Friends Like Us Friends Like Us

Subhah Agarwal and Sharon Lavigne visit friends and discuss Sharon Lavigne's battle for clean air and justice, taking on the big industries that have created Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” -- nicknamed for the above-average rates of cancer within the 85-mile stretch of communities with the highest concentration of fossil fuel and petrochemical operations in the Western Hemisphere.
Sharon Cayette Lavigne, Times voted Sharon one of the most influential people of 2024.
A native of St. James, Louisiana, boasts a distinguished 38-year career as a devoted Special Education teacher within the St. James Parish school system. In 2018, she embarked on a transformative journey by founding RISE St. James, a faith-based grassroots nonprofit dedicated to advocating for clean air, clean water, and combating the proliferation of petrochemical industries in St. James Parish. Despite humble beginnings, Sharon's vision drew around ten passionate individuals to her inaugural gathering, hosted at her residence. Transitioning to retirement in 2018, Sharon's unwavering commitment to environmental justice remains evident, guided by her principle: "To love a community is to find ways to heal the community." Her tireless dedication garnered global recognition in June 2020 when she received the esteemed Goldman Environmental Prize for her resolute activism. Adding to her accolades, Sharon received the Mary Magdalene Award for Courageous Women of Faith from the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in February 2022, followed by the prestigious Notre Dame's 2022 Laetare Medal—a testament to her invaluable contributions as an American Catholic layperson. In August 2022, the Urban League of Louisiana's Annual Gala honored Sharon Lavigne's indomitable spirit, solidifying her legacy. Amidst her remarkable achievements, Sharon remains a devoted mother of six and a cherished grandmother to twelve—a testament to the unwavering support she receives from her loving family. Sharon Lavigne's story epitomizes tenacity, passion, and unwavering commitment to the environment and community, inspiring positive change.
Subhah Agarwal has brought an honesty to her comedy that will leave you saying "I didn't need to know that." Subhah has written for Netflix’s “Arsenio Hall” limited series, the "Plan B" movie on Hulu," and The Jim Jefferies Show"on Comedy Central, amongst others. You can also catch her jokes live at stand up comedy clubs across the country. If you don't want to leave your couch, you can see her late night debut on NBC's "A Little Late With Lilly Singh." She's also appeared on season three of HBO's "Westworld", "General Hospital," TruTv's sketch comedy "Friends of the People", and as herself on MTV2, Comedy Central, and Gotham Comedy Live.
Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), TBS's The Last O.G, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Hysterical on FX, The Movie Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf.

Jon Laster and Nathan Macintosh visit friends and discuss the troubles with tech, black app for black products- BLAPP and so much more! It's a funny one... don't miss it! 
Jon Laster is known for One Bedroom (2018), No More Mr Nice Guy (2018) and The 2019 ESPY Awards (2019) and check out his new series An Astute Woman Web Series. He is the Founder and C.E.O. of Blapp. Blapp is a Google-based, geo-located app that will tell you all the Black businesses that are right around you.
Nathan Macintosh Most recently performing for his third time on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC, Nathan has also appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on CBS, Conan on TBS,  and multiple Just For Laughs Galas.
His first special, ‘Money Never Wakes’, was reviewed highly and named ‘Best Youtube Special of 2023’ by The New York Times. His newest special, ‘Down With Tech’, has been named one of the ‘5 Stand Up Specials You Should Definitely Watch’ and reviewed highly by Vulture.
Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), TBS's The Last O.G, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Hysterical on FX, The Movie Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf.
 

Kenice Mobley and Alycia Cooper visit Friends Like Us and discuss the importance of understanding systemic issues in tax codes, Mayor Adam's attack on NYC Libraries, Biden Skewers The Orange man and more with host Marina Franklin! 
Alycia Cooper Twenty-three year stand-up comic, Alycia Cooper, has always been a natural performer. A Washington DC area native, Alycia grew up in Seat Pleasant and later, Temple Hills, MD. She then went on to graduate from The University of Maryland at College Park with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Radio-Television-Film and a minor in
Theater. While in college, she fell in love with comedy by watching HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam.” There, she saw people her age who reminded her of herself performing the funniest routines she had ever seen. They were raw and uncut, but most of all hilarious. After college, she worked at BET in Washington, DC as a music television producer. Years later, after having moved to Los Angeles in hopes of creating sitcoms, Alycia tried her hand in stand-up, and was bitten by the bug.
She has been on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” BET’s “Comic View”, NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” Nuvo TV’s  “Stand Up & Deliver,” Byron Allen’s “Comics Unleashed,” TV Guide’s “Stand Up in Stilettos”, “Laff Mobb’s Laugh Tracks” on Tru TV, “Coming to the Stage” on Apple TV, and TV One’s “Who’s Got Jokes,” to name a few.
In addition to her stand-up, this comedy chameleon has appeared in the number one streaming movie on Netflix called, “Guest House” with Pauly Shore, the first scripted series on Facebook, “Loosely, Exactly Nicole,” and several network television shows; including “Kenan” on NBC, “The Parkers” on UPN, and “The Resident” on Fox where
she acted alongside Morris Chestnut. She then went on to appear in a string of independent films, voiced several characters in The Oscar Award winning film, “Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse,” all while having six top albums in heavy rotation on
Sirius Satellite Radio and iTunes. She also has her own Pandora Station. You can also check out her latest special, “Alycia Cooper for President” on Tubi. Alycia has been featured in Essence Magazine as “One to Watch.” You can find her at “The World Famous Comedy Store” on Sunset Boulevard most weekends, where her name is displayed on the wall alongside the likes of Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Marsha Warfield, and Jerry Seinfeld. She has performed in over 40 countries while entertaining our courageous men and women in uniform. She is currently writing, directing, and producing films. 
She has four critically acclaimed short films that have won awards in various festivals: “Trade”, “Just Us,” “Fat Stripper,” and her most recent comedy: “We Got Ours.”
Kenice Mobley performs stand up comedy around the world and recently made her late-night debut on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. She appears regularly on SiriusXM and is a Finalist in the StandUp NBC Competition. This year, Kenice worked on the BET Awards and By Us For Us, a sketch comedy series presented by Color of Change. She hosts Complexify on ViceNews, Love About Town, an interview and relationship podcast, and Make Yourself Cry, available on Planet Scum. 
Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), TBS's The Last O.G, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Hysterical on FX, The Movie Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf.

Mike Britt, Ashima Franklin, and Akeem Woods visit Friends Like Us and discuss the Good Times Animation, Mike Britt's new comedy special, TikTok Ban, racist/homophobic family members, and anulled marriages due to no sex. 
Mike Britt is a Brooklyn, NY-born stand-up comedian. He got his start at the Uptown Comedy Club in Harlem. Since then, He has appeared on Comedy Central Presents, BET's Comicview, VH1's Best Week Ever, and The Bad Boys of Comedy. In 2015, he's now known as the "singer" of the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt theme song. Check out his new special "Check the Mike" on 800lb Gorilla.
Ashima Franklin Originally from Alabama, Ashima Franklin has a “girl next door” personality that mixes with her no holds barred delivery to form a hilarious comedy routine that’s inspired by her real-world situations as a working “Baby Momma”. Ashima rose to fame after appearances on Showtime’s “Kattpacalypse,” having toured the country with comedian Katt Williams on the Conspiracy Theory & Development Spurt tours, and also from Bounce TVs “From the String.” She was also a writer for Russell Simmons All Def Digital which offers over 2.2 million subscribers and counting.
Akeem Woods is the funny little brother you always (never) wanted — his comedy style will have you on the edge of your seat reeling from laughter! No topic is safe from discussion, whether it be the KKK or the hardships of growing up poor. Akeem is a regular at the Comedy Cellar in NYC, was a semi-finalist on Stand Up NBC, has been seen on Kevin Hart’s LOL Network, and just recently made his television debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden! Currently, you can find Akeem working on a new show for BET and at clubs and colleges all over the country.
Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), TBS's The Last O.G, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Hysterical on FX, The Movie Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf.
 
 

Irene Bremis and Hollie Harper visit Friends and discuss Irene's new comedy special: 'Sweetie', the OJ Saga, mental health in the subway, and more with host Marina Franklin. 
Hollie Harper is a comedy nerd from South Jersey. She is currently the creator and co-exec producer of Hella Late! with Hollie Harper on BRIC TV and a co-host of the nationally trending Twitter Storytelling Chat “BlerdDating.” Hella Late! with Hollie Harper was recently in the 2021 NYC Web Fest where she was nominated as Best Actress. Hollie was a semi-finalist in the 2019 NBC Standup Competition and has been featured on NY1, and in Black Enterprise Magazine, Thrive Global, Confessional Magazine and Black San Diego Magazine. Her popular sketch comedy show AMERICAN CANDY has played the Comic Strip, Gotham Comedy Club, BAM Café as well as the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival. Time Out Chicago named them one of the five groups to watch. Hollie is a regular host for West Side Comedy Club in NYC and works with Gold Comedy and Stand Up Girls, two programs that empower young women by teaching them standup comedy. She was recently the talent coordinator and casting for “Blood Lassi” on Spotify, written by Pratima Mani, and moderated the panel for the Emmy Award winning, WOC editing team of Black Lady Sketch Show for The Black TV and Film Collective. She is also the Creative Consultant for the very successful Black Women in Comedy Laff Fest.
Irene Bremis is a seasoned Comedian who Headlines clubs and venues nationwide. She is a Sirius XM regular and co-hosts The Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch at the top of Amazon’s podcast picks. Raised in a Greek family with an autistic brother, before autism could “speak,” she rantingly jokes about her Greek upbringing, her marriage to a retired firefighter, and life’s hypocrisies. Balls out and brutally honest, Irene’s comedy has been a pillar of strength throughout her nebulous life. She unrestrainedly diffuses life’s most challenging issues through humor. Uncensored and unapologetic, her intrepidity leaves no stone unturned. Her comedy album Unladylike is on over 400 platforms worldwide. Her Comedy Special, Sweetie- produced by SNL alumni Rachel Dratch and Directed by Filmmaker Onur Tukel (Cat Fight, Summer Of Blood), is dropping everywhere in February 2024.
Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), TBS's The Last O.G, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Hysterical on FX, The Movie Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf.

Janna Pea and Marc Theobald visit Friends Like Us and discuss bringing a folding chair to the table, black people not being the boogey man, DEI Attacks, the she-economy and more with host Marina Franklin.
Janna Pea is a seasoned communications executive + recent entrepreneur. Her work has increased the visibility and influence of artists + entertainers, innovative brands + companies, philanthropies, visionary cultural organizations, and more. Pea Nation partners with clients to not simply fight for a seat at the table of representation but to create new rooms, venues, and movements where diverse change makers can transform dominant impact narratives. As a result of Janna’s work, more Black and brown Americans, women, and LGBTQ+ people are now seen and heard. From the Women’s March to the #MeToo movement to the racial reckoning of summer 2020, Janna has helped shape and define some of the highest-profile national and global events in recent history. Known for her calm navigation of crisis communications situations, Janna began her career on Capitol Hill. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Marc Theobald is a stand-up, writer, and producer known for The Last O.G. (2018), Delocated (2018), and the 2019 ESPY Awards. He has performed in a number of New York's hot spots, including the "New York Comedy Club", "Catch a Rising Star", "Stand-Up New York", and "Uptown Comedy Club", He also has been featured on "Comic View" and "The Chappelle Show". True to form, Theobald keeps the crowd in stitches with his sketch artist talents and physical style.
Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), TBS's The Last O.G, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Hysterical on FX, The Movie Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf.