20 comedians you may not realize once had their own TV shows

John Mulaney is best known for his standup comedy and his time as a writer for SNL. After leaving the variety series, he created and starred in his own sitcom, Mulaney . The series featured icons like Martin Short and Elliott Gould, but it only lasted one season. 

Kenan Thompson has done lots of work outside of SNL, but it hasn’t gotten quite the same recognition. Thompson had his own sitcom called Kenan for two seasons, but it ended up getting canceled despite earning an Emmy nomination. 

Ellen DeGeneres starred in an eponymous sitcom, too. It aired for five seasons in the ‘90s and was a huge deal at the time because DeGeneres’ character came out as a lesbian. Despite her groundbreaking work, the comedian’s sitcom has been eclipsed by her daytime fame. 

After wrapping up his time on Parks and Recreation, Aziz Ansari took his talents to Netflix for a creation of his own, Master of None. The series was highly rated and garnered multiple Emmys, but it sort of lost steam as it took years for new seasons to be released. 

Since finding fame through Billy on the Street, Billy Eichner has starred in a couple of television shows, namely Difficult People. The Hulu series was well-received, but it only lasted a few seasons. 

Taylor Tomlinson is one of the most successful female comedians of this generation, and she’s taken her talents to late night. The star hosts After Midnight, a late-night comedy game show. 

If you only know Drew Carey because of The Price is Right, you might not know that he used to have his own sitcom. You might not even know that he used to be a standup comedian. The Drew Carey Show ran for nearly a decade in the ‘90s and ‘00s.

Joel McHale’s comedy bled perfectly into Community, the zany and subversive sitcom that he led along with other respected comedians like Donald Glover and Chevy Chase (the latter of whom is more respected for his work than his personality). McHale also hosted The Soup once upon a time. 

Norm Macdonald doesn’t get enough credit for his comedy as a whole, but his sitcom work is very overlooked. After making a name for himself at the “Weekend Update” desk on SNL, he took his talents to Norm, his sitcom that lasted for three seasons. 

Steve Harvey is so good at hosting Family Feud that it’s easy to forget that he had a very successful career in comedy prior to his most notable gig. He also starred in his own sitcom in the ‘90s called The Steve Harvey Show. 

Jamie Foxx is so damn talented that his dramatic acting and music career have overshadowed his comedy roots. The multihyphenate had his own sitcom in the ‘90s and ‘00s called The Jamie Foxx Show. Garcelle Beauvais of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was on it, too. 

It’s not that people don’t know that Ricky Gervais has had his own TV show; it’s that he’s had so many it’s hard to keep track. One of his least-known series is Extras, a sitcom that aired in the mid-’00s and only lasted two seasons. 

After the sitcom ended, all the stars of Friends took their own paths, with Lisa Kudrow landing at HBO for the series The Comeback. The show initially only lasted for one season, but it came back (pun intended) nearly 10 years later for a second. 

Unfortunately for Wanda Sykes, Wanda At Large didn’t catch on. The standup’s series ran for two seasons in the early ‘00s, but it didn't even get the chance to air everything that had been filmed. Sykes was done dirty, for sure. 

In the early 2010s, Louis C.K. created and starred in the series Louie. The show ran for a laudable five seasons and was met with critical acclaim, but it ended due to some issues between FX and C.K.’s production company. 

Sarah Silverman has done a lot with her career, including creating and starring in an eponymous sitcom. The Sarah Silverman Program ran for three seasons in the late ‘00s, its end making her available for projects like Wreck-It Ralph and Bob’s Burgers. 

Whitney Cummings has almost become better known for her podcast work than anything else, but she’s had a steady acting career for years, too. One project was her self-titled sitcom Whitney, which lasted for two seasons in the early 2010s. 

Gabriel Iglesias gave his own sitcom a go, too. The comedian’s series Mr. Iglesias ran for three seasons on Netflix, but it ended after only 22 episodes. 

Yep, Jim Carrey starred in his own television show, too, except his path was a little different. The two-season series Kidding wasn’t named after him or his character, but he was the star, and the show was met with critical acclaim. 

Margaret Cho starred in her own sitcom, All-American Girl, years ago. The series ended after just one season, but its failure motivated her to make her standup career even more successful than it had been.