You Don’t Know These Comedians (Yet)

Josh Johnson, a veteran writer for Trevor Noah on “The Daily Show,” has an unforgettable signature bit about the darkest online dating prank ever. His confidence and comedic pacing are really remarkable. It's no wonder that Comedy Central has posted him extensively.

Related: See Carlos Watson’s interview with Trevor Noah, or his talk with “Daily Show” correspondent Dulcé Sloan.

Sophie Duker's "triple threat minority" comedy has led to a winning live set at the Apollo, an ever-growing body of work on the small screen, and even resulted in a very brief “hate crime” police probe by cops who didn’t appreciate her sarcasm. Duker's response to that incident — "racists can't take a joke" — was perfectly on brand. The British comedian has been on the rise ever since, capturing the attention and laughs of a global audience.

Katrina Davis brings East Coast alpha energy and a direct edge to her stand-up, with sudden hot takes on genderless bathrooms, cis relationships from her past, and the inevitable class-action lawsuit that will result from magnetic eyelashes. She's verified LOL.

“Explaining the Pandemic to my Past Self” catapulted Nolke to over 150 million views. Among her millions of fans and active Patreon base is Kids in the Hall’s Bruce McCulloch, who cites her ferocious comedy as an inspiration … and as this recent skit about pizza toppings shows, he’s not wrong.

Gabby Lamb has done acting, screenwriting and comedy. But the real magic lies in her storytelling and pacing, as demonstrated by this piece about breaking up while trying to find a parking space. Her “Tea Time” podcast with fellow firebrand Harper-Rose Drummond is not for the faint-hearted, but otherwise recommended.

Esther Povitsky is more than “hot for her name, ” which is the title of her Comedy Central special. Having come to prominence for her cringe comedic tour de force dance work on “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” she then pivoted to Hulu's “Dollface” and has continued to string together winning appearances on network late-night. She's proof that winning stand-up can come in a more relaxed, winsome tone.

on The Carlos Watson Show!

The New Zealand comedy group Viva La Dirt League (VLDL) has millions of subscribers generating over a billion views. Aptly mixing cringe with slapstick, VLDL keeps racking up fans of its work on such subjects as male gaze “armor” for females, what to do with the health potion vial after you drank the contents, and why high charisma wins. This group also has an unerring ability to focus on the absurdities of video game tropes. If you want to enhance a gamer’s day, then suggest VLDL.

“Talking over still images and calling it cinema” is the mission statement of this up-and-coming 23-year-old mastermind of comedic timing. Solid JJ generates meme content over screen captions and animation clips from well-known media, which quickly turns into rich dark humor — as displayed by what happens when Fozzy Bear goes wrong, when Mario got “red pilled,” and when “The Flintstones Destroy the World.” We're also fond of the old-school Batman stuff, especially this interaction with Riddler.

Do you know of any great up and coming comedians? Let us know!

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