2026 finds comedy at a moment of reinvention across platforms.
The last decade has seen stand-up boom, with artists able to bootstrap their own careers like never before. TV comedy has enjoyed a golden moment of its own, though feature comedy continues to struggle to regain its footing as a theatrical entity.
Rather than waiting for opportunities from traditional gatekeepers, creators are increasingly building and financing their own projects — bringing hard-won digital audiences into the traditional space as a bargaining chip. Meanwhile, new incubators are emerging outside established systems in hopes of nurturing the next generation of comedy stars.
The moment presents plenty of questions: What has led to the decline of theatrical comedy? If an “event” is what’s needed to get people to theaters, what does that look like for comedy? How much are stand-ups buying into the traditional space, in a moment when more than ever are making a killing on the road?
Have streamers been good or bad for comedy overall? And where will the next big breakthrough comedies come from?
On July 22, at the kickoff event for Just For Laughs Montreal‘s ComedyPRO, Deadline brought together three creatives representing distinct vantage points within the comedy ecosystem, in an attempt to address these questions: Reg Tigerman, the manager-producer who recently launched The Laugh List, a new survey of the year’s best unproduced comedy screenplays, in association with JFL; Maureen Taran, a former Just For Laughs VP who has been tapped to lead a new original content division for Helium; and Danny Jolles, a comedian, actor, writer and creator of the special What Happens in a Year, which premiered at this year’s festival.
In conversation with Deadline, the trio discusses everything from studio mandates and comedy clubs as incubators for new formats to the blurring lines between YouTube and Netflix, development pet peeves, comedy disruptors, corporate mergers, the mental-health challenges facing today’s stand-ups and more.
Check out the full talk above.
