12 Innovators Who Changed Comedy in 2020

#12 EVERY COMEDY CLUB

Clubs across America had to get creative this year, taking the streets, the parks, the rooftops and the parking lots to put on shows, often for free, just to stay in the game.  We couldn’t believe how many club owners were determined to stay in the game, support their staffs and support their comedians even when they took a loss on some of their events.  Some of these clubs may have even stretched the rules a little bit but every club we spoke to remained 100% committed to safety and went beyond recommended measures to make sure their staff, comics and patrons were as safe as possible.

#11 UNCLE VINNIE’S

Struggling to figure out how to make money this year at a time when clubs are closed, or severely restricted, the team at Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club in Point Pleasant, New Jersey went one step further than a parking lot or street-side show. They came up with the idea of running shows in a minor league baseball stadium, an idea they intend to stick with even after covid restrictions are a thing of the past. They created a new venue for bigger shows and made others thing- why haven’t we been doing these all along? In 2021 we expect to see more ballpark shows around the country.

#10 THE NEW YORK COMEDY COALITION AND SAVE OUR STAGES

In an unprecedented move multiple clubs from across New York City joined forces to lobby the mayor and the governor to treat New York Comedy Clubs the same as other public venues in similar circumstances.  For some reason live performance venues were treated differently from other recreational spaces- restaurants, and bowling alleys were permitted to operate at reduced capacities, but you were not allowed to charge for a ticket to come inside a club and hear someone performing on a microphone.  Clubs like The Comedy Cellar, The Stand, Gotham,  Governors and more banded together with Q.E.D. owner Kambri Crews and New York Comedy Club owner Emilio Savone and put together a five page proposal detailing their plan to operate safely. They held a press conference and actually got some traction for their cause. Unfortunately, just a they were starting to have an effect, the second wave kicked in and New York started to revere some prior openings, making their task much more complicated. But they proved that working together can accomplish a lot.

#9 NEKO WHITE: DARK OUT

We’ve seen comedy specials without an audience before (see previous innovator Drew Michael) but Neko White’s is different.  Drew Michael’s hour was more a one man stage show. But what White did was incredibly interesting, and in the end, we think took the audience-less show in an even more interesting direction. White filmed himself against a blackout background, standing in front of a vintage microphone (one rumored to have been used by Frank Sinatra) laying down his material. White is incredibly smooth in his performance, his words rolling off his tongue like 1960’s poetry. It’s ballsy, it’s different and we love it. Did we mention it’s available on YouTube? For Free!

#8 JIM GAFFIGAN/BERT KREISCHER DRIVE IN TOURS

Colin Quinn makes a joke about drive in comedy tours, and the next thing you know, comedians are playing to parking lots all over the country. But while everyone else was busy cancelling their tours, these two comics and their reps immediately jumped on the idea to take the drive in comedy show big time. The shows were celebrations, and Kreischers parking lot parties were as wild as his brand has been. Nobody thinks that the drive in is a better way to do a comedy show than a theater, but their teams kicked into high gear to not only make it work, but make i fun.   People had a blast.

#7 ANDREW SCHULZ HOT TAKES 

Andrew Schulz is determined to play the game differently and his strategies are paying off with six and seven figure view counts on YouTube. Using fresh grass roots marketing and packaging strategy, Schulz is reaching as big of an audience as any big money platform. They’re eating it up.  Last year Schulz convinced the world that a free YouTube special could prove profitable, and this year his hot takes and social media monologues are on fire with his audience. The set up isn’t new- he’s taking the format that late night has been using for years, but he’s pulled out the parts he likes, and puts them out direct to his fans, as short segs on YouTube and Instagram. So he avoids censors, shapers, molders, and executive interference. But numbers bring networks sniffing around and he’s been so successful that Netflix wanted to get in the Schulz game.  A brand new special, Andrew Schulz Saves America packages four short segments, tackling different issues, which very likely will spawn copy cats. Perhaps this is the format the streamer needed to get into the late night game successfully.  It’s like last week tonight, but its last year today. Takes, a video wall, a lesson for the viewer, but instead of tuning in weekly, its a one shot deal.

#6a THE LUCILLE BALL COMEDY FESTIVAL

First there were cancellations. Festivals all across the continent, and the calendar fell like dominoes, but Jamestown’s Lucille Ball Comedy Festival was the first to say, we’re going all digital with a full festival of talks, panels and performances. On the schedule were Jimmy Fallon, Lin Manuel Miranda, Weird Al Yankovic, Kenan Thompson, Tiffany Haddish, Aidy Bryant, Margaret Cho and Howie Mandel. All programs streamed for free, glitchlessly through their new Comedy Anywhere portal.  The event was a huge success and soon after you could enjoy digital festivals from Just For Laughs, and the Boston Comedy Festival.  It was so successful that we think it’s here to stay and that future fests will offer online components for those who can’t make the trek.

#6b NATIONAL COMEDY CENTER GOES HIGH TECH TO GO TOUCHLESS

It’s back to back innovator awards for Jamestown NY as the National Comedy Center lead the museum industry and earned awards for its response to Covid 19. Their innovative Laugh safe program included going beyond the measures required by the state to ensure every visitor felt safe. Kits with disposable individual earbuds, touch free microchipped cards and a stylus for every guest , in addition to more standardized regulations like masks and reduced capacity and disinfecting helped the museum to reopen way earlier than anyone expected. Quick changes to certain museum exhibits  earned the National Comedy Center’s Executive Director, Journey Gunderson a spot on a list of the 50 most influential people in the museum sector worldwide, celebrating innovation, excellence and creativity.  For quick thinking and updating a facility that was already one of the world’s most innovative, it also landed the National Comedy Center team on our list.

#5 TIM DILLON BREAKS OUT BIG IN 2020, WHEN NOBODY IS BREAKING OUT

In 2020 its go big or go home and while most people went home, Tim Dillon went bigger than ever, using podcast appearances and viral videos to create just enough controversy to get attention, without going so far that he jeopardized his career. He’s breaking out in a year when breaking out is all but impossible, and that deserves recognition.  While most clubs remain closed, Dillon’s social media numbers have blown up, and he did it without compromising.  He found a way to make 2020 work for him, and he’s funnier than ever. And that lands him on our top 10 innovators list.

#4 COLIN QUINN FILMS A VERY SPECIAL SPECIAL

While some gave up on the idea of a special in 2020 and others put together quickie low budget hours, CQ worked with HBO Max quickly to capture a moment in time- when comedians first ventured out after taking a long break from nightly shows.  He captured it safely and beautifully, with stunning shots of New York City. It’s the perfect venue- the city skyline as a backdrop. This special was innovative in so many ways. First,  just figuring out how to film a first class special in this environment seems nearly impossible to pull off. Quinn also finally cracked the code for how to showcase what happens backstage and before and after shows when comedians hang out.  Many have attempted to recreate that green room vibe and no one has ever gotten it quite right. The closest anyone ever came to getting it right was Quinn’s own Tough Crowd back in the early 2000’s. But Colin Quinn & Friends: A Parking Lot Show nailed it.  Congratulations to CQ and his friends. This special is a home run on so many levels.

#3 NOWHERE COMEDY CLUB and RUSH TIX

After comedy clubs closed, every performer fell into a light depression or worse.  With nowhere else to perform, comedians reluctantly agreed to perform online, on zoom shows that were independently produced or curated through some clubs looking to stay current.  But along came Nowhere, with the idea for the first exclusively online comedy club.  Ben Gleib and Steve Hofstetter came up with the idea of a refined, fully coordinated digital venue. And before long the headliners showed up, appreciating their handling of ticketing, marketing, managing the audience, and running the show, just like real world clubs do. Now Nowhere is everywhere with shows every night with names like Mike Birbiglia, Todd Barry, Godfrey, Judah Friedlander and Women of a Certain Age on their lineup.  And they’re not alone.  RushTix existed as a ticketing website prior to the pandemic, but they’ve pivoted to become a full service online comedy club committed to the best user experience, the best quality streams, and a worry free environment for the comics to perform in. Doug Benson, Maria Bamford, Dr. Katz Live, Sarah Cooper, Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, and The Jerky Boys are just a few of the comics who call RushTix their digital home. And both clubs say they’re here to stay, and have a lot of innovative show ideas, that are only possible on digital, coming soon. You may love Zoom shows, you may hate Zoom shows.  But now there are two clubs, and likely more to come, that will continue to hone and improve the Zoom experience, and that’s innovation.

#2 SARAH COOPER

Being funny in an entirely new way, Sara Cooper is redefining or at least broadening the definition of what it means to be a comedian.  And she’s done it somehow, while appealing to a massive cross-section of fans.  Everyone loves her.  The intellectual media loves her. Young people love her. She appeals to grandmothers, and aunts and uncles. Daytime tv, late night television, streaming platforms, morning news shows all play her videos. She made lip sync videos officially a “thing” that everyone tries now, in the way that ‘impressions’ are a thing. Her infamous lip sync videos of President Trump are now a part of comedy history.  Her slingshot to household name in 2020 left everyone wanting to figure out how they could be the next Sarah Cooper.