“Dying is easy,” as the saying goes. “Comedy, that’s hard.” In honor of that age-old truth, SSN spotlights ten up-and-coming talents who make comedy look easy. If you don’t know their names already, get to know them because you’ll be seeing a lot more of them on your TV, at the movies, in various Web series and, eventually, on the Emmy stage delivering an acceptance speech. Comedy is subjective but you’re sure to find the funny in this mix of intelligent, edgy, risk-taking performers. Here’s a selection of who’s on our comedy radar right now.
IKE BARINHOLTZ
If you watch The Mindy Project, you know Barinholtz as the lovably nutty male nurse Morgan Tookers. If you watched Mad TV, you know he spent a good chunk of time there honing his sketch comedy chops. If you’re from Chicago, you may have seen the Rogers Park native onstage at Second City or Boom Chicago when he was just learning how to channel the funny he says he got from his parents since childhood. Whatever the case, Barinholtz has grown into one of TV’s funniest scene-stealers.
Check out our Spotlight interview with Ike to know more about why we chose him as our spotlight up-and-up.
Rep info
Agent: UTA
Manager: Principato-Young Entertainment
Publicist: PMK*BNC
ANTHONY JESELNIK
Anthony Jeselnik is the host of Comedy Central’s weekly The Jeselnik Offensive, in which he banters with other comedians and talks about buzzworthy topics. Jeselnik is not afraid to venture into dark places, and there’s always a smart, sharp twist to his jokes.
Jeselnik says he found out early on that he could get away with anything if he made people laugh. When asked who got him interested in comedy, he told us, “I loved Stephen Wright the most as a kid and ‘Deep Thoughts’ by Jack Handey on Saturday Night Live. And smarter stuff like Sarah Silverman, The Ben Stiller Show and Mr. Show.” The people who make Jeselnik laugh now: “TJ Miller, because he's brilliant and hilarious and completely unpredictable, but a total professional at the same time. And Ryan Hamilton, because he's insanely clean, but he makes me laugh harder than almost anyone on stage.” On when Jeselnik knew his comedy was clicking with the audience, he recalls a joke from a year into his comedy career: “I had a joke that went, ‘My girlfriend loves to eat chocolate, and she likes to joke she has a chocolate addiction, which was really annoying. So one day I put her in the car, drove her down town, and I pointed out a crack addict. And I said, ‘You see that, honey? Why can't you be that skinny?’ I told that joke at an open mic, and every single comic in the room went, "Ooooooh.’ I knew right there that I had it.”
Rep info
Agent: UTA
Manager: Christie Smith, Mosaic
Publicist: PMK*BNC
CHELSEA PERETTI
Chelsea Peretti is part of a terrific comedy ensemble in the new Fox sitcom Brooklyn Nine Nine, premiering this fall, where she’ll be working with her Parks and Recreation colleagues Mike Schur and Dan Goor. We’ve admired her writing on Parks and The Kroll Show and her dry, almost deadpan performance in Brooklyn Nine Nine. As far as comedy role models, Peretti tells us, “Growing up, I loved I Love Lucy, Gilda Radner, and Monty Python and Christopher Guest movies, and Airplane and Groundhog Day.” She got into comedy officially in college, when she interned at SNL and did improv there.
Nowadays Peretti looks to Larry David, Danny McBride, Key and Peele, Louie CK, Joan Rivers, Sarah Silverman, Kevin Hart and Todd Glass for laughs and inspiration. And she cites even more contemporary talents like Hannibal Buress, Nick Kroll, Amy Schumer and Moshe Kasher among a wealth of new comedians who keep her creative fires sparked.
As tough and awkward as it was to break into comedy, she knew she’d arrived when the audiences came specifically to see her. “There came a point when shows were selling out in advance and the audiences were cheering as I walked out onstage to start the show, before I said anything. That was when I realized something had started to change.”
Rep info
Agent: Greg Hodes, WME
Manager: Christie Smith, Mosaic
ZACH WOODS
Zach Woods is most familiar to TV audiences for his roles on The Office as Gabe Lewis and Ed Webster in Veep and excels at playing nerdy guys who seem a bit off. On when he got hooked on comedy, he recalls, “When I was a little kid, my dad read me Neil Simon plays before I went to bed. I remember thinking Lost in Yonkers was pretty funny. I loved the Marx Brothers, The Chris Rock show, Christopher Guest movies and SNL.” Later, in high school, Woods studied at the Upright Citizens Brigade with improviser Michael Delaney, who played a major role in shaping his approach to performance. Who and what makes Woods laugh? “Nicole Holofcener movies because they’re so honest, big-hearted and funny. Daniel Kitson, a stand-up from the U.K. Adam Driver, I love his stuff on Girls because it’s so weird and good and makes me laugh almost every episode. Paul Feig—Freaks and Geeks is probably the best television comedy I've ever seen, and I love everything he's made since. Bill Burr, he puts these video tours of cities up on YouTube, and they're really good. Also, obviously his standup. Eastbound and Down, the world of that show is so bizarre and specific and holy s—t, are the jokes amazing.”
Rep info
Ken Lee, Innovative Artists
Manager: Christie Smith, Mosaic
RETTA
Sure, Retta has a regular role as Donna Meagle on Parks and Recreation where she made the phrase “Treat Yo Self” into a beloved catchphrase. Her Twitter feed @unfoRETTAble is legendary for her commentary on TV shows and hot men. She still does stand-up dates but finds life on the road a little lonely. The New Jersey native is making a good living in comedy, and we’re including her here because we think more people need to get on-board the Retta train. She turned her love of True Blood into a nice but all-too-brief hosting gig for the show’s most recent season premiere. We’d love to see her land a steady hosting gig somewhere, preferably talking about TV shows she loves because her rapid-fire wit and intolerance for fools result in constant laughs.
Rep info
Agency: UTA
Manager: Sam Maydew, Silver Lining Entertainment
Publicist: Tej Herring, Rogers & Cowan
MOSHE KASHER
At first glance, Kasher could be mistaken for Adam Scott’s bespectacled brother, but beneath his unassuming exterior, there lies a sharp brain and a fair amount of rage—normal for most stand-ups. Kasher has also published a memoir, Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy From Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16. He describes himself as, “Comedian. Child Genius. Jew. Jew Comedian. OBGYN. Pleasure center. Good tipper. Guiding light. Beefcake.” He wrote for the one-season-and-out NBC comedy The New Normal, and we think he’s deserving of the on-camera spotlight because of his killer timing, quicksilver mind and ability to find humor in strange places (such as the bit we saw where he talked about sex with the elderly). Be sure to catch him live as he’s touring right now. You can read his book or watch his Live in Oakland special on Netflix. Or you can listen to his podcast, The Champs.
Rep info
Agent: Sharon Jackson, Greg Hodes, WME
Managers: Dave Becky, Josh Lieberman, 3 Arts Entertainment
JUNE DIANE RAPHAEL
We loved Raphael in the crazy-funny Bachelorette-spoofing web series Burning Love. She has also appeared in guest roles in the Cartoon Network Adult Swim show NTSF:SD:SUV, the still-worshipped Starz comedy Party Down along with New Girl and the late, great ABC comedy Happy Endings.
Raphael also co-starred in the ABC comedy pilot Pulling, with fellow comedy all-stars Jenny Slate and Kristen Schaal, and we’re most excited that Raphael and her Happy Endings co-star Casey Wilson just made a deal with ABC for an as-yet-untitled new comedy series. The duo also created and executive produced Walk Of Shame, a single-camera comedy developed at ABC during the 2011-2012 season. After meeting in a clown class at NYU (your read that right), Raphael and Wilson became writing partners. They performed together at the venerable UCB Theatre, co-wrote the feature film Bride Wars, and wrote and starred in the film Ass Backwards, which premiered at last year’s Sundance.
Like many comedy breakouts, Raphael has also made a name for herself in the podcast world with How Did This Get Made? where she and her comedian friends take suggestions of bad movies to watch and then talk about them on the podcast.
Rep info
Agent: Marissa Devins, UTA
Managers: Jeff Golenberg, Jason Shapiro, Silver Lining Entertainment
Publicist: Ruth Bernstein, Viewpoint Public Relations
LUCAS NEFF
Neff is best known as Jimmy Chance, the heart and soul of FOX’s comedy Raising Hope, which returns November 8 for its fourth season. In imbuing sweetness and the ability to laugh at his eccentric family, Neff made a lasting impression. The comedian also proved his chops as a very capable straight man to Garret Dillahunt, Martha Plimpton and Cloris Leachman—no easy feat.
He’s also something of a renaissance man, being an avid writer, poet, aspiring producer and improv/stand-up performer. His producing career is off to a solid start, having raised more than $33,000 to fund his short film, “Lay in Wait,” via the public funding platform Kickstarter.
Neff’s interests go beyond comedy. He’s passionate about politics and has spoken at various functions for the DNC to help enfranchise young adults. He spent weeks on the campaign trail for President Obama, travelling to Idaho, New Mexico and Iowa with Obama for America.
In addition to his role on Raising Hope, Pixar just announced Neff as the lead voice in The Good Dinosaur, set for release in 2014 and certain to put Neff on the map
Rep info
Agent: Michael A Katcher, CAA
Manager: Michael Lazo, Untitled Entertainment
Publicist: WKT Public Relations
DAMON WAYANS JR
Our love of ABC’s brilliant (and recently cancelled) Happy Endings extends to cast member Wayans Jr, who made his bones as a source of constant laughs as Brad Williams, husband to Eliza Coupe’s Type-A Jane. Wayans inherited the comedy mantle from his father Damon (In Living Color), and he does the family name proud with his penchant for rapid-fire comedy banter, pratfalls and funny voices. It’s his ability to squeeze laughs from any line that impresses us, and we’re elated that he’s returning to New Girl in the role of Coach–a role he was cast in for the show’s pilot—for at least four episodes this coming season. We await his antics, certain he’ll add a fresh dose of comedy flavor to that already-red-hot ensemble.
Rep info
Agent: Brandon Liebman, WME
Managers: Michael Lasker, Christie Smith, Mosaic
Publicist: Gina Hoffman, PMK*BNC
ADAM CAYTON-HOLLAND
After watching Cayton-Holland’s Amazon TV comedy pilot Those Who Can’t, we admired the pilot about bumbling teachers and dug deeper to find out more about the talent behind the show. Based in Denver, Cayton-Holland is a writer-performer-journalist with a terrific website called AdamIsFreakingOutRightNow.com. His podcast, My Dining Room Table, is where he chats with his comedy friends like the Sklar Brothers, Bryan Cook and The Nix Brothers. His CD, I Don’t Know If I Happy, was released in May. Did we mention Cayton-Holland also had a guest role in two episodes of Happy Endings? Are you sensing a theme yet?
Rep info
Agent: Susie Fox, John Sacks, CAA
Manager: Josh Lieberman, 3 Arts Entertainment