It seems like every comedy show with a unique angle finds an elevated level of success. The latest example is The Diagnosis Show, a Los Angeles show typically held at The Crow in Santa Monica, run by Harrison Skopes and Alan Snider.
“We have comics do eight- to ten-minute sets and then we've got the therapist there the whole time. She's listening and taking notes…Then afterwards they'll chat and she'll call them out on their sort of main memorable bits and just have a little bit of a back and forth there, it’s the improvised part of the show,” says Alan.
Shows with a unique angle often lead to more spontaneity and creativity on stage. “I don't want to say it's a guaranteed hot room, but I've definitely found that people are paying so much more attention than in, I don't know, 85 percent of other stand-up sets,” Alan tells me.
Dinara Kerey is a comedian from Kazakhstan who is now based in Berlin. She tours across Europe and recently opened for David Cross and Reggie Watts.
“I never actually wanted to be a comedian. I was just doing sketches on Instagram Reels. And then I was invited to an open mic in Kazakhstan. It was in Russian in the beginning, and they needed more female comedians because they wanted to start a female open mic.”
Dinara found success on social media and shares advice on marketing a show, including posting city or country-specific jokes on Instagram before upcoming performances. She finds that localized teasers work better than a generic pitch to buy tickets.
Just for Laughs unveils its 2026 New Faces class, selecting 47 comedians.
Matt Grobar interviews Jeff Arcuri for Deadline’s Comedy Means Business podcast about his wife’s cancer battle and debut Netflix special, Nice to Meet You. Arcuri discusses building his career on cruise ships and managing his own social media. Watch here.
Andrew Santino details on Instagram how Disney pushed back on his joke about "Disney adults" in his latest Hulu special, White Noise.
Whitney Cummings reveals that a joke about President Trump is cut from Netflix's broadcast of Bill Maher's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor ceremony after the Kennedy Center edited it from the special.
Marcello Hernández scores the second most-watched Netflix stand-up special of the first half of 2026 with American Boy, which draws 9.2 million views. Katt Williams ranks No. 1 with The Last Report, which records 11.3 million views.
The Laugh List unveils its inaugural list of the year's 10 best unproduced comedy screenplays.
Alfie Noakes shares practical advice for handling bad stand-up sets, arguing that bombing is an essential part of comedy development and improving material.
A Reddit user shares a photo of a comedian's handwritten joke notes found randomly on a New York City sidewalk.
Laura Waters discusses how she helps introduce Australian comedy to US audiences in an interview about founding Princess Pictures.
Hat Trick Productions launches a live comedy division in partnership with producer Queenie Miller and Chump's Comedy, with its first slate at Edinburgh Fringe.
Sacha Baron Cohen returns as Ali G in Ali G: Who Iz I?, which Amazon MGM Studios will release on October 23. This marks the character's first feature in more than two decades.
Marcello Hernández hosted the 2026 ESPY Awards.
Kenan Thompson joins the voice cast of Stewie, an upcoming Family Guy spinoff, where he'll play one of Stewie Griffin's new classmates.
YouTube outpaces Netflix in audience scale, with recent industry data showing 99.1 average daily viewing minutes per account versus Netflix's 93.4. The gap comes as YouTube's viewing rises from 87.2 to 99.1 minutes while Netflix declines from 100.5 to 93.4.
The Daily Show launches its first-ever vertical microdrama, The Daily Show Presents: Two Billionaires Fight to Dominate the Country…And My Heart!, the first short-form serialized soap produced by a late-night franchise.
Johnny Knoxville joins the cast of the mockumentary comedy series Mt. Mystic.
Larry David mocks Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the latest episode of Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.
Specials and Tours
New specials from Brian Bates (Nateland Entertainment via YouTube, July 24), Mary Beth Barone (Netflix, July 28), and Kazeem Rahman (YouTube, July 31).
Festivals This Month
RISE Comedy Festival · July 24–August 1 · Denver, Colorado
Laughterama · July 29–August 2 · London, England
Laugh Out Loveland · July 30–August 2 · Loveland, Colorado
Calgary Fringe Theatre Festival · July 31–August 8 · Calgary, Canada
Tomatoes! Tomatoes! · August 1 · Hämeenlinna, Finland
Festival Submissions
Rogue Island Comedy Festival • October 8–11, 2026 • Newport, Rhode Island. Paid festival with lodging (for eligible traveling comics) and submission is considered for both Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 festivals. Submission fee: $40. Submission deadline: July 31. Submit here.
First Coast Comedy Festival • November 12–14, 2026 • Atlantic Beach, Florida. Stand-up, improv, and sketch featuring 4-camera recordings of every performance, networking, and beachside events. Submission fee: $35. Submission deadline: July 27. Submit here.
Little Egypt Comedy Festival • October 8–10, 2026 • Marion, Illinois. Two paid sets, shared lodging if needed, dinner each night, and festival after-parties. Submission fee: Not listed. Submission deadline: July 31. Submit here.
LBC Summer Fest • August 10–30, 2026 • New York, New York. Stand-up competition with $2,000 in cash prizes and $1,500 and club opportunities for the winner; all applicants accepted into the first round and receive a set video. Submission fee: $25. Submission deadline: July 31. Submit here.
(Full list on our website here, updated weekly. We also partner with Inside Comedy to track submissions!)
Comedy Jobs
Underground Overground Comedy · New York, NY. Fall 2026 Internship. Pay: Not listed. Comedy UO, the NYC pop-up comedy company behind stand-up shows in unexpected venues across the city, is seeking a Fall 2026 intern. College students or NYC residents interested should email a résumé to [email protected] to apply.
Room 808 · Washington, DC. Touring Video Editor & Content Creator for Martin Amini and Room 808 Comedy Club. Pay: Up to $5,000 per month. Freelance, part-time, contract, or full-time.
The Comedy Influence · Indiana. Business Development Manager. Pay: Not listed. Full-time.
Backstage · New York City, NY / Long Island, NY. Host for Dog Walker Comedy Talk Show. Pay: $125–$550 per day. Application deadline: August 21, 2026.
Doing Things Media · Los Angeles, CA. Podcast Producer for Comedy Video Podcast. Pay: Not listed. Contract.
Betches Media · New York, NY (Hybrid). VP of Production. Pay: $170,000–$200,000 per year.
Sony Pictures Television · New York, NY (Hybrid). Sr Manager, Talent & Publicity. Pay: $113,600–$142,000 per year.
Casting Calls / One-Offs
Durango Comedy · Durango, CO. 2026 Comedian Booking Submission. Local and regional comedians must submit through this form to be considered for the 2026 booking calendar.
The Classy Comedian · Delray Beach, FL. Fall 2026 Comedian Booking Submissions. Pay: Not listed. Rolling submissions for comedians seeking spots on upcoming Fall 2026 shows. Submit a recent performance tape to [email protected] to be considered for future bookings; selected comedians will be contacted directly when opportunities become available.
NYC Pun Off · New York, NY. Compete in the NYC Pun Off at Caveat. Pay: Not listed. The next live pun competition takes place July 28, 2026, at 7:00 p.m., with contestants advancing through elimination rounds of improvised wordplay. Organizers are currently accepting competitor submissions and welcome punsters of all experience levels; applicants may be considered for future NYC Pun Off events.
Craigslist · Mountain View, CA. Trump Impersonator for Comedy Video. Paid (negotiable). Shoot dates between now and August 8, 2026.
Craigslist · Los Angeles, CA. Professional Poop Coach/Comedian for Live Stream. Small fee.
(Full job/gig list on our website here, updated weekly)
That’s The Jokebook — your Sunday comedy update. Have something to share? Message us at [email protected].