In an industry as exclusive as comedy, it can take many years to land fame and fortune. Impressively, these young comics have worked their way in before the age of thirty-five.
Jerrod Carmichael (33)
After moving to Los Angeles at the adolescent age of 20, Jerrod Carmichael began performing open-mics in West Hollywood. From 2015-2017, after several acting gigs, Carmichael starred in his own semi-autobiographical television series The Carmichael Show on NBC. Jerrod has two recorded HBO comedy specials, Love at the Store (2014) and 8 (2017).
Taylor Tomlinson (26)
Being born and raised in southern California, Taylor Tomlinson’s transition to Hollywood wasn’t too far from home. Tomlinson recently released her stand up special Quarter Life Crisis where she gets real about what turning 25 truly feels like. This makes her one of the youngest people to ever get a Netflix special.
Hasan Minaj (34)
After getting his start on the Daily Show, Hasan Minaj released his first stand up special, Homecoming King, in May of 2017. Minaj was then given his own Netflix show called Patriot Act where the UC Davis graduate used his skills for comedic satire to address American politics. In 2019, Minaj was listed in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World.
Nicole Byer (33)
Unlike the others, Nicole Byer began her career on the East Coast taking classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City. Since moving to Los Angeles she has made appearances on TV shows such as 30 Rock, Transparent, Family Guy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, The Simpsons and Bojack Horseman. Byer has plans to resume touring again soon.
Pete Davidson (26)
What most people don’t know about this Saturday Night Live comedian — who was formerly engaged to Ariana Grande — is that he started off on MTV in the series Failosophy. Davidson’s most recent project was writing and starring in The King of Staten Island where he worked alongside director/producer Judd Apatow. The film is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
By Blair Krassen @blairlyawake