Marc Maron, David Duchovny, Ed Asner, Paul Rudd and more

BY NATE BLOOM SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT

MARC MARON’s first HBO Original comedy special, “Marc Maron: From Bleak to Dark,” will debut on the network on Feb. 11 at 10 p.m. Maron previously had (four) hit stand-up specials on Epix and Netflix.

Maron, of course, is not just a stand-up comedian, he is an actor (best known for “GLOW,” a Netflix series) and the host of an incredibly successful podcast (over 100 million listeners annually).

The one-hour special was filmed before a live audience in New York City. Maron, 59, talks about getting older, antisemitism and faith, the sudden death of his girlfriend, and his complicated relationship with his father. He also explains why cats are better than children during a pandemic.

Actors DAVID DUCHOVNY and RICHARD KIND will be the guests on the Feb.14 (7 p.m.) episode of the PBS ancestry show “Finding Your Roots.”

“Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,” an animated series, premieres on the Disney Channel on Feb. 10 (8 p.m.).

Here’s the capsule plot: Lunella Lafayette

(aka Moon Girl), a 13-year-old, is brilliant and altruistic. One day, she accidentally brings a dinosaur to the Lower East Side. The dino has the brawn to match Moon Girl’s brains and she can finally protect her community.

Like most Marvel characters, the two title characters have a decades-long comic book “history.” Suffice it to say that the characters Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur (“good” superheroes) were created by the late JACK KIRBY (born Jacob Kurtzberg) in 1978. (Moon Boy “died” in the ‘80s. Moon Girl was introduced in a new comic series in 2015.)

Ed Asner, who died in 2021, performed a one-man show “FDR” in 2014 at the New Jewish Theatre.

PAMELA ADLON, 56, and GIDEON ADLON, 25 (Pamela’s daughter). Brie (“Community,” GLOW”) is in the premiere episode. She plays “Alftershock,” an electrically charged supervillain. Brie’s mother is Jewish, her father isn’t. Brie’s husband, actor DAVE FRANCO, 37, has the same parentage.

“Up,” a 2009 animated Disney film, was a huge critical and box-office hit. The lead character was Carl Frederickson, a surly but lovable elderly guy who ties helium balloons to his house and floats to South America.

ED ASNER (1929-2021) voiced Carl and, at age 80, he soared to a new career high. Back in the ’70s, Asner won so many Primetime (acting) Emmys that he set an “Emmy-win record” that has still not been equaled or surpassed.

The guest-voice stars this season (17 episodes) include ALISON BRIE, 40, ANDY COHEN, 54, DAVEED DIGGS, 41,

His performance as Lou Grant, a gruff but lovable journalist, won him most of these Emmys (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Lou Grant”). Asner got the Carl role because the “Up” writers were inspired by the Lou Grant character when they created the Carl character. Nice circle, right?

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