The Internet has changed many, many things. But probably the single most important thing, beyond some cancer cures or whatever, is that now it’s easier for comedians to find an audience. Without YouTube, social media, and Facebook arguments, for example, we might never have had…
Andy Samberg
It’s easy to forget Samberg, currently of Brooklyn Nine-Nine after a long residency on SNL, actually rose to prominence thanks to going viral. Working with Lonely Island, he’s pretty much become a catchphrase minting machine. Case in point:
Maria Bamford
Bamford has been on every beloved sitcom of the moment, lately; she’s been featured on Louie and was a major player in the fourth season of Arrested Development. But Bamford has been a presence on the Internet for a long, long time, as her fans know. In fact, she’s been posting comedy online for a solid decade, including releasing a free special online for her fans in 2009:
Billy Eichner
No one should knock Eichner’s work ethic: He spent years working on talk shows and comedic revues, popping up everywhere from Conan to Last Call with Carson Daly. But Eichner broke through thanks to Billy On The Street, a bizarre gonzo comedy game show, where, for example, you find out who precisely would nail Paul Rudd:
Zach Galifinakis
Galifinakis also definitely paid his dues, starting in NBC’s now long-forgotten Boston Common in 1996, and working through years of stand-up gigs, bit parts, and being mocked by Sarah Silverman before he landed Between Two Ferns, an interview web series that brings awkwardness to new heights, and led directly to his role in The Hangover.
Garfunkel And Oates
Hard as it is to believe, Garfunkel and Oates actually started in 2009, and right from the start, their songs got attention. Take, for example, this clip:
That one song got them on the Tonight Show and HBO. And as they’ve been putting them out there, they’ve been getting results, culminating in their own IFC show.
We suppose the moral of the story is that as long as you’re willing to pick on expectant mothers or terrify people in the street, you can count on the love of the Internet. So maybe things haven’t changed as much as we thought.
