Who Stole the Funny?: A Novel of Hollywood

Drawing on four decades in the entertainment industry, Robby Benson offers a satirical novel set behind the scenes of comedy television. Who Stole the Funny? follows the making of a sitcom called My Urban Buddies through a roman-à-clef structure. When the show's original director dies by suicide, director J. T. Baker takes over to bring the sitcom to completion. The novel portrays the various personalities involved in television production: writers, executives, agents, producers, and others, along with their internal thoughts and motivations. Throughout the narrative, Benson includes a Hollywood glossary with satirical definitions of industry terms and stereotypes, creating an exaggerated portrait of the competitive and often cynical world of sitcom production.