Need a good laugh? These days, we all do. Meet the TV auteurs, the stand-ups scoring $20 million Netflix specials and the ventriloquist booking arenas (for real!) as The Hollywood Reporter profiles the players behind billions in funny money in its first comedy power list.
CATEGORY The Movie Stars
Since saying farewell to Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope in 2015, the 46-year-old Saturday Night Live alum and Upright Citizens Brigade founder has shifted behind the scenes as a prolific producer for next-gen talent, bringing hip comedies like Difficult People (canceled last year but not before showcasing Billy Eichner, Julie Klausner and Cole Escola) and Broad City to the small screen. She’s next directing her first feature for Netflix — Wine Country, a Napa-set girls trip in which she also stars alongside SNL pals Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph — and is executive producing the NBC sitcom I Feel Bad, which touts Poehler’s name, and sterling track record, in promo materials.
My most memorable heckler… “Who cares? The whole world is on fire.”
Dream product endorsement “A giant whale just died in Thailand after eating 80 plastic bags.”
Guilty pleasure “Let’s not forget over 4,600 people have died in Puerto Rico.”
I’m funny because… “I don’t even know anymore.”
If I didn’t work in comedy… “I would never leave my house.”
College comedy audiences are… “Kids that are afraid they will be shot in their own schools. What has happened to us?”
Sitcom you’d reboot? “Mr. Rogers. I miss him. We need him.”
The funniest thing about the Trump administration is… “Are you kidding me?”