Variety Honors 10 Comics To Watch at Just For Laughs Festival

After a year away, the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival returned to Montreal with a star-studded line-up of the biggest names in laughter. On July 24, Variety presented their annual 10 Comics To Watch at a cocktail party sponsored by Cohen Gardner Law, who has been partnering with Variety on the honor for the past 20 years. All 10 comics were in attendance, including recent Emmy nominee Robby Hoffman (“Hacks”), “Overcompensating” breakout Mary Beth Barone and social media sensation Dyon ‘Mojo’ Brooks. They were joined by fellow honorees Joe Dombrowski, Nate Jackson, Morgan Jay, Gianmarco Soresi, Jiaoying Summers, Steph Tolev and Tacarra Williams.

Jeff B. Cohen, partner at Cohen Gardner, noted that Cohen Gardner LLP has sponsored the 10 Comics with Variety for almost 20 years. “Variety has a remarkable track record of identifying comedy’s next stars with its 10 Comics to Watch List,” said Gardner. “Also, kudos to Just For Laughs for bringing back the s “Also, kudos to Just For Laughs for bringing back the singular Montreal Comedy Festival. It’s my one chance a year to eat poutine!”

On July 25, the comics also performed at a showcase event to a packed and appreciative audience. Earlier that day, Just For Laughs held their annual Awards show, celebrating some of the biggest names in comedy. Ryan Reynolds presented the Generation Award to his “Welcome to Wrexham” collaborator Rob Mac. Reynolds praised not only Mac’s talent, but his demeanor, noting of the “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” actor, “Nobody does 17 seasons of a television show with the same cast and crew and also happens to be a dick.”

The awards show, hosted by financial-analyst-turned-stand-up-comic Matthew Broussard, also honored “Clean Slate” star George Wallace with a lifetime achievement award, presented by Roy Wood Jr., who also happens to be a 10 Comics To Watch alumni. Other previous 10 Comics To Watch honored included “Overcompensating” creator and star Benito Skinner, who was named the breakout comedy star of the year; Hannah Berner, named rising comedy star of the year; and Fortune Feimster, who shared the podcast of the year award with her “Handsome” cohosts Mae Martin and Tig Notaro.