Comedian of the Year Nominations! The Top Ten Comedians Upping Their Game in 2023!
2023 Stand Up Comedian of the Year Nominees
Only one of our comedians nominated this year was on last year’s list. And one of our nominees has not only been nominated twice before but won twice! Could 2023 bring our first Comedian of the Year hat trick?
It’s always tough to pick our top ten in this category, as comedy seems to be bigger than ever before, and so many comics have had huge accomplishments. Our top ten picks have released specials, appeared in movies, had MONSTER tours, top ranked podcasts, and achieved important milestones. Some of our nominees have seemingly come from nowhere. Others we have watched come up from the minors and seen them grow. Others have been in our hearts for decades.
We’re so proud of everyone in our top ten, and all the other comics who could easily belong on this list.
In 2014, you picked Bill Burr as the Stand Up Comedian of the Year. In 2015, Nate Bargatze was your runaway favorite, in 2016 you overwhelmingly chose Jim Jeffries as the #1 comedian and in 2017 you chose Judah Friedlander as the greatest comic that year. In 2018, Bert Kreischer was voted comedian of the year. In 2019, it was Shane Gillis who overwhelmingly won your vote. In 2020 you picked Colin Quinn as The Interrobang’s Comedian of the Year. In 2021 you voted for Nate Bargatze as the comedian of the Year. And last year, it was Chris Distefano who won the race.
This year, as always, we considered dozens of comedians, looking at their work and their influence specifically in the past 365 days. We took into consideration who put out stand out specials, who pulled in gigantic audiences, who was on a big tour, who got massive media attention for their work, who had books, movies, podcasts, and tv series, and who most embodied comedy in 2023. Some of our nominees had a gigantic leap forward this year in terms of talent, others put out multiple projects, and still others were selected on the basis of one extraordinary achievement.
This is not a list of the ten best performers working today, but rather ten comedians who had the best collective accomplishments and performances in 2023.
And finally, as always, we did not include the Hall of Famers. They’ve made it into the hallowed halls of comedy icons. Consider them winners already. Dave Chappelle, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Adam Sandler, we’ve retired your numbers, at least for this category.
Vote everyday and if you don’t like our picks, you can write in your own.
Read all the nominees below, voting is open!
Don’t forget you can also vote now for Comedy Movie of the Year! Vote for Comedy TV Series of the Year! Vote for Comedy Special of the Year! Vote for Best Comedy Book of the Year! Vote for the Best Comedy Album of the Year!
SARAH SILVERMAN
Sarah Silverman is almost too big of a star to even include on our list, but we wanted to recognize all of her great accomplishments this year. First and foremost, she put out her first new hour special in 13 years, and crushed it, earning her a nomination for a Golden Globe this year, and grabbing a spot on our list of ten best specials of 2023. Someone to Love reminded us that Sarah is so much more than a celebrity, she’s a stand up comic through and through. She’s also had a big presence in film and television this year with a role in the movie Maestro (now available free on Netflix), roles in the new History of the World 2 series, a guest hosting gig on The Daily Show, and allegedly, has been in development on a Stupid Pet Tricks series for TBS based on the famous Letterman segment, although we’re not sure if that project is still active. She’s had a huge role in activism this year, always fearlessly standing up for what she believes, and fought the battle on four fronts this year- first during the Writers and Actors Strikes, then later being a leader speaking out about the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel. And she’s fighting AI with more than just protests and statements, she actually is a plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit. What we love about Sarah is she says what she thinks even though she knows she’ll draw fire for her commentary, and she’s not above rethinking her position if she thinks the backlash is reasonable. And the biggest sign that you’re a giant star, is when someone else’s controversy brings you in to make it more media-worthy. That happened to Sarah when old news about her losing her virginity to Kevin Brennan went viral after he got himself into some trouble for jokes.
ANDREW SCHULZ
Andrew Schulz has been an innovator and a trail blazer and he’s a giant in stand up comedy. He wasn’t the first person to self produce a special or to put it on youtube, but he was the first person to recognize that you could put your special out in small bites, and propel yourself to stardom doing it. Now there are dozens of comedians who have become social media and youtube super stars by posting their material in small clips rather than releasing a big network special, and when someone wants to know how to do it right, they go to Andrew Schulz. When someone wants to reach a wider audience, they also ask Andrew if they can come on his podcast. This year Schulz had a massive world tour with monster ticket sales that took him as far as Abu Dhabi and Australia, as well as all over North America. He’s headlining Moontower Comedy Festival at the Moody Center which seats 15,000 and has the largest floor of any venue in the country, because the Paramount was far too small for him. His podcasts, Flagrant and The Brilliant Idiots with Charlamagne tha God are always on the top ranking lists of podcasts. His social game is gigantic with 5 million followers on tiktok, 98 million likes and posts that regularly get 7 figure views. In fact the special he put out last year is over 18 million views now on YouTube. Schulz is in two movies this year, You People, and White Men Can’t Jump, and his just filmed a lead role in The Underdoggs which you’ll see in 2024, and he went viral for a take about Canada’s Justin Trudeau. Schulz has undoubtedly secured his place in comedy history and 2023 is a landmark year for him.
ROY WOOD JR.
Roy Wood Jr. is a comedy giant, who should rightfully be announced as the next host of the Daily Show. Every major media outlet predicted it, and when it didn’t happen they called for it. The consensus was there, and we agreed. But Comedy Central isn’t smart enough to pull that trigger, so he decided its time after eight years of service to the show to move on to bigger and better things. He did guest host the series, and was the only guest host that grabbed the biggest guest of 2023- Jon Stewart. Roy also was chosen to host the White House Correspondents Dinner this year- always a sign that you are at the top of the food chain for political commentary comedy– and CRUSHED it. He had a huge tour this year, bringing “Happy to Be Here” to theaters all over the country. He also hosted the Webby Awards. This was an important year for Roy Wood Jr, and we have no doubt that it will prove to be the springboard to even bigger and better.
NATE BARGATZE
Its always exciting to witness the moment when someone goes from being a great and highly respected comedian to a genuine super star and this year was that moment for Nate Bargatze. If there’s anyone on our lists who we consider home grown, its Nate, who won Comedian of the Year twice already, for years that paled in comparison to this year. 2023 was the year Bargatze become a big dog. IN 2023, Nate had a MASSIVE tour sponsored by Outback setting and breaking multiple attendance records along the way including #7 on the list of highest grossing tours. His new special, “Hello World” proved to be true as it springboarded his career into the next level and helped lead Amazon Prime into the majors as a platform to be taken seriously for its comedy specials. He expanded his Nateland Universe beyond the podcast arena, now producing family friendly content for television and announcing “Nateland Presents: The Showcase” because he’s such a giant now that people want to know which comedians he likes. He produced three separate hour specials this year. Became a guest on Ron Bennington’s Unmasked, a series designed to spotlight the biggest names in the business, appeared on College Game Day, The Manningcast, and Hosted Saturday Night Live. And Netflix just announced that Nate is going to be joining three other legends (Sebastian Maniscalco, Jim Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld) at a special show during the Netflix is a Joke Festival, proving Bargatze has truly made it. It’s been thrilling to watch Nate’s rise and we can’t wait to see what’s next.
MARLON WAYANS
Marlon Wayans is a name that has always been in the zeitgeist. He comes from a family that is comedy royalty, and has always had great projects with his family and as a solo act. But Wayans upped his game in 2023, shocking us all with a KILLER HBO Max special that was so creative, so original, and so fucking funny, that it might just be the special to beat this year. Focusing 100% on the famous Will Smith/Chris Rock slap at the Oscars, Marlon broke the code to creating a full hour on just one small topic, and making it work. He also guest hosted the Daily Show, was in the movie “Air”, has been a prominent talking head in media outlets and a go to whenever someone needs a comedians opinion on a topic, and is breaking ground with a VR series for Meta Quest 2, “Oh Hell No.” Also this year, Variety chose Marlon to be one of their panelists for a comedy roundtable about the State of Comedy, and we learned that he has 1500 sneakers. We also got another glimpse into Marlon’s personal life, when he spoke out in support of his trans son Kai, who has inspired his next comedy special, and we know its going to be another groundbreaking hour.
CHRIS DISTEFANO
Chris Distefano is back to try to keep the championship belt after winning Comedian of the Year in 2022. Its rare that a comic can make this list two years in a row, but Chris has done it continuing to climb the comedy ranks, and fast. Hot on the heels of his award winning special, Speshy Weshy, Distefano released a hilarious album, recorded at New York Comedy Club. His podcast empire is hotter than ever with “Chrissy Chaos” and “Hey Babe! With Sal Vulcano” now a mainstay at the top of the charts. Chris was profiled in GQ this year, recorded an hour with Ron Bennington for the Unmasked series- always a benchmark of career growth- and was invited to be a guest on the Howard Stern Show. He hosted the Super Maximus Retro Show for Vice, did a national ad campaign for Deitz and Watson weiners, but most of all crushed it in ticket sales for his Right Intention Wrong Move Tour. Distefano is one of the hottest tickets around the country this year, selling out Radio City and the Theater at MSG. Last year we said Chris had a killer year and was on his way to an even bigger one, and we were right. We expect to see him right back here again in 2024.
BERT KREISCHER
It’s going to be hard for anyone to top the year Bert Kreischer had this year. Then again when Bert won Comedian of the Year in 2018, we thought it would be tough to top that year, and Kreischer has exploded since then, almost becoming an industry. Let’s take a look at his 2023. Bert released a brand new special this year, Razzle Dazzle that was so hot it got nominated for a Golden Globe award. He had a giant world tour, “Tops Off” that included a stadium and arena run in the US, a theater run through Europe and a month long run in Australia. He released his first major motion picture, “The Machine” with a 30 minute live stream kick off stand up set, which is gigantic. And he took all his great comedy friends along for the ride, with a “Fully Loaded Comedy Festival”- yup that’s right he has his own damn festival that he put together to help raise money for Comedy Gives Back and give exposure to other great comedians. And he took his “Fully Loaded” comedy festival to sea, on a hugely successful “Fully Loaded” cruise. Bert continues to top every Best Podcast List with “Bertcast”, “Open Tabs”, “Somethings Burning” and “2 Bears 1 Cave.” And continues to prove he’s not only the most fun guy in comedy, and one of the funniest, but also a really good dude, who stepped in to tackle a disruptive protestor at a Netflix Cup event. We can’t be far away from hearing he’s launching his own television Network. Go Bert!
TAYLOR TOMLINSON
It’s been clear since the first time we saw Taylor Tomlinson in 2015 that she was going to be a giant star who had everything she needed to become a fan favorite and an industry darling. This is the year everything has gelled to propel Taylor into celebrity status. The biggest indication of how far she’s risen, is a look at her touring numbers. Her “Have It All” tour was a smash successes that included two sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall during a global tour of all big prominent venues. She’s already taped her next special that we’ll get to see in 2024, and has a date on the books to play Madison Square Garden launching her into legend status. Taylor has 2.6 million followers on TikTok, with most of her videos regularly seeing a million views, and some going as high as ten million. She has a national sponsorship with Hotels.com. And was recently announced as the latest comedian to enter the Late Night host ring, She’ll be hosting a show called “After Midnight” produced by Stephen Colbert, based on the popular @midnight Comedy Central series, making her the youngest late night host by 20 years, and currently the only female late night host. And she’s done it all while dealing with a bipolar disorder that she’s been very candid about. She is 100% in the big leagues with more more to come.
SHANE GILLIS
This is not Shane Gillis’ first trip to comedian of the year. In 2019, he won the comedian of the year honor, and in 2020, his first hour special won best special. This year, Shane is nominated in both categories and is definitely a front runner for both awards. His brand new hour, Beautiful Dogs, debuted at #1 overall on Netflix this year. His 2020 special has now been watched 14 million times. He is the #1 most popular podcaster on Patreon with over 71,000 paid subscribers. He’ll be headlining at the Moontower Comedy Festival in 2024 and already sold out the 8000 seat H-E-B Center. Like a rocket he shot from selling out clubs to major venues and just recently sold out three nights at Radio City Music Hall. He was also profiled in the New York Times, had a role on Pete Davidson’s series, Bupkis, and was a guest on Ron Bennington’s Unmasked series. Back in 2019, when Shane was un-hired by Saturday Night Live just a day after announcing he was joining the cast, some felt his career was over, but nothing could be further from the truth. Shane is crushing every metric stand up comedians have, and he’s just getting started.
MATT RIFE
Matt Rife seemed to come out of nowhere this year. Most hard core stand up comedy fans never heard of him until 2023, and all of a sudden he was everywhere. He released three specials in 2023 alone, two of them self produced– “Matthew Steven Rife”(2023) and “Walking Red Flag” (2023) were both released on YouTube, and “Natural Selection” on Netflix. He made 5 movies this year including Karma’s a Bitch, Candy Flip, Trapped Inn (also EP), The Private Eye, and Don’t Suck. He threw out the first pitch at the LA Dodgers vs Philadelphia Phillies Game. And at 27 years old, when most of us didn’t know he existed a year ago, he sold out his entire PROBLEMATIC world tour, with 260 dates, in 48 hours. Where did he come from? How did this happen? Is this proof of we’re in the Matrix? Well, two years ago he was flat broke and then he went viral on Tiktok last year gaining millions of followers off one video. Now he’s so popular that people are already looking to cancel him over a domestic violence joke in his Netflix special. Matt Rife is a new breed of comedian, one that isn’t going away anytime soon, and he’s disrupted the industry.
