Deciding who were the best comedians of 2023 is admittedly a really fucking difficult task. By what metric? Who counts as a comedian? Who am I to judge (I know it’s my job, but still)? To quote a certain crying lady who doesn’t even go here, “I wish I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy.”
But this time of year requires that we reflect, or something like that, on the past 12 months. Plenty of talented, funny people have done incredible work both on and off screen in 2023, and they deserve recognition for making us laugh even when we thought that was impossible.
From stand-ups used to being the center of attention to writers more comfortable behind the safety of a laptop (and plenty that fall somewhere in between), we’ve rounded up 10 comedians who’ve made a splash this year, and put ’em down here in alphabetical order. That’s right: no ranking here, no random ordering from 10 to 1: everybody’s a winner. Let’s do it.
Nate Bargatze
Photo courtesy of NBC
Bargatze’s long trek to the top of the stand-up pyramid culminated in a massive 2023, with an arena tour (including a new attendance record at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena), a well-received special on Amazon, and an SNL hosting gig that produced the best episode of the season so far. And he did it all with the self-effacing humbleness and family-friendly approach that has always defined his comedy. It’s incredibly rare for a stand-up comic to break through into the mainstream these days without a sitcom or TV series paving the way, but that’s exactly what Bargatze has done, solely on the strength of jokes told live on a stage. And he’s done it all with a distinctly Southern point of view that doesn’t pander to that audience, or alienate non-Southerners, with hackneyed redneck tripe or Hee Haw bits. Hopefully 2023 is just the start of a long run at the very top.—Garrett Martin
Ayo Edebiri
Courtesy of FX
Although it feels as if 2023 had Ayo Edebiri at the very top of her game, my suspicions tell me we’ve barely scratched the surface of what this actor, writer, and producer is capable of. Edebiri is perhaps best known for starring alongside Jeremy Allen White in FX’s hit series The Bear, earning her nods from critics everywhere for her breakout role. When it comes to other projects, she’s been busy at work producing and writing on What We Do In The Shadows, as well as acting alongside her NYU friends in two hilarious and larger-than-life movies, Bottoms and Theater Camp. If her role in the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles installment is any indication of her commercial success, I’m here for every minute of her spot-on delivery, impeccable timing, complex and resonant acting abilities, and her superlative comedic chops.—Felicia Reich
Jo Firestone
Screenshot via YouTube
With the release of her debut novel, Murder on Sex Island: A Luella van Horn Mystery, this year brought an exciting new venture for Jo Firestone. In a clever marketing tactic, Firestone released each chapter to audiences for free via audio streamers, building intrigue and momentum with listeners in order to boost book sales. The story centers on a character with charming yet timid nature akin to Firestone’s: a moonlighting detective sent to solve a murder case on the set of her favorite reality dating show. Firestone also continued to produce and star in the animated dark comedy Teenage Euthanasia, set in the sunshine hellscape of Florida, as Euthanasia ‘Annie’ Fantasy. Perhaps the #quirkiest feather in Firestone’s 2023 hat is her involvement with the star-studded podcast, The Novelizers with Andy Richter, a parodied reimagining of classic cinema, in which she performs alongside none other than Ira Glass to spoof the 1982 Star Trek film, The Wrath of Khan. In terms of her own work, the cherry on top of 2023 for Firestone is her directorial debut, The Singles Retreat, the short she wrote about a seniors-only singles retreat and a rekindled love. What’s next for this talented multi-hyphenate is yet to be seen, but we can’t wait for more of the ever-endearing awkwardness from this brilliant comedic mind in the new year.—Felicia Reich
Robby Hoffman
Photo by Andrew Max Levy
What makes this comedian so special is her candor, mixed with her sincere curiosity and compassion. In short, she’s who you want to go to for advice. This year saw the release of Robby Hoffman’s podcast, Too Far (co-hosted alongside rising comic Rachel Kaly), as well as her appearance on Netflix’s Verified Stand-Up. In the tabloid-worthy personal life of the former Hasid, her blooming relationship with The Bachelorette star Gabby Windey was announced in August of 2023, pulling this queer Jewish comic more into the mainstream where she rightfully belongs.—Felicia Reich
Mekki Leeper
Courtesy of Amazon
Whether you thought Jury Duty was a stroke of genius or an unethical project in the relentless pursuit of laughs, you have to admit that it was a phenomenon. The show, which follows the unsuspecting Ronald Gladden as he’s surrounded by actors in a ridiculous fake court trial, succeeds in large part because of Mekki Leeper, who both wrote for Jury Duty and stars at the naive juror Noah. He’s charming as his nervous cuckold character, and he rightfully earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (specifically for the episode “Ineffective Assistance,” which involves soaking and James Marsden).
Leeper also turned his comedic sights on NFT dumbasses this year in his short film Fintech, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, alongside Zack Fox (Janine’s rapper boyfriend Tariq in Abbott Elementary). The comedian screened Fintech all over the country this autumn, performing stand-up on the road, too. It’s been quite the year for this multitalented comic.—Clare Martin
Mae Martin
Photo courtesy of Netflix
Ask Millennials for a comedian that is speaking to their times and Mae Martin is going to come up. The non-binary comedian began working the Toronto, Canada stand-up comedy circuit at the tender age of 11-years-old. An outlet for their rebellious impulses, the scene also led them to a drug addiction that took a decade to overcome. Firmly on the other side of that period of their life, Martin has since used those experiences to create a BBC Radio 4 series, Mae Martin’s Guide to 21st Century Addiction, and the successful, semi-autobiographical Channel 4/Netflix series, Feel Good. But stand-up has remained a constant through it all as reflected in their first solo, one-hour comedy special for Netflix, SAP. That work helped Martin win the “Rising Star” award at Just For Laughs in Montreal in 2023, where they also hosted one of the show’s major galas.—Tara Bennett
Aparna Nancherla
Screenshot via YouTube
For the nervous among us, Aparna Nancherla sings your tune. Quietly. In the back. Actually she wouldn’t be caught singing out loud at all. Instead, you can find the anxiety-ridden expert in dead-pan delivery on bookshelves everywhere, with this year’s publication of her debut memoir, Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Imposter Syndrome. Unreliable Narrator is Nancherla’s attempt to write her way out of imposter syndrome, in the same way popping a pimple definitely and always makes it better. In addition to writing her first book, she launched her Substack, continued to perform stand-up, and appeared on numerous podcasts including Shame Spiral and Overheard LA. Nancherla also worked on The Novelizers with Andy Richter, a passion project in which esteemed TV writers bring old movies back to life in podcast form. A talented writer and creative genius, she captures the humdrum sentiment of modern life with as much flair as she can muster. Here’s to hearing more from her clever, quick, and deeply entertaining mind in the year to come.—Felicia Reich
Sarah Sherman
Photo courtesy of Netflix
Sarah Sherman (née Squirm) may have joined Saturday Night Live in 2021, but it was this year that she was promoted to a repertory player on the sketch show. While she hasn’t gotten to bring as much of her characteristic gross-out humor to SNL this year (the main exception being “Glamgina”), Sherman has established herself as a solid team member. We’re always a fan of her poking fun at Colin Jost (or as I think of him, an unsub from Criminal Minds) on Weekend Update, and she had an inspired turn as Fran Drescher for the excellent Nate Bargatze-hosted episode.
Aside from her late night pursuits, Sherman also brought her chaotic energy into the mainstream this year with more acting roles. She lent her voice as Coriander Cadaverish in the animated film Nimona, appeared in Season 3 of Chucky (after having portrayed the killer doll on SNL), and played a rabbi for You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah—and that’s just the highlights. Let’s hope Sherman stays in the spotlight next year, with maybe just a bit more of her famous body horror thrown in.—Clare Martin
Jes Tom
Photo by Samantha Brooks
Our Flag Means Death reached new heights in its second season, fully embracing the queer romances that set the historical comedy apart. Story editor Jes Tom’s influence on this welcome new stage of the series cannot be understated, even if their whale blubber lube idea was axed. The comedian, writer, and actor also brought their solo show Less Lonely to NYC’s Greenwich House Theater this November, which will continue the new year. Less Lonely digs into love at the end of the world, change, and “a lot of weird sex,” as Tom told Paste in a recent interview. The show has evolved over the years, but its current status—including Elliot Page as Less Lonely’s presenter—demonstrates just how far Tom has come (and how much we want to see more from them in the future).—Clare Martin
Bowen Yang
Screenshot via YouTube
This was truly Bowen Yang’s breakout year on Saturday Night Live. I’m not a huge fan of the show these days, but Yang consistently brings the laughs. Some of his best roles on SNL in 2023 include the dastardly Jafar (always calling Ron DeSantis “The boy!”), George Santos, one half of the sketch “Two Men Speak in the Most Beautiful Gym in the World,” and a spy balloon (he’s really cornered the inanimate object market).
Yang also excelled outside the small screen, with his long-running podcast Las Culturistas winning Podcast of the Year at the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards. He’s been busy on the film front, too; even if some of them were duds (the Please Don’t Destroy movie, Dicks: The Musical, Good Burger 2), his performances were always the highlight of whatever he appeared in. And that’s not to mention the fact that Yang received the queer Holy Grail this year—or as others would put it, he was a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.—Clare Martin