Clients: Nico Carney – Comedian; Gianmarco Soresi – Comedian
In 2024, as the film and television industry looked to repair after the year of double labor strikes, comedy continued to explode. Emerging in recent years as the leader in the field, Netflix got the biz off to a good start with a second edition of its festival, Netflix Is a Joke, which expanded its scope as 600-plus artists hit Los Angeles over the course of 12 days, with more than 360,000 tickets sold.
Netflix released nearly 40 stand-up specials this year, but Hulu showed that they’re not to be outdone with the launch of Hularious, a stand-up brand that will see specials from the likes of Bill Burr and Sebastian Maniscalco hitting the platform. During Disney’s Upfront presentation in May, Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, expressed the intention to make Hulu “a best-in-class destination for comedic talent,” having never before invested in this low-cost, high-impact arena of content.
Prevailing as the top-grossing comic in Pollstar’s mid-year report on North American tours, at a gross exceeding $48 million, was Nashville’s Nate Bargatze. The result put him in the company of such elite musical artists as Bad Bunny, Madonna and U2, demonstrating the cultural cachet of the comedian today, with the end-of-year report still to come.
Ahead of the holiday shutdown, we polled sources around town about up-and-coming comics who have the potential to get to those heights. Generally speaking, our focus was on original voices, written material over crowd work, and comics who have not had their moment on one of these lists in years past. (Honorable mentions who can say that include Caleb Hearon and Pat Regan.)
Here, in alphabetical order, are 15 we’d bet on as the stars of tomorrow.
Nico Carney
A trans stand-up, writer, and actor based in New York City, Carney showcased earlier this year as part of “Introducing…” at Netflix Is a Joke Fest as he looks to build his industry profile. Currently headlining comedy clubs across the country, he recently sold out his headlining show at the New York Comedy Festival, also performing at the Moontower Comedy Festival in Austin, TX. He’s supported Jonathan Van Ness on tour and made his late-night debut on Late Night with Seth Meyers at the top of this year. At present, he and his comedy partner Conor Janda are developing their pilot, Boys, with Scott King supervising for Imagine Entertainment. Additionally, he and Janda co-host the podcast Boys Club and co-host a monthly NY-based stand-up show of the same name. As an actor, Carney has been seen on Comedy Central Originals and will next be seen starring opposite Suzanne Cryer and Mark Indelicato in She’s the He, an indie comedy from Siobhan McCarthy.
Reps: UTA; Authentic Talent and Literary Management
Gianmarco Soresi
A self-proclaimed Theatre Adult with a degree in musical theater from The University of Miami, Soresi’s first special, Shelf Life, released in 2020, garnered three New York Emmy nominations. Seen on Netflix’s multi-comic stand-up series Verified Standup, he’s also performed sets for Don’t Tell Comedy and Comedy Central, winning Season 8 of Amazon’s Comics Watching Comics. The NYC-based Maryland native’s material draws on his Jewish and Italian background, his parents’ divorce, and his dating and social life. He made his late-night debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden in November 2022 and was selected as a Just For Laughs New Face the same year. As an actor, he’s been seen in Billy Crystal’s Here Today, Netflix’s Bonding, Hustlers opposite Jennifer Lopez, and The Last O.G. He’s also the host of the podcast The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi. For Soresi, next year holds the L.A. taping of his first hour special, a tour for The Downside podcast with co-host Russell Daniels, and more.
Reps: WME; Brillstein Entertainment Partners; Cohen & Gardner
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