Navigating Mental Health And Reflections on Societal Divide

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.