Variety’s 10 Comics to Keep Watching

Variety’s annual list of 10 Comics to Watch was revealed last night.

I imagine anyone reading this blog is already familiar with all 10 names. Many aren’t exactly bold choices, as it doesn’t take an industry genius to predict a career upswing for someone recently cast in a major network sitcom.

The list, linking to their Variety profiles:

Wyatt Cenac, photo by Sharilyn Johnson

(Really, do we need to be told at this point that Kristin Schaal’s future looks bright?)

One nice surprise is seeing Canadian Jon Dore’s name on this list. He’s fun to watch on stage, just as fun to watch on the quirky Jon Dore Television Program (airing on the Comedy Network up north), and I’ve never heard anyone say a bad thing about the guy. Should he choose to head southward, good things will happen for him.

The majority of these folks are expected to appear at Just For Laughs in Montreal next week at the Comedy Conference, and they’ll no doubt be last-minute additions at some of the club shows and galas.

Tags: Aubrey Plaza, Donald Glover, Ellie Kemper, John Dore, Ken Jeong, Kristen Schaal, Kumail Nanjiani, Matt Braunger, Nick Kroll, standup, tv, Wyatt Cenac

About the Author

Sharilyn Johnson is the author of the book Bears & Balls: The Colbert Report A-Z. Called "one of the city’s most discriminating comedy critics” by NOW Magazine, Sharilyn has been covering comedy for longer than she cares to admit. She served as the comedy reporter for Winnipeg's Uptown Magazine for five years, and was the host of the radio show Laugh Tracks for three seasons. Her work has also appeared in the Toronto Star, the Winnipeg Free Press, The Apiary, and on CBC Radio's national comedy programs LOL and Definitely Not the Opera.