The pandemic might not be a laughing matter, but these jokesters are helping get us through tough times
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The coronavirus has killed concerts and open mikes for the time being, but comedy has proved to be essential during the pandemic. Funnyman A-listers such as Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Adam Sandler have stepped up to the virtual mike to raise money for relief, while Jerry Seinfeld returned to the little screen for his Netflix special “23 Hours To Kill.” Even “Saturday Night Live” was Zoom-ified.
But lesser-known comics — some new and some simply sharpening their offerings — broke through as the real stars of the pandemic comedy circuit.
Ever since clubs went dark in March, scrappy stand-ups have taken to Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and well-produced videos to reach their laugh-starved audiences. Here are seven emerging comedians to watch.
SYDNEE WASHINGTON This lifelong Brooklynite offered high-energy antics for the long weeks in lockdown. “I am the best friend that says everything you’re too afraid to say,” the 30-something Washington tells The Post.
“I’m relatable, but not physically,” she says. “I have great bone structure, amazing skin. But in the end I’m a hot-ass mess.” Quarantine forced Washington off the stage and in front of the camera, which she says is a blessing in disguise. “It’s OK to experiment. I was used to doing the same thing over and over again in my career, because I’m a what? A psycho,” she says.
“Syd Can Cook” is Washington’s Instagram Live show that happens every Sunday at 7 p.m. and features her comic friends giving her culinary advice and reviews of her technique. In the kitchen, Washington is both confident (her mushroom risotto is “so bomb”) and clumsy (she lit a napkin on fire in one episode).
Good news: The comedian says the “low-budget, lowstakes, high-quality, humbling cooking show” will continue after quarantine.
Where to find her Washington is on Instagram (@justsydbw), and her podcast, “The Unofficial Expert,” with Marie Faustin drops every Friday.
MEG STALTER
Alt-comedy’s Twitter darling Stalter, 29, was built to thrive in lockdown. She started getting noticed “about a year ago,” but took off on Instagram when the pandemic hit. “People were all watching stuff online, and my sense of humor really works for online,” says Stalter, who pokes fun at influencers, fumbling moms who make Internet faux pas, and tonedeaf celebs.
“They’re delusional, having a breakdown, but they’re trying to pretend that they’re not,” the Bed-Stuy comedian says of her viral characters.
Stalter’s two-part “Mom Night,” shot from her family home in Ohio for Instagram is a must-watch.
Where to find her
Catch Stalter on her podcast, “Confronting Demons,” and on Twitter (@megstalter) and Instagram (@megsstalter).
TIM DILLON
A former mortgage salesman, Dillon, 35, started doing comedy after the 2008 economic crisis and was already having a breakout moment this year with fearless stand-up and biting parody videos of everyone from Ghislaine Maxwell to Meghan McCain. But turmoil has made Dillon a powerhouse.
“I’m comfortable with dark comedy,” Dillon tells The Post. “Society is held together by duct tape, and a lot of these fragile mechanisms are starting to break down. I have found a way to make that funny.” The loud-talking Long Island native dishes out commentary on cancel culture, racial unrest and spoiled celebrities. He calls out absurdity on both sides with impunity.
In one hilarious video, he dresses as a coronavirus spiky ball who is sad about his daddy issues and the bad publicity he gets because he’s a “dumb germ” whose cousin is SARS. The video ends with him proclaiming, “I wish I was AIDS.”
Where to find him
Dillon has a weekly podcast, “The Tim Dillon Show,” as well as a YouTube channel, and Instagram and Twitter accounts (@timjdillon).
JORDAN FIRSTMAN
Firstman, 28, is the color commentator of COVID, with sharp impressions such as “a famous actress helping America through the pandemic,” in which he quips cringey advice like, “If you go to a wing of your house you don’t often use, you can stay there and act like it’s a vacation.”
The LA filmmaker and writer
AHRI FINDLING
At the beginning of the pandemic, new dad Findling, who’d been holed up in Jersey City with his wife and baby, didn’t want to create comedy. “It all shifted when daycare shut down,” Findling, 33, tells The Post. “I had to entertain my baby and kill time, so I started incorporating her in the bits. It makes me sound like a
FAHIM ANWAR
LA comic Anwar, 36, is using amateur Photoshop skills and his arsenal of characters to poke fun at everything from Zoom work calls to virtual dance classes.
“It’s very rare that the nation is focused on one thing,” says Anwar. “Quarantine provided a captive audience.”
Anwar’s shtick is DIY sketches — they’re absurd, silly and occasionally political — with lo-fi production. “It’s not ‘Dunkirk,’ and I think there’s a charm to that,” he says.
In the spot-on “Genesis of Corona,” he goes from “It’s not so bad . . . I picked up the pisays he’s posted 80 impressions in the past couple of months. The most famous is surely his character “banana bread’s publicist.” In an overthe-top conversation with the pandemic baking mascot, he announces, “We did it. We got everyone home, we got them a bunch of f - - king rotten bananas, and they went off.”
Where to find him
Find Firstman on his Instagram: @jtfirstman. He claims he was kicked off TikTok for his impression of a Dr. Bronner’s copywriter and he stays off Twitter “because it’s hell.” horrible father, but she liked it.”
His goofy sketches often feature his daughter, or fellow comedian brother, Noah. The “Quarantine with kids vs. without kids” clip and the one revealing the differences between East and West Coast pandemic lifestyles are both must-see videos.
Where to find him
Check him out on Instagram (@theycallmeahri) or his YouTube channel, where you’ll find his special, “Ahri Findling Live From Stand Up NY.” ano!” to “What are we supposed to do about money?” to “I think it was made in a lab . . . I’ve said too much” in one quick-cut clip.
Where to find him
Check out Anwar on Instagram and Twitter (@fahimanwar). His stand-up special, “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” from March is on YouTube.