Just For Laughs has announced the winners of its 2016 awards ahead of its festival kick-off in Montreal tomorrow. Award recipients will be formally honored on July 29 at a show hosted by JB Smoove as a part of the festival. Find the winners below.
Comedy Person of the Year: Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari has the market in pretty much every medium of comedy right now. His fourth stand-up special, Aziz Ansari: Live at Madison Square Garden, sold out (sold out freaking two nights at Madison Square Garden), he authored New York Times bestseller Modern Romance and his Netflix series Master of None has received nothing but absolutely glowing reviews (here are five reasons from us you should be watching it).
Stand-Up Comedian of the Year: Sebastian Maniscalco
Sebastian Maniscalco has built his stand-up reputation on recounting human experiences like checking in at the airport and ordering Chipotle in an unfiltered, highly physical manner. He was unanimously voted as the recipient of this award after selling out 11 performances at last year’s Just for Laughs Festival and garnering millions of viewers for his stand-up specials. His third special will air on Showtime later this year, and he will make his big-screen debut soon with several roles, including one in Will Ferrell/Amy Poehler comedy The House.
Breakout Comedy Star of the Year: Maria Bamford
Maria Bamford has become an expert in pulling the funny from illness, recovery and tragedy, as evidenced in the Netflix hit she executive-produces and stars in, Lady Dynamite. She’s been building up to this award for some time now, creating and starring in her web series The Maria Bamford Show, and having a resume full of voice work in animated shows, including Adventure Time and BoJack Horseman. She’s the first female comedian to score two Comedy Central Presents specials, and New York Magazine dubbed her “ridiculously original, odd and confessional… she’s transcendent.”
Comedy Writers of the Year: Alec Berg and Mike Judge
Comedy veterans Alec Berg and Mike Judge received this award this year for their work on the hilarious Emmy-winning Silicon Valley as writers as well as directors and executive producers. The Hollywood Reporter hailed it “the best and funniest full-on comedy in years” and we have plenty of features and lists that prove our love of the tech-based and nerd-funny here at Paste. Mike Judge created Silicon Valley after being the brain behind the likes of Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill, Idiocracy and Office Space. Alec Berg came to Silicon Valley with an already-established career working in comedy, including writing credits on Seinfeld, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Curb Your Enthusiasm.