25 Funny People Who Should Get Their Own TV Shows

Television has changed drastically over the last several years. The Internet has allowed for networks to pluck content creators from relative obscurity and beam them into millions of homes. This isn't only true because more content is being made, but because networks also feel that they can now market niche programming more effectively.

In 2005, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia was ordered straight to series based on a pilot shot on mini-DV. You don't have proper pop culture credentials if you don't know that Girls came to be largely because of Lena Dunham's film festival success with Tiny Furniture. Now, content is being poached straight from the Internet for television.

Shonda Rhimes (creator of Grey's Anatomy and half the other shows on TV), has signed on to shepherd Issa Rae, who created The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, through the pilot process. Similarly, Amy Poehler has championed Broad City, the creation of New York comediennes Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer. Their pilot is in the works at Comedy Central.

This got us thinking: Who are the other young, funny creators that need a shot? Some of the names we came up with you see every week on TV. Some you've probably never heard of. All of them are doing something you're going to want to get in on now, so you can say you were there before the Emmy buzz.

Here are 25 Funny People Who Should Have Their Own TV Shows.

Written by Brenden Gallagher (@muddycreekU)

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Twitter Handle: @jenkwok

Ukulele-wielding performer Jen Kwok has been delighting live crowds and the Internet alike with her musical comedy since she ditched a burgeoning business career for comedy after reaching the finals of NBC's Stand-up for Diversity.

Two of our favorite Kwok vidoes are available on her website: "Take You Home" and "Date an Asian." Kwok uses her instrument to create a charming veneer that allows her to talk about race and sex in a deceptively frank way you don't often see often enough.

Twitter Handle: @SkinnyBJMeeting

In addition to having the best act name ever, these ladies have been bringing their unique brand of raunchy, absurd comedy to spots across New York. More recently, they've gone global. Their show, Misery Eats Company, enjoyed a month-long run at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival where they were named "Biggest Revelation."

Their website offers a small selection of their large body of work. Our favorite is the mockumentary, Deal With it Bitch!, a satire of experimental theater.

Twitter Handle: N/A

Waltien was brought to our attention largely on the strength of his deeply personal one-man show, Scenes with Ghosts, which recently enjoyed a well-received run in Chicago. Like most great comic performers, Waltien went through years of training before his recent success. He's improvised all over the Chi as a member of Second City, The Improvised Shakespeare Company, and many other groups. He and his writing partner Jordan Klepper were named the best sketch show of 2008 by the Chicago Tribune for their show, Jordan and Steve are Steve and Jordan, Respectively.

In a recent interview, Waltien distilled what he's learned in his years as an improviser: "Relax and don't force the humor. That part arrives naturally. Just listen and react to your partner. Try to be as honest as you can. Genuine is a more valuable currency than clever."

Twitter Handle: @gavinspeiller

As soon as you've finished reading this piece, you need to watch the entirety of Gavin Spieller's web series Bad First Dates with Gavin. It'll take you under 15 minutes.

Spieller is a phenomenal improviser, having honed his skills with various New York City sketch and improv groups, including Death by Roo Roo and Rogue Elephant. If you don't have the time to watch his series, at least follow him on Twitter and enjoy snippets of his endearing and absurd comedic sensibility.

Twitter Handle: @dynamoe

The Internet is familiar with Dyna Moe for her contributions to Hipster Animals and Mad Men: The Illustrated World. Moe's also produced several great video projects, including the whimsical series Cakey! The Cake From Outerspace (starring Gavin Speiller).

Whether Dyna's working in illustration or live-action video, her unique voice shines through. It's one we'd like to welcome to television sooner, rather than later.

Twitter Handle: @mikestill

You may not know Mike Still's name, but you've probably seen him. Still has appeared in numerous commercials recently, including spots for Hyundai Sonata, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Ikea. He's also made the rounds on the The Kroll Show and Kenny Mayne's Mayne Street segment on ESPN.

A veteran of the UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade) stage on both coasts, Still's done everything from one-man shows to musical improv. Check out his new web series collaboration with fellow UCB veteran Jen Bartels, Exes (NSFW), a series that explores the awkward situation of breaking up but not being able to stay apart.

Twitter Handle: @HMwebseries

Who likes getting high? Yeah? Then should be interested in Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair's web series, High Maintenance, which follows a New York weed delivery man who's just trying to live. The series is full of great lines, but it stands out from the pack of joke-a-second web content by focusing on story and the neuroses of the characters.

Visit their aptly named website, HelpingYouMaintain.com and check out Blichfeld and Sinclair's joint.

Twitter Handle: @chriscolfer

The few of you who are still watching Glee must love Chris Colfer. In the first season, the scenes between Colfer's character and his father (Mike O'Malley) were the high-point of the show. It turns out that Colfer's been busy behind the camera between Glee's demanding seasons.

Colfer wrote the screenplay for his film Struck By Lightning, penned a pilot for the Disney Channel, The Little Leftover Witch, and authored a children's book, titled The Land of Stories. If Colfer could combine the emotional depth of his acting during Glee's best moments with his outside-the-box storytelling, he'd create something truly dynamic.

Twitter Handle: @pizzanachos69; @DadBoner

You likely know Mike Burns for his Twitter alter-ego @DadBoner. Burns narrates the life of Karl Welzein, a divorced, middle-aged, sometimes employed party animal who's always looking for a good time. Unfortunately for Karl, that good time usually involves one too many beers or "margs," and disastrous results. Whether Karl finds himself at a party with crazed Juggalos or debates whether or not he should make the trek to New York to check out Guy Fieri's restaurant, the epic story of Mr. Welzein never ceases to amaze.

As Burns is a stand-up comic and writer independent of @DadBoner, we'd love to see what he would come up when provided with a more expansive form. We wouldn't mind if it was live-action @DadBoner though, you guys.

Twitter Handle: @BenWarheit

Actor, writer, post-it note artist: Ben Warheit wears many hats. He's the creator of the Above Average Channel's Waco Valley, a short-form animated web series about dinosaur newscasters that's attracted A-list indie comedy guest stars like Chris Hardick and Judah Friedlander. Warheit's also comfortable working in the live-action format: his sketch team SCRAPS recently enlisted 30 Rock alum Sue Galloway in this send-up of the famous orgasm scene from When Harry Met Sally. Hell, give the guy some post-inotes and he's funny, as you can see on his personal website.

Twitter Handle: @unfoRETTAble

She's hilarious as Donna on Parks and Recreation, but we like what Retta has to say when she watches other shows even more. If you add @unfoRETTAble to your Twitter feed, you're now tapped into the best Twitter recaps in the game. Now that we no longer have Siskel & Ebert to turn to, maybe it's time for a new type of critical eye on our television screens. Until our dreams of Retta sharing her feelings about Girls, Vampire Diaries, and Downton Abbey on her own TV show can be realized, we'll settle for the on-point 140 character recaps.

Twitter Handle: @tedtremper

Based in Chicago, Ted Tremper is a filmmaker and mainstay of the Chi's improv scene. In addition to his work on stages across the Windy City, Tremper has produced two phenomenal web projects recently. Shrink, which took Best Comedy Pilot at NYTVF (New York Television Festival) last year and Break-Ups, which has received some award attention as well.

Though Tremper's work is largely improvised, there's a darkness and honesty to the comedy he produces. With the choice of subjects like a psychologist in training and couples ending their relationships, it is clear that Tremper doesn't shy away from emotional truth in favor of jokes. Check out both projects right away.

Twitter Handle: @btimothee

You'll recognize Baltz as the star of Tremper's pilot for Shrink. Baltz is also a Chicago improv veteran who's worked steadily at Second City and iO, two of the nation's elite improv institutions. He's performed in a variety of other work, from the Big Ten Network's Friday Night Tailgate to Coors Light Commercials. Surely Chicagoans would hate to loose him from their on-stage scene, but isn't time for his big break?

Twitter Handle: @twittels; @Humblebrag

The man behind the @Humblebrag account is up to a lot more than just tweeting. Wittels is a supervising producer on Parks and Recreation and has signed an overall deal with Universal TV to develop new projects as he continues to contribute to the writers' room on Parks.

Check out some of your favorite Parks and Rec stars ignoring Harris in the promo for his Humblebrag book. This is likely the last time anyone is caught on video ignoring Harris Wittels.

Twitter Handle: N/A

Even if you aren't a fan of True Blood, likely you've seen an episode or two. And surely you must remember Nelsan Ellis' performance as Lafayette Reynolds, the gay cook with significant attitude and grace.

In addition to his work in front of the camera, Ellis is playwright; he got some serious attention for his play Ugly while studying at Julliard. HBOGo is featuring his recent short, Page 36, which he wrote and directed, until the end of March. We'd love to see more from Ellis. It'd be even better if we could see him outside of the confines of a show that too often flies off the rails.

Twitter Handle: @meganamram

Another comic mind you know best for her work on Twitter, Megan Amram has demonstrated her comic skills in a number of forms, including performance. She kills it in her recent sketch for Yahoo's Sketchy series, "Birth Control on the Bottom." Whether Amram wants to write a book, do her own show, or just keep writing for Kroll Show and tweeting, we'll be there.

Twitter Handle: @PackofJayson

Jayson Musson's street art critic character "Hennessy Youngman" is one of the best things to happen on the Internet in the last few years. His web shorts Art Thoughtz poke fun at the high brow ridiculousness of the art world.

When he said "You see, Internet. You see how I was more empathetic to the tears of someone I wanted to have sexual intercourse with?" in his episode "On Beauty" we lost our shit. Like many artists, Youngman/Musson is not merely constrained to only the video format. He's also an insightful illustrator and raps as PackOfRats in the outfit Plastic Little. Get this man a talk show and he could be his own musical guest.

Twitter Handle: @alexkarpovsky

There are a number of wonderful performances in Girls, but Alex Karpovsky's jaded Ray is definitely a step above the rest. Turns out he's not just a gifted actor. As a director, he's helmed five films of varying lengths since 2005. Most recently, he directed, wrote, and starred in Red Flag. If you don't have HBOGo or you don't like Girls, at least take a look at the trailer for his film.

Twitter Handle: @bibbymoynihan

Moynihan made a splash with his impersonations of Snooki and Guy Fieri on SNL, but his naturalistic work in shows like Girls and Portlandia is even more impressive. Many Internet comedy fans saw Moynihan for the first time in the viral "Bro Rape" sketch back in the day. It won't be long before Moynihan joins the other SNL alums who have gone on to launch their own shows.

Twitter Handle: @elainasaurus

For the last several years Elaine Carroll's web series, Very Mary-Kate has been a staple of College Humor's site. The series follows the entitled exploits of one-half of the Olsen twins. Carroll lampoons Mary-Kate Olsen, making the lives of her put-upon Bodyguard (Luke Sholl) and annoyed Professor (NYC sketch and improv veteran Will Hines) extremely difficult. Season three is underway over at College Humor right now.

She's been carrying that series for long enough that she deserves a shot at the big leagues. Check out the season three premiere and an interview with Caroll over at Splitsider.

Twitter Handle: @ChelseaVPeretti

Chelsea Peretti can do no wrong. Not too long ago, we shouted out her Twitter feed, which is one of the best in the game. Her stand-up is phenomenal. Now that she has writing credits on Parks and Recreation and Kroll Show, we have to ask, how long until she gets her own show?

Twitter Handle: @hannibalburess

If you've heard Buress's stand-up, you can't help but imagine him starring in his own deeply personal show, like Louie. Unlike many comics, Buress has the TV writing experience to take advantage of, should any such opportunity come about.

Buress has credits on 30 Rock, SNL, and numerous smaller projects. Those of you with some proximity to Brooklyn can catch Burress's stand-up show at Williamsburg's Knitting Factory every week. The rest of you can re-watch his Comedy Central special until he can get his own show.

Twitter Handle: @azizansari

You might find it strange to see Ansari included here, as he already has some heavy media exposure. Despite his stand-up fame and his work on Human Giant and Parks and Recreation, Ansari has not yet had the opportunity to head up his own TV project. We aren't sure why, either, as he's wildly popular and has plenty of writing experience. Let's make this happen, please.

Twitter Handle: @kristenschaaled

Despite high profile spots on the The Daily Show, Bob's Burgers, and Flight of the Conchords, as well as her memorable voice work in Toy Story 3, Schaal has yet to anchor her own TV project. She acts; she writes (in fact, she's written for South Park and recently published The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex with her husband, Richard Blomquist). We suggested last month that she get her own spin-off based on her Conchords character, but we'd settle for whatever Schaal wants.

Twitter Handle: @DonaldGlover

Whether we're talking about his performance on Community, his writing on 30 Rock, or his rapping as Childish Gambino, you have seen Glover's stuff, and you know it's of quality. Ever since Glover burst on the comedy scene as a part of Derrick Comedy (whom you may know from the film Mystery Team), he's been a creative dynamo. Much of his energy has been put into his musical endeavors as of late, but if Glover decided to take a break from that grind to launch his own show, count us as happy motherfuckers. Until then we'll keep listening to his music and wishing Dan Harmon had never left while not watching Community.