Anthony Jeselnik

One of the most influential comedians of the later 2010s, Anthony Jeselnik first became a hit with mainstream audiences when he starred in an episode of "Comedy Central Presents" (Comedy Central, 1998-) in 2009. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jeselnik began making friends and even teachers laugh as a class clown as early as elementary school. He graduated from Tulane University with a degree in English Literature in 2001, and began pursuing a career in TV writing while performing at open mics at night. He would work at a Borders bookstore and even as an accounting clerk for the series "Deadwood" (HBO, 2004-06) before eventually landing an appearance on the stand-up series "Premium Blend" (Comedy Central, 1997-) in 2006. Before long he was starring on an installment of "Comedy Central Presents" and writing for "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (NBC, 2009-2014)--though Jeselnik's dark comedy ultimately proved a better fit for Comedy Central's ongoing "Roast" series, which he began contributing to with the "Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump" (Comedy Central, 2011). In 2013, Jeselnik starred in his own stand-up special, "Anthony Jeselnik: Caligula" (Comedy Central, 2013) and also began hosting the late night talk show "The Jeselnik Offensive" (Comedy Central, 2013). The series did not last long, but Jeselnik nonetheless returned with another stand-up special, "Anthony Jeselnik: Thoughts and Prayers" (Netflix, 2015). He would release a new special just a few years later in 2019, "Anthony Jeselnik: Fire in the Maternity Ward" the same year he began hosting the interview series "Good Talk with Anthony Jeselnik" (Comedy Central, 2019-).