested in the process of filming the program—even when the taping stretches well past midnight. What's often not known to the audience at home is that for the 22 minutes you see at home, there are sometimes five or six hours spent on a soundstage, tweaking every scene and line to make sure they're just right. The only thing standing between the show keeping the audience on its side and outright mutiny is often the warm-up (and his reliable sidekick, the DJ), who aims to keep those long gaps between scenes light-hearted and funny, then drop the audience right back into the action when taping resumes. Murray talked to The A.V. Club about his career, why people in the audience might laugh at something that doesn't play as funny on TV, and why he's made more money not to act than he has for his acting.
The A.V. Club: How did you get into this in the first place?
Allan Murray: I was doing the road as a stand-up comedian, doing clubs in Los Angeles, where they don't pay you any money, and it's more of a showcase club. Then I was doing the road, like every other comedian—going to North Carolina, Chicago, or Texas, or Indiana for a week, in the days when the clubs were Tuesday through Sunday. Then I started doing cruise ships as well, which I liked better than the clubs, because they were like mini-vacations, but even that became a little boring. Flying to Florida and getting on the ship and doing it, you're stuck for a week or two weeks, and that was at a time where you could do a ship for two weeks only. Nowadays, comedians are so hungry they'll get on for five months at a time or something and stay there.
But that got to be a little too much traveling for me, so I just thought, "How can you stay in town and be paid to be funny in a situation?" I started looking at the warm-up world. I met a guy who did it, and he said, "I might need someone to replace me at a show. It's an afternoon sitcom that I have to leave to go do Mad About You, and I need someone to take over for me. Why don't you come watch me do it a few times, get a feel for it?" I felt, in my act, when you do an hour as a headliner, a lot of it was stand-up, but a lot of it was improv, too, talking to audience members and getting laughs that way, so I thought I had a knack for it organically. So I did [the show]. It was California Dreams. I filled in that day, and then I filled in on another show, and I filled in on another show, and then I just slowly got into it.
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My first real break was the second season of NewsRadio. Paul Simms, the creator, apparently never liked any warm-up. They kept rotating warm-ups until they found someone Paul Simms liked, and when it was my shot, the assistant director or the producer that was close to Paul said, "Look, this is what Paul wants: He really wants a stand-up, not a warm-up. He wants a comedian who can really be funny. Do your own stuff up here. Keep them engaged, but do your show." So I did and that night they came up to me and said, "You got it. You got NewsRadio." It kind of blew me away. They called me the next day and offered me the rest of the season, and it was really a big thing for me. There was a moment during the show where the assistant director came up to me—this was my first night on the show—and she said, "Phil wants to say hi to the audience." So I go, "Hey everybody, how about a hand for Phil Hartman?" Pretty exciting for me, and he took the mic and he goes, [Phil Hartman voice] "Allan Murray, everybody! Give it up for Allan Murray, doing a hell of a job for us tonight!" I remember I was like… I got chills that Phil Hartman just said my name. It was very respectful, and he was just a great guy.
AVC: How many shows do you handle in a typical week?
AM: I average three shows a week. It seems I always have a Tuesday and a Friday. This season has been pretty crazy, because shows are filming on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so there were times where I had, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, which is very intense. Or it'd be like, two to three to four, let's just say that.
AVC: When you go into a taping, what do you see as your role?
AM: I'm hosting the event of a taping. The taping is the event. They're there to see the taping, and someone has to be the guy, the glue, that puts everything together. I welcome them, and I tell them goodbye at the end of the evening. I let them know what's needed from them. I engage them and keep them into the show. My goal is to make time fly, so hopefully, a five-hour taping will seem more like two-and-a-half hours. If you keep it funny and light, they just don't realize. Sometimes, people forget that you could fly to Paris instead of sitting. [Laughs.] It's like being on the tarmac forever. And the actual stuff like cast intros and that stuff, but that's the basics. It's really what comes in between. With warm-up, the scenes only take a few minutes, so the audience gets a lot of you and the producers get enough show to create 26 minutes or whatever's needed.
I think that's it: Keep them entertained the whole time.
AVC: There's so much time between scenes at tapings. The warm-up always has to keep the audience invested while also distracting them from the process of breaking down old scenes and setting up new ones. How do you keep them focused on the show when they need to be and then not focused on the show?
AM: They all know they're there to see a show, and the show's the thing. I get that, and they get that. It's as easy as a recap. The minute the bell rings [to mark another scene about to film], I say, "Remember, Jim is mad at Angela because Angela thinks Jim said she had a big mouth, and it's later that day." It's that simple. And in seconds they're back into the show. The lights go down, and they just focus again. Then, of course, if you do all the basics for this, cast bios, their history, basically their IMDB credits, and you really make sure everyone is familiar with the stars. Then for the plot, you do the recaps. You explain things like when it's on, if the show has a Facebook page, all that kind of stuff. But those details really add up to around 20 minutes. If you do your job and you explain even the writers, the director, all that stuff, it doesn't take up much time to really be thorough with that stuff. It is a balancing act. I don't understand warm-ups who get accused of not keeping it about the show. There is a blend where you can be really funny, put on a show, and also keep it about the show. Somehow, it just works out at the end.
AVC: Is there a line of what material you can or can't use in those times where you're the center of attention?
AM: Obviously, I don't curse. Although a cast member can. That's why it's kind of funny. Actually, I really love when cast members take the mic and do any kind of schtick with the audience. I love it. I think it's great. You might not want to talk about politics all night, unless it's something so basic and funny it's on everybody's mind, like when the Secret Service were caught with prostitutes. Super dark humor would probably be off limits. If I was performing midnight at the Laugh Factory, it'd be a different set than warm-up. Basically, funny is funny. Keeping it light, but doing material. I've never been much of a "Where ya from? You're from Dallas? What do you do for a living?" because you can only take so much of that before it gets a little dull. You have to have some bits.
AVC: How do you go about pulling audience members into your bits and making them characters in what you're doing?
AM: Here's a perfect example of how warm-up is really different from performing at a club: People walk in front of you. You have to really let your ego go in some ways, because you're talking, and six people walk in front of you to go to the bathroom. So what do you do? Sometimes, it becomes like street performing, because people walk by you, you can rib them a little bit. If they're super polite, they'll walk behind you, but people don't always realize that.
A lot of times people who are in the audience go to the shows a lot. I can feel if they want to be joked around with or not. I would never make fun of someone for a physical attribute. I'm not that kind of comedian. However, if they're wearing a crazy, loud, purple paisley jumpsuit, I've just got to say something. [Laughs.] People get that I'm joking, and they know your job, if you have zero edge it just gets boring. If you're just, "Have a nice day! Well, thanks for talking to us! Hey, have a seat! You're from Denver? Hey, that's great!" it's so boring. So you have to have a little edge. The DJ [Clark Chuka] and I work very well together. If someone says they're from the South, he'll do some kind of banjo riff. We have something for just about everything. But if someone looks like a real mean person or I'm getting a bad vibe, I probably won't talk to them. I'll leave them alone.
AVC: You've mentioned there are people who frequently come to these shows. Are there regular audience members at these sorts of things that you recognize?
AM: I do. When a show's a hit, like Big Bang Theory, it is a tourist destination and you get fans, people who buy their tickets in advance, and they really want to go sit at the taping. Other shows, newer shows, an audience service will provide an audience. It could be a college group, it could be a rehab group, it could be the military, it could be a fundraising group. There's always, hopefully, a bunch of people who see the website and they just really want to see a TV taping. They're at Universal Studios that day, "Would you like to go see a TV taping?" "Sure." It used to be, oh gee, it's filler groups, but I've learned to love them over the years. My whole thing is, don't complain about a group, just make that group into an awesome group. Make sure that they're having a good time, regardless of where they're from.
AVC: So much of this job seems to be working with the DJ. Has it always been that way, and what's that relationship like?
AM: NewsRadio, I had a band, no DJ. The band would play during moving-ons, and I would fill in all the other blanks. Bands have to take a break, though, of course. They can't play all the time. Then DJs just started popping up. Shows wanted a DJ and a warm-up. I really include the DJ. A lot of warm-ups, the DJ plays, then the warm-up talks. But I tell my DJ, "Let's do bits together." If I do a Christopher Lloyd impression, can you play a little soundbite from Back To The Future? If someone has glasses like Harry Potter, can you play the Harry Potter theme? It goes on and on. We write a lot on the spot, then I go home, and I'll remember some things and say, "Hey, it was really great, can you do that every time?"
AVC: So you guys are in communication to work out some of the bits?
AM: Right. It's become pretty cue heavy. It's a lot of music cues. He's inside my head. I know what he's about to do, and he knows what bit I'm going to do. I'm never a robotic warm-up. I try to really keep it as organic as I can. I always do some bits that are just killer, and I know that they're going to get a response. You need to do some surefire bits all the time. However, you also go with the flow. I don't go in the same order every night, because I find that to be redundant for me personally.
AVC: Do you ever run into hecklers or nightmare audience members?
AM: There've been a few times where some audience members are having issues that have nothing to do with me. [Both laugh.] They might be itching, or they really need a cigarette badly. Thank God, I don't get hecklers. No one has said, "You suck!" or that kind of stuff. I think a lot of that also is the same as a comedy club. I always feel like if you have something to say, if you're always doing something, if you seem like someone who is truly a funny person, hecklers will pretty much leave you alone. Nobody wants to get annihilated by the comedian, so I haven't really had a heckler in a warm-up setting in all the years I've done it. I've seen fights break out. I've seen two people fighting about something that has nothing to do with me, but no hecklers.
Here's a funny thing about keeping it about the show: There's a little bit of a wives' tale or misconception about why you've got to be really careful, don't be funnier than the show, that whole thing. So you've gotta be really careful, don't be too funny. And, in reality, on paper, that might be a thing. But the producers, the writers, the stars, they like a funny warm-up. Laughter creates laughter. There's laughter when they're not filming, and then when they say action, the laughter continues. Why? Because there's laughter in the air. I mean I've gotten calls before saying, "Yeah, we're looking for someone who keeps the audience a little more up, a little more entertained." So the whole "don't be too funny," I think—the funny warm-ups seem to work every year. It's also two different art forms. One, there's a fourth wall; one there's not. One is stand-up, and one is theater. The two can be harmonious. In all my years doing it, no one has ever said, "Can you bring the comedy down a little bit?"
AVC: You don't have to name names, but have you had shows where it was really difficult to get the audience invested?
AM: Well, sometimes the 10th take of a scene, when they overshoot a scene. What I say to showrunners is, "Take all the time you need. I got this. It's fine. Don't rush. Whatever you need to do." Sometimes they need to rewrite on the spot. That happens. Again, even on a brand-new show, I never let the ball drop: If you are enjoying the show, let us know through your laughter. You are creating a soundtrack for us, a soundtrack of laughter. But don't be crazy fake, either. One of the challenges is they'll laugh the first take. They'll laugh even more the second take, because now they're ready, they're on your side. They know where the jokes are, so second take is a slam dunk. Third, they start getting a little tired. Fourth, we've seen this. Five scenes in, oh my God, not again. But there's a little bit of a thing where audiences laugh at the same scene over and over again, because they get it's important, and it's helpful. We're working to get it right, so it's that whole teamwork kind of thing that I sell them. And I believe in it, too!
AVC: One of the things writers have always liked about doing things in front of an audience is that it lets them know when the jokes are funny. Do you ever worry you are creating an environment where the audience is biased toward laughing at stuff that's not funny?
AM: I don't necessarily say "Please laugh even if you don't think it's funny." I never phrase it that way. It's more about how laughter is important to the show. We are gauging things through your laughter. Let's put it this way: A joke might get a laugh, a really good laugh all of the time, but the writers will still do an alternative joke because they want to. They feel, hey, why not? Let's do it. So if the writers are going to change a joke, they're going to change a joke regardless of whether the audience is laughing or not.
However, there are times where the audience really doesn't laugh at a joke, and it's throwing them. This is a second-hand story, but I guess rape was in a punchline the other night in a sitcom and the audience just shut up. They didn't like it. I can see why. They changed the joke. I think that's an extreme example, but also, I've never been told not to explain the laughter bit, and if a producer said, "Just let them float but we're just trying to see what's funny tonight. Don't instruct them to laugh, and let's see what happens," I would do what they wanted. But I've yet to hear that.
Often stars of the show, producers, even directors will thank the audience for being there and let them know to laugh a lot. It's in the air whether I say it or not. For the most part, this comes in handy when the same scene is shot four times in a row. If a showrunner felt the laughs are too hot, they would tell me, and I could make an adjustment, but in all these years, that hasn't happened yet.
AVC: One of the things that irks people who work in multi-camera sitcoms is when they all get written off as having "laugh tracks." Obviously, some have laugh tracks, and some have the live studio audience. What is a good way for viewers at home to be able to tell? Or even if live laughter has been sweetened?
AM: Well, many shows do the old "Cheers is filmed in front of a live studio audience." Besides How I Met Your Mother, I don't know any other laugh-track shows. I think they're all live audiences these days. Sweetening doesn't necessarily mean adding a laugh, so much as it means sometimes people are laughing over a punchline, so they clean it up. No matter what happens, it's going to be cleaned up a little bit for sound purposes. There might be times where we could really use a little bit more of a laugh there, and I guess they do sweeten it, but there's no laugh track. As far as, "Why are they laughing at that?" that's just going to happen no matter what. I don't know. I'm like that, too. I think when you're watching a show [at a taping], it's like you're in a live audience. It's all about the show. If Two And A Half Men is on, you walk around, you're cleaning your apartment, you're doing things. Sometimes, it's just sort of a subconscious thing: hearing the jokes, being entertained, not even watching it. It's just on. Remember that when you're watching TV and you hear people laughing at something you don't find funny, they are there live with the actors. It's a heightened experience for them. When you see a rock concert on TV, you don't get up and dance like the crowd on TV is. You're probably just enjoying the music.
The writers can always tell if it's working. I just know it. I just feel, they get it. The reason why you have to explain the laughter at the get-go is, 200 people are about to watch a show live. If you don't really explain the concept of laughter, because we live in this LOL society, often, an audience will really just sit there and not even get that they're supposed to do anything. They're just going to sit there like bumps on a log. You do let them know what's needed tonight. It's not forcing; it's more a suggestion.
AVC: What are some of your nightmare stories from your many years doing this?
AM: The show was Gary Unmarried, and we had a blackout at the studio. They called the electrical company, and they said, "The lights will be on in an hour." So are we going to let the people go home? What are we going to do? So they bring me a bullhorn, a flashlight, and they want me to kill time for an hour. I give the flashlight to an audience member in the front row, and I say, "Here, keep this flashlight on my face," and I start talking through the bullhorn, and I do an hour of stand-up through a bullhorn. It was very surreal. Then the lights came on an hour later, and we went back to work. It was pretty challenging. But funny. The whole crew gave me a big round of applause.
Once I was doing this show Stacked, and a fire happened on the stage. There's a fireplace on the set, and something caught fire. Everybody evacuated. It wasn't truly a nightmare, but it was kind of interesting. It was right before the tag, the last scene, so it was pretty much a full night of work.
I do a phone bit. I'm calling someone outside the studio. I wasn't doing a fake phone call as much as I was saying, "Hi Susan, we're here at NewsRadio." I was very legit. I was upfront. "Your mom is here." "Oh, my mom's there?" "Yes, and you're in front of a live studio audience. Everybody say 'Hi, Susan!'" "Hi Susan!" So this person knew this wasn't your average phone call. There's a whole bunch of people listening to her. So then she goes, "Can I say hi to my mom real quick?" I say sure, and I give the mic to the mom. "Hi honey!" "Mom?" "Yeah?" "Jack died." [Both laugh.] And the mom goes, "Okay." I took the mic back, and all of a sudden the buzzer buzzed, we're about to get back into the scene, and it was so awkward that people did laugh because I had this look on my face. I turned white as a ghost, so that was a very weird, funny moment. And sad. Now, the good news is, I actually said to the mom, "Listen, I'm so sorry. I couldn't see that coming in a million years. I apologize." She said, "It's okay. It's not a big shock." I don't know who Jack was. Maybe Jack was a dog. I'll never know. [Laughs.] But it was a really funny moment in time.
AVC: What have been your favorite shows? What have been some dream shows to work on?
AM: You know what's a fun show? I do The Exes, a TV Land series, and that cast is so nice and so wonderful. Each one of them takes the mic and does comedy for the audience and schtick. They take questions. Donald Faison will get up there and dance and sing, and Kristin Johnston's a riot. There's something so communal about that show that it's really become one of my favorite shows to warm-up. I like all of them.
The funny thing about a show is, they go, what if you hate the show? I get asked that all the time. "What if you think the show's not funny?" And I go, "You know what, I just do my job." I think all multi-cameras are wonderful. I do. For me, sometimes, I've done some shows where the audience might not know where to laugh. There's a few shows that aren't on the air anymore where they were really trying to stay away from jokes. I know that seems kind of crazy to say, but they were trying to stay away from conventional setup/punchline dialogue, and they were just more about rambling and talking a lot. Maybe it's going to be funny at one point because the characters are kind of quirky or snarky. And the audience would very pleasantly sit there and listen to it, and once the producers said, "Why aren't they laughing?" And I didn't know what to say. Immediately my brain went to this one joke that was from earlier and said, "Well, they kind of laughed at that line." [Laughs.] I think later I said, "I think they just don't really know when to come in sometimes."
You do have to get a rhythm with the audience and most shows do, most shows have it, but the old saying, "If it's not on the page, it's not on the stage." That's why you're doing a multi in the first place. Also, I think sometimes with newer shows, the audience doesn't know the characters. You're watching Friends, and Ross says, "You've gotta be kidding me." He gets the laugh because, not necessarily what he's saying is funny, but Ross is saying it, and we all know him by now. So the newer shows have to be more careful that they're not in that mindset of who these people are. I have my work cut out for me a little bit more on those shows, but it doesn't happen very often. The shows love humor, and you can see the jokes on the page. They know where the laughs are going to come, hopefully.
AVC: You have a few talk shows and game shows on your resume. Is that experience any different?
AM: It's completely different. It really is. I don't do them very often. It's another world. Here's something kind of kooky: A whole group of guys I don't even know work that world, and I don't. There's the sitcom guys and the game shows or the talk shows. I like sitcoms. I like stories. I like characters. I like to see the story unfold. I like the experience of a sitcom. Also, you're in the audience with the audience. When you do a game show, it's always kind of weird. You bump into people. People say to move. It's sort of a mess sometimes. The things on my resume that are those shows are from a long time ago. Not that I wouldn't do one if it came my way. I'm just pretty much known as a sitcom guy right now. It's another animal.
AVC: With the other sitcom warm-ups, are there intense rivalries?
AM: Here's an interesting mantra that I tell myself lately: It's not as much about the other sitcom guys. There was a time when I started doing it, and everyone in show biz was like, "Don't! You'll be labeled a warm-up. Blah blah blah." It just felt like a good idea to go in this direction. The thing is, buddies that I started with, some do the cruises still, some are doing corporate gigs, some are still doing what's left of the road, because the road really changed. It's not the road it once was. Some guys quit stand-up altogether. We all end up somewhere. One of the top warm-up guys in town is 62. I almost feel like it's the one thing in show business where they don't push you out, no matter how old you get. If you can show up and do the job, you're in. It's very strange. So I'm happy that I went down this path, because there's a longevity to it. I don't have to cold call, I just get calls from these shows. I guess there's some short list out there. There's like four top guys doing all the shows. I know it seems a little monopolizing, but it's just the way it ends up. I'm lucky and happy to be in that top four. And what other career in show biz can you say there's four other guys doing? [Laughs.] That's what's so weird about it: You really have to trust the warm-up. You hear this guy's voice all night long from the get-go. They've got to like you. They can't get sick of you.
I once got a call from a show, and they go, "We've had the same warm-up for a really long time. We want someone new." That was all they said. Like, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." "No, we're just sick of him." You never know what's going to happen. And there are some guys who, when I first started they were those top guys, and they're gone. I don't know where they are. It's a very weird thing. Is there a rivalry? There might be a little bit. It's not evil. The way the landscape has been for the last seven years or so, there's enough shows for everybody. We're all working right now.
AVC: Is there intense competition for those jobs? It sounds like you guys just get the call and then you're there. Do you follow each other's careers?
AM: Here's something that a lot of people might not know: We hear each others' names a lot, the same guys. "You're doing this show; so and so is doing that show." "Who got that show?" "Oh, that guy got that show." But we don't see each others' acts. It's impossible. We just know each other by name. We might hear things about the acts, but we don't really see, because we all work on the same nights. When you're done with one of your shows, even if someone else is doing another show on the same lot, the last thing you want to do is go watch a show. You've had it. People think we know each others' acts really well, but we don't. We all have different energy levels. We're all different in many ways.
AVC: TV comedy has increasingly moved away from multi-camera, but now it feels like there's been a resurgence of it. Has that worried you at any point?
AM: Luckily for me, there was only one year where the stars just did not line up; everything was super heavy on reality shows and single camera. It might have been '06. Something kooky happened when I realized, "Wow, I don't have any sitcoms this year." So there's one season without, and other shows found me—like Megan Mullally had a talk show, and I did some other shows. So I was okay, but it was a weird season. YouTube was kind of a newish thing, and I created a Paris Hilton spoof that got 32 million hits, so luckily, my creative juices went to something else at the time. And the next thing you know, warm-up just came back the next season. Often producers who really love you and trust you and think you're the guy, the reason you didn't get calls that season is because they don't have a show. That's just show biz. That's just the way it works.
The multis are back. Sometimes the single-camera shows might be darlings of the critics, but people still want to hear people laughing at a show. That's just the way it is. I guess reruns of shows like Still Standing were getting better numbers than some single camera shows, so show business isn't dumb. They will give people what they want at the end of the day. That's why multis are really happening a lot now. I work in them so much I don't always watch them at home. The thing about multis is people love to say they never watch them, it's a weird, "Oh, I don't watch that show." But maybe that's just because I live in Los Angeles.
You know what's funny? Sometimes it's sad when a show ends abruptly. Like, wow, that barely got off the ground.
AVC: You talked a lot about how being a good stand-up made you good at warm-up. How do you think doing warm-up made you better at doing stand-up?
AM: There's some warm-ups that didn't have much of a stand-up background. They fell into warm-up in other ways. Once in a while I'll hear, "We like you because you're funny. We saw this other show last week where the guy didn't really do much." I guess I'm creating a little rivalry right now, but I'll say it anyway. You hear things like, "Wow, you have some stuff to say! You're doing some bits!" And that makes me feel good that they take away a lot. If a warm-up is doing nothing, then the energy dies between the scenes. What's sad is, even if they like the show, because the warm-up is so boring, they end up kind of turning on the show. They won't enjoy the show because they're just bored.
If you're at a comedy club, you don't want the guy before you to just bomb. You don't want him to just suck the life out of the room and just eat it. You want someone who's good. You shouldn't be afraid to follow anyone who kills either. If someone kills in front of you, and you walk up and are like, "God, how can I follow that?" you might not be as good as you can be. If someone kills in front of you, just get up and keep it going. Keep the comedy going. You'll be so surprised that, "Hey, the audience likes me, too!" There are times at the Laugh Factory where Dane Cook would go up before me and he'd just rip them a new one, and some comedians go, "Ha, ha. Good luck following that." Well, it's your job to follow it. Who cares? Get up and be funny. Next thing you know, they like you, too. The same goes for warm-up. If the warm-up is afraid to be funny, he can ruin a show. A quiet warm-up, a whispery warm-up, can kill a show. That's normally when I, or someone with more pizzazz, might get a call.
I was asked to fill in at Mad About You, one of my first gigs. As a matter of fact, I don't even think I had NewsRadio yet. This was very new to me. I was still a new guy. They didn't tell Paul Reiser that there was a new warm-up, and I started off fine, but Paul got so worried that next thing you know, when it came back to me after a scene, music was playing. This was a time before a DJ. The sound mixer was in charge of music, so he was playing songs, really loudly. I was trying to give him the "I'm trying to talk" signal to turn down the music and then I was like, "How can I get the crowd on my side? How can I do any bits if the music is blasting?"
So then the AD came up and said, "Paul wants music." And I go, "Okay." "Paul wants a lot of music tonight." "Okay." Then the scene goes again, then it goes back to me, "Big round of applause everybody! Anyways…" next thing you know the music is blasting again. So I said to the AD, "How can I talk?" "Paul wants a lot of music." So I got let go. I was supposed to do the following week, they said, "Yeah, we don't want you for next week." I said, "Well, I have to tell you. That's fine. That's your choice. However, if I was allowed to do my thing, I think you would have been pleasantly surprised. I could have got people going and done bits with them or whatever." So that was a little bit of a nightmare for me. [Laughs.] It hurt. But a lot about a warm-up at the beginning is pretty rough. You really have to take your lumps and deal with some kooky things like that. But that was a rare case.
AVC: What are you working on right now, if people want to see your work and they're in the Los Angeles area?
AM: I'll be doing The Exes again next season. I just wrapped on Kirstie, Dads, Mom, The Exes, Ground Floor, Undateable. I did Sean Saves the World, but that's canceled. And right now I'm in that stage where I'm in the process of doing four different pilots. Mom's coming back. The Exes is starting in late June. Those are my for-sure shows. Everything else is waiting to hear the word. [After this interview was conducted, Murray added Last Man Standing and Cristela to his fall season slate.—ed.]
The pilot scramble is always pretty funny. The pilot scramble is when everyone hears what shows are picked up, and the phone starts ringing off the hook and different shows, "We're a Tuesday show." "We're a Friday show." "We're a Wednesday show." You have to make decisions and let people know what you need. It's pretty fun. A lot of shows are very generous and they want you to warm-up their show, so they put a guaranteed guest-starring role in your contract, which I love. And if they don't get to your role for some reason, if for some reason it just wasn't the right fit, they pay you anyway. I've actually gotten more money not to act in Hollywood. [Laughs.]


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MENA execs warn of online piracy threat
January 21, 2015
By Colin Mann
Industry executives have spoken out against the threat of online piracy to pay-TV operations in the MENA region.
Participating in a panel session at IBC Content Everywhere in Dubai on how the MENA TV industry is adapting to the Content Everywhere revolution, Abdul Hadi Al Sheikh, executive director of television at Abu Dhabi Media, stressed the importance of educating viewers of the impact of illegally streaming content. "Internet providers can do more on the issue and block pirated content but, at the end of the day, we need a cultural change in the mindset of people in the region," he averred. "Regulators can also play more of a role but, unfortunately due to the nature of the situation in the region, I don't think it is a high priority for many counties," he suggested.
David Butorac, the chief executive of OSN, sought to dispel the misconception that illegally downloading premium content or streaming live sport was a victimless crime. "That is not the case," he stated. "If you look at the fact that it costs about US$120 million to produce the Netflix series House of Cards, then the company needs to get a return on that investment otherwise, what is the point of making more content?"
He called on video-sharing site YouTube to do more in terms of IP protection. "You don't get pornography on YouTube because it is blocked. The same should be done to prevent other intellectual property, like Hollywood films being shown."
Khalifa Al Shamsi, chief digital services officer for Etisalat, echoed Abdul Hadi Al Sheikh's comments. "There is a real need for the industry to educate people," he declared, revealing that every morning during the ongoing Asia Cup football tournament, he received WhatsApp messages with links to where people could watch games illegally. "I replied to my friend telling him this is wrong and to watch it through beIN Sports but he said it was easier to just stream it from elsewhere. That is the kind of attitude we need to change," he asserted.