Comedy UP

Mekki Leeper is a comedian and writer from Philadelphia now living in Los Angeles. He plays Eric on Mindy Kaling’s HBOMax show The Sex Lives of College Girls. His Comedy Central digital special Control Room is streaming now. He’s written for Comedy Central’s Crank Yankers. His standup has been featured on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Just For Laughs: New Faces, Comedy Central’s Up Next, and he was named a Comedian You Should Know by Vulture in 2018. He wrote for the 2017 White House Correspondents Dinner, and Crooked Media’s Lovett or Leave It. He’s performed at Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and headlines clubs around the country.

Amy Silverberg is an author and comedian based in Los Angeles, America. On the screen, her standup comedy has been on Amazon Prime, Comedy Central and Hulu. Currently, Amy runs the show named What Now on the Hollywood Improv. People recognize her for the works that appeared on famous publishers like The New Yorker, The Paris Review, TriQuarterly, The New York Times, The Los Angeles, The Southern Review, etc.

Joseph James Rogan is an American UFC color commentator, podcaster, comedian, actor, and former television presenter. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast in which he discusses current events, comedy, politics, philosophy, science, and hobbies with a variety of guests. Rogan was born in Newark, New Jersey, and began his career in comedy in August 1988 in the Boston area. After relocating to Los Angeles in 1994, he signed an exclusive developmental deal with Disney and appeared as an actor on several television shows, including Hardball and NewsRadio. In 1997, he started working for the UFC as an interviewer and color commentator. He released his first comedy special, I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday..., in 2000 and hosted the game show Fear Factor from 2001 to 2006. After leaving Fear Factor, Rogan focused on his stand-up career and hosted more comedy specials. He launched The Joe Rogan Experience in 2009; by 2015, it was one of the most popular podcasts in the world, regularly receiving millions of plays per episode. Spotify obtained exclusive distribution rights to The Joe Rogan Experience in 2020 for US$100 million.

Russell Dominic Peters is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and producer. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and won a Gemini Award in 2008. In 2013, he was number three on Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid comedians, and became the first comedian to get a Netflix stand-up special. He also won the Peabody Award and the International Emmy Award for Best Arts Programming for producing Hip-Hop Evolution (2016). He lives in Los Angeles. Peters began performing in Toronto in 1989. He has since gone on to perform in several countries. In 1992, Peters met American comedian George Carlin, one of his biggest influencers, who advised him to get on stage whenever and wherever possible. Peters said he "took that advice to heart, and I think that's the reason I am where I am now." In 2007, 15 years later, he hosted one of Carlin's last shows before the comedian's death the following year. On September 28, 2013, Peters was awarded the 2013 Trailblazer award by the Association of South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment (ASAMME) for good contributions to comedy. He is among the first South Asians to achieve international success in the field. In 2017, Peters made an appearance on Top Gear America in the third episode of season 1 as one of the guests. According to Forbes, Peters earned an estimated $15 million between June 2009 and June 2010, continuing his run as one of the highest-paid comedians, after earning an estimated $5 million the prior year. Forbes ranked him as the third-highest-paid comedian. In 2013, he earned $21 million, according to Forbes' estimate.

Hannibal Amir Buress is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He started performing comedy in 2002 while attending Southern Illinois University. He starred on Adult Swim's The Eric Andre Show from 2012 to 2020, and was featured on Comedy Central's Broad City from 2014 to 2019. He is also known for bringing Bill Cosby’s sexual abuse of women back into the public spotlight during a stand-up routine. Buress began his stand-up career at an open mic in 2002. He has been featured in The Awkward Comedy Show special on Comedy Central, and alongside comics Baron Vaughn, Eric André, Marina Franklin, and Victor Varnado, and on the FX sitcom Louie. From 2012 to 2020, he co-starred as Eric André's sidekick on The Eric Andre Show. In July 2010, Buress made Variety magazine's "Ten Comics to Watch in 2010" list. His first stand-up comedy album My Name is Hannibal was released on July 27, 2010. Buress was a writer on Saturday Night Live from 2009 to 2010. He left with only one of his sketches having aired. In September 2010, he began writing for the fifth season of the NBC comedy series 30 Rock. He left after six months, although he continued to portray various characters on the show for 9 episodes from 2010 to 2012 such as "Gus", "Homeless Guy" and "Bum". He released his second album, Animal Furnace, in 2012, which also aired as a special on Comedy Central. The album received positive reviews. His stand-up comedy has been featured on Comedy Central programs such as Live at Gotham and John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show. He has also performed on several late night talkshows such as The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Lopez Tonight, Russell Howard's Good News, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, and Conan. Additionally, he performed a set at the 2012 Secret Policeman's Ball at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. An hourlong Comedy Central show, Hannibal Buress Live from Chicago, aired on March 29, 2014. He used to host a weekly stand-up comedy show at The Knitting Factory on Sunday evenings in Brooklyn, New York. In October 2016, Buress began a podcast called Handsome Rambler. Buress played Coach Wilson in the 2017 Marvel movie Spider-Man: Homecoming. Buress paid a lookalike who didn't look like him to attend the film's premiere in his place, because he was busy with the film Tag. He got in contact with the lookalike when he did a video for the MTV Movie Awards. On February 8, 2020, he appeared on The Bob Ross Challenge, painting for the first time, coming up with the art nickname 7. He had a comedy special for Cornell University via Zoom on April 17 at 9 pm exclusive to the students. Buress was one of many collaborators on 'Foam and Flotsam,' a comedy album by Chelsea Peretti about coffee. The EP was released on April 21, 2020. On April 30, 2020, he released a single called Judge Judy, paying homage to the series of the same name after it was announced that the show would end in 2021.

Gabriel Jesús Iglesias, also known as Fluffy, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has produced a number of stand-up specials for television outlets such as Comedy Central and Netflix, including I'm Not Fat… I'm Fluffy and Hot & Fluffy. As an actor, he has appeared in numerous live-action and animated TV shows and films, including starring in the sitcom Mr. Iglesias on Netflix, playing Tobias in the 2012 movie Magic Mike and its 2015 sequel, and providing the voice of Speedy Gonzales in Space Jam: A New Legacy. He was also the host of the shows Stand Up Revolution on Comedy Central and Fluffy's Food Adventures on Fuse. In 2018, Iglesias was one of the top 10 paid comedians in the world. Iglesias worked for a cell phone company in Los Angeles and in 1997 went into comedy full-time, though it resulted in him being evicted from his home and losing his car. Iglesias often references his weight in his comedy, often saying, "Oh, I'm not fat, I'm fluffy", elaborating that there were five levels of fatness, "Big", "Healthy", "Husky", "Fluffy", and "DAMN!!!"[7] In 2009 he added a sixth level, "Oh hell, no." In 2000, he appeared in the sixth season of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That, co-starring with Amanda Bynes and Nick Cannon. Iglesias was a contestant on the fourth season of reality TV series Last Comic Standing in 2006, surviving elimination to become one of the final eight comics. He was disqualified at that point for having used a smuggled BlackBerry to communicate with family and friends, which violated the rules of the show. In 2007, Iglesias voiced an entire Mexican family in "Padre de Familia", a sixth season episode of the Fox TV animated comedy Family Guy. That same year, he began voicing a recurring set of identical twin characters on The Emperor's New School, a Disney animated series that he describes as his favorite voice work. In 2011, Comedy Central debuted Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution, a stand-up series that Iglesias produced and hosted, running for three seasons before ending in 2014. Iglesias hosted/co-hosted six episodes of Equals Three, and played a strip club DJ and drug dealer in the 2012 film Magic Mike. Iglesias voiced Ned and Zed in the 2013 DisneyToon Studios film, Planes.[10] He also voiced characters in the animated films The Nut Job (2014)and El Americano: The Movie (2016). Iglesias is featured in the reality series Fluffy Breaks Even, which premiered on Fuse on October 1, 2015. The show was renamed Fluffy's Food Adventures upon its third season renewal in January 2017. From 2019 to 2020, he played Gabe Iglesias, in Mr. Iglesias, a Netflix original series about a teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. In 2021, he voiced the character of Speedy Gonzales in the film Space Jam: A New Legacy and Picchu in Maya and the Three. Iglesias’ comedy influences are Paul Rodriguez, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, and Bill Cosby.[15] He is known for his trademark Hawaiian shirts. Regarding how novice comedians can widen their fan base, Iglesias stated in a January 2016 interview. In the beginning, work as clean as you possibly can and stay away from topics that could be controversial or offensive. For example, don’t talk about politics, don’t talk about religion. Stay away from sports. Talk about things that are relatable to everyone. The more relatability you have, the bigger the fan base you’re going to have.

Sebastian Maniscalco is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has released five comedy specials. Maniscalco has also had supporting acting roles in the films Green Book (2018) and The Irishman (2019), playing mobster Joe Gallo in the latter. In 2005, he began performing regularly at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, California. Maniscalco cites Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, Brian Regan, John Ritter, Johnny Carson, Andrew Dice Clay, Bill Burr, and Don Rickles as comedic influences. Since then, he has done a half-hour for Comedy Central Presents and five hour-long specials. His first special, Sebastian Live, was released on June 2, 2009. His next three specials were aired on Showtime, with What's Wrong with People? released on January 5, 2012, Aren't You Embarrassed?, taped in Chicago, released on November 14, 2014, and Why Would You Do That?, taped in New York City and released in 2016. Maniscalco was one of four comedians featured in Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights Hollywood to the Heartland, along with Ahmed Ahmed, John Caparulo, and Bret Ernst. Maniscalco has been on Russell Peters' Best Night Ever, Comedy Central Presents, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Jay Leno Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Conan, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Additionally, he appeared in several films, such as The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, The House, Tag, and Cruise, and he co-hosts a podcast titled The Pete and Sebastian Show with fellow comedian Pete Correale. As of January 2017, they have a show on Sirius XM satellite radio's Raw Dog Comedy channel 99. In 2016, Maniscalco appeared on the seventh season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. He published his memoir Stay Hungry on February 27, 2018. A Netflix special also titled Stay Hungry was released on January 15, 2019. In 2018, Maniscalco made his feature film debut, as Johnny Venere in the Academy Award-winning film Green Book. Maniscalco hosted the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards on August 26. In November 2019, Maniscalco appeared in Martin Scorsese's The Irishman playing "Crazy" Joe Gallo alongside Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino. He also hosted the three-part companion podcast for the film, first published on December 2, 2019, titled Behind the Irishman. In June 2021, it was announced that Maniscalco will host a reality television show titled Well Done With Sebastian Maniscalco that premiered on August 12, 2021 on Discovery+ where he will be joined by friends and family to explore food culture and etiquette. Four days after the premiere, the show was renewed for a six-episode second season that will premiere on November 16, 2021. In August 2021, during a podcast, he announced that he was a part of the cast of Illumination's Mario film, playing the role of Spike from the game Wrecking Crew as Mario and Luigi's boss.

Daniel Dwight Tosh is an American comedian, television host, voice actor, writer, and executive producer. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Marketing, Tosh moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. His career accelerated in 2001 after a performance on the Late Show with David Letterman. He would go on to appear in other national shows, leading to his own 30-minute special on Comedy Central Presents two years later. From 2009 to 2020, Tosh was the host of Comedy Central series Tosh. A showcase of popular Internet video clips with the addition of Tosh's narrative comedic dialogue. Daniel Tosh also went on his own series of comedy tours from 2010 to 2015. In addition to Tosh, he is known for his deliberately offensive and controversial style of black comedy and as the star of stand-up comedy tours and specials.

Donald McKinley Glover Jr. also known by his stage name Childish Gambino, is an American actor, singer, rapper, writer, comedian, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glover was hired at age 23 by Tina Fey as a writer for the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. He later rose to fame for portraying college student Troy Barnes on the NBC sitcom Community from 2009 to 2014. Since 2016, Glover has starred in the FX series Atlanta, which he created and occasionally directs. For his work on Atlanta, Glover won various accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. Glover has starred in several successful films including the supernatural horror The Lazarus Effect (2015), the comedy-drama Magic Mike XXL (2015), and science fiction film The Martian (2015). He played Aaron Davis in the superhero film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), and played Lando Calrissian in the Space Western Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). He also provided the voice of adult Simba in The Lion King (2019). Glover is also a filmmaker, and starred in and produced the short film Guava Island (2019). Following independently released albums and mixtapes, Glover signed with Glassnote Records in 2011, and released his first studio album, Camp, that year. In 2013, he followed this with his second album, Because the Internet. Glover's third album, "Awaken, My Love!" (2016), spawned the single "Redbone", which peaked at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually earned him his first Grammy Award. In 2018, Glover released "This Is America", which debuted at number-one on the Hot 100, and won four Grammy Awards, including for Song and Record of the Year.