Beth McCarthy-Miller

In 2004, a culture war was brewing when the Super Bowl halftime show audience saw a white man expose a Black woman's breast for 9/16ths of a second. A national furor ensued. The woman was Janet Jackson, and her career was never the same.

Tragedy + Time + Comedy = Healing. From the immediate aftermath of 9/11 to today stand-up comedians, talk-show hosts, sketch performers, television animators and other entertainers have used often-controversial jokes to unite and heal in the face of tragedy.

Bill Maher will be bringing his stand-up show to screens this summer with when he appears on stage from Tulsa in Bill Maher: Live From Oklahoma.

Multiple Grammy Award-winning singer Adele performs a special one-night only concert in New York at Radio City Music Hall. This extraordinary performance marked the artist's first concert in the U.S. since fall 2011 and her largest show in New York to date.

Maya Rudolph's take on the variety show special with guest stars in the vein of the Carol Burnett Show.

The Sound of Music Live! is a television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical The Sound of Music, starring country singer Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. Meron felt that if the telecast were successful, the concept could become "another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." By her request, Underwood's casting as Maria was personally endorsed by Julie Andrews, who starred in the 1965 film.

Blake Shelton hosts a star-studded event that includes comedy bits, performances of classic holiday songs and new music.

Daniel Tosh performs in front of a live San Francisco audience in this stand-up special for Comedy Central, and touches on topics ranging from sports and pop culture, to religion and politics.

Filmed at the New York Comedy Festival, comedian Patrice O'Neal stars in his first and only full-length stand-up special. Featuring 40 minutes of additional content not seen on television, Patrice brings his trademark absurdism and friendly yet no-holds-barred style to material on race and gender politics, relationships and more.

A look back at some of the funniest female characters and sketches in SNL's 39-year history.

Smart. Outspoken. Opinionated. Three-time Emmy Award winner Wanda Sykes is back! Reigning over everything from television sitcoms to feature films, this comedienne extraordinaire has returned in her second solo HBO comedy special, I’MA BE ME. Live from Washington, D.C. and edgier than ever, Wanda holds nothing back as she riffs on the perks of having a Black president, coming out, getting married, motherhood, aging, and twenty-first century pirates. With her trademark wit, Wanda shocks and astonishes at every turn in this feature-length special.

Amy Poehler's best Saturday Night Live sketches and performances.

Dave Attell is funnier and more outlandish than ever in his first solo HBO, special, a 60-minute concert performed in front of a live audience at The Lincoln Theater, the venerable Washington DC venue. Attell's sarcastic wit and quick-fire delivery prove why he has earned the reputation as a "comic's comic" and was dubbed one of the"25 Funniest People in America" by Entertainment Weekly. His decidedly adult brand of comedy covers everything including alcohol consumption, dating current events and celebrities, and everything else on his mind.

Jim Norton is back on HBO and holds nothing back in this 60-minute concert performed in front of a live audience at The Lincoln Theater in Washington DC. Norton, known for his straight up comedy that sometimes crosses lines no other comedians dare to cross, gives his hilarious perspectives on contemporary issues, dating, celebrities, prostitutes and much more.

Tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner, but discovers how her knowledge of the law can help others. A musical based on the novel and the film of the same name.

Star actor/comedian D.L. Hughley appears in his first solo HBO special, a no-holds-barred 60-minute routine performed in front of a live audience at The Lincoln Theater, the venerable Washington DC venue. Hughley, seen previously in Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam, keeps the crowd roaring with his hilarious take on politics, childhood, challenging your father to a fight, gluttony, impotence drugs, parenthood and more.

Well-known television personality Bob Saget -- perhaps best known for his portrayal of squeaky-clean TV dad Danny Tanner on "Full House" -- headlines an unpredictable evening of adult-flavored comedy in this raucous stand-up special. Highlights include Saget's performance of "Danny Tanner Is Not Gay," a pop parody set to the tune of the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way," and the music video "Rollin' with Saget" featuring Jamie Kennedy.

In the spirit and set up of Elvis' 1968 concert special, Shania Twain's UP! CLOSE AND PERSONAL performance was filmed in front of an intimate audience that later aired as a NBC concert event special. This unique and magical concert experience containes over 60 minutes of footage including performances of some of Shania's biggest hits and an interpretaation of the AC/DC classic "You Shook Me All Night Long," all accompanied by friends and multi-Grammy award winning Alison Krauss and Union Station.

"Up! Live in Chicago" is the third live video album by Canadian singer Shania Twain. Directed and produced by Beth McCarthy-Miller, the concert was held and filmed on July 27, 2003 at Hutchinson Field in the south-side of Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois; over 50,000 people attended. The concert itself differed from that of the Up! Tour (2003–04), featuring a different stage, setlist and production. Behind-the-scenes footage of the singer visiting local landmarks and events was filmed the same week. The concert film premiered on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) on August 19, 2003. The special was watched by over 8.87 million viewers, becoming the second-most-viewed concert film on television, behind Celine Dion's A New Day... Live in Las Vegas (2003).

The best skits from Will Ferrell's days on Saturday Night Live 1995-2002

A benefit concert and telethon organized by George Clooney and broadcast uninterrupted and commercial-free by the four major television networks just 10 days after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon to raise money for the victims and their families,

A TV special celebrating the 25th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. Before a celebrity audience, many of the former cast members and guest hosts return to perform their signature monologues and present a look back at some of the best comedy skits and musical numbers of the past two and a half decades.

Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider and Chris Farley put together this hilarious Saturday Night Live sketch celebration! With each one of their memorable characters: Sandler's Opera Man, Spade's sarcastic news commenator, Rock's Nat X, Schneider's Richard the Copy Guy, and Farley's host of the Chris Farley Show. - Written by Dylan Self

James Taylor: Live At The Beacon Theater is the documentation of an incredible live performance by soft rock singer-songwriter James Taylor. This live concert features many of Taylor’s greatest hits performed in front of an intense audience. These hits include, but are not limited to the songs Fire and Rain and Sweet Baby James from the many multiplatinum albums by this enduring artist. As a bonus in this film, Taylor also shares the stories behind his many songs and how he came to write them. He also talks candidly about his career in this fabulous performance, which is a testament to his great talent and creative abilities.

Chris Farley was one of the most popular comedians of the 1990s, thanks to his hilarious skits on "Saturday Night Live," which featured Matt Foley, everyone's favorite motivational speaker, the Chippendales dancer (alongside Patrick Swayze) and more. This program pays proper homage to Farley, who was an "SNL" cast member starting in the spring of 1990, with numerous clips and exclusive backstage footage.

Classic Saturday Night Live skits featuring the hilarious Phil Hartman.

Jon Stewart performs a solo standup routine, telecast live from Miami, Florida.

The Eagles performed live for the first time in April 1994 after a fourteen-year-long hiatus. Their reunion album’s name was in reference to Don Henley’s quote after the band’s breakup in 1980, when he commented that they would only play together again “when Hell freezes over”. Recorded at the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California for an MTV special, the live sessions produced eleven tracks for the album, including a new acoustic version of “Hotel California”.

Just under a month after the taping of the legendary 'Unplugged', Nirvana would go on to record a concert for MTV during their 'In Utero' tour........it would be their last.

A live album by American rock band Nirvana, the album features an acoustic performance recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York City on 18 November 1993, for the television series MTV Unplugged.

Unplugged is a 1993 live album by Neil Young. It contains a previously unreleased song "Stringman", that dates from 1976. The taping of the show was also released on VHS. The recording of this installment of the MTV series "Unplugged" was rife with tension, as Young was not happy with the performances of almost everyone in the band. In fact, the released version is actually the second attempt made at recording a set suitable for airing and release.

This 50-minute release features promotional videos to the band's four singles from Out of Time ('Losing My Religion', 'Shiny Happy People', 'Near Wild Heaven' and 'Radio Song') in addition to videos to the album tracks 'Low', 'Belong', 'Half A World Away' and 'Country Feedback'; an acoustic performance of 'Losing My Religion' from The Late Show; and a live acoustic performance of 'Love Is All Around' from MTV Unplugged. Also included is 'Endgame', an instrumental track, played over the feature's credits; and several avant-garde clips, ranging from ten seconds to one minute, playing in between each song. This incidental footage was directed by Michael Stipe.