Comedians Under 30 To Check Out This Year

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Complex Original

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Trying to single out only 10 comedians for a list is both difficult and highly subjective. It’s like trying to pick just 10 candidates from a mail-order bride catalog. There are so many amazing options that if it wasn’t for the state of Utah capping off polygamous households at 10 spouses, you’d probably spend your holiday bonus saving all of them.

As you go through this list, know that each and every comic has a quality I find near and dear to my jaded, almost entirely black comedic heart: they are unique, entertaining, and very, very funny. There are also roughly 6,000 other comedians in this country who too share all of those characteristics, so feel free to make 600 other Top 10 lists of your own to keep everything fair and balanced. Maybe start your own website called Komplex.com and post them there. Or don’t do any of that and just shut up and read.

Andrew Short

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Evan Williams

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Age: 24
City: New York City
Twitter: @ItsEvanWilliams

As the old saying goes, without truth, there is no comedy. Sure, there are some comics out there who can get away with telling funny jokes that are completely fabricated, but Evan is not one of them. Everything he says is both brutally honest and brutally funny. At 24, he has already lived a life most human beings don’t survive to talk about, which makes his candor that much more refreshing. His name is actually Evan Williams. If you know anything about cheap booze and irony, then you’ve graduated high school. I’m excited to see his comedy evolve and you should be too, because he’ll always be funnier than you.

Joe Pera

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Age: 25
City: New York City
Twitter: @JosephPera

Let me see if I can accurately describe Joe Pera’s brand of comedy. It’s like if the ghost of comedy’s future had a child with the ghost of comedy’s past, and Joe Pera was the RN who delivered it, the child would be Joe Pera. If that doesn’t make sense, watch him and you’ll understand. He’s figured out a comedic lane with only enough room for whatever six-and-a-half-wheeled, daydream-fueled automobile he drives. He also doesn’t swear and loves tucking in his shirt, making him a perfect YouTube video to show off at family gatherings or during your super sad company happy hours.

Sasheer Zamata

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Age: 24
City: New York City
Twitter: @thesheertruth

Once you realize you can do a lot of things very well, it’s probably a good idea to figure out how to do all very well, all at the same time. This young comedian does exactly that. She has a strong improv and sketch background, which doesn’t always translate well to standup—mostly because writing is hard. But Sasheer is one of those rare breeds who has just figured it all out. Her character work keeps her sets very fresh and highly entertaining. Some standup purists frown on character work, but that’s just because they don’t have the range or chops to pull it off. In this day and age of entertainment, you have to be dynamic to survive. And if you don’t, you’ll probably end up writing a blog about salads and kittens. Oh yeah, and she just became the newest cast member of Saturday Night Live.

Megan Gailey

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Age: 27
City: Chicago
Twitter: @megangailey

We all have that friend who acts like they absolutely do not care about anything. The real “open books” who will spout off about anything, anytime, anywhere because they’re so confident and cool. Megan Gailey makes those idiots look like an 8th grader at confession. This level of effortless honesty only happens when a person has the confidence in knowing that whatever they say will be funny. In other words, Megan Gailey knows everything she says is funny. And she’s right.

Stephanie Hasz

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David Drake

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Age: 25
City: Chicago
Twitter: @TheDavidDrake

Sometimes people have a lot more going for them than others, and those others tend to hate them for that. Which isn’t fair, because if God wanted you to be good at a bunch of stuff, she wouldn’t have made sure you throw a football like an adult toddler. David Drake is funny, full of energy, and extremely engaging. He also has a “good” face, a rarity in standup comedy. Which means if comedy doesn’t work out for him, he’ll get hired doing pretty much any job he wants because good looking people tend to be more successful. Unfortunately for the haters, it looks like comedy is going to work out just fine.

Beth Stelling

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Age: 28
City: Los Angeles
Twitter: @BethStelling

Have you absolutely crushed it in two of the most difficult cities to be funny in? I’m talking about making people bellow over in laughter in both Chicago and L.A. and doing so with ease. That’s what Beth Stelling has accomplished all by the age of 28. She’s also performed on Conan, but if you’re quick, you’ve already Googled her and found that out. Her mastery of long and short form storytelling allows audiences to quickly and comfortably connect with her, which is an essential skillset that takes many performers decades to perfect.

Fahim Anwar

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Age: 29
City:  Los Angeles
Twitter: @fahimanwar

You know how when you’re real pumped to tell a story to your buds, and you get all excited and move around a lot and everyone is really into it until the end when there’s absolutely no payoff whatsoever? Well, Fahim is exactly like that except his stories aren't bad like yours. That’s called “being in the moment,” and having every moment be hilarious. Fahim’s stage presence is warm and engaging, and grabs you from the second he steps up to the mic. You can just tell you’re about to be entertained, which is nice, considering he’s an entertainer.

Andrew Santino

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Age: 29
City: Los Angeles
Twitter: @CheetoSantino

Your grandmother would call Andrew Santino “sharp as a tack” if she wasn’t busy knitting. This dude can seamlessly bob and weave through written material, improvised riffs, and devastatingly funny crowd work that each set feels different than the next. Some comics are like really good pick-up artists, in that they can make each line feel different even though they’ve done it a thousand times before. That’s not Andrew Santino; he’s better than those comics. Just watch.

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