--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What kills comedy is an absence of hard…" description: "\"What kills comedy is an absence of hard comedy commissions, traditional let's-make-every-line-funny comedy commissions.\" — Jamie Demetriou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/583/jamie-demetriou-6804_absence_what-kills-comedy-is-an-absence-of-hard_1731151.jpg" --- # What kills comedy is an absence of hard comedy… ![“What kills comedy is an absence of hard comedy commissions, traditional let's-make-every-line-funny comedy commissions.” quote by Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/583/jamie-demetriou-6804_absence_what-kills-comedy-is-an-absence-of-hard_1731151.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/583/jamie-demetriou-6804_absence_what-kills-comedy-is-an-absence-of-hard_1731151.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/583/jamie-demetriou-6804_absence_what-kills-comedy-is-an-absence-of-hard_1731151.jpg) > “What kills comedy is an absence of hard comedy commissions, traditional let's-make-every-line-funny comedy commissions.” [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comedy loses its edge without bold, unapologetic humor; safe jokes become stale. **In simple terms:** Bold jokes keep comedy alive. Key Takeaway Embrace risk in humor. Themes comedy creativity risk authenticity Mood playful provocative Type insightful inspirational When to use this quote - stand‑up writing - script development - improv workshops Key Concepts satire subversion audience engagement Questions to Reflect On - How far can you push boundaries without losing your audience? - What topics feel safest to avoid? A Different Perspective Risk may alienate some audience members. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) ## Related quotes > [It's an unknown quantity. It's actually almost a cliché to say it, how hard comedy is. What's that famous quote? "Dying is easy, comedy's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/it-s-an-unknown-quantity-it-s-actually-almost-a-clich-to-say-it-how/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [Everybody says how hard comedy is, but, when it comes time to honor things, whether it's on a weekly critical basis or whether it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-reitman/everybody-says-how-hard-comedy-is-but-when-it-comes-time-to-honor/) [Ivan Reitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-reitman/) > [It is really hard to do comedy; it takes a lot of energy and focus. It's rather like music: It's a lot of hitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/it-is-really-hard-to-do-comedy-it-takes-a-lot-of-energy-and-focus-it/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [I think comedy has a range, with multiple peaks in different areas. It's like trying to compare Beethoven and the Beatles. Sometimes I hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/i-think-comedy-has-a-range-with-multiple-peaks-in-different-areas-it/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [I think comedy is drama, often. It's hard to have comedy over a period of time - commercials are one thing, but over a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-verbinski/i-think-comedy-is-drama-often-it-s-hard-to-have-comedy-over-a-period/) [Gore Verbinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-verbinski/) > [It's hard in comedy. Everyone's like, 'Oh, I don't want to be pretty! I want to be funny.' It's such a trope, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-fineman/it-s-hard-in-comedy-everyone-s-like-oh-i-don-t-want-to-be-pretty-i/) [Chloe Fineman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-fineman/) > [You can (be a middle-aged comic) if you work very hard at it, because comedy is really hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-denton/you-can-be-a-middle-aged-comic-if-you-work-very-hard-at-it-because/) [Andrew Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-denton/) > [Hard comedy goes for the fences. It's also what you might call take-a-risk comedy because if you don't hit a home run, you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-crane/hard-comedy-goes-for-the-fences-it-s-also-what-you-might-call-take-a/) [Bob Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-crane/) > [I think that in any role you have, whether TV or film, it's hard to do comedy and drama within one story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callie-thorne/i-think-that-in-any-role-you-have-whether-tv-or-film-it-s-hard-to-do/) [Callie Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callie-thorne/) > [Hard comedy goes for the jocular. Hard comedy is basic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-crane/hard-comedy-goes-for-the-jocular-hard-comedy-is-basic/) [Bob Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-crane/) > [Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/why-does-man-kill-he-kills-for-food-and-not-only-food-frequently/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Every shot that kills ricochets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/every-shot-that-kills-ricochets/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [Making a definitive declaration of intent or meaning kills the photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daido-moriyama/making-a-definitive-declaration-of-intent-or-meaning-kills-the/) [Daido Moriyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daido-moriyama/) > [“He who kills from afar knows nothing at all about act of killing. He who kills from afar derives no lesson from life or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/he-who-kills-from-afar-knows-nothing-at-all-about-act-of-killing-he/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) ## More by Jamie Demetriou > [Ultimately I think I've just fallen into the trap over the years of putting too much pressure on something that really ultimately doesn't matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/ultimately-i-think-i-ve-just-fallen-into-the-trap-over-the-years-of/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [I'm drawn to people who don't know who they are, because I just think that's where comedy lives, in someone with an incorrect perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/i-m-drawn-to-people-who-don-t-know-who-they-are-because-i-just-think/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [Growing up in England I've lost a bit of my Greek-Cypriot essence, but it's there in my obsessive use of lemon and olive oil,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/growing-up-in-england-i-ve-lost-a-bit-of-my-greek-cypriot-essence-but/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [There's a big culture I think that kicked off with reality TV and the Brit-pop '90s in the U.K. of people being like, 'I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/there-s-a-big-culture-i-think-that-kicked-off-with-reality-tv-and-the/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [Phoebe Waller-Bridge has an insane grasp of the human condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/phoebe-waller-bridge-has-an-insane-grasp-of-the-human-condition/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [I know it's considered smug to even mention that you've left a social media platform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/i-know-it-s-considered-smug-to-even-mention-that-you-ve-left-a-social/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [If you're too focused on the future, you're not focused enough on the task at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/if-you-re-too-focused-on-the-future-you-re-not-focused-enough-on-the/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [Stath has wanted to be a dad since he was born, but has never once looked into what fatherhood entails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/stath-has-wanted-to-be-a-dad-since-he-was-born-but-has-never-once/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [I'm really excited to allow my career to go in the direction that feel rights at any given time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/i-m-really-excited-to-allow-my-career-to-go-in-the-direction-that/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [I learned from doing live shows that I could use physicality to bandage moments that weren't working very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/i-learned-from-doing-live-shows-that-i-could-use-physicality-to/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [I've always said that I don't necessarily feel stereotypically Greek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/i-ve-always-said-that-i-don-t-necessarily-feel-stereotypically-greek/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [Someone once shouted: 'We know you're acting and this isn't real' at a gig in Cambridge. I was 25, playing a 50-year-old lounge singer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/someone-once-shouted-we-know-you-re-acting-and-this-isn-t-real-at-a/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [I feel like 90% of the gags in the Muppets are to do with their mouths being not quite closed. Just permanent gormlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/i-feel-like-90-of-the-gags-in-the-muppets-are-to-do-with-their-mouths/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [Deep down I think I'm operating on a lower level than most people, based on my education, shoulder chip, blah, blah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/deep-down-i-think-i-m-operating-on-a-lower-level-than-most-people/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [I learned that characters are funniest when they don't really know what they're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/i-learned-that-characters-are-funniest-when-they-don-t-really-know/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) [Explore all 97 Jamie Demetriou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What kills comedy is an absence of hard comedy commissions, traditional let's-make-every-line-funny comedy commissions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jamie Demetriou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/what-kills-comedy-is-an-absence-of-hard-comedy-commissions/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/what-kills-comedy-is-an-absence-of-hard-comedy-commissions/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/583/jamie-demetriou-6804_absence_what-kills-comedy-is-an-absence-of-hard_1731151.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/583/jamie-demetriou-6804_absence_what-kills-comedy-is-an-absence-of-hard_1731151.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/583/jamie-demetriou-6804_absence_what-kills-comedy-is-an-absence-of-hard_1731151.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What kills comedy is an absence of hard comedy commissions, traditional let's-make-every-line-funny comedy…” — Jamie Demetriou", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jamie Demetriou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What kills comedy is an absence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/what-kills-comedy-is-an-absence-of-hard-comedy-commissions/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/what-kills-comedy-is-an-absence-of-hard-comedy-commissions/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```