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After a year away, the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival returned to Montreal with a star-studded line-up of the biggest names in laughter. On July 24, Variety presented their annual 10 Comics To Watch at a cocktail party sponsored by Cohen Gardner Law, who has been partnering with Variety on the honor for the past 20 years. All 10 comics were in attendance, including recent Emmy nominee Robby Hoffman (“Hacks”), “Overcompensating” breakout Mary Beth Barone and social media sensation Dyon ‘Mojo’ Brooks. They were joined by fellow honorees Joe Dombrowski, Nate Jackson, Morgan Jay, Gianmarco Soresi, Jiaoying Summers, Steph Tolev and Tacarra Williams.

Jeff B. Cohen, partner at Cohen Gardner, noted that Cohen Gardner Llp has sponsored the 10 Comics with Variety for almost 20 years. “Variety has a remarkable track record of identifying comedy’s next stars with its 10 Comics to Watch List,” said Gardner. “Also, kudos to Just For Laughs for bringing back the s “Also,...

An awards show for comedians always has its fair share of roast-worthy one-liners and zingers.

So when Ryan Reynolds on Friday paraded onstage for the 2025 Just For Laughs awards show to honor Rob Mac with a Generation Award, the Deadpool franchise star couldn’t resist a jab at his fellow Wrexham AFC owner and executive producer of Welcome to Wrexham.

“Rob, second place to the lifetime achievement award, amazing,” Reynolds said as he began his tribute to his friend and longtime business partner after a lifetime achievement trophy had just been handed out to comedian George Wallace.

“Hollywood can be an insipid shithouse of round-the-clock shamelessness,” Reynolds said as he touted the need for rare character among creatives and execs in a business short of it. “You have to be willing to be excited to grind and push a dream up a hill and have the wherewithal to do it on your own,...

Handsome Podcast hosts Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster and Mae Martin are set to be honored at the Just For Laughs comedy festival on Friday.

Comedy-driven podcasts, where comedians interview celebrity guests, have become big business in the entertainment world. Comedians Notaro, Feimster and Martin, who launched their audio series targeting an LGBTQ+ fan base in 2023, will receive the podcast of the year trophy at the Just For Laughs awards show from Canadian comic and actor Sabrina Jalees.

Guests on the Handsome Podcast include Tom Hanks, Mindy Kaling and Jennifer Aniston. Podcast co-host Martin in 2023 was also in Montreal to receive the rising comedy star of the year at the Just For Laughs festival.

Fest organizers earlier announced that Ryan Reynolds will present the Generation Award to Rob Mac (formerly McElhenney), a fellow executive producer of Welcome to Wrexham.

Other prize winners already announced include Roy Wood Jr. presenting a lifetime...

After delivering a smashing opening monologue at the 2024 Grammy Awards, Trevor Noah kept the tempo going and produced a new comedy special on Fortnite, the game platform developed by Epic Games.

Produced through his Day Zero Productions, “JokeNite” takes place on an “island” and can be accessed via the “Epic’s Picks” category in Discover or through the following island code: 6296-7829-6524 on Wednesday. According to a statement, users can vote between four “fully motion-captured performances” from Matthew Broussard, Marcia Belsky, Scott Seiss, and Preacher Lawson.

“With JokeNite Royale,...

Didja hear the one about the stand-up comedy special in that game with the llamas and “slurp juice”?

Comedian Trevor Noah, fresh off of hosting this year’s Grammy Awards, is producing a new stand-up comedy special through his Day Zero Productions. But the special isn’t for Comedy Central, HBO or Netflix, it’s for Fortnite, the popular open world franchise from Epic Games.

The special, JokeNite, launches Wednesday (it’s at island code 6296-7829-6524 if you want to experience it for yourself, or on the “Epic Picks” section of the discovery page) and features performances from Matthew Broussard, Preacher Lawson, Scott Seiss and Marcia Belsky.

“Each comedian delivers a motion-captured performance delivered in a Fortnite Outfit, against the backdrop of a digitally rendered comedy club,” Day Zero says.

“With JokeNite Royale, we’re blending two things my mom never wanted me to get into, comedy and gaming,...

Exclusive: A3 Artists Agency is expanding its agent roster with two new additions. John Shealy has joined as Touring Agent, and Jenny Kaplan as Digital Agent in the agency’s Alternative Programming, Digital Media, Licensing and Branding division. Their new roles are effective immediately.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Jenny Kaplan and John Shealy to the A3 family. Their client-first approach and perceptive eyes for on-the-rise talent fits perfectly within A3’s culture and ecosystem,” said Brian Cho, President of A3 Artists Agency.

Shealy most recently worked as Comedy & Podcast Talent Buyer for Blue Note Entertainment, where he was instrumental in booking comedy and podcast shows nationwide. Previously, Shealy spent eight years as an agent at The Gersh Agency, working alongside comedy notables, including Sasheer Zamata, Brooks Wheelan, Cameron Esposito, Solomon Georgio, Matthew Broussard, River Butcher, and Shane Torres. He will be based in New York.

Kaplan moves to A...

The new owners of The CW are reportedly looking to fill the network's schedule with inexpensive programming, and this series seems to fit the bill. Are the ratings good enough? Will The Great American Joke Off be cancelled or renewed for season two? Stay tuned.

A comedy panel series, The Great American Joke Off TV show is hosted by Dulcé Sloan. In each episode, two sets of three-person teams of comedians are tested on their skill in crafting joke setups, creating punchlines, and providing photo captions to performing solo spots, dropping risqué innuendos, and ranting about life’s petty irritations. Sloan decides which team has won each round based on who she thinks has been the funniest. Guests include Chanel Ali, Fahim Anwar, Alonzo Bodden, Matthew Broussard, Ed Gamble, Rhys James, Milton Jones, Moshe Kasher, Natasha Leggero, Joe List, Ismael Loutfi, Luke Mones, Glenn Moore, and...

Comedy Central will revisit the top moments from its celebrity roast specials with Hall of Fame: Top 100 Roast Moments, a five-night event hosted by Nikki Glaser.

Starting on Monday Mar. 29 at 10 p.m. Et/Pt, Hall of Fame: Top 100 Roast Moments is a countdown featuring the Roasts’ “best burns.” The week-long event will revisit the most scorching quips given to past roastees including Alec Baldwin, Justin Bieber, James Franco, Bruce Willis and Rob Lowe.

The Comedy Central special event, which will run until April 2, will feature commentary from comedians, actors, commentators and pop culture historians who will break down the iconic jabs. Set to give their two cents on blazing moments of the Comedy Central tradition are Carly Aquilino, Joel Kim Booster, Guy Branum, Matthew Broussard, Foodgod (Jonathan Cheban), James Davis, Bob the Drag Queen, Daniel Franzese, Josh Johnson, Luenell, Heather McDonald. Additional names joining Hall of Fame: Top 100 Roast Moments are Sam Morril,...

Comedy Central has ordered a second season of “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens” ahead of the coming-of-age comedy’s series premiere on January 22.

The announcement continues what has been an especially busy January for actress and rapper Nora “Awkwafina” Lum, who received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress earlier in the month for “The Farewell.” Awkwafina, series co-stars Bd Wong, Bowen Yang, Lori Tan Chinn, and executive producers Lucia Aniello, Karey Dornetto, and Teresa Hsiao took the stage at the Television Critics 20202 Winter Press Tour in Pasadena Tuesday morning to discuss the upcoming series, Asian representation in entertainment, and Awkwafina’s reactions to her Oscars snub earlier in the week.

While Awkwafina has enjoyed a rapid rise to stardom due to her musical work and in appearances in films such as “Crazy Rich Asians,” her upcoming Comedy Central series, which she also executive produced, promises a relatable and self-deprecating...

Just a day after the Oscar snub for her Golden Globe winning performance in Lulu Wang’s critically acclaimed film The Farewell, Awkwafina couldn’t escape the topic even though she was at TCA to discuss the new Comedy Central series Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens.

Awkwafina said that after the Academy Award nominations were revealed, The Farewell family had a couple of text exchanges, but that overall she’s just grateful for the journey. “We appreciated the run of the film since it came out last January at Sundance and all the attention it’s gotten,” Awkwafina said. She points out that all the Oscar nominations were warranted, with incredible films this year — specifically, ones helmed by women (including The Farewell). Nonetheless, Awkwafina said, “I feel very grateful where we’ve come from.”

Awkwafina is now embarking on a new TV journey with her show Nora From Queens, which...

Awkwafina is Nora from Queens in the trailer for Comedy Central’s upcoming series, “Awkwafina is Nora From Queens,” a girl who has a lot of growing up to do, even though she’s already a grown-up.

Released on Monday, the sneak peek gives fans a look at the half-hour scripted comedy, which is loosely based on Awkwafina’s (real name Nora Lum) real-life growing up in Flushing, New York. Raised by her dad (Bd Wong) and grandma (Lori Tan Chinn) alongside her cousin (Bowen Yang), Nora leans on her family as she navigates life and young adulthood in outer borough-nyc.

Along with the trailer and premiere date, Comedy Central also unveiled the show’s Season 1 guest stars, which includes Celia Au, Matthew Broussard, Michelle Buteau, Jamie Chung, Laverne Cox, Deborah S. Craig, Makeda Declet, Jennifer Esposito, Chrissie Fit, Chris Gethard, Bella Heathcote, Carmen M. Herlihy, Stephanie Hsu, David Krumholtz,...

On Monday, Comedy Central released the official trailer for “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens,” the highly-anticipated sitcom created by and starring rapper-actress Awkwafina.

Inspired by Awkwafina’s real-life experiences growing up in Flushing, Queens, “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens” follows twentysomething Nora Lin (Awkwafina) as she attempts to find a purpose in her life and clumsily navigate her way through young adulthood. All while she still lives with her dad (Bd Wong) and possibly over-supportive grandmother (Lori Tan Chinn).

In the trailer, which you can watch below, Nora sobs as she confides in her friend Chenise (Makeda Declet). “I wish I had purpose like you, you dumb b****,” she cries. So it’s time for Nora to find a suitable job, but if it were just that easy, Nora wouldn’t exactly be where she is now. After all, as she tells her cousin (Bowen Yang), she doesn’t even know her social security number.

The up-and-coming young comics vehicle Coming To The Stage has been picked up for seasons 8-10 on Pluto TV, Comedy Dynamics said today.

The next episodes of the series will start production this spring, and Jamie Kennedy will host all three seasons.

Coming To The Stage has been a launch pad for young stand-up comedians to showcase their talents in front of a live studio audience at the Cisco Stage in Burbank, CA. The series premiered on Hulu for seasons 1-5 and then went to Pluto TV for seasons 6-7. It will hit it’s landmark 60th episode with the finale of season 10 and surpass Comedy Central’s iconic stand-up comedy series, Premium Blend, in total seasons. George Wallace, Tom Green, and Andy Kindler have hosted previous seasons.

Coming To The Stage has helped the careers of Rell Battle, James Davis (Wild N Out,...

Aziz Ansari made his first stage appearance since being accused of sexual misconduct in January. According Brooklyn Vegan, the comedian performed multiple sets at The Comedy Cellar, a New York club favored by Louis C.K., who was accused of sexual misconduct in November of 2017. While Ansari’s appearance was not advertised, he reportedly performed multiple surprise drop-in sets from Wednesday to Sunday of last week. Topics covered included Starbucks, racism, millennials, as well as some crowd work. The comedian and “Master of None” creator has been keeping a low profile since the allegations initially broke.

On January 13, the website Babe.net published a firsthand account from an anonymous 23-year-old woman who said Ansari behaved inappropriately while on a September 2017 date with her. “I believe that I was taken advantage of by Aziz,” she said. “I was not listened to and ignored. It was by far the worst experience with a man I’ve ever had,...