25 comics who industry insiders predict will be tomorrows superstars.
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Abe began working in comedy in New York in 2014, balancing stand-up with a day job.
with guests such as Ronny Chieng, Michelle Zauner, and Stephanie Hsu.
One time, I sent somebody a PDF of my penis.
Not a dick pic, but a penis PDF.
Apeen-DF, if you will.
Read our interview with Fumi Abehere.
(His dom tells him he sounds like Michael Barbaro.)
Animation, where adorability and deadpan coincide, is Bahes natural habitat.
But for you to just refer to me as a podcast host feels like a low blow.
Read our interview with Brian Bahehere.
This is just my face, he explains inone joke.
Idothink that because I smoked so much during puberty, my face got stuck like this.
But Im not going to keep putting money into this thing.
His meteoric rise began in earnest with his viralDont Tell Comedyset, uploaded to YouTube in June 2022.
Comedy Competitionat New Yorks Latino Film Festival.
Why are you saying his name?
Proving this point, Barbosas first hourlong special,Cowabunga, drops on Netflix October 31.
Read our interview with Ralph Barbosahere.
Charlie Bardey and Natalie Rotter-Laitman (Exploration: LIVE!)
Get in there girl!
Their mutual excitement when they hit on something specific, true, and ubiquitous is electric.
The stakes are low, but their caring makes the identification important.
Its easy to see why their respective energies work together to make vague jokes feel freakishly specific.
Rotter-Laitman is constantly angry at being judged for doing things likekilling a mouseor revealing what kind ofsexual roleplayshe enjoys.
She is terminally indignant, always on the lookout for how life is trying to embarrass her.
Read our interview with Charlie Bardey and Natalie Rotter-Laitmanhere.
Sometimes, as a grown-up lady, you have to act like a little baby, she says.
Its weirdly a part of growing old.
What are you looking for?
she asks her boyfriend in her schoolgirl fantasy joke.
I moved to America this year.
I wanted to see it before it ends, she jokes in her 2023Tonight Showset.
Before the overt feminist message of this joke sinks in, she tags it with her signature giggle.
Read our interview with Sophie Buddlehere.
Read our interview with Curtis Cookhere.
They need to move.
If comedy needs its own Marina Abramovic, Davis is already here.
Read our interview with Katrina Davishere.
Anybody here plumping up these days?
Who lives with their parents?
Whos recently been through a breakup?
Its mortifying, yes, but maybe theres something cathartic about everyone laughing at themselves together.
Read our interview with Stavros Halkiashere.
Im like,Yo, God thinks Im weak.
The dictionary needs more confidence, he begins one joke in his 2019 Comedy Central set.
No one uses that word!
All of this will culminate in the release of his upcoming stand-up special, which hetapedin August.
Read our interview with Rob Hazehere.
Some in the crowd groan in pain.
Read our interview with Jordan Jensenhere.
Andrea Jin
Andrea Jin is the poster child for Gen-Z comedy.
Her relationship to the audience depends not on mutual enjoyment but on the vibe of moderate, one-sided disgust.
Read our interview with Andrea Jinhere.
Rachel Kaly
my first stand-up clip make this go viralpic.twitter.com/RpManNzQik
Judaism.
These are but some of the foundations on which so much comedy is built.
But few minds are able to combine these ingredients into a rich, humorous borscht quite like Rachel Kaly.
Read our interview with Rachel Kalyhere.
And yet Modicas performance is layered and thoughtful enough to keep it just barely in bounds.
This was so exactly that.
Read our interview with Edy Modicahere.
And, oh, nobody told you: Youre an Ooompa Loompa.
I dont know if you know this, but Oompa Loompas are Black people, okay?
Go rewatch that movie.
You realize the Oompa Loompas are the only people of color in the entire movie.
That is literally what he said.
And you cant tell me Oompa Loompa doompety doo is not a goddamn Negro spiritual.
The more Olagbaju has mastered joke logic, the more comfortable hes grown playing within its confines.
Read our interview with Opeyemi Olagbajuhere.
(This is how I figured out being gay cant be a choice, Patel said in the joke.
No one would choose to be gay if theyre already Black.
No one is doubling down on hardship.)
The incident attracted significant press.
Bucking expectations is Patels whole modus operandi as a performer.
My comedy is socially aware and willfully ignorant, hetold Vulturein 2019.
I liken it to getting the worst score possible on the SATs.
To do that, you have to know all the right answers and then choose the wrong one.
Without spoiling its ending, the closest he gets to that is this joke: I remain an optimist.
Some people say, The glass is half-empty.
I say, The sack is half-full.
Read our interview with Nimesh Patelhere.
Read our interview with Richard Perezhere.
People sometimes understand the Black experience to be one thing, hetold Splitsiderthat year.
Read our interview with Jordan Templehere.
Asha Ward
I was raised Catholic, beginsone of Asha Wards jokes.
But I feel like if God was real, white people wouldnt have access to ukuleles.
Its not just the joke that makes the line funny; its Wards air of apathy.
She portrays herself as a backseat driver in her own life present but more comfortable commenting than doing.
Read our interview with Asha Wardhere.
He memorized her number?
Whites also a canny observer of basic womanhood.
From her 2021McSweeneyspiece, Fourteen Short Obituaries for the Modern Woman, No.
Read our interview with Auguste Whitehere.
Yeah I did, okay?
I was one of Jareds soldiers.
Read our interview with Maggie Wintershere.
Wu has a hyperactive, nervous presence, vacillating between outrage, abject fear, and extreme defensiveness.
Theyre also set to lead an upcoming FX pilot written by Lauren Ludwig about queer 20-somethings confronting generational anxieties.
Being dead-set on beating Amanda Gorman at the game of life does a career good.
Read our interview with Sabrina Wuhere.
Zach Zimmerman
i tell this story in my new book!
Read our interview with Zach Zimmermanhere.
(A song inSophie Sucks Facethat takes place at Zuckers grandfathers funeralis called Its About Me.)
But Zuckers work is also particularly accomplished at creating a complete setting with multiple perspectives.
Youve gained a little weight, the boyfriend sings to her in the songs tender, soaring chorus.
Read our interview with Sophie Zuckerhere.
Zach Zucker
Let me guess: You dont find the ancient art of clowning particularly punk rock.
Because thatsexactly what happenedto Zach Zucker at Londons Just for Laughs festival this past March.
At the core of it all is Zucker, both in-character and out.
If Zucker isnt covered in sweat and/or glitter by the end of the night, youve witnessed an impostor.
Read our interview with Zach Zuckerhere.
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