The 50 best comedians of the 21st century | Comedy
Comedy: from left, Sarah Silverman, Romesh Ranganathan, Julia Davis, Steve Coogan, Tiffany HaddishFrom apocalyptic standup Frankie Boyle to the many hilarious faces of Tina Fey, Steve Coogan, Sharon Horgan and Kristen Wiig, we present the funniest comics of the era
by Hannah J Davies, Paul Fleckney, Harriet Gibsone, Brian Logan and Stuart Heritage50
Josie Long
The queen of indie comedy announced herself as a sweet-natured woman-child, making not so much shows as scrapbooks of the things that made her big heart burst. Then, just as the coalition government came into power, the girl from Orpington pivoted towards outraged political comedy. She has gone on to become one of comedy’s most articulate chronicler of the left’s beleaguered decade. But what’s consistent through both incarnations and into her recent show about motherhood is a personality that fizzes with fun and – Tories be damned! – an indomitable love of life. BL
49
People Just Do Nothing
Their Brentford-set series followed a group of loserish friends, but its creators are anything but. Asim Chaudhry, Allan “Seapa” Mustafa, Steve Stamp and Hugo Chegwin gave the mockumentary a millennial spin with a web series that caught the eye of Office producers Roughcut. Over five series, the group nailed subcultural satire by drawing on their experiences in the world of garage MCing, making for a show that was authentic and absurd. With PJDN now over, the group seem to have the comedy world at their feet, with a film and a US version on its way. HJD
48
Michaela Coel
While Coel’s statuesque skills have been lent to more serious thespian pursuits recently (2018’s Black Earth Rising), her self-penned series Chewing Gum was a landmark. Based around Tracey, a neurotic 24-year-old living in a tower block in London, the show had all the appeal of an Inbetweeners-era coming-of-age sitcom (such as the scene in which she tries to lose her virginity in a disabled loo). But with its misfit lead navigating her sexuality and identity, it was a revelation for a generation of black women who were previously made to feel invisible in comedy. HG
47
Mindy Kaling
Had Mindy Kaling just written and appeared on The Office (US), revitalising a flagging show with her livewire neediness, she’d make the list. Had she only written the books Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) and Why Not Me?, she’d make the list. Had she only made The Mindy Project, she’d make the list. Had she only written and starred in the Emma Thompson film Late Night, there’s a good chance she’d make the list. But she’s done all of these things, so question her place here at your peril. SH
46
Jordan Brookes
Suspend your expectations of comedy: like his hero, the great Dutch comic Hans Teeuwen, Brookes is here to scramble your sense of what’s happening on stage, what’s up next and why the hell you’re laughing. Maybe his antics – eyeballing his crowd, absenting himself, stretching his sinewy frame into odd shapes – relate to the currents of talking about incest, eco-angst and existential despair that pass for his material. Or maybe they’re just what this “hipster Nosferatu” finds funny. Either way, you can’t take your eyes off him. BL
45
Matt Berry
Fans of the barrel-chested comic may have first witnessed him in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, where his poker-faced arrogance became the stuff of cult worship. His roles often come from an alternate version of the 70s - his sophisticated, Bafta-winning Toast and its excellent interior design and music being one of the most innovative comedies on TV in years. While his face does minimal work, it’s his voice – described as “part bounty hunter, part 70s porn star” – that has soothed this century, from his BBC shorts to The IT Crowd, The Mighty Boosh, Snuff Box, House of Fools and yoghurt adverts. HG
44
Cardinal Burns
When Cardinal Burns arrived on the comedy circuit, it was obvious from the quality performances, the sharp script and the range of characters that Seb Cardinal and Dustin Demri-Burns had talent. When their TV break came (on E4 then Channel 4), it wasn’t just funny, it was a cinematic treat, both in how it looked, and how the sketches were like entire worlds to immerse yourself in. See their suburban Banksy, the Made in Chelsea spoof Young Dreams, and one-off sketches (their Clowns sketch is a beauty). PF
43
Hannibal Buress
Hannibal Buress would almost certainly like to be known for more than just being the guy who made a joke that triggered Bill Cosby’s downfall. But in the US at least, Buress has long had a following, thanks to TV specials, late-night chatshow appearances and his role in Comedy Central sitcom Broad City. His onstage style is relaxed to the point of almost complete stillness, a sort of mumblecore standup. It is a red herring, though, as his material is astute and often fearless. PF
42
Limmy
The Glasgow comic, real name Brian Limond, is a rare thing in comedy: a comedian not known for panel show appearances or TV roles but rather for his online notoriety. His DIY efforts led to a linear series, Limmy’s Show on BBC Scotland, but his success has largely been on his own terms (think podcasts, blogs, tweets and clips on now-deceased video service Vine). Dark, subversive, weird, sad and absurd yet universal, Limmy proves that doing it your own way – via the odd fake obituary – is a risk worth taking. HJD
41
Stewart Lee
The “comedian’s comedian”, Lee is known for his meandering, oddball tales and surreal projects such as Jerry Springer: The Opera. Bridging the gap between 90s standup and the present (his influence is clear on bright, bizarre young things like James Acaster), Lee’s recent show, Content Provider, tackled Brexit with brilliant amounts of bathos (“Ooh no,” he coos on stage, “I only wanted bendy bananas, and now there’s this chaotic inferno of hate!”). HJD
40
Simon Amstell
Standup in the 21st-century has been more emotionally intimate than anything we’ve seen before – and no one bares more soul than Simon Amstell. Having started the millennium hosting trashy C4 show Popworld, a flit to standup recast this celebrity irritant as one of our most intense, and most fretful, comedians. His over-thinking, self-abasing work – minutely chronicling the emotional life of a gay, Jewish, vegan B-lister who questions everything – spans live comedy, cinema and sitcom (BBC2’s Grandma’s House), and is always brilliantly alive. BL
39
Nish Kumar
For much of the millennium so far, British telly has been searching for its own Daily Show – a stringent, sassy topical comedy vehicle to help shape the nation’s political conversation. The closest it’s come has been The Mash Report, whose very own Jon Stewart is the standup Nish Kumar. A multiple Edinburgh Comedy award nominee, London boy Kumar is the smartest, and often the silliest, political comic we’ve got: acute, furious and often the ridiculous fall guy of his own jokes. BL
38
Key and Peele
Now that Jordan Peele is a full-blown Hollywood darling, it’s easy to forget where he came from. And that’s a remarkable shame, because he came from Key and Peele, a Comedy Central show that burnished the art of sketch comedy to a golden sheen. Almost every sketch it ever produced is a masterclass of the form; perfect little nuggets of set-up, escalation and pay-off. Substitute Teacher, I Said Bitch, Turbulence, Outkast Reunion; these are all on YouTube and will improve your afternoon a hundredfold. SH
37
Sheeps
As sketch comedy disappeared from TV screens, you could have been forgiven for thinking the artform was moribund. Far from it: the ex-Footlights trio Sheeps have twisted it into new shapes – most notably in 2014 show Wembley Previews, which featured one sketch, repeated in a dizzying array of styles. As if that weren’t enough, one-third of the team, the morose Yorkshireman Liam Williams, launched a voice-of-his-generation solo career, which blazed across the standup stage and brought us the hit BBC4 YouTube spoof Pls Like, and People Time, made with peers Claudia O’Doherty, Jamie and Natasia Demetriou and Ellie White. BL
36
Tim and Eric
Cult comics Tim and Eric nailed the nightmarishness of American excess way before Trump-induced anxiety spread across world. Dragging a Gen X cynicism into the present day, their creations reflect the incessant yammering of advertising, reality TV surrealism and the onslaught of online images and information. Some of their humour has no deep meaning, either: the greasy-haired spook Spagett, waxy entertainer Casey Tatum, and heartbreak horror of Carol and Mr Henderson. From their Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! series to web shorts such as Tim’s Kitchen Tips, their layered, abstract nihilism basically invented meme culture. HG
35
Sara Pascoe
Yes, comedy has to be funny – but it can be mind-expanding, too, and never more so than in the work of Sara Pascoe. Even before her bestselling book about the female body, Animal, the Essex-born comic wore her erudition – and anthropological way of seeing the world – on her sleeve. The result was a series of cracking standup shows applying Pascoe’s loveably nervy intelligence to pair bonding, Nietzschean philosophy, “sperm selection” – all the big questions, in other words, and never a hack gag in sight. BL
34
Doctor Brown
Twenty years back, few had mime and clowning pegged as the hippest strands of 21st-century comedy. No one’s played a greater role in their revival than Phil Burgers – AKA sexy clown-comic Dr Brown. A graduate – like so many of the saucer-eyed acts who followed – of Ecole Philippe Gaulier in Paris, Burgers developed an instant cult following with his silent, late-night shows: beautiful, skilful and playful, but also terrifying, in that Burgers displayed zero inhibitions and required his audiences to leave theirs at the door. An Edinburgh Comedy award followed; Burgers’ influence is still being felt on live comedy. BL
33
Richard Ayoade
A man with such comic gift he can make an HSBC advert watchable. Ayoade’s dry-as-a-bone humour may be an acquired taste, but it hasn’t stopped him piecing together a career of unusual breadth: as host of gadget and travel shows, a deft movie director, the droll voice of sanity in panel shows, author of two impeccably written books, and, perhaps most inspired of all, presenter of The Crystal Maze. His most straightforwardly comic role to date is as Moss the uber-geeky IT technician in The IT Crowd. The appearance of Ayoade in any show is a seal of quality. PF
32
Kevin Bridges
Bridges was already marked out as a standup wunderkind before his brilliant debut show in 2009 aged 23. He’s barely put a foot wrong since, and now rivals Michael McIntyre as Britain’s finest exponent of that much-maligned form, observational comedy. What Bridges brings to it is a punchiness that never tips over into aggression, and an intelligence that steers him away from cheap shots and dumbed-down material. And best of all, he’s a rare example of a mass-appeal standup who has the courage to be openly political, and the charm for it not to be divisive. PF
31
Amy Schumer
You wouldn’t want to be Amy Schumer. She releases a standup set (The Leather Special) and has to defend herself against rightwing trolls determined to reduce its Netflix rating. She releases a movie (I Feel Pretty) and has to defend herself against leftwing trolls who form a consensus about its message based purely on its trailer. This weight of expectation would crush most people, but not Schumer. This is probably because she is very, very funny. Watch Trainwreck, or Mostly Sex Stuff, or any episode of Inside Amy Schumer for proof. We’re lucky to have her. SH
30
Russell Brand
Put aside, if you can, his tabloid ubiquity and ropey oeuvre of Hollywood films. Turn a blind eye to his questionable role in the 2015 general election. Brand the cultural phenomenon isn’t always a laughing matter, but Brand the comedian is harder to resist. On stage, where he can control how the narcissism, verbosity and new age philosophy come across – and where they’re spliced with wit, self-mockery and a palpable love of people and life – Brand is a presence to conjure with, one of our most unique and charismatic comic talents. BL
29
Aziz Ansari
Ansari has had a career of two halves. First, he was the playful standup whose routines revolved around clashing cultures and botched romances, a style translated into Netflix’s Master of None. When allegations of sexual assault were made in 2018, it seemed his career might be over for good. He has denied claims, no charges were pressed, but Ansari is now tackling the subject in his work; a review described his new tour as “a cry against extreme wokeness”. Whether he can regain his former success remains to be seen, but he’s determined to use comedy to make a statement. HJD
28
Daniel Kitson
When Daniel Kitson won the 2002 Perrier award, breakout success seemed just a matter of time. But that’s not what Kitson wanted. The Yorkshireman has since constructed the most respected bespoke career in comedy. He doesn’t do telly, panel shows or media – yet his gigs (sometimes standup, sometimes plays, sometimes solo storytelling) often sell out far in advance. And his voice is among the most distinctive in comedy: barbed but romantic, blunt but lyrical, fiercely protective of humanity’s fragile flame as the chill winds of soulless modernity billow around it. BL
27
Frankie Boyle
When he was team captain on Mock the Week and best known for comparing a swimmer to a spoon, few would have nominated Frankie Boyle as one of the comics of the century. But that was before the Glaswegian’s transformation into the most lacerating comic-critic of Tory Britain. On stage, in his newspaper columns, and on his terrific BBC show New World Order, Boyle has retained the brutality and joke-writing brilliance of his early work, but applied it to sociopolitics over celebrity. Boyle 2.0 is the appalling, apocalyptic comic-poet our end-of-days era demands. BL
26
Trevor Noah
Most assumed that The Daily Show would end when Jon Stewart quit in 2015. To all intents and purposes, the show was Stewart; intelligent, probing, angry and humane. So what do you do when you have to replace the voice of a generation? Easy, you find another one. Enter Trevor Noah. He’s younger than Stewart, and much slicker, but his Daily Show has finally found its voice. Noah is such an outsider – not only a foreigner, but a South African born to interracial parents at the height of apartheid – that his point of view can’t help but stand out against those of the white male Jimmys that make up the rest of late night TV. SH
25
Louis CK
When he played the O2 in London in 2013, on the back of the cult success of his autobiographical sitcom Louie, Louis CK was greeted as the world’s best standup: a philosopher with great jokes, and a pitiless chronicler of the foibles of the midlife male. Then in 2017, several female comics alleged he had sexually harassed them. CK confessed, and withdrew from comedy – but not for long enough, say critics of his recent comeback. No one denies he delivered some brilliant standup in his pomp – but all those cynical gags about predatory maleness no longer sound quite so funny. BL
24
Vic and Bob
Despite reaching their anarchic zenith in the 90s, the pair segued into the 00s with hits such as Shooting Stars (which ran until 2011), lost classics such as Catterick and Vic and Bob’s Afternoon Delights, as well as sitcoms (House of Fools) and reboots (Big Night Out). They’ve also prospered independently and in the most surprising places – Bob’s able to turn a panel show such as Would I Lie to You? into an odd Audience With performance. Between them they’ve survived a triple heart bypass and a visit to the I’m a Celebrity Jungle, to remain the reigning champions of surreal comedy. HG
23
Hannah Gadsby
Gadsby’s 2017 show, Nanette, was supposed to be her last before quitting comedy. An attack on homophobia and sexual violence, and an outpouring of pain and anger, Gadsby – a dry, modest comic from Tasmania – also turns her fire on standup itself, for giving the illusion of helping her mental health. Nanette was so bold, timely and devastatingly well written, that it’s taken on a life of its own. A Netflix special was a huge hit, and she has, thank goodness, reversed her decision to quit the business. PF
22
Sacha Baron Cohen
From Ali G to Borat to Brüno, Sacha Baron Cohen’s audacious trolling and timely satire has made him one of comedy’s best-known provocateurs. His style might not feel as edgy as it once was, and there have been some blips along the way (see 2012 film The Dictator). However, when he gets it right he can still make a huge impact, with latest series Who Is America? highlighting the ludicrousness of US politics. HJD
21
Tig Notaro
The sadcom is the subgenre that takes the darker elements of the human condition – the ones previously reserved for standup – and fuses them with the tenets of TV comedy. Arguably, no comic has nailed this auteur trend better than Notaro, whose Amazon show One Mississippi focused on an annus horribilis that included the death of her mother, her cancer diagnosis and a breakup. In the wake of its (unpopular) cancellation, she brought her mix of deadpan and emotion to a Netflix special, Happy to Be Here, sealing her reputation as a pioneer of “traumedy”. HJD
20
Issa Rae
US comic Rae harnessed the power of the webseries in the early 2010s, with her YouTube comedy The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl landing her a place on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Entertainment List in 2012. While an early project with Shonda Rhimes was canned, Rae’s star rose via her HBO series, Insecure. In a world still bound to tired stereotypes of alternately fierce and subjugated black women, this pop culture-heavy comedy stood out, as did the voice behind it, who plays the lead role with an understated confidence and, of course, lashings of awkwardness. HJD
19
Ricky Gervais
The criticism commonly levelled at mid-career Ricky Gervais (the arena standup; the outre awards host; the man who made and played Derek) is that he’s turned into – or perhaps always was – his Office alter ego David Brent, forever tittering at how provocative he can be. Which at least goes to show what an unforgettable comic monster Brent was in the first place, a middle-management pipsqueak with delusions of charisma, fronting a pioneering cringe comedy and still-brilliant mockumentary nailing the pettiness and desolation of workplace life. BL
18
Bridget Christie
No one with half a brain ever doubted that female could be funny. But feminism? Even Bridget Christie fought shy of the subject early in her career, when she stepped out as a daft sub-surrealist in disguise as Charles II. Or an ant. But then came A Bic for Her, her breakout 2013 set, a fantastically daft – yet fiercely committed – cri de coeur against everywhere sexism. Alongside the book, and the radio show, Christie has gone on to enjoy a brilliant career in campaigning comedy, and not only for feminist causes – sometimes it seems that there’s nothing this terrific clown can’t make funny. BL
17
Romesh Ranganathan
Ranganathan was on the brink of quitting comedy when he won the Leicester Mercury comedian of the year contest in 2013. Since then, the former maths teacher has done everything from presenting a travelogue with his mum (BBC3’s Asian Provocateur) to making a sitcom based on the real-life story of inheriting his dad’s pub (The Reluctant Landlord) to presenting a hip-hop podcast, as well as being a Mock the Week fixture. While he has stated that he doesn’t do “Asian comedy … I’m just an Asian man who happens to be doing comedy”, race features within a self-deprecating, off-kilter style. HJD
16
The Mighty Boosh
To call someone “random” may be slanderous in 2019, but when the Boosh arrived in the mid 00s with their hermaphroditic mermen, talking gorillas and giant lumps of evil bubblegum it was an illuminating antidote to the bleak mockumentary realism of the comedy that was booming at the time. Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt’s Boosh radio series introduced listeners to the zooniverse of strange wonders, but their 2004 TV show was totally transportive: from its art school aesthetic to its dreamlike characters, it was as visually stimulating as a Jim Henson creation, or like stepping into a Frank Zappa album. HG
15
Dave Chappelle
His reputation has been damaged lately by some unpleasant material on gender – even if the 2017 Netflix specials in question went on to be the channel’s most watched comedy specials of all time. But for years, you’d have struggled to find a more authoritative standup worldwide than Dave Chappelle. Live performance aside, he entered the big league with Chappelle’s Show, the trailblazing sketch series that made a whole new kind of merry with race, politics and pop culture. Its status – and Chappelle’s no-compromise reputation – was secured when the star mysteriously quit the programme mid-recording in 2006, triggering a seven-year sabbatical from showbiz. BL
14
Maria Bamford
To watch a Maria Bamford standup set is to sprint full-pelt to keep up with her train of thought. Other comedians might take the time to state and reinforce a premise before launching into their punchlines, but not Bamford. Her sets are a free-associated cavalcade of broken logic and weird voices, and it often takes full concentration just to figure out what’s going on. Watch 2012’s The Special Special Special! if you haven’t already. It’s Bamford performing standup for just her parents, and it is glorious. SH
13
Sarah Silverman
Political views can kill a comedian’s mojo (hello, Eddie Izzard). So what will happen to Sarah Silverman? Her early standup persona was a sort of narcissistic brat with no boundaries. Then she got politicised. Silverman’s reaction to the rise of Donald Trump has been not just liberal rage, but attempts to reach out to his voters and understand them. Will this new-found earnestness kill her comedy mojo? It appears not. Her latest Netflix special, A Speck of Dust, shows she can inveigle her politics into her standup without compromising either. She’s a remarkably gifted comic, with incredible control and courage – that she is still evolving makes her all the better. PF
12
Amy Poehler
Former SNL cast member Amy Poehler got her big break as Pawnee’s most enthusiastic public servant on Parks and Recreation. Poehler’s hyperbolically feminist Leslie Knope pokes fun at lean-in culture, while also cementing the actor’s reputation as a master of weirdo characters. It’s a trend she continued as a mentor for Broad City’s Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, helping to bring their show to TV and acting as its exec producer. HJD
11
Kristen Wiig
Most SNL performers simply slope off when their time is up, but not Kristen Wiig. Her final episode, after seven years on the show, ended with a Lorne Michaels slow-dance as Mick Jagger sang Ruby Tuesday to her. By that point, of course, she’d already written and starred in Bridesmaids – a hit so colossal that it tends to overshadow her other work. Stick a pin anywhere in her filmography, though, and you’ll strike gold. Plus she’s playing the baddie in Wonder Woman 1984, which is likely to vault her into the stratosphere. SH
10
Sharon Horgan
Horgan has gone from portraying young drinking, shagging women (Pulling), to dysfunctional grown-up relationships (Catastrophe) to motherhood (Motherland) – and has nailed them all. Each show has been wickedly warts-and-all with almost documentary realism. Catastrophe remains the pick of the bunch, managing to be both funny and touching, and in Sharon and Rob she has created a comedy couple that will endure. PF
9
Tim Key
The first half of this decade saw an extraordinary flowering of creative live comedy centred around north-London production house The Invisible Dot. Jonny Sweet, Claudia O’Doherty and the stars of the Inbetweeners all made work here – but the flagship act was poet and performance-art comic Tim Key. Every Key show was an event, designed to upend – and expand – expectations of live comedy, and seduce us all with Key’s coy and slippery humour. A role as Alan Partridge’s sidekick gained Key wider recognition, but the live work is his indelible signature. BL
8
Larry David
Even during the six-year stretch when Curb Your Enthusiasm was off air, Larry David was funnier than anyone else. His Broadway play Fish in the Dark won rave reviews and millions of dollars in advance sales. His TV movie Clear History was much better than it should have been. And, in 2001, he wrote the world’s best op-ed on baldness. “If a hair guy has a girlfriend, he’s never threatened by a bald man. He doesn’t mind if his girlfriend has a platonic bald man in her life. ‘Come on in, bald man, make yourself at home.’” SH
7
Julia Davis
Imagine how rubbish life would be without Julia Davis. Imagine how much happier the world would be. Everything Davis has written has been soaked in the worst excesses of human misery, but with a worrying degree of relatability, showing up the vulnerabilities of all of us. Human Remains was full of delusion. Nighty Night was a study of sociopathy. Hunderby exposed the dark guts of our period drama fetishisation. Camping felt like being drugged unconscious and dragged into the forest by woodspeople (or a clingy boyfriend). Her latest, Sally4Ever, is possibly her darkest yet. Even in the quaint format of the podcast – Dear Joan and Jericha – she manages malevolence. Inexplicably, she has not created a dud in her career. A spectacular achievement. SH
6
Tiffany Haddish
Having come up through standup and recurring sitcom spots, Haddish hit the mainstream with a breakout role as wisecracking Dina in the 2017 film Girls Trip, a comedy that put the spotlight on black US sisterhood. Haddish has since gone on to be the first black female host of Saturday Night Live, and written a book, The Last Black Unicorn, about her difficult childhood and taking up comedy as an alternative to therapy. HJD
5
Flight of the Conchords
No comedy career this century has been as remarkable as that of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, low-key Kiwi musical comics turned accidental global superstars. But if the scale has changed – from a dank cave on the Edinburgh fringe, via BBC radio, to breakout HBO sitcom success and award-hogging movie careers – the quality of the duo’s musicianship, wonderfully unexpected lyrics, and their deathless deadpan banter has remained hilariously sky-high. Business Time, The Humans Are Dead, Carol Brown – their comic songs are among the finest ever written. BL
4
James Acaster
Not many comics can boast a 100% hit rate, but each one of James Acaster’s seven live shows so far has been outstanding: original, intelligent and funny. His most recent, Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999, is his best, and most personal, about a break-up that had a surprise showbiz angle. Acaster feels like an utterly uncompromised act: his shows can be elaborate metaphors and his stage presence has a sort of Dylan-ish prickliness – on TV panel shows he’s the grit that cuts through the chumminess. Right now, he’s the best standup Britain has. PF
3
Chris Rock
Chris Rock was already a star at the turn of the millennium but the 21st century turned him into a megastar. His first two standup specials since 2000, Never Scared and Kill the Messenger, are full of trademark Rock fury; but the third, last year’s Tamborine, is quieter and more humane. Plus in this time he made Everybody Hates Chris, Top Five and The Motherfucker With the Hat. That Chris Rock is one of the funniest people alive goes without saying. The scary thing is that, after 30 years in the business, he might actually be getting better. SH
2
Steve Coogan
Yes, there is Alan Partridge – a character of such magnitude that lesser comedians would have given up at that. But in addition, Steve Coogan has starred in three series of The Trip, seamlessly blending travelogue, impression show and gloomy indie drama into a brave new form all of its own. His film work has lurched from critically celebrated highbrow comedy (24 Hour Party People, A Cock and Bull Story) to hugely underrated would-be blockbusters (Hamlet 2, Around the World in 80 Days). And he’s Alan bloody Partridge, for crying out loud. Surely that’s enough by itself. SH
1
Tina Fey
Tina Fey is having quite the busy century. In 1999 she became Saturday Night Live’s first female head writer, winning the show its first best writing Emmy for 13 years in the process. In 2004 she wrote Mean Girls. From 2006 to 2013 she wrote and starred in 30 Rock, winning 112 Emmy nominations along the way. In 2011 she was paid $6m to write Bossypants, opening the floodgates for dozens of essay collections by female comedians. She co-created Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. She executive-produced Great News, one of the best lost sitcoms of our age. She has rapped with Childish Gambino. She performs the definitive Sarah Palin impersonation. She is one of the very few non-obnoxious people ever to host the Golden Globes. And she isn’t slowing down, either; her new NBC sitcom – in which Ted Danson will play an obnoxious mayor of Los Angeles – sounds like it’s going to be a slam-dunk, and she’ll soon star in what’s likely to be the most successful film of her life in Pixar’s Soul. She remains precisely as exacting, hilarious and influential as she’s ever been. Remove any of her projects from your life, with the possible exception of Wine Country, and the world immediately becomes a much worse place. A true legend. SH
This article was amended on 23 September 2019. Tiffany Haddish was the first black female host, not performer, on Saturday Night Live. This has been corrected.
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