<script data-pm-proxy="intercept"></script><?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></title><description><![CDATA[State of Comedy is an art-meets-commerce digest celebrating all mediums of comedy. Industry-focused, comedian friendly — consider this your free scouting report for funny emerging talent . ]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wsb9!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e5899cc-0d72-450c-b695-e7abe0bf5402_1080x1080.png</url><title>State of Comedy</title><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:52:31 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Carly Hoogendyk]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[stateofcomedy@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[stateofcomedy@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[stateofcomedy@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[stateofcomedy@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[What I've Heard: Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[As the festival comes to a close, everyone keeps asking me what's been good in Scotland this year. So.... I decided to speculate. (Simply put: I wasn&#8217;t there.)]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/what-ive-heard-edinburgh-fringe-festival</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/what-ive-heard-edinburgh-fringe-festival</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2026 18:39:43 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXXu!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXXu!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXXu!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXXu!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXXu!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXXu!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXXu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png" width="1456" height="728" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:728,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:4211615,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/i/210303237?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXXu!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXXu!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXXu!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXXu!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92d38e13-aca8-4e4c-aeea-ddefeea4393f_2160x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Without being hyperbolic, I&#8217;ll say it: <strong>I love the Edinburgh Fringe Festival more than any arts event in the entire world, </strong><em><strong>especially</strong></em><strong> if we&#8217;re talking comedy festivals.</strong> </p><p>Facts (not bragging), I have been to Edinburgh a total of eight times and exclusively in August &#8212; three short stints as a theater lover and comedy spectator, twice with productions I was involved with the entire month, and three week-long visits as a &#8220;professional outsider&#8221; (a manager/producer unattached to a show, made financially possible by <a href="https://www.edfringe.com/take-part/arts-industry/">Arts Industry Accreditation</a> and the generous sponsorship of my employers). </p><p><strong>Fringe is a chaotic arts festival with inevitable roses and thorns which don&#8217;t negate its integrity as a whole.</strong> Sure it&#8217;s expensive and overwhelming, but on the upside: it has no booker! You can&#8217;t criticize the Fringe for taste or bias &#8212;&nbsp;<strong>anyone who applies and secures a venue can go</strong>. Ultimately, the festival prioritizes and celebrates the enormity of the creative spirit &#8212; instead of relying on audiences to gravitate towards  names they&#8217;ll recognize, all the festival marketing encourages attendees to &#8220;surprise themselves&#8221; and &#8220;try something new&#8221;.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a>&nbsp;</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UmNk!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb0cace2-8390-42fa-8158-3a93697fa865_750x417.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UmNk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb0cace2-8390-42fa-8158-3a93697fa865_750x417.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UmNk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb0cace2-8390-42fa-8158-3a93697fa865_750x417.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UmNk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb0cace2-8390-42fa-8158-3a93697fa865_750x417.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UmNk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb0cace2-8390-42fa-8158-3a93697fa865_750x417.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UmNk!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb0cace2-8390-42fa-8158-3a93697fa865_750x417.jpeg" width="750" height="417" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/cb0cace2-8390-42fa-8158-3a93697fa865_750x417.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:417,&quot;width&quot;:750,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:160708,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026: Dates, Tickets, Shows &amp; Previews&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026: Dates, Tickets, Shows &amp; Previews" title="Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026: Dates, Tickets, Shows &amp; Previews" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UmNk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb0cace2-8390-42fa-8158-3a93697fa865_750x417.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UmNk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb0cace2-8390-42fa-8158-3a93697fa865_750x417.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UmNk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb0cace2-8390-42fa-8158-3a93697fa865_750x417.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UmNk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb0cace2-8390-42fa-8158-3a93697fa865_750x417.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The majority of folks performing at Fringe are openly losing money. With over 4,000 shows, there is no hope in comprehending the month-long festival in any complete way. The talent pool seems infinite and the artists do seem to run the whole thing, anarchically, themselves. <strong>It&#8217;s unwieldy and unpredictable &#8212; &#8220;winners&#8221; emerge from obscurity,</strong> discerning fest goers will catch future TV and film stars perform their breakthrough solo show in a tiny, dingy venue before it skyrockets to &#8220;priceless IP&#8221; status, and perennial Fringe favorites show up with new, wild experiments that keep hardcore fest fans on their toes.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a></p><p>My <strong>2025 <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/recap-edinburgh-fringe-2025?r=1udial">Edinburgh Fringe Recap</a> included a superlatives list of the shows I saw</strong> (&#8220;Best Format&#8221; and &#8220;Hardest I Laughed&#8221; and &#8220;Most Walkouts&#8221;) and it included talent spotlights that I&#8217;m particularly proud of a year later: like <strong><a href="https://www.lornarosetreen.co.uk/">Lorna Rose Treen</a></strong> (who has since been hired by SNL UK) and <strong><a href="https://www.joeydardano.com/">Joey Dardano</a></strong> (a recent JFL New Face whose <em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHKEMjfvTXB/">Are You Okay?</a></em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHKEMjfvTXB/"> interview</a> has 6M+ views, the highest count in the series&#8217;s history.) </p><p>This year, as August nears the end, <strong>I&#8217;m writing this festival post-mort from Los Angeles</strong> (sad for me &#8212; but frankly the cost of going to Edinburgh in August is <em>outrageous,</em> and sort of &#8220;prohibitive&#8221; given my &#8220;salary.&#8221;<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-3" href="#footnote-3" target="_self">3</a> ). That said, <strong>I&#8217;m still ready to share talent spotlights from this year, sourcing conversations I&#8217;ve been collecting for the past month.</strong> </p><p>Exhaustive post-Fringe recommendations abound. <em><a href="https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/edinburgh-festivals/edinburgh-fringe-2026-best-shows-five-star-reviews-scotsman-8927920">The Scotsman</a></em><a href="https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/edinburgh-festivals/edinburgh-fringe-2026-best-shows-five-star-reviews-scotsman-8927920"> has shared a list of every five-star show they reviewed</a>; anyone can cull reputable recommendations from the shortlists and winners of the <a href="https://www.comedyawards.co.uk/news/nominees-announced-for-uks-most-prestigious-comedy-prizes-the-2026-edinburgh-comedy-awards">Edinburgh Comedy Awards</a><a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-4" href="#footnote-4" target="_self">4</a> and <a href="https://www.comedy.co.uk/fringe/fyi/1158/ish-edinburgh-comeedy-awards-2026-longlists/">ISH Awards</a>; and there&#8217;s even a list of <a href="https://www.comedy.co.uk/fringe/comedians-choice/">&#8220;Comedians Choice&#8221; award winners</a> that poll all the performers themselves (including an award for &#8220;Best Person&#8221;). There&#8217;s also the guys who come back year after year, and increasingly crush. </p><p>So, as is my style, I&#8217;ll use this space to e<strong>nthusiastically point at the best offerings from 2026&#8217;s Fringe </strong><em><strong>that I&#8217;m aware of</strong></em>, and offer my sincere suggestions for <strong>talent to track well after the festival is over</strong>.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w-vH!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd88da3ff-4261-40d9-922c-ab66a52ea076_1534x778.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w-vH!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd88da3ff-4261-40d9-922c-ab66a52ea076_1534x778.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w-vH!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd88da3ff-4261-40d9-922c-ab66a52ea076_1534x778.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w-vH!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd88da3ff-4261-40d9-922c-ab66a52ea076_1534x778.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w-vH!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd88da3ff-4261-40d9-922c-ab66a52ea076_1534x778.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w-vH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd88da3ff-4261-40d9-922c-ab66a52ea076_1534x778.jpeg" width="1534" height="778" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d88da3ff-4261-40d9-922c-ab66a52ea076_1534x778.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:778,&quot;width&quot;:1534,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:168435,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;What Should You See at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026? How to Choose the  Right Show&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="What Should You See at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026? How to Choose the  Right Show" title="What Should You See at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026? How to Choose the  Right Show" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w-vH!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd88da3ff-4261-40d9-922c-ab66a52ea076_1534x778.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w-vH!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd88da3ff-4261-40d9-922c-ab66a52ea076_1534x778.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w-vH!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd88da3ff-4261-40d9-922c-ab66a52ea076_1534x778.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w-vH!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd88da3ff-4261-40d9-922c-ab66a52ea076_1534x778.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><strong>NOTE</strong>: This will be a short writeup, especially compared to other &#8220;Best of Fringe&#8221; lists out there. You can check them out too, though: <em><a href="https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/tv/features/the-12-stand-out-shows-of-the-edinburgh-fringe-2026-63695/">Rolling Stone</a> (UK)</em>,  <em><a href="https://www.timeout.com/edinburgh/art-culture/best-comedy-at-edinburgh-fringe">Time Out Worldwide</a>, </em>and <em><a href="https://www.comedy.co.uk/fringe/2026/recommended/">British Comedy Guide</a> </em>have all chimed in on their faves (and in many cases, they agreed with me!) </p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/what-ive-heard-edinburgh-fringe-festival">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Summer 2026: Digital Comedy]]></title><description><![CDATA[Say no to brain rot &#8212; enjoy this digest of good and funny stuff from the beep boops.]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/summer-2026-digital-comedy</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/summer-2026-digital-comedy</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 03 Aug 2026 22:01:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/hvO_wi7PojI" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qIvR!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qIvR!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qIvR!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qIvR!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qIvR!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qIvR!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png" width="1100" height="220" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:220,&quot;width&quot;:1100,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:18747,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/i/200064521?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qIvR!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qIvR!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qIvR!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qIvR!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F033281b2-69b1-4211-80d0-61406077b99b_1100x220.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Howdy, happy Monday, and welcome to August. Here&#8217;s another comedy-to-know roundup, from me to you! </p><p>Continuing with the format I <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/summer-2026-live-comedy">debuted in last newsletter</a>: I&#8217;m gonna focus these semi-weekly digests, &#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/summer-2026-digital-comedy">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Summer 2026: Live Comedy]]></title><description><![CDATA[Oh look! It's a focused digest highlighting talent and shows in the live space.]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/summer-2026-live-comedy</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/summer-2026-live-comedy</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:25:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/u0xZ2MmkVLY" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Happy Summer, readers!</p><p>Quick heads up: I&#8217;ve changed the format of the free newsletters. You&#8217;re gonna get <strong>even</strong> <strong>more talent spotlights </strong>within <strong>dedicated categories &#8212; </strong>splitting up these funny lil missives&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/summer-2026-live-comedy">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Importance of Community in Comedy (Or, Johnny Ro Forever) ]]></title><description><![CDATA[This is my tribute to John Rosenberger, a New York comedy icon and dear friend to literally, impossibly, everyone.]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/the-importance-of-community-in-comedy</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/the-importance-of-community-in-comedy</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2026 16:31:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!B4E5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F162646d6-ffce-4178-bb1b-cec0f249c9cd_1266x1691.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve got some sad news to start your week. (I&#8217;m very sorry &#8212; I promise you&#8217;ll be okay.)</p><p>In case you hadn&#8217;t heard, last week we lost a beloved fixture of the New York comedy scene. His passing was shoc&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/the-importance-of-community-in-comedy">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[GUEST POST: Financial Do’s and Don’ts For Road Comics]]></title><description><![CDATA[Our guest comedian Jonathan van Halem advises how to stretch your money the furthest...]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-financial-dos-and-donts</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-financial-dos-and-donts</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:06:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nOaA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65eebb90-f224-4993-97b5-9c273f00bc02_1600x898.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Jonathan van Halem is a Brooklyn-based stand-up comedian. His writing has been featured in <a href="https://clickhole.com/dads-not-going-to-like-this-mom-just-passed-away/">ClickHole</a> and <a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-real-thirteen-keys-for-winning-the-white-house">McSweeney&#8217;s</a>. He&#8217;s worked as an opener for Rory Scovel, Gianmarco Soresi, and Sabrina Wu. He al&#8230;</em></p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-financial-dos-and-donts">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[WHO OWNS YOUR SHOW?: Amplify's Indie TV Financing Model]]></title><description><![CDATA[A conversation with Amplify&#8217;s scripted TV executive Luke Esselen reveals how a seismic shift in TV&#8217;s power structure is letting show creators keep what they make (and why that changes everything&#8230;)]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/who-owns-your-show-amplifys-indie</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/who-owns-your-show-amplifys-indie</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2026 16:15:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/c9PVCXwVsgY" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Back in 2015 at SXSW, Mark Duplass offered a rallying appeal for self-reliance in creative media &#8212; and it predicted the future of film and television (and, probably less intentionally, digital media)&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/who-owns-your-show-amplifys-indie">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Generals Live: State of Comedy x Jillian Vogel]]></title><description><![CDATA[A recording from State of Comedy and jillian vogel's live video]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/generals-live-state-of-comedy-x-jillian</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/generals-live-state-of-comedy-x-jillian</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:46:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/193599449/c4f3f3f0a43a0cda9ae0edf1c9c5fead.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="install-substack-app-embed install-substack-app-embed-web" data-component-name="InstallSubstackAppToDOM"><img class="install-substack-app-embed-img" src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wsb9!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e5899cc-0d72-450c-b695-e7abe0bf5402_1080x1080.png"><div class="install-substack-app-embed-text"><div class="install-substack-app-header">Get more from State of Comedy in the Substack app</div><div class="install-substack-app-text">Available for iOS and Android</div></div><a href="/__u/substack.com/app/app-store-redirect?utm_campaign=app-marketing&amp;utm_content=author-post-insert&amp;utm_source=stateofcomedy" target="_blank" class="install-substack-app-embed-link"><button class="install-substack-app-embed-btn button primary">Get the app</button></a></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[April 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Free! Monthly! Digest! Finding your new favorite reason to laugh is a click away...]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/april-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/april-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 17:19:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/C4Z0nGID-rc" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hello, comedy lovers (and those who are only reading this out of professional obligation!) In case you&#8217;re new to the newsletter &#8212; and technically that is 49 of you! &#8212; here&#8217;s a quick introduction: <strong>thi&#8230;</strong></p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/april-2026">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[LA SPOTLIGHT: Bergamot Comedy Fest]]></title><description><![CDATA[This week at The Crow, celebrate (or discover) Santa Monica's burgeoning comedy hub with a focus on rising talent and authentic community.]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/la-spotlight-bergamot-comedy-fest</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/la-spotlight-bergamot-comedy-fest</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 22 Mar 2026 17:10:43 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgkG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgkG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgkG!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgkG!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgkG!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgkG!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgkG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png" width="1456" height="573" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:573,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgkG!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgkG!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgkG!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WgkG!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e940d69-e7dc-440a-ae3e-943ad93f0f74_3854x1518.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Oh these guys? You don&#8217;t know these guys. But these guys are good!</figcaption></figure></div><p><a href="https://bergamotcomedyfest.org/about/all-the-info-2025">Bergamot Comedy Festival</a> is a small but mighty (and importantly, charitable) force in the Los Angeles comedy ecosystem. Now in its th&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/la-spotlight-bergamot-comedy-fest">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[GUEST POST: Getting Paid (Negotiating Your Fee as a Headlining Comedian)]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;Money makes the world go round, the world go round, the world go round.&#8221; - Jonathan van Halem]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-getting-paid-negotiating</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-getting-paid-negotiating</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 18 Mar 2026 16:45:29 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J01E!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21571f93-045a-43d0-9d8d-8430e16ff481_2160x1080.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Jonathan van Halem is a Brooklyn-based stand-up comedian. His writing has been featured in <a href="https://clickhole.com/dads-not-going-to-like-this-mom-just-passed-away/">ClickHole</a> and <a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-real-thirteen-keys-for-winning-the-white-house">McSweeney&#8217;s</a>. He&#8217;s worked as an opener for Rory Scovel, Gianmarco Soresi, and Sabrina Wu. He al&#8230;</em></p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-getting-paid-negotiating">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[SHORTLIST: Canadian Comedians You Should Know Aboot]]></title><description><![CDATA[Inspired by how lowkey obsessed I've been with Canada lately. (Can't imagine why.)]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/shortlist-canadian-comedians-you</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/shortlist-canadian-comedians-you</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:30:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TEa!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TEa!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TEa!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TEa!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TEa!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TEa!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TEa!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png" width="1456" height="728" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:728,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:2653242,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/i/188758461?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TEa!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TEa!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TEa!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7TEa!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0eb0e439-8f41-40d6-bbb6-17814ad870ec_2160x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>As long as I&#8217;ve been alive and laughing, Canadian entertainers have been changing the comedy game. Saying so is not a remotely hot take (and yet, we don&#8217;t talk about it enough here in the States.)</p><p>In an obvious (but also sort of sneaky) way, Canadians have altered North American comedy culture. They are trailblazers in what is considered both stupid <em>and </em>good, shaping what makes audiences laugh, and influencing future generations of comedians north and south of the border. Obvious iconic examples include Kids in the Hall, SCTV, and Lorne Michaels. Today&#8217;s top Canadian culture makers are some of my favorites &#8212; Seth Rogen, Nathan Fielder, Mae Martin &#8212; creating singular comedy by simply doing their own damn thing with a level of craft that is undeniable.</p><p>There&#8217;s a clich&#233;d origin story you&#8217;ll hear about many now-or-once famous Canadian comedians: they arrive in LA or New York (seemingly out of nowhere), talented and craft honed, with a unique sensibility untarnished by... whatever it is that tarnishes artists here. They have a style all their own (people I know who truly give a shit about comedy will often claim that Canadians are &#8220;more UK influenced&#8221;<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a> than in the States).</p><p>Speaking for myself, Canadians (especially the ones that don&#8217;t speak French) have never struck me as particularly &#8220;international,&#8221; despite that technically being true. Most people might not realize Rick Moranis is Canadian unless it&#8217;s their type of trivia (that said, anyone can tell without having to Google it that Tom Green isn&#8217;t from here.)</p><p>Call it a response to the current fuckery of US foreign trade policies<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a> or just a result of cultural frequency bias (back to back, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sxsw-grace-glowicki-dead-lover-release-1236161371/">Dead Lover</a> and <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/nirvanna-the-band-the-show-the-movie-neon-1236351189/">Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie</a><a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-3" href="#footnote-3" target="_self">3</a> both secured distribution after premiering at SXSW). But after a lifetime of not really distinguishing between Canadian versus American comedy, I have recently started to see the difference EVERYWHERE. </p><p>And it boils down to this: I harp constantly on the needlessness of permission to make comedy<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-4" href="#footnote-4" target="_self">4</a>, but it seems like Canadians totally already know about that. Their work demonstrates a self-assuredness and originality that you can speculate might not have survived in the competitive, commercial, and fictitiously &#8220;life changing&#8221; landscape of Hollywood. </p><p>So lately, I&#8217;ve been obsessed with speculating what their national mindset must be like, to allow citizens to dream up (and then <em>federally invest in</em>) some of the craziest shit I&#8217;ve ever seen. Then, the more ironic part: ideally, they bring that work to the US.</p><p>Question is, are they any different than US comics when they get here? Or do they blend in amongst us, as though international borders are basically a construct and culture is becoming more of a shared, global experience?</p><p>Ladies and gentleman of the Substack, those answers are well beyond my pay grade.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>With that in mind: here is my list of Groundbreaking Comedy Talent who just so happen to be from Canada. (If any Visa people are reading this, everyone on this list should qualify for O-1.)</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A5wP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fa0521e-bf3f-47fd-97d4-60b3935f1c9d_700x387.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A5wP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fa0521e-bf3f-47fd-97d4-60b3935f1c9d_700x387.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A5wP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fa0521e-bf3f-47fd-97d4-60b3935f1c9d_700x387.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A5wP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fa0521e-bf3f-47fd-97d4-60b3935f1c9d_700x387.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A5wP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fa0521e-bf3f-47fd-97d4-60b3935f1c9d_700x387.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A5wP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fa0521e-bf3f-47fd-97d4-60b3935f1c9d_700x387.jpeg" width="700" height="387" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4fa0521e-bf3f-47fd-97d4-60b3935f1c9d_700x387.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:387,&quot;width&quot;:700,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:44055,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Second Life Marketplace - She doesn't even go here gesture&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Second Life Marketplace - She doesn't even go here gesture" title="Second Life Marketplace - She doesn't even go here gesture" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A5wP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fa0521e-bf3f-47fd-97d4-60b3935f1c9d_700x387.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A5wP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fa0521e-bf3f-47fd-97d4-60b3935f1c9d_700x387.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A5wP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fa0521e-bf3f-47fd-97d4-60b3935f1c9d_700x387.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A5wP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fa0521e-bf3f-47fd-97d4-60b3935f1c9d_700x387.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">They don&#8217;t even go here...</figcaption></figure></div>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/shortlist-canadian-comedians-you">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[March 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[This free monthly digest is but a humble filter for the relentless firehose of original comedy content in today's evolving media landscape. &#128519;]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/march-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/march-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:17:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!P0_x!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff6a80291-c004-4067-aeee-3e9867d78c02_1142x746.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi, everyone who opens this email! Hope you&#8217;re having a great start to your week.&nbsp;</p><p>And if you&#8217;re not? <a href="https://deadline.com/2026/03/last-week-tonight-john-oliver-paramount-not-great-news-1236740905/#recipient_hashed=5f6c4c02a2926d5e5cd2af001ac9a8c160719f31ca732f6294b97a9e8419cc13&amp;recipient_salt=d48b40c0bdb169bc1eb1f6471e541838812877923592479a5182201b0089ddc6&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=exacttarget&amp;utm_campaign=Deadline_BreakingNews&amp;utm_content=667835_03-01-2026&amp;utm_term=18262768?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=exacttarget&amp;utm_campaign=1772425230-Breaking+News+Alert&amp;utm_content=667835_3-1-2026&amp;utm_id=667835">That is understandable</a>. If that is the case, I encourage especially you to check out some of the c&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/march-2026">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[GUEST POST: How to Get Industry to Actually Come to Your Comedy Show]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;That&#8217;s showbiz, baby.&#8221; - Jonathan van Halem]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-column-how-to-get-industry</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-column-how-to-get-industry</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 17 Feb 2026 18:31:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wzsr!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Jonathan van Halem is a Brooklyn-based stand-up comedian. His writing has been featured in <a href="https://clickhole.com/dads-not-going-to-like-this-mom-just-passed-away/">ClickHole</a> and <a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-real-thirteen-keys-for-winning-the-white-house">McSweeney&#8217;s</a>, and he&#8217;s worked as an opener for Rory Scovel, Gianmarco Soresi, and Sabrina Wu. He also has a Substack called <a href="/__u/jonathanvanhalem.substack.com/">Jonathan van Halem&#8217;s Substack</a>, where he writes about stand-up comedy.</em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wzsr!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wzsr!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wzsr!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wzsr!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wzsr!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wzsr!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg" width="612" height="408" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:408,&quot;width&quot;:612,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;1,100+ Businessman Clown Stock Photos, Pictures &amp; Royalty-Free Images -  iStock | Office clown, Comedian&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="1,100+ Businessman Clown Stock Photos, Pictures &amp; Royalty-Free Images -  iStock | Office clown, Comedian" title="1,100+ Businessman Clown Stock Photos, Pictures &amp; Royalty-Free Images -  iStock | Office clown, Comedian" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wzsr!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wzsr!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wzsr!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wzsr!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F348b7d67-2ee6-447b-b04d-c91d12806f20_612x408.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Ah, Industry. The people who supposedly make stuff happen (not to be confused with <em><a href="http://L'Industrie Pizzeria  L'Industrie https://lindustriebk.com">L&#8217;Industrie</a></em>, a popular pizza place in New York that I&#8217;ve never been to).</p><p>So many of my comedic peers obsess over getting seen by &#8220;industry&#8221;. They think it&#8217;ll magically kick their comedy career into hyper speed. And for some, it does. But for the majority, it&#8217;s just another small step in a long journey that is pursuing comedy.</p><p>Over the years I&#8217;ve sent out my fair share of industry invites to my monthly stand-up show, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hotgossip_comedy/?hl=en">Hot Gossip</a>. Typically I get a few yes&#8217;s, a few polite no&#8217;s, and a majority of non-responses. For a while there it was exclusively non-responses. But over the years I&#8217;ve changed my strategy for who, how, and why I reach out to industry, which has yielded much better results.</p><p>So, without any further adieu, here are my humble tips for how to get industry to actually come to your comedy show.</p><h3>Invite Assistants, Not Big Wigs</h3><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KgbB!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2df4d4e1-b321-4b72-9224-1bcc016e5194_1000x563.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KgbB!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2df4d4e1-b321-4b72-9224-1bcc016e5194_1000x563.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KgbB!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2df4d4e1-b321-4b72-9224-1bcc016e5194_1000x563.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KgbB!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2df4d4e1-b321-4b72-9224-1bcc016e5194_1000x563.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KgbB!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2df4d4e1-b321-4b72-9224-1bcc016e5194_1000x563.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KgbB!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2df4d4e1-b321-4b72-9224-1bcc016e5194_1000x563.jpeg" width="1000" height="563" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/2df4d4e1-b321-4b72-9224-1bcc016e5194_1000x563.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:563,&quot;width&quot;:1000,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Boss Baby 2' to Premiere on Peacock, in Theaters&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Boss Baby 2' to Premiere on Peacock, in Theaters" title="Boss Baby 2' to Premiere on Peacock, in Theaters" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KgbB!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2df4d4e1-b321-4b72-9224-1bcc016e5194_1000x563.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KgbB!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2df4d4e1-b321-4b72-9224-1bcc016e5194_1000x563.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KgbB!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2df4d4e1-b321-4b72-9224-1bcc016e5194_1000x563.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KgbB!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2df4d4e1-b321-4b72-9224-1bcc016e5194_1000x563.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Everybody wants to be seen by an agent, manager, late night booker, executive, crown prince, etc. But I&#8217;ve found the hit rate of getting those folks to accept complimentary tickets to a show to be quite low. They ain&#8217;t cashing in complementary tickets to Hot Gossip. They&#8217;re cashing in complimentary tickets to <em>Oh, Mary.</em> Or sitting courtside at the Knicks. Or going to Epstein&#8217;s island. But you know who&#8217;s <em>not</em> invited to Epstein&#8217;s island and will gladly accept your complimentary ticket? Their assistant.</p><p>I have a small list of assistants to agents/managers I always invite to my shows. I&#8217;ll say this, not only do they actually show up, but they&#8217;re also good audience members! They enjoy the other acts I book on my show, and actually understand my obscure pop-culture references. Plus, I am led to believe that the assistants of today are the power brokers of tomorrow (assuming they don&#8217;t have a psychotic break from reality and leave the comedy industry altogether). Whether it&#8217;s 3, 5, 10 years from now, it doesn&#8217;t hurt to have the connection. After all, stand-up comedy is a long game.</p><p>Another thing about assistants - they <em>multiply</em>. Assistants send shows to other assistants. Next thing you know you have ten assistants asking for comps to your show. Is it because they just want free evening plans? Who knows. That&#8217;s none of my concern. All I know is there&#8217;s no downside to a powerful person&#8217;s assistant seeing me put on a good show.</p><h3>Schedule Your Show on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday</h3><p>So here&#8217;s the thing - I wouldn&#8217;t say you *should* schedule your show on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday for this purpose. Do your show whenever works best for you and your schedule. But if you&#8217;re explicitly trying to get industry to attend, early in the week is your best bet. In my personal experience, complimentary ticket offers for shows on Fridays and Saturdays usually go unclaimed. I assume it&#8217;s because people leave town, or they have a friends&#8217; birthday party to attend, or they simply don&#8217;t want to think about work.</p><h3>Invite Atypical Industry</h3><p>I get wanting to invite big time agents, managers, late night bookers, etc.,  but there&#8217;s a big world out there outside of those folks. Is it your goal to be in a sketch on a late night show? Find out who their casting associate or assistant is and invite them. Are you frustrated that your show isn&#8217;t getting listed in all of the popular newsletters? Offer complimentary tickets to the folks who write those newsletters! They&#8217;ll be more inclined to include you in their listings in the future, and then other industry people will come. Do you see what I&#8217;m getting at? Agents and managers aren&#8217;t the only people who can be helpful if they see you crush. People in work in casting, write newsletters, or any other kind of culture making are folks who are useful to use your complimentary ticket allocation.</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-column-how-to-get-industry">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[February 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Our monthly update from the world of emerging comedy, hyping up the live shows, festival films, and rising digital creators you should know.]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/february-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/february-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 18:02:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gid_!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F672b228c-68d8-4441-9b6a-52d26983ac4f_950x633.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi, everyone! I don&#8217;t have a ton of time to write a long introduction teeing up the free digest this month with my meditations on the &#8220;State of Comedy&#8221; as it were. Life itself can get so busy, and wi&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/february-2026">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[FROM THE ARCHIVES // Q&A: Comedy Short Films]]></title><description><![CDATA[In 2024, we sat down with Ben Thompson, VP of Shorts Programming at Tribeca, to answer some questions about comedy short films...]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/from-the-archives-q-and-a-comedy</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/from-the-archives-q-and-a-comedy</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:21:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/Ml1QxCqsQnQ" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The interview below was initially published here in 2024 (which was both arguably and literally &#8220;a different time&#8221;). </p><p>That said, <a href="https://www.tribecafilm.com/festival/submissions">the 2026 deadline for Tribeca short film submissions is next week</a> on February 4th, so I scooped this one out of the archives for anyone with a comedic short that may have applied (or would appreciate the push&#8230;)</p><div><hr></div><p><em>Hello! I&#8217;m Keelin Ryan, contributor to the Cramer Comedy Newsletter and a development exec at Tribeca Productions.&nbsp;</em></p><p><em>Newsletter Editor <strong>Carly Hoogendyk</strong> and I sat down with <strong>Ben Thompson, VP of Shorts Programming at the <a href="https://tribecafilm.com/">Tribeca Festival</a>,</strong> to talk about comedic shorts. </em></p><p><em>We cover some common do&#8217;s and don&#8217;ts, the general festival landscape for comedic short films, and what festival programmers look for when selecting a program.&nbsp;</em></p><p><strong>KR</strong> Ben, thank you for talking with us! I know you speak a lot on the topic of festival programming, so I was wondering if you&#8217;d want to kick the conversation off talking a bit about comedic shorts.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>BT</strong> Well, for a start, we get a lot less comedy than anything else: last year our total submissions were over 8,000, and around 5,500 were narrative drama. When I'm speaking to filmmakers, I say comedy is something that all festivals are looking for; we really only get a few hundred each year.&nbsp;</p><p>Comedy is really hard to do. Drama is so much safer in terms of audience reaction; comedy is so subjective and could work for one festival or one type of audience but not for another. Last year we had a late night off-the-wall comedy program called <a href="https://tribecafilm.com/films/shorts-bats-t-crazy-2023">Batshit Crazy</a>. I was speaking to one of the filmmakers who had attended all three different screenings. He had a great reaction on the first night. And then on the second night, like, hardly anybody laughed. And then on the third night, it was kind of in the middle.</p><p>So it was the same film, just shown to three different audiences with three different reactions. That's part of the reason I think it's so hard to do comedy. And the risk you take as a filmmaker is the risk you take as a comedian standing up in front of the audience.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>KR</strong> When you&#8217;re sitting down to watch something, what&#8217;s the general criteria and how are you evaluating if it's right for Tribeca?</p><p><strong>BT</strong> In terms of comedy specifically, Tribeca is primarily an English-language festival, so a lot of what tends to resonate with us are US-based comedies in English. But what we're always very on the lookout for is international comedy; comedy that goes beyond the language barrier, that translates.&nbsp;</p><p>Some of my favorite comedies that we've played have not been English language; it&#8217;s more visual, more situational. When I was growing up in the UK, a popular comedian was Mr Bean - you can speak to people all over the world and whenever you mention Mr Bean, it resonates. Because it was physical comedy that didn't need subtitles, didn't need translation.</p><p><strong>CH</strong> The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_kloG2Z7tU">invisible drum kit bit</a>? I mean.</p><p><strong>BT</strong> Oh, yes. Oh, my gosh.</p><p><strong>CH</strong> Iconic. And, actually, I have to bring this up just because I think you'd love him, but there's a comedian named <a href="https://andreswparada.com/">Andreas Parada</a>. He's based in LA. He's part of the Groundlings, he speaks Spanish and he does clown. He was on America's Got Talent with this clown character [Papayaso]. Like, it's so funny. I think that's what you're talking about, where it's in another language, but can transcend that barrier.</p><p><strong>BT</strong> That's one of the things we're always on the lookout for. We had a great Finnish short film a couple of years ago called <a href="https://tribecafilm.com/films/bouncer-2021">The Bouncer</a>, which is mostly physical; the character's mostly silent.&nbsp;</p><p>I mean, there's different types of comedy. There's cringe comedy. There's physical comedy. There's very dialogue-driven, clever, witty comedy. If you're putting together a program, you don't want one type because you don't have just one type of audience.&nbsp;</p><p>Last year we had a really fun comedy, a kind of meta satire called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml1QxCqsQnQ">Proof of Concept</a> - it played in front of <a href="https://tribecafilm.com/films/first-time-female-director-2023%5C">First Time Female Director</a>. So it was this wonderful kind of synergy between these two films. It's about a filmmaker making a short film, and getting that feedback of: &#8220;oh, no, you don't want to do that.&#8221;&nbsp;</p><div id="youtube2-Ml1QxCqsQnQ" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;Ml1QxCqsQnQ&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Ml1QxCqsQnQ?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/from-the-archives-q-and-a-comedy">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[INTERVIEW: Cultivating Success as an Independent Podcast Company ]]></title><description><![CDATA[A conversation with co-founders Erica Getto and Myrriah Gossett about their podcasting collective, Good Get Productions.]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/interview-cultivating-success-as</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/interview-cultivating-success-as</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2026 18:02:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IL8O!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IL8O!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IL8O!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IL8O!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IL8O!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IL8O!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IL8O!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg" width="1456" height="728" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:728,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IL8O!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IL8O!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IL8O!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IL8O!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc868fd5e-bf15-4e6e-9bf1-41b54c75d433_1456x728.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Pretty sick branding for an audio-based company (if you ask me)</figcaption></figure></div><p>I first met New York-based producer <a href="https://www.kinehora.co/about">Erica Getto</a> because two trusted sources told me simply that &#8220;I would like her.&#8221;</p><p>And reader, I did! She and I hit it off over our shared enthusiasm for mainstream <em>and</em> niche comedy, the communities that incubate the best talent, and building platforms for emerging (and unconventional) artists to reach larger audiences and connect with the industry. (Oh also, we both went to the same college at different times &#8212; cute!)</p><p>Erica got her start in entertainment as an NBC page and from there she went on to build a resume that solidly supports the notion that she knows &#8220;what the hell is up&#8221; (as it were) in comedy. I was initially impressed, not just by her producing credits at Broadway Video and Comedy Central (<a href="https://www.kinehora.co/about">amongst plenty of others</a>), or the fact that she was Jonathan Van Ness&#8217;s producer on their podcast (and a consulting producer on <a href="https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt16584084/filmmakers">the subsequent Netflix series</a>). I mean totally, those are cool credits, but not the one that fully won my heart and mind. It&#8217;s that she was a producer and writer on the cult comedy public-access television show, <em>The Special Without Brett Davis. </em>(Scrolling through the contributing writers on that series is like asking Google AI <a href="https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt4486762/filmmakers">&#8220;who was cool in New York alt-comedy in 2015.&#8221;</a>)</p><p>Today, in collaboration with Webby and Signal Award-winning podcast producer <a href="https://www.myrriahgossett.com/">Myrriah Gossett</a>, Erica is co-founder of the boutique production company <a href="https://www.goodget.xyz/">Good Get</a>, which specializes in audio-first comedy podcasts.</p><p>Their newest project <a href="https://pod.link/1759009166">Art To Me</a>, hosted by Nic Scheppard and Jenson Titus of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/verygaypaint/?hl=en">Very Gay Paint</a>, is launching its second season (and the first with Good Get) this Thursday, January 22.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!clqk!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa458bc7-9ec7-4b98-b31a-7802b45421aa_600x600.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!clqk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa458bc7-9ec7-4b98-b31a-7802b45421aa_600x600.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!clqk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa458bc7-9ec7-4b98-b31a-7802b45421aa_600x600.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!clqk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa458bc7-9ec7-4b98-b31a-7802b45421aa_600x600.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!clqk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa458bc7-9ec7-4b98-b31a-7802b45421aa_600x600.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!clqk!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa458bc7-9ec7-4b98-b31a-7802b45421aa_600x600.jpeg" width="600" height="600" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fa458bc7-9ec7-4b98-b31a-7802b45421aa_600x600.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Art To Me - Tile Art.jpeg&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Art To Me - Tile Art.jpeg" title="Art To Me - Tile Art.jpeg" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!clqk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa458bc7-9ec7-4b98-b31a-7802b45421aa_600x600.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!clqk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa458bc7-9ec7-4b98-b31a-7802b45421aa_600x600.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!clqk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa458bc7-9ec7-4b98-b31a-7802b45421aa_600x600.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!clqk!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa458bc7-9ec7-4b98-b31a-7802b45421aa_600x600.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Maybe consider subscribing (wherever you get your podcasts, as they say)</figcaption></figure></div><p>I love what they&#8217;re doing (for themselves, and others), so I wanted to give Myrriah and Erica a platform to share more about their approach to launching original podcasts with entertainers who also want to make meaningful work on their own terms.</p><p><em><strong>Premium readers can access the full interview below the paywall &#8212;&nbsp;but just because the take-homes were good and helpful, here is a general sense of what we discussed:</strong></em></p><ul><li><p>On the heels of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9XdPNy_ffk">Amy Poehler winning the inaugural Golden Globe for podcasting</a>, we discussed why it feels even more important to support the next generation of podcasters, and acknowledge the challenges inherent in our <strong>current pipeline for up-and-coming comedians.</strong></p></li><li><p>Similar to the entertainment industry at large, we&#8217;re already seeing so many of the &#8220;established&#8221; systems break down, including upheavals at <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F08%2F04%2Fbusiness%2Fmedia%2Famazon-wondery-podcasts-layoffs.html&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ccarly%40omnipop.com%7Ccbea97eb372949f0800208de577bb80b%7Cf4da462f8d7b403fb35ed931d634c677%7C0%7C0%7C639044386091307017%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=ikCvF9%2Bd7MeerprcuVrKX1aLOo7UwJL9GDB6h3vkaZw%3D&amp;reserved=0">Wondery</a>, <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hollywoodreporter.com%2Fbusiness%2Fdigital%2Flemonada-media-sale-sweden-podx-group-1236208774%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ccarly%40omnipop.com%7Ccbea97eb372949f0800208de577bb80b%7Cf4da462f8d7b403fb35ed931d634c677%7C0%7C0%7C639044386091319863%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=hwOlV8RHEPJmgJN6BJh197EB7wz5SfFpszuWqqofZhU%3D&amp;reserved=0">Lemonada</a>, <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Ffeed%2Fupdate%2Furn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7367348544111878144%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpodnews.net%26utm_medium%3Dweb%26utm_campaign%3Dpodnews.net%253A2025-09-12&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ccarly%40omnipop.com%7Ccbea97eb372949f0800208de577bb80b%7Cf4da462f8d7b403fb35ed931d634c677%7C0%7C0%7C639044386091335420%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Kz8Og4nx9fF%2FVKpXusKKj2w5yuuZBFXhbDx8%2Bu8yUec%3D&amp;reserved=0">Earwolf</a>, <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2025%2Fbiz%2Fnews%2Fheadgum-layoffs-podcast-struggles-1236560100%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ccarly%40omnipop.com%7Ccbea97eb372949f0800208de577bb80b%7Cf4da462f8d7b403fb35ed931d634c677%7C0%7C0%7C639044386091351923%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=sAuERST1k9ko4n%2Bveue4CuG%2ByFFh6BEWMA7%2FYYGZLsA%3D&amp;reserved=0">Headgum</a>, <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2025%2Fdigital%2Fnews%2Fpineapple-street-shut-down-layoffs-audacy-1236442198%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ccarly%40omnipop.com%7Ccbea97eb372949f0800208de577bb80b%7Cf4da462f8d7b403fb35ed931d634c677%7C0%7C0%7C639044386091365501%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=6%2Fs4KW23Bhco8PkDWLNxNC3Wj5xqH%2Fu5JJmLiTd%2Bm9E%3D&amp;reserved=0">Pineapple Street Studios</a>, and other once big players... but since <strong>Good Get works independently, they share how they&#8217;re taking advantage of every opportunity to experiment</strong> <strong>with new paths forward</strong> (for everything from monetization to programming strategy).</p></li><li><p>We talked about <strong>&#8220;what podcast producers do,&#8221;</strong> or at least what Good Get does as podcast producers.</p></li><li><p><strong>What does it look like to take a collective approach to entertainment?</strong> Good Get  believes that their greatest strength as a company is having a group of shows and hosts with the same vision and values.</p></li></ul><p>I&#8217;d love to continue to publish conversations with independent comedy professionals like this. If you have an interesting perspective on the &#8220;state of comedy&#8221; as it were, please feel free to <a href="mailto:stateofcomedynewsletter@gmail.com">hit me up.</a></p><p>Lastly, a quick but not unrelated sidebar: I love that the editorial focus of this, a newsletter about and for the comedy industry, has recently gravitated towards<strong> the ways entrepreneurs are rebuilding a middle class of comedy via independent models</strong>. It&#8217;s a pertinent topic for us all, and conversation truly dear to my heart given some recent, vehement calls to action by Chris Gethard on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2uZ6C8xhGI">Vulture&#8217;s Good One podcast</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Y827iu10ABI">Ella Yurman&#8217;s before that</a>. </p><p>So let&#8217;s keep talking about it! I&#8217;d like to spread more conversations about the work being done today to create a fair and equitable artistic economy. I&#8217;d like to imagine possibilities for what a better industry looks like and support the people willing to do the work to build it. </p><p>And with that, here&#8217;s my conversation with two people doing exactly that work: Erica and Myrriah at Good Get.</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/interview-cultivating-success-as">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[GUEST POST: I Submitted for JFL New Faces - Here’s How I Decided What Material To Include]]></title><description><![CDATA[Jonathan van Halem is back in your inbox to share everything he's learning as a young and (increasingly) working comedian.]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-i-submitted-for-jfl-new</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-i-submitted-for-jfl-new</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jonathan van Halem]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2026 18:01:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/WAPPI6ILe_I" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Jonathan van Halem is a Brooklyn-based stand-up comedian. His writing has been featured in <a href="https://clickhole.com/dads-not-going-to-like-this-mom-just-passed-away/">ClickHole</a> and <a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-real-thirteen-keys-for-winning-the-white-house">McSweeney&#8217;s</a>, and he&#8217;s worked as an opener for Rory Scovel, Kyle Gordon, and Sabrina Wu. He also has a Substack called <a href="/__u/jonathanvanhalem.substack.com/">Jonathan van Halem&#8217;s Substack</a>, where he writes about stand-up comedy. Jonathan is no longer seeking representation. :) </em></p><p>Ah, Just For Laughs New Faces. It&#8217;s one of several accolades I covet (alongside <em>Don&#8217;t Tell Comedy Taping Recipient</em> and <em>Starting 3rd Basemen for the New York Mets</em>).</p><p>Each year, thousands of comedians submit to be considered for the illustrious industry showcase in Montreal. Last year, talented folks (and alumni of my monthly show<em> Hot Gossip</em>) like Conor Janda, Maggie Crane, Dylan Adler, and newly minted SNL writer Jo Sunday got tapped. Other past recipients include Shane Gillis, Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, and many other stars of our time. But if you read this newsletter, you probably already know this.</p><p>So, <a href="https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=oN_aL0ylNEyneoneNMQH-OgkacrAlG5EhId2_v5t0HxUNlRENlJKSDVWODVTNVBVNzhQS0ZBM1VRRiQlQCN0PWcu&amp;route=shorturl">the instructions for stand-up comedians who are submitting are as follows</a>: </p><p><em><strong>&#8220;Please submit a recent 6-minute set (ideally something from the past 12 months). Note: Do not submit an edited reel, or &#8216;best of&#8217; collection. We are looking for one continuous 6-minute, uninterrupted set. Note that comedians will be free to perform other material at the audition if they so choose.&#8221;</strong></em></p><p>Simple enough, but I have a large swath of material to choose from. So what&#8217;s the best distillation of <em>me</em>? Is it the jokes only I can tell? Is it the material I&#8217;m currently highest on?</p><p>I considered this all and more before eventually settling on a set that, if it doesn&#8217;t get me an audition, is at least a set I am proud to have submitted.</p><h3>Studying Others&#8217; Sets</h3><p>In preparation, I watched a handful of sets from other comedians who were selected for JFL or other similar industry showcases, just to see if I could pick up on any trends. There were a handful of comedians for whom this exercise was not even remotely helpful, like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waOZslc8c4Q">Ryan Goodcase&#8217;s Netflix set</a> (that dude is one of one), but for the others, there were definitely some overlapping themes.</p><p>Lots of people talking about their family. Lots of people talking about where they&#8217;re from, how many siblings they have, their mom&#8217;s weird quirk, etc. Quite a few people talking about their sexuality. People talking about dating, of course.</p><p>Truthfully, the biggest takeaway from watching these sets was that 1) You&#8217;ll never go wrong by being unabashedly yourself. Do whatever is your truest identity.  2)  If you&#8217;re going to do a joke about Hinge, it better be the best joke about Hinge I&#8217;ve ever heard. 3) There are a LOT of funny people in the world and only a handful of them get selected for <em>Just For Laughs</em>.</p><h3>What Material to Include</h3><p>So when I headline on the road, my setlist ~typically~ boils down to these six sections.</p><ul><li><p>Intro/travel (~5 minutes)</p></li><li><p>About me (10 minutes)</p></li><li><p>Local material (7-10 minutes)</p></li><li><p>Fox News/MSNBC/politics (~10 minutes)</p></li><li><p>Public school (~10 minutes)</p></li><li><p>Arrest story (~10 minutes)</p></li></ul><p>Bada bing, bada boom. Factoring in a little crowdwork, that gets me to 60 minutes, easy peasy. But how do I distill that down to my six best minutes?</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-i-submitted-for-jfl-new">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[January 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Oh this? It's just a comedy digest: free and chock full of comedy you'll be happy to have discovered. NBD.]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/january-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/january-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 18:30:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/vimeo/w_728,c_limit,d_video_placeholder.png/1077303189" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi, everyone! Welcome, to 2026. </p><p>If you missed the most recent newsletter featuring the <a href="/__u/open.substack.com/pub/stateofcomedy/p/our-best-picks-of-2025?r=1udial&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=true">Best Picks of 2025</a>, you might wanna go check that one out. And get excited: every bit of talent coverage in this&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/january-2026">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Our Best Picks of 2025]]></title><description><![CDATA[Take another look at the most exciting talent we've spotlit this year &#8212; and hear more about what they've done since...]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/our-best-picks-of-2025</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/our-best-picks-of-2025</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[State of Comedy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2025 17:01:43 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p9yP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We made it, folks: the obligatory year end &#8220;best of&#8221; writeup, featuring my favorite newsletter picks from 2025. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p9yP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p9yP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p9yP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p9yP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p9yP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p9yP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png" width="1456" height="728" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:728,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1470648,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/i/182478139?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p9yP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p9yP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p9yP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p9yP!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e1a3f3-84dd-4274-a881-0858df7170e7_2160x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Allow me to unpack what makes these picks my &#8220;favorites.&#8221; </p><p>Everyone on this list of eclectic, funny creators cut through the noise of the everyday deluge of content by creating <strong>live, digital, film or animated comedy</strong> that both captures our attention and undeniably gets the dang job done (which is to say: <strong>makes us laugh</strong>). </p><p>These folks have been deliberately selected from all the talent spotlights featured in State of Comedy this year &#8212; each comes with a success narrative that is currently fueling a uniquely exciting rising career. To that point: not all of these comedians can be fairly considered &#8220;<em>emerging</em>.&#8221; Better to think of them as &#8220;<em>rising</em>.&#8221; (And I do think what we&#8217;re talking about here is the potential for comedy stardom.) Even the more familiar names on this list are relentlessly self-producing <strong>refreshing, original comedy</strong> and <strong>gaining attention, momentum, and future opportunities for it</strong>. </p><div><hr></div><p>Before we dive in, please indulge this brief moment of sincerity: <strong>THANK YOU! </strong>Thanks and more thanks, to all the readers. I&#8217;m so grateful that you guys are opening an email about emerging voices in comedy each month, clicking on names you&#8217;ve never heard before, and (hopefully) laughing. </p><p>That said, if you&#8217;d like to show your appreciation for the free monthly digest &#8212; and if you do want to read this whole list (which links back to newsletters in our premium-only archive!) &#8212; you might consider <strong>joining as a paid subscriber.</strong> Your patronage keeps me encouraged about the future of comedy&#8230; and fed!  </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>Without further ado: here they are, in no particular order, the most exciting rising comedians from State of Comedy&#8217;s 2025 talent coverage.</p><div><hr></div><h3>Kareem Rahma</h3><p>There&#8217;s a fair argument to be made that 2025 was the year that <strong>Kareem Rahma</strong> propelled himself into the mainstream consciousness &#8212; and rightfully so: he continues to put <a href="https://www.instagram.com/subwaytakes/?hl=en">out one of the most popular internet talk shows</a>, he premiered an indie movie called <em><a href="https://www.factorytwentyfive.com/or-something">Or Something</a> </em>with Mary Neeley, and in the <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/april-2025">April</a> newsletter, we shared a trailer for his innovative short film-standup special hybrid:</p><div id="youtube2-828iAzrck9M" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;828iAzrck9M&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/828iAzrck9M?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><p>Here&#8217;s the blurb from his original coverage:</p><ul><li><p><em>Kareem Rahma (who you recognize as the host of viral podcast <a href="https://www.instagram.com/subwaytakes/?hl=en">SubwayTakes</a>) and Johnny Gaffney, alongside <a href="https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/adam-mckay-yellow-dot-studios-cobell-energy-tiktok-series-ari-cagan-1235764568/">Cobell Energy</a> co-creator <a href="https://johnconnorhammond.com/">John Connor Hammond</a>, premiered TONIGHT&#8217;S SPECIAL on Omeleto. The special brings an innovative twist to traditional stand-up, blending elements of an ensemble workplace comedy with the energy and unpredictability of a live performance.</em></p></li></ul><h3>Danny Jolles</h3><p>After hosting our first ever live show, <a href="https://www.dynasty.tv/the-state-of-comedy-2025">STATE OF COMEDY at Dynasty Typewriter</a> in February, we shared a short film from <strong>Danny Jolles</strong> in our <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/march-2025">March</a> digest. One month later, his episodes from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DIR7_fhTmuI/">season 4 of </a><em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DIR7_fhTmuI/">Hacks</a> </em>started to air<em> </em>(he recurred as a memorably awkward staff writer, with a puke take that I&#8217;ll never forget.) He also got <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJPkGUESJiT/?img_index=1">passed at the Cellar!</a></p><div id="youtube2-919LGloTfkI" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;919LGloTfkI&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/919LGloTfkI?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><ul><li><p><em>Let <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dannyjolles/">Danny Jolles</a> be an example to us all: don&#8217;t wait for permission...just make the thing! Known for self-producing and releasing his stand-up specials on YouTube, Danny is now bringing that same DIY energy to his narrative work. His latest project, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=919LGloTfkI">NOBODY CARES</a>, is a sharply funny and unexpectedly poignant short film about loneliness and the extreme, awkward lengths one man (Danny) will go to in search of connection. After premiering at the HollyShorts Film Festival last summer, the film is now available for all to watch on YouTube.</em></p></li></ul><h3>Chloe Longname</h3><p>One comedian whose content got high engagement from newsletter readers was <strong>Chloe Longname.</strong> Appearing as a digital spotlight in our <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/january-2025">January</a> newsletter, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DIb2GO-v8nE/">she was featured on the Instagram Creators page</a> a few months later in April, and has since <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/10/the-body-tv-series-quinn-shephard-adds-11-recurring-1236594864/">booked a recurring role on a Netflix series.</a></p><div class="instagram-embed-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;instagram_id&quot;:&quot;DFvbr1BSoQ1&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Chloe on Instagram: \&quot;Dw that duck was really problematic. Bad g&#8230;&quot;,&quot;author_name&quot;:&quot;@chloe.longname&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/__ss-rehost__IG-meta-DFvbr1BSoQ1.jpg&quot;,&quot;like_count&quot;:null,&quot;comment_count&quot;:null,&quot;profile_pic_url&quot;:null,&quot;follower_count&quot;:null,&quot;timestamp&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true}" data-component-name="InstagramToDOM"></div><p>Here&#8217;s the original blurb:</p><ul><li><p><em>We&#8217;re expecting great things from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFvbr1BSoQ1/">Chloe Longname</a> (not her actual name, because apparently, she has a&#8230; well, you get it). Imagine if Rory Gilmore had Meg Stalter&#8217;s comedic timing. If you are cool, and understand why that&#8217;s exciting: please, cast her in everything.</em></p></li></ul><h3>Niles Abston</h3><p><strong>Niles Abston</strong> was featured in <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-roy-wood-jr-is-paying">a guest post written by Tim Barnes</a> in March &#8212; just this month, he wrapped production on his crowd-funded debut feature, <em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/theboothmovie/?hl=en">The Booth.</a></em></p><div class="digest-post-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;nodeId&quot;:&quot;e7e0a95d-dc98-4a37-bda0-a736d403bbaa&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Their paths intersected roughly eight years ago when Roy, then in his late 30s, discovered Nile&#8217;s Atlanta spec script and flew the 22-year-old away from his warehouse job to work on Comedy Central sketches. The resulting eight years have been turbulent for comedy, politics, and the entertainment industry as a whole. So, with their differing ages and comedic eras of entry in mind, it&#8217;s interesting how their interests and grievances intersect.&quot;,&quot;cta&quot;:&quot;Read full story&quot;,&quot;showBylines&quot;:true,&quot;showDescription&quot;:true,&quot;showImage&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;lg&quot;,&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;GUEST POST: Roy Wood Jr. Is Paying Attention To Niles Abston &quot;,&quot;publishedBylines&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:1875214,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;You Are The Genre&quot;,&quot;bio&quot;:&quot;Home of Letters from African America (for humor) &amp; Alternate Timeline (for sci-fi). For personal insights from the founder, check out \&quot;Tim Barnes Confidential\&quot;&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a4839ea1-148d-4326-af6d-6bfcc0dc7740_2500x2500.png&quot;,&quot;is_guest&quot;:true,&quot;bestseller_tier&quot;:null,&quot;primaryPublicationSubscribeUrl&quot;:&quot;https://lettersfromafricanamerica.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;primaryPublicationUrl&quot;:&quot;https://lettersfromafricanamerica.substack.com&quot;,&quot;primaryPublicationName&quot;:&quot;Letters From African America&quot;,&quot;primaryPublicationId&quot;:6932},{&quot;id&quot;:111484893,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;State of Comedy&quot;,&quot;bio&quot;:&quot;An industry digest of emerging voices in comedy.&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1770bb8d-f137-4dda-b923-eab65003d844_1080x1080.png&quot;,&quot;is_guest&quot;:false,&quot;bestseller_tier&quot;:null}],&quot;post_date&quot;:&quot;2025-03-17T17:56:33.047Z&quot;,&quot;cover_image&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/dY_1WYCA-bs&quot;,&quot;cover_image_alt&quot;:null,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:&quot;https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-roy-wood-jr-is-paying&quot;,&quot;section_name&quot;:null,&quot;video_upload_id&quot;:null,&quot;id&quot;:159274908,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;newsletter&quot;,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:9,&quot;comment_count&quot;:0,&quot;publication_id&quot;:1910842,&quot;publication_name&quot;:&quot;State of Comedy&quot;,&quot;publication_logo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wsb9!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e5899cc-0d72-450c-b695-e7abe0bf5402_1080x1080.png&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;youtube_url&quot;:null,&quot;show_links&quot;:null,&quot;feed_url&quot;:null}"></div><h3>Jonathan Van Halem</h3><p>While we&#8217;re on the subject of guest posts, NY based comedian <strong>Jonathan van Halem </strong>has written some real bangers this year. Jonathan approaches comedy with a &#8220;Moneyball mentality,&#8221; and no one works harder to articulate and share their findings after applying best practices to their own standup career.</p><div class="digest-post-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;nodeId&quot;:&quot;87b9f244-6f58-4ec1-ba12-76910ee0bcaa&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Jonathan van Halem is a Brooklyn-based stand-up comedian. His writing has been featured in ClickHole and McSweeney&#8217;s, and he&#8217;s worked as an opener for Rory Scovel, Kyle Gordon, and Sabrina Wu. He also has a Substack called&quot;,&quot;cta&quot;:&quot;Read full story&quot;,&quot;showBylines&quot;:true,&quot;showDescription&quot;:true,&quot;showImage&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;lg&quot;,&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;GUEST POST:  Here&#8217;s What Happened When I Finally Got My Shit Together and Posted Reels 4x a Week&quot;,&quot;publishedBylines&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:25136214,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Jonathan van Halem&quot;,&quot;bio&quot;:&quot;I am a stand-up comedian based in Brooklyn, NY. When I&#8217;m not doing comedy, I&#8217;m patiently waiting for the New York Mets to win the World Series. My favorite Family Guy character is Stewie. &quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/80b52da1-0aa4-4067-9dd6-bea7679b810d_1179x1179.jpeg&quot;,&quot;is_guest&quot;:true,&quot;bestseller_tier&quot;:null,&quot;primaryPublicationSubscribeUrl&quot;:&quot;https://jonathanvanhalem.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;primaryPublicationUrl&quot;:&quot;https://jonathanvanhalem.substack.com&quot;,&quot;primaryPublicationName&quot;:&quot;Jonathan van Halem's Substack&quot;,&quot;primaryPublicationId&quot;:2669875}],&quot;post_date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-15T18:00:53.383Z&quot;,&quot;cover_image&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;cover_image_alt&quot;:null,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:&quot;https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-heres-what-happened-when&quot;,&quot;section_name&quot;:null,&quot;video_upload_id&quot;:null,&quot;id&quot;:181614640,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;newsletter&quot;,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:1,&quot;comment_count&quot;:0,&quot;publication_id&quot;:1910842,&quot;publication_name&quot;:&quot;State of Comedy&quot;,&quot;publication_logo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wsb9!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e5899cc-0d72-450c-b695-e7abe0bf5402_1080x1080.png&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;youtube_url&quot;:null,&quot;show_links&quot;:null,&quot;feed_url&quot;:null}"></div><p>Learn more about Jonathan <a href="https://www.jonathanvanhalem.com/faq">here</a>, follow him <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jonathanvanhalem/">here</a>, and (from his FAQ page) enjoy his description of his target demo: &#8220;My comedy is typically enjoyed by women with bisexual energy, men who&#8217;ve never been in a fight, people who Google a question then add &#8220;reddit&#8221; to the end, and people vaguely committed to a skincare routine.&#8221;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/our-best-picks-of-2025">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[GUEST POST:  Here’s What Happened When I Finally Got My Shit Together and Posted Reels 4x a Week]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;Just do it.&#8221; - Jonathan van Halem]]></description><link>https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-heres-what-happened-when</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-heres-what-happened-when</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jonathan van Halem]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 18:00:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Jonathan van Halem is a Brooklyn-based stand-up comedian. His writing has been featured in <a href="https://clickhole.com/dads-not-going-to-like-this-mom-just-passed-away/">ClickHole</a> and <a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-real-thirteen-keys-for-winning-the-white-house">McSweeney&#8217;s</a>, and he&#8217;s worked as an opener for Rory Scovel, Kyle Gordon, and Sabrina Wu. He also has a Substack called <a href="/__u/jonathanvanhalem.substack.com/">Jonathan van Halem&#8217;s Substack</a>, where he writes about stand-up comedy. Jonathan is currently seeking representation.</em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:974759,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/i/181614640?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gler!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff2f9d0b2-3bd6-4d9b-b970-2c063846959e_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>In 2023, I played the social media game to some level of success. I had a few clips get a few million views, and I broke out of four-digit follower prison. I was grateful for this, as it allowed me to more easily book out of town work. But then I dropped off for a while to focus on other things (i.e.  getting better at stand-up).</p><p>I was also skeptical about how important social media was. Obviously I knew it was <em>important.</em> But there are <em>so many comedians</em><strong> </strong>with 100,000+ followers that it started to feel like maybe that wasn&#8217;t such an important metric anymore. Kind of an <em>if everyone is special, nobody is </em>type deal.</p><p>I, of course, was wrong.</p><p>In May of this year, I decided to part ways with my manager. After that, I had a few meetings with various reps, telling them my goal to transition from headlining one-nighters to headlining full weekends. They all asked me the same question: <em>what&#8217;s your posting cadence?</em></p><p>So, I started working on a clip bank. I taped an hour at <a href="https://seshcomedy.com/">Sesh Comedy</a>, taped another hour at <a href="https://unionhallny.com/">Union Hall</a>, and combed through every filmed road set until I had 100 clips I was (decently) satisfied with. The last time I had a posting cadence, it ultimately failed because I ran out of stuff to post, started posting lower quality stuff, and then got discouraged when it wasn&#8217;t doing as well. So this clip bank was in essence to hedge against burnout.</p><p>They say the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. But what they don&#8217;t tell you is sometimes their plans go pretty well. I&#8217;ve been posting frequently, and it&#8217;s going nicely. There&#8217;s been a learning curve, sure, but the whole task has been less daunting than I anticipated.</p><p>So, in the spirit of sharing intel, here&#8217;s everything I&#8217;ve learned in the last six-ish weeks about social media.</p><h3>By The Numbers</h3><p>First off, let&#8217;s take a look at my posting calendar over the past six weeks.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U2ZV!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f514113-a5da-49c0-85b0-61b0640c7ee6_796x780.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U2ZV!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f514113-a5da-49c0-85b0-61b0640c7ee6_796x780.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U2ZV!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f514113-a5da-49c0-85b0-61b0640c7ee6_796x780.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U2ZV!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f514113-a5da-49c0-85b0-61b0640c7ee6_796x780.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U2ZV!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f514113-a5da-49c0-85b0-61b0640c7ee6_796x780.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U2ZV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f514113-a5da-49c0-85b0-61b0640c7ee6_796x780.png" width="796" height="780" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4f514113-a5da-49c0-85b0-61b0640c7ee6_796x780.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:780,&quot;width&quot;:796,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U2ZV!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_424, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f514113-a5da-49c0-85b0-61b0640c7ee6_796x780.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U2ZV!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_848, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f514113-a5da-49c0-85b0-61b0640c7ee6_796x780.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U2ZV!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f514113-a5da-49c0-85b0-61b0640c7ee6_796x780.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U2ZV!, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f514113-a5da-49c0-85b0-61b0640c7ee6_796x780.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>A green checkmark (&#9989;) means a post got over 10,000 views, and a red X (&#10060;) means it got under 10,000.</p><p>Here were my five most successful posts on each platform, plus the overall increase I saw in followers.</p><p><strong>Instagram</strong></p><ol><li><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DRKYTgIjY_7/">New York Nepo Babies (665,000 views)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DRxKTtyCTzs/">MLB Broadcaster Existential Crisis (450,000 views)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DRdIxfYibdn/?img_index=1">Various Meme images (140,000)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DQxQpCLCUPY/">Spirit Airlines (100,000 views)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DRhvuNRiXkZ/">Interning at Fox News (90,000 views)</a></p></li></ol><p><strong>Follower growth:</strong> 14,500 followers to 17,400 followers</p><p><strong>Tik Tok</strong></p><ol><li><p><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@jonathanvanhalem/video/7572984551996181773">New York Nepo Babies (1,700,000 views)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@jonathanvanhalem/video/7570756700177698061">Barron Trump (300,000 views)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@jonathanvanhalem/video/7581875649342672142">Catholic children are monsters (230,0000)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@jonathanvanhalem/video/7576441041931308301">Befriending Karl Rove/Interning Bill O&#8217;Reilly (215,000 views)</a></p></li><li><p><em><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@jonathanvanhalem/video/7574474880280775991">What Would You Do?</a></em><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@jonathanvanhalem/video/7574474880280775991"> (185,000 views)</a></p></li></ol><p><strong>Follower growth: </strong>25,500 followers to 28,000 followers</p><p><strong>YouTube</strong></p><ol><li><p><a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/Se4s32a0V2U?feature=share">New York Nepo Babies (2,800,000 views)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/Qc9Q3drRXYE?feature=share">Befriending Karl Rove (400,000 views)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/nV3NtVoR3os?feature=share">Keith Hernandez (125,000 views)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/sXk7fc_Jwlo?feature=share">Interning for Bill O&#8217;Reilly (95,000 views)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/Qi4oDApghqU?feature=share">Malia Obama/Nepo Baby (25,000 views)</a></p></li></ol><p><strong>Follower growth: </strong>50 subscribers to 1,160 subscribers</p><h3>Fun Facts</h3><ul><li><p>In the past month, I was followed on Instagram by Jerry Seinfeld, Mrs. Met, Jeff Garlin, Emma Willmann, Guy Braunum, Kevin Burkhardt and KFC Barstool.</p></li><li><p>Shaquille O&#8217;Neal&#8217;s son favorited a video about nepotism. Christy Carlson Romano, Eva Noblezada, and Eliza from <em>Survivor</em> favorited a video about Diet Coke.</p></li><li><p>My email list grew from 0 to 176 emails.</p></li><li><p>My Substack readership doubled, from 50 readers to 100 readers.</p></li></ul><h3>What I Learned: Instagram</h3>
      <p>
          <a href="/__u/stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-heres-what-happened-when">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>