The 40 best comedians under 40

Thirty-six-year-old John Mulaney spent six years writing for "Saturday Night Live," wrote and performed the hit Broadway show "Oh, Hello" with friend and frequent collaborator Nick Kroll and made his big-screen debut as the voice of Peter Porker in "Into The Spider-Verse." He has quartet of comedy specials, the last of which, "Kid Gorgeous," won him a writing Emmy and contained a classic bit where he describes the Trump presidency as "a horse loose in the hospital." Of course for our money, there's nothing better than his breakdown of Ice-T's character on "Law & Order: SVU" — which is not even his only "Law & Order" bit!

Ali Wong is only 37, but she already has two hit standup specials she recorded while pregnant: "Baby Cobra" and "Hard Knock Wife." She stars in the Netflix romantic comedy, "Always Be My Maybe" and her animated show "Tuca and Bertie" returns this year on Adult Swim (she voices Bertie). It's hard to find a family-friendly clip of Wong's raunchy standup, but here's Wong on "Ellen" explaining how she took painkillers while breastfeeding because she's suffered enough, and besides, "the Vicodin helped the baby sleep better."

Patti Harrison is a trans comedian who you probably know from her stealing scenes in every show she appears in, whether it's deranged office assistant Ruthie on "Shrill," the co-worker making desperate jokes about Santa on "I Think You Should Leave," or her spectacular appearance on "The Tonight Show" where she responded to Trump's transgender military ban. Soon, you can see Harrison alongside Ed Helms in the film "Together Together."

Hannibal Buress is a prolific standup-turned-actor who can be seen in "Broad City," "Tag," the "Neighbors" films, and "The Eric Andre Show." But he's great simply telling stories about his life, like the time the police department helped him throw a five-person parade in New Orleans.

Joe Mande isn't just a successful standup and writer, working on shows like "Parks and Recreation," "Kroll Show," and most recently, "The Good Place." But he's also an innovator who turned his debut comedy album into a mixtape, complete with sound effects and rap sketches. Here's a clip from a later special where he explains why his home state of Minnesota has such a large Somali population — because people from Minnesota complaining about it makes it sound like paradise. "Snow is fresh water that falls from the sky in edible flakes... You don't eat snow! All you do with snow is roll it up into balls and make little men out of it, and you decorate those men with clothes and food."

Emily Heller is a writer for HBO's "Barry" who has two great standup albums ("Good For Her" and Pasta) and even had a cameo in the Lonely Island's "Lazy Sunday" video. Recently she taped her first hour-long special "Ice Thickeners," but you can also see her on "The Late Late Show" talking about meeting her boyfriend...online. And you can also see Heller explaining how Frasier Crane demonstrates that being single is OK.

Dewayne Perkins transitioned from improv to standup in 2017, and since then he's written for "The Break With Michelle Wolf," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," and his current gig, "The Amber Ruffin Show." He also had a short film released on Comedy Central called "The Blackening," which is being adapted into a feature film.

You can't miss the striking, 6-foot-2 Marcella Arguello, who repeatedly won the internet on "@midnight," and who appeared on the second season of "2 Dope Queens." She's also written for "Bill Nye Saves The World" and "Drop The Mic," and her debut album, "The Woke Bully" debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts. You can see her on "Night Train With Wyatt Cenac," talking about her abuelita and the struggles of being a Latina in her 30s who doesn't want kids.

Aparna Nancherla has an amazing talent for playing adorable weirdos, as evidenced by her roles on "Corporate" and "Bojack Horseman," as well as her web series, Womanhood with other great under-40 comedian Jo Firestone. She's a big fan of babies at protests, because she "likes to imagine they came at their own accord." You can hear Nancherla voicing "Moon" on the new Fox hit animated show, "The Great North."

You may have seen David Gborie's late-night debut on Conan, which begins with him walking past his mark, strolling back and announcing "I already blew it." Gborie has one of the most distinctive voices in comedy, both literally and figuratively, which you can hear on his podcast "All Fantasy Everything" and on basic cable as the new voice of Comedy Central.

"Sweet" Beth Stelling is a an Ohio native but nationwide comedy star, writing for "Crashing" and "I Love You, America," acting in "Red Oaks," and delivering stellar albums like 2015's "Simply The Beth." Here's Stelling on "Conan", explaining how even in Los Angeles, Midwesterners naturally build up a "meat coat" in the wintertime. Her fantastic new special "Girl Daddy" is streaming now on HBO Max.

Phoebe Robinson is a best-selling author and one half of "2 Dope Queens." She's a great standup whose clips aren't always family-friendly, so here's a clip of Robinson trying to cry on command for Jimmy Fallon. Soon you'll be able to see her interview series, "Doing the Most
with Phoebe Robinson."

Musician/comedian/director Bo Burnham put out his first full-length album at age 18, his first hour special at 19 and at age 28, he wrote and directed the critically acclaimed film, "Eighth Grade." He even made the studio set up special unrated screenings so middle school kids could actually see the R-rated movie. Here's a song from the end of his "Make Happy" special, which is about watching the "Make Happy" special, called "Are You Happy?"

There's a lot of comedians who have been on sitcoms, like "Mr. Iglesias," where Jesus Trejo has a recurring role. Or comedians who have their own cable specials, like Trejo's Showtime special "Stay At Home Son." But as far as we know, Jesus Trejo is the only comedian who had a documentary about his life produced by the AARP. "Care To Laugh" is about Trejo pursuing his comedy dreams even while acting as the caregiver for his parents, which also provided source material for his killer set on James Corden.

Ian Karmel is only 34, but he's already to co-head writer on "The Late Late Show With James Corden," responsible for such spectacles as Corden's skydiving adventure with Tom Cruise. He also co-hosts the "All Fantasy Everything" podcast, he's the Portland Trail Blazers' answer to Drake and occasionally does standup on Corden, where he talked about gendered soaps and how his mustache makes him "look like the cover of a pizza box."

At age 33, Hasan Minhaj got his own Netflix show, "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj," after a stint as a correspondent on "The Daily Show." He also had a hit, innovative multi-media one-man show on Netflix called "Homecoming King," and at the NBA Awards in 2019, lifelong Sacramento Kings fan Minhaj roasted James Harden: "Look at all these superstars here. Trae, Giannis. I was looking around for James Harden but in classic playoff fashion he didn't show up."

Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson wrote, created, and starred in "Broad City," which completed its beloved, five-season run in March 2019. But they have a multitude of talents! Jacobson has published a book of essays and two best-selling coloring books. They've lip sync battled one another, performed a dance tribute to Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and they're excellent blind taste testers.

Not only has Jerrod Carmichael had his own sitcom, "The Carmichael Show," and done two HBO specials, but he directed Drew Michael's audience-free comedy special, acted in the "Neighbors" films and has a new documentary special on HBO called "Home Videos." He's willing to take unpopular positions, like when he talked about his aspirations to become a Republican, his continued support for Chick-Fil-A, and his desire to marry Meryl Streep. And aside from all that, Carmichael's been in a Jay-Z video.

Whitmer Thomas' "The Golden One" came out last year, a unique comedy special that featured nine original songs (including "Partied To Death") and a look back at intense personal tragedy, including the death of his family members and an abduction as a young child. Somehow, it's still very funny. Thomas also makes original music, and his Tom DeLonge impression is so good that it led to Whit playing in a band with Blink-182's other vocalist, Mark Hoppus. 

Sam Jay is a writer for "Saturday Night Live," who released the greatest standup album of all time about lesbian divorce when she put out "Donna's Daughter." But she's equally funny talking about how she can't use an Android because "the logo looks poor" or using her blackness to her advantage on public transportation. Her new special "3 In The Morning" is currently streaming on Netflix.

Almost no one in the world is better at Twitter than Mike Drucker (Example: "I wish I could get bitten by a radioactive confident person"). His comedy is extremely dark, extremely nerdy but extremely funny, which is how he's ended up writing for "The Tonight Show," "Bill Nye Saves The World," and "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee," for which he won a Writers Guild of America award in 2020.

Demi Adejuyigbe is a musical savant who also happens to make hilarious comedy, which is best evidenced by his series of "Will Smith" credit raps for films that lack them — our favorite is the one for Aladdin, but "I Think I Can Beat The Black Panther" is stellar. He's written for James Corden, "The Good Place," and the Amer Ruffin Show," and his Earth, Wind & Fire tribute videos make every Sept. 21 a treat.

Morril is a comedian and writer based out of New York City. His most recent special, "Up On The Roof" features Morril (you guessed it) on top of a rooftop in NYC covering everything from political celebrities to life in the Big Apple is available to watch for free on YouTube.

Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang are co-hosts of the critically acclaimed pop culture podcast Las Culturistas, who the AV Club called "an unstoppable force of charisma and energy." They're also great performers. Witness Matt's spot-on characterization of "a woman at the restaurant where he works," and Bowen's masterful lip sync of "The Devil Wears Prada." Thankfully they're getting an even larger platform now that Yang joined the "Saturday Night Live" cast.

Nicole Byer's energy, infectious personality and improvisational skills made her an instant success at standup comedy, something she started only six years ago after her success on "Girl Code." Currently she hosts "Nailed It!," a Netflix show where amateur bakers try to recreate elaborate desserts. It's like "The Great British Bake Off" if everyone was super drunk.

Emmy Blotnick has written for "@midnight," "The President Show" and "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," where she's still on the staff. She's willing to lean into her obsessions, like devoting a large chunk of her standup special to discussing Swedish music producer Max Martin or her refusal to see any more comic book movies, or as she puts it, three hours of "Happy Meal toys fighting on a rock."

When Ron Funches is performing, he has a sweet voice and measured cadence unlike anyone else doing standup, not to mention his distinctive laugh. That's probably why his most recent special was called "Giggle Fit," in which he extols the virtues of his job that lets him "get high and mumble into a microphone" and his belief that "RuPaul's Drag Race" is the best show on TV.

As befitting a millennial born in 1994, Jaboukie Young-White first gained fame when a bunch of his memes went viral on Instagram and Twitter. However, he was already a working comic at age 21, wrote for "Big Mouth" and "American Vandal" and since 2018 he's been a correspondent for "The Daily Show." He's also performed twice on "The Tonight Show," and in his second appearance, he talked about how his first time on the show inadvertently outed him to his parents.

Matt Ingebretson and Jake Weisman starred in three weird and amazing seasons of "Corporate," the absurdist and dystopian sitcom the pair created, along with fellow under-40 Pat Bishop. But they're both great in any field: Matt is an accomplished idiot fencer, while Jake is a coffee expert, and they're both getting recognized a lot more!

Joe Pera and Conner O'Malley have collaborated on two of the best and strangest comedy projects of recent years. "How To Make It In USA" stars Pera as comedian Joe Pera, and O'Malley as his aggressive talent agent, Max Gold. "Joe Pera Talks You To Sleep" stars Pera as another fictionalized version of Joe Pera, and O'Malley as his aggressive neighbor. O'Malley is also aggressive in his portion of "I Think You Should Leave," and in his guest appearances on "Late Night With Seth Meyers."

Jo Firestone is a writer and actress on "Joe Pera Talks With You," but she was also a longtime writer for "The Tonight Show," which must have made her killer standup set from the show all the sweeter. She's the only comedian brave enough to tell the harsh truth that "Soup sucks. It's either too hot or it's just wet. You take the first bite of soup, you better like it, 'cause that's all the rest of the bites." 

Dulce Sloan is a comedian and actress who currently appears on "The Daily Show," but you can also see her showing off her expensive bra in a killer set on "Conan" and explaining to Trevor Noah why facial recognition software is racist.

The genius of Julio Torres' comedy is not just its strangeness, but also it's his specificity — like the sketch he wrote for "SNL" all about the font Papyrus or the standup show he did that was all about his favorite shapes, and of course, his Spanish-language HBO show "Los Espookys." This clip, from Torres' set on Jimmy Fallon, will forever change how you think about the story of Cinderella.

Megan Gailey is a comedian from Indiana who you can see in her Comedy Central special or on the NFL Network's "The Checkdown" during football season. Gailey finds humor in a lot of otherwise untouched subjects — her grandmother's Alzheimer's or the perils of having two different kinds of Irish parents. "“It gets a little tricky because my mom is Irish Catholic and my dad is Irish Protestant...For those of you who don’t understand what that means it’s kind of like saying my mom was raised believing in magic and my dad was raised blowing up magicians.”

Jamie Loftus is a wildly prolific comedian, writer and illustrator who's done a range of amazing projects, from writing on "Robot Chicken" to taking her one-woman show "Boss Whom Is Girl" to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to her feminist movie podcast "The Bechdel Cast," to her quest to eat the extremely long novel "Infinite Jest." Here's a clip of Loftus talking about moving from Boston to Compton.

Ramy Youssef won a Golden Globe award for the first season of "Ramy," in which he plays the title character, a first-generation American Muslim trying to reconcile being a practicing Muslim with the surrounding millennial culture. You can also see that in his standup, like in his "Late Show" set where he talked about how he's waiting for a "Hogwarts letter from ISIS." You can see more jokes in "Feelings," his brand-new special for HBO.

Rhea Butcher used to write for and star in "Take My Wife" with former partner Cameron Esposito. But Butcher's sharp wit is evident in other efforts like "Adam Ruins Everything" and the album "Butcher." Here, Butcher explains the irony of being a vegetarian and having that last name.

You may have seen John Early when he starred in "Search Party," or "Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later," or his own episode of "The Characters" on Netflix. But for an example of his inimitable standup, here's a clip of Early explaining "sweater acting." 

Michelle Wolf has had her own Netflix show, her own HBO special, been a "Daily Show" correspondent" and feuded with the entire Trump administration after her fiery hosting set at the White House Correspondents Dinner, all before she turned 35. She also wrote for Seth Meyers for years, where she'd play characters like Grown Up Annie.

Jacqueline Novak is an amazing, theatrical comedian who's obsessed with french fries. She's also an author, whose first book is called "How To Weep In Public." She had a smash hit with her one-woman show "Get On Your Knees" (produced by Mike Birbiglia) in 2019, which will tour the country once it's safe to go to the theater again.