2022
Participants

Comedian, actress, writer, producer, and more, Amanda Seales doesn’t just make you laugh, she makes change! With an uncanny knack for taking serious topics (racism, rape culture, sexism, police brutality, etc.) and with humor, making them relatable and interesting, she combines intellectual wit, silliness, and a pop culture obsession to create her unique style of smart funny content for the stage and screens. Amanda Seales is a comedian and creative visionary with a Master’s in African American studies from Columbia University. Seamlessly blending humor and intellect, her unique style of smart funny content spans various genres across the entertainment and multimedia landscape. She is best known for her iconic role as, “Tiffany DuBois” of HBO’s Insecure, her debut stand up comedy special, “I Be Knowin”, as a former cohost on daytime talk show, “The Real”, host of NBCs “Bring the Funny,” and the host/writer of the groundbreaking 2020 BET Awards. She speaks truth to change via her wildly popular instagram @AmandaSeales, weekly podcast, “Small Doses”, and book by the same name. Centering community building in her comedy, she is also the creator/host of the touring variety game show, “Smart Funny & Black” and of “Smart Funny & Black Radio” on Kevin Hart’s LOL Network on SiriusXM. Always an advocate for Black voices, she founded Smart Funny & Black Productions to produce and create art as edu-tainment across the media landscape by any joke necessary. A Jedi Khaleesi with a patronus that’s a Black Panther with wings, Amanda Seales continues to keep audiences laughing, thinking, and living in their truth!

• By Any Joke Necessary: Amanda Seales Keynote Address

Andy Kindler currently recurs on Fox’s hit animation, Bob’s Burgers and Comedy Central’s long-running Tosh.O. He is also a regular on the critically-praised Canadian web series, But I’m Chris Jericho (for which he was nominated as Best Supporting Actor by L.A. Webfest 2018). Andy was the host of Season 4 and 5 of Hulu’s standup series, Coming to the Stage as well as a series judge on the seventh season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, the star of two half-hour Comedy Central Presents specials and was a frequent guest and correspondent on The Late Show with David Letterman with over 40 appearances. He has previously recurred on Everybody Loves Raymond, Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here, Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place, IFC’s Maron and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. Other noteworthy credits include Portlandia, the HBO Young Comedians Special, Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist, Home Movies and The Larry Sanders Show. Every year Andy delivers his infamous State of the Industry Address at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal.

• Andy Kindler's State of The Industry Address

Asher Grodman is an actor, director, writer and producer who has worked across all mediums. Asher can currently be seen starring as Trevor on the CBS comedy Ghosts. Written by Port and Wiseman based on the British series, GHOSTS follows a young couple, Samantha and Jay, whose dreams come true when they inherit a beautiful country house, only to find it’s both falling apart and inhabited by many of the deceased previous residents. Trevor is a finance bro who died in the late 1990s and is incredibly frustrated his ghostly roommates don’t understand his past life. Trevor died as he lived: partying at a drug-fueled rager, and now, he walks around for eternity with no pants.

Grodman can be seen starring next in Out of Order alongside Brooke Shields, Brandon Routh and Sam Huntington.

The comedy follows Routh’s acceptance to work at a new elite law firm, soon realizing both legal firms are working opposite sides of the same case involving a massive pharmaceutical company. Grodman’s other recent television appearances include Succession (HBO), Chicago Med (NBC), House of Cards (Netflix), Elementary (CBS) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC).

He’s worked extensively in independent film and regional theater across the country including the title role of Amadeus at South Coast Rep. Grodman is also the writer/director/producer of the award-winning short film The Train starring Academy Award Winner Eli Wallach. The Train was featured in over 25 festivals and won numerous honors including recognitions for Best Film at the Cleveland International Film Festival and the Sedona International Film Festival.

Asher holds a MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and a BA in Film and English from Columbia University in New York. In addition to his work in front and behind the camera, Asher currently teaches acting for both theater and film at Hunter College as well as instructing inmates in acting at Rikers Island.

• CBS Presents: A Spirited Conversation With The Cast Of Ghosts

Asif Ali just had a breakout recurring role on the Emmy Nominated Disney Marvel WandaVision & was cast in the new Olivia Wilde/Chris Pine film Don't Worry Darling! More recently, he came back from filming Amblin Easter Sunday w/ Jay Chandrasekhar as well as Bromates w/ Lil Rel. Asif has teamed up with Olivia Wilde & Katie Silberman (Booksmart) to officially pen his comedic heist feature. When he isn't acting you can see him prepping for his standup comedy special about to drop on HBO Max or building out his Instagram page @alicomedy.

• Universal Pictures presents, Easter Sunday: A Cast and Creators Panel

Atsuko is a stand-up comedian, actor, and writer based in LA. Atsuko made her late night stand-up debut on THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN. Atsuko is starring in the new Comedy Central animated series, FAIRVIEW and the Paramount+ feature film, WASHINGTONIA from EP, Stephen Colbert. She's written for Adult Swim's THE ERIC ANDRE SHOW & SOFT FOCUS WITH JENA FRIEDMAN. Atsuko’s on-screen credits include, season 3 of the HBO series, ROOM 104, THE SHOW NEXTDOOR with Randall Park on ROKU+, and HULU's latest project with ATTN: Mom & Pop. Atsuko was named a ‘Comedian To Watch’ by Vulture & ‘Top 10 Comedians to Watch’ for TimeOut LA. She is also fluent in Japanese and Mandarin.

• Cohen Gardner LLP presents Variety 10 Comics To Watch Uncensored

Benjamin Evan Ainsworth recently wrapped the lead role in ALL FUN & GAMES produced by Joe and Anthony Russo. He stars in the title role of Pinocchio opposite Tom Hanks in Robert Zemeckis’ live-action adaptation of PINOCCHIO for Walt Disney Pictures and also has a significant role in the upcoming David S. Goyer’s epic THE SANDMAN for Netflix opposite Tom Sturridge.

Ainsworth’s first film credit was Disney’s FLORA AND ULYSSES and followed that as one of the leads in the Netflix limited series THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR opposite Victoria Pedretti and Henry Thomas for director Mike Flanagan. His performance in that as the orphaned, deeply-troubled and volatile Miles Wingrave earned him critical acclaim and was described as one of the “most delicate and captivating performances in a horror story ever captured”.

In his spare time, Benjamin enjoys playing rugby and hockey and is a huge Liverpool FC supporter. He also loves singing, song-writing, music producing and playing the drums.

• CBC presents The Cast and Creators of Son of A Critch

BLAIR SOCCI is a Los Angeles-based comedian whom you may have seen on The Late Late Show with James Corden, MTV, Comedy Central, NBC, Quibi, TruTV, E!, and Fuse.

She was recently named one of Vulture’s “20 Comedians You Should Know”. Additionally, she was a breakout “New Faces” at the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival.

Blair is the co-creator and star of the acclaimed digital series, Blair’s Lair, which follows a millennial agoraphobe with questionable morals and has been written up in Vulture and Paste Magazine.

Blair is the host of the hit podcast on Iheart, Dear Owen Wilson with Blair Socci.

Blair is also the co-host of The Trevor Moore Show on Comedy Central Digital and frequently tours with Ron Funches.

This year you can catch her in Netflix’s Q Force, Comedy Central’s Fairview, Adult Swim’s Hot Future, Good Morning Pickles! on FXX’s Cake, and the upcoming Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie. Her new podcast, Dear Owen Wilson, will launch Spring 2022 on Iheartradio.

• Cohen Gardner LLP presents Variety 10 Comics To Watch Uncensored
• Acast Presents the ComedyPRO Premium Podcast Series : Dear Owen Wilson

Bob Odenkirk is an Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, actor, and director. He is widely known for playing the character Saul Goodman first seen in the hit drama Breaking Bad, and for reprising that role in AMC’s Better Call Saul, which earned him two Critics Choice Awards, as well as Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award nominations.  The sixth and final season of Saul is currently airing. His work as a comedy writer for Saturday Night Live and The Ben Stiller Showgarnered him two Primetime Emmy Awards for outstanding writing. He has also written three books. Over the years, Odenkirk has been instrumental in helping emerging comedy writers advance their work, including executive producing Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim’s first Adult Swim series Tom Goes to the Mayor and acting as a consultant on their subsequent shows Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule. He also co-created and starred in Mr. Show with Bob and David on HBO which has been called “the American Monty Python.” Other recent credits include Universal's action thriller Nobody, which opened at #1 in the US box office, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Steven Spielberg’s The Post, Greta Gerwig's Little Women, and Pixar’s Incredibles 2.

• An Ear For Comedy with Bob and Nate Odenkirk

Brandon Scott Jones is a writer and actor who played another dead person, John Wheaton, for two seasons on the hit NBC comedy series “The Good Place.” Also, he is a co-producer, writer and actor on the critically acclaimed series “The Other Two,” on HBO Max. Recently, he was in the feature film “Senior Year” for Paramount. Jones also starred in the Warner Bros. feature film “Isn’t it Romantic,” opposite Rebel Wilson, and the Oscar-nominated film “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” He can be seen in the upcoming feature “Renfield” opposite Nicholas Hoult and Nicholas Cage.

Jones is originally from Bel Air, Maryland where he grew up with his father, Rick, a German teacher, his mother, Patti, and his sister, Amanda. Now he has a niece and a nephew, and they are both so cute he can hardly stand it. As a kid, Jones dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player and was a competitive USTA junior player. However, pragmatic minds prevailed and instead he entered the stable career of showbiz. He still plays and is always looking for a hit. He’s also an enormous tennis fan and will talk about it to anyone who will pretend to listen.

• CBS Presents: A Spirited Conversation With The Cast Of Ghosts

Originally from Prince Edward Island, Claire appropriately started her career in the musical Anne of Green Gables. Four seasons at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival followed with roles as Miranda (The Tempest), Katherine (Loves Labour’s Lost) and Louise (Carousel). After a stint as Cosette (Les Miserables) and Juliet (Romeo & Juliet), Claire turned her attention to film and television. During 15 years in Los Angeles, she’s worked with the likes of Aaron Sorkin, Tony Shalhoub, Kevin Costner, Hugh Laurie, Denzel Washington and Dick van Dyke. She has over 50 recurring/guest star television roles and some favourite film projects include Molly’s Game, The Swap, One of Our Own, In Quiet Night and Root of the Problem. Recently, Claire originated the role of Cynthia Murphy in the Canadian production of Dear Evan Hansen then joined the US National Tour performing over 400 performances in over 40 cities. Currently she can be seen as Mary on the CBC comedy Son of a Critch.

• CBC presents The Cast and Creators of Son of A Critch

Danielle Pinnock is a dynamic actress-creator-writer who has quickly established herself as one of Hollywood’s most versatile new talents, recently named to People Magazine’s ‘One to Watch’ list and Backstage’s 2022 ‘Emerging Talent’ portfolio for on-the-rise performers. As a personality, she most recently hosted the Casting Society’s 2022 Artios Awards.

Prior to her breakout role as ‘Alberta’ on GHOSTS, Danielle’s television work included four seasons on the hit CBS comedy, YOUNG SHELDON, where she recurred as ‘Ms. Ingram’, Sheldon’s math teacher.

She has also memorably recurred opposite Ray Romano and Peter Bogdanovich in EPIX's “Get Shorty”; and recently guest-starred on HBO’s Emmy-nominated “A Black Lady Sketch Show”, created and executive produced by Robin Thede and Issa Rae.

Her other notable guest appearances include NBC’s “This Is Us”, ABC’s “Scandal”, and Hulu’s “Dollface”, among others. In addition, her voice work has been heard on Netflix's “Boss Baby: Back in Business”, Cartoon Network's “Thundercats Roar”, Apple+'s “Doug Unplugs”, and Peacock's “Where’s Waldo?”.

As a creator, it was announced in that her adult-aimed animated series, “Unmentionables”—about mismatched underwear and the millennial human who wears them—is being developed for television by Emmy-winning producer Anthony Hemingway and Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson. Danielle co-created the series with Emmy-nominated Punam Patel (Netflix’s Special).

Danielle is also developing a pilot of her viral sketch series, “Hashtag Booked”, co-created with LaNisa Renee Frederick, which has received over 20 million views and a Webby Award for its painfully-funny depiction of the very real challenges black actors face at predominantly white casting agencies. Forbes called it a “hilarious” short-form series that helped the world “laugh, to keep from crying” during the pandemic.

In fact, Danielle kept us laughing throughout the entire quarantine, also the creative genius behind the viral #Bridgerton recaps, “Daphne’s Diary”, which garnered 2 million views, hysterically recapping the full season of the hit Shonda Rhimes series in 15-second, viral-worthy clips.

Mentored by Anna Deavere Smith, Danielle is a classically-trained stage actress and playwright, notable for her solo show, “Body/Courage”, a rich exploration of body acceptance which she created from over 300 real-life interview subjects whose words and spirits she evokes in a thrilling one-woman show. She has also appeared Off-Broadway and at the Edinburgh Fringe in the prize-winning play, “In Conflict”; and has performed at major regional theaters including Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and D.C.’s famed Kennedy Center, among many others.

Raised in Northern New Jersey by her mother and grandmother, Danielle is a proud first-generation Jamaican-American. She received her BA in Communications and Theatre from Temple University and graduated with First Distinction Honors with an MFA in Acting from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in the UK.

• CBS Presents: A Spirited Conversation With The Cast Of Ghosts

4YE Originals are brothers Jae and Trey Richards. For over seven years, the Brampton-born, Toronto-based comedy duo have created stand-out content amassing a loyal audience and over 100 million lifetime views between all of their YouTube channels. They’ve garnered praise from A-list entertainers including Kevin Hart and Drake.

Jae and Trey also host Random Order, a weekly podcast offering their signature comedic commentary on all things Toronto, life, food, pop culture, news and more.

• RANDOM ORDER: How To Go From YouTube To Podcasting

Director/writer/comedian/actor Jay Chandrasekhar has contributed and appeared in a wide variety of critically acclaimed television programs and films throughout his career.

After graduating, Chandrasekhar and his classmates from Colgate University formed Charred Goosebeak, a sketch comedy group. Upon graduating, the members of Charred Goosebeak changed their name to Broken Lizard and performed at comedy clubs and college campuses across the nation until the mid-90s, when they set their sights on producing television and feature films.

Under his Broken Lizard banner, Chandrasekhar directed, co-wrote and starred in Fox Searchlight Picture’s comedy cult classics Super Troopers and the highly anticipated Super Troopers 2 out April 20th along with Club Dread, and Warner Bros.’ Beerfest. He also directed the Broken Lizard comedy special, Broken Lizard Stands Up. Chandrasekhar recently published his book, Mustache Shenanigans Making Super Troopers and Other Adventures in Comedy that gives a behind the scenes look at the making of Super Trooper and Super Troopers 2.

In 2005, Chandrasekhar directed The Dukes of Hazzard, a silver screen adaptation of the hit 1980’s television show for Warner Bros. which grossed over $111 million worldwide. In 2012 he directed and starred in Millennium Entertainment’s The Babymakers, alongside Olivia Munn, Paul Schneider, Kevin Heffernan and Nat Faxon. He can also be seen in DreamWorks’ comedy hit, I Love You, Man opposite Paul Rudd and Jason Segel.

In 2014, Chandrasekhar wrote, directed and starred in the adult comedy pilot Really, for Amazon Studios. Really follows the life of four hard-charging Chicago couples who are trying to hold on to their receding youth. The pilot stars Chandrasekhar, Sarah Chalke, Selma Blair, Travis Schuldt and Hayes MacArthur.

In addition to his feature film work, Chandrasekhar has directed various TV shows, including several episodes of the Emmy Award winning series Arrested Development, Up All Night, Happy Endings, Community, Royal Pains, Blue Mountain State, Psych, Chuck, Undeclared, The Human Giant and more.

Chandrasekhar tours the country doing stand-up comedy and currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children.

• Universal Pictures presents, Easter Sunday: A Cast and Creators Panel

Jay Jurden is a New York based comedian, writer and actor. Originally from Mississippi, Jay regularly performs comedy all over the country and is currently a Staff Writer for Apple TV+'s 'The Problem With Jon Stewart.' Jay has been seen on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Comedy Central Featuring, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and HBO’s High Maintenance.

His album, Jay Jurden Y'all, debuted #1 on iTunes. Jay has written for Vulture, Teen Vogue, McSweeney's, and The New Yorker. Jay was listed on Vulture's Comedians You Should and Will Know in 2020 and was selected for Just for Laughs Festival's New Faces in 2019.

Jay was named one of Variety's 10 Comics to Watch in 2022.

• Cohen Gardner LLP presents Variety 10 Comics To Watch Uncensored

Denver native Joe Wiseman has been writing for television, with his writing partner Joe Port, for the past twenty-three years. Among the many notable series they have written for are “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” “The Last O.G.,” “The Odd Couple,” “The Crazy Ones” starring Robin Williams, “1600 Penn,” “New Girl,” and "Just Shoot Me." Most recently he and Mr. Port adapted the CBS hit comedy, Ghosts, which was last season’s number one new network series (both comedy and drama) as well as being the most watched comedy on Paramount Plus.

Aside from his family, Wiseman considers his greatest achievement as being a former Twin Galaxies' recognized world record holder in Tecmo Super Bowl on the NES. Though the college he graduated from, The College of Santa Fe, went out of business a few years ago, Wiseman is pretty sure he’s still technically a college graduate.

Wiseman can rarely be found on twitter @notnotjwiseman.

• CBS Presents: A Spirited Conversation With The Cast Of Ghosts

Jonica Booth was a regular cast member during Season 12 of Oxygen’s “Bad Girls Club,” which depicted her pursuit as a comedian. Originally from St. Louis, Booth has honed her comedic talent by performing numerous routines at The Laugh Factory, The Comedy Store, The Improv and Flappers. Booth will be starring in Issa Rae’s upcoming new series, “Rap Sh!t” on HBO Max.

• HBOMax presents The Cast and Producers of Rap Sh!t

Born in the Philippines and raised in California, JR De Guzman began performing comedy while working as a music teacher, which he quickly learned just meant teaching Taylor Swift songs to teenagers. He has entertained all over the world, having performed for Stand-Up Tokyo and ROR Comedy in Japan, the Jokers Ball in Indonesia, the Badaboom Comedy Series in Amsterdam, and countless other international shows. JR was the winner Stand-up NBC in 2016 & named as a prestigious "New Face" at Just for Laughs 2017. His quarter hour special on The Comedy Lineup is streaming NOW on Netflix, and he was just named one of Variety’s Ten Comics to watch 2022. Catch him in a city near you on his first US theater tour, JR De Guzman: An Evening.

• Cohen Gardner LLP presents Variety 10 Comics To Watch Uncensored

Jimmy O. Yang is an actor, stand-up comedian, writer and producer who is known for his starring roles in Love Hard and Space Force (where he was also a writer), as well as his breakout roles in Crazy Rich Asians and Silicon Valley. Jimmy's debut comedy special Good Deal premiered on Amazon Prime in 2021 and has since become some of the most viewed stand-up comedy clips online.

Born in Hong Kong, Jimmy moved to Los Angeles when he was thirteen, where he started his career as a stand-up comedian. His first big break came on HBO's Emmy-nominated series Silicon Valley as the scene-stealer Jian Yang in 2014. In 2017, he made a dramatic turn as Dun Meng in his theatrical debut in the highly acclaimed Patriots Day. Shortly after, he played the memorable Bernard Tai in Jon Chu's global phenomenon Crazy Rich Asians.

Jimmy's also the author of the book How To American: An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents. He makes up one-third of the production company Crab Club Inc. with partners Jessica Gao and Ken Cheng who produced the upcoming Easter Sunday, starring Jo Koy and partnering with Steven Spielberg at Amblin.

• Universal Pictures presents, Easter Sunday: A Cast and Creators Panel

As one of today’s premiere stand-up comedians, Jo Koy has come a long way from his modest beginnings performing in a Las Vegas coffee house. Jo’s uniquely relatable comedy pulls inspiration from his colorful family that has reached all kinds of people and has translated into sold-out arenas around the world.

Koy started 2022 with a bang, selling-out the Climate Pledge Arena (over 14,000 tickets) in his hometownof Seattle. Today, he continues breaking sales records at some of the most prestigious venues around theworld including Mall of Asia Arena (Manila, PH), The Forum (Los Angeles), Coca-Cola Arena (Dubai), ICCTheatre (Sydney, AU), and Radio City Music Hall (New York City) to name a few. In 2017, Koy broke arecord for the most tickets sold by a single artist at 23,000 tickets and 11 sold-out shows at The Neal S.Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu. In response, the mayor’s office in Honolulu proclaimed November 24thas “Jo Koy Day.”

Koy will next be seen on the silver screen in the Universal Picture comedy film, Easter Sunday in theatersAugust 5th, 2022. The feature film is loosely based on Koy’s life experiences and will be set around a Filipinofamily gathering to celebrate Easter Sunday. In addition to the big screen, Jo’s single-cam comedy Joseplanded a pilot order at ABC.

His highly anticipated 4th Netflix stand-up special will be shot March 2022 at the Forum in Los Angeles. Thespecial is a follow up to his 2019 Netflix special, Comin’ In Hot - Koy has had four highly rated and successfulstand-up specials on Comedy Central and Netflix. In June 2020, the comedian released his first varietyspecial, Jo Koy: In His Elements on Netflix in which Koy brings the laughs and beats to Manila, spotlightinglocal culture in a one-of-a-kind show featuring Filipino-American comedians, DJs and B-boys.

In 2021, Koy released his first autobiography, Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo withHarper Collins Publishers to raved reviews. In this funny and moving memoir, Koy uncovers the storiesbehind his stand-up: the conflict, the drama and the laughter as he struggles to find his place in theentertainment industry, his home and around the world.

In 2019, Jo Koy reached #1 on the Billboard Charts for his stand-up comedy album, Live From Seattle, andin 2018, he was given the prestigious “Stand-Up Comedian Of The Year” award at the Just For LaughsComedy Festival in Montreal. He can also be heard on his weekly podcast, The Koy Pond with Jo Koy byStarburns Audio.

Koy has appeared on over 140 episodes of Chelsea Lately as a season regular roundtable guest. Otherappearances include: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Late Show with James Corden,Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Call with Carson Daly, Lights Out with David Spade, @Midnight with ChrisHardwick, Today With Hoda & Jenna, GMA3 Strahan, Sara, & Keke, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Real,Beat Bobby Flay, Larry King Now, The Breakfast Club, Celebrity Page TV, World’s Funniest Fails and SeanIn The Wild.

Currently Jo is performing the Funny Is Funny World Tour. For more info on his podcast, album, book andtour dates, please visit: Jokoy.com.

• Universal Pictures presents, Easter Sunday: A Cast and Creators Panel

Jon Radler is a partner and Head of TV at Small Dog Picture Co through their deal at Twentieth Century Television. He serves as an Executive Producer on The Ms. Pat Show. Prior, Jon was a Vice President at Imagine Television. He began his career as an executive at The Walt Disney Company. Jon lives in Los Angeles with his wife Chelsea and their two sons Harry and Saul.

• BET+ Presents The Journey to Ms. Pat the Series

Jordan E. Cooper is a 27 year old Obie Award winning playwright and performer who was chosen to be one of OUT Magazine’s “Entertainers Of The Year”. He was recently selected as a Whiting Award winner for Drama. Jordan was also featured on the final season of FX’s groundbreaking series POSE as “MC Tyrone”. His play Ain’t No Mo’ was a NY Times Critic’s Pick and is set to hit Broadway in the fall of this year. He recently created and executive produced his first television project “The Ms. Pat Show” which is hailed by critics as "One of the most radical sitcoms of the modern era". He is currently the youngest black showrunner in television history.

• BET+ Presents The Journey to Ms. Pat the Series

MALCOLM MCDOWELL is arguably among the most dynamic and inventive of world-class actors, yet also one capable of immense charm, humor and poignancy. McDowell has created a gallery of iconic characters since catapulting to the screen as Mick Travis, the rebellious upperclassman in Lindsay Anderson's prize-winning sensation, If...

His place in movie history was subsequently secured when Stanley Kubrick finally found the actor he was searching for to play the gleefully amoral Alex in A Clockwork Orange; when McDowell himself conceived the idea for Mick Travis' further adventures in Anderson's Candid-like masterpiece, O Lucky Man!; and when he wooed Mary Steenburgen and defeated Jack the Ripper as the romantically inquisitive H.G. Wells in, Time After Time. New fans have been won over by his tyrannical Soran (the destroyer of Capt. Kirk) in Star Trek: Generations; his Machiavellian Mr. Roarke in Fantasy Island and his comically pompous professor Steve Pynchon in the critically hailed CBS television series, Pearl.

In late 2011, Malcolm was seen in the Academy Award winning silent film sensation, The Artist. In 2012, Amy Heckerling’s Vamps with Sigourney Weaver and Alicia Silverstone followed, as did Silent Hill Revelation: 3D, and alongside Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek in the film, Some Kind of Beautiful. The same year, Malcolm was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

McDowell's distinctive motion picture characterizations include: Royal Flash, Cat People, Tank Girl, Figures in a Landscape, The Raging Moon, Sunset, Caligula, Cross Creek and Britannia Hospital.

On television, McDowell continued his recurring appearances as Terence on the hit HBO series, Entourage, as Linderman on NBC’s Heroes, Darren Vogel on CSI: Miami, and his long stint as Bret Stiles on the hit show The Mentalist. Malcolm also starred in his own show Franklin & Bash as Stanton Infeld. Franklin & Bash’s debut success and high ratings resulted in four successful seasons. In December of 2014, Malcolm was seen again as a series regular on Amazon’s hit show, Mozart in the Jungle. The show's success won it two Golden Globes, for Best Actor in a Comedy Series (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Best Comedy Series. In 2019 McDowell was cast again as a series regular in the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost penned show, Truth Seekers.

• CBC presents The Cast and Creators of Son of A Critch

MARK CRITCH is one of the most recognizable faces in Canadian comedy and has won multiple awards for both writing and performance. For twenty years, he has appeared on CBC's flagship comedy, This Hour Has 22 Minutes. He is the host of CBC's Halifax Comedy Festival and has written for and appeared in CBC's world-renowned Just for Laughs series. Mark is the author of two best-selling books published by Penguin Random House. His memoir ‘Son of A Critch’ was adapted to television through CBC. Since the Son of a Critch (TV) premiere on January 4th, Son of a Critch has ranked as the most-watched original Canadian comedy in the country and as one of the top five most-watched comedies overall (including U.S shows) in Canada. Mark is thrilled to be back for Season 2 which will begin filming this summer.

• CBC presents The Cast and Creators of Son of A Critch

MATTEO LANE is a New York-based comedian whose stand-up special can be seen on Netflix’s THE COMEDY LINEUP. He’s also appeared on THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT, LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS, HBO’s CRASHING and WILL & GRACE. Matteo is currently developing an animated series Kickass Drag Queen, together with Bob the Drag Queen, Gary Sanchez and Unicorn Island Productions, and co-hosts the podcast Inside the Closet together with Emma Willmann. Not limited to just stand up, Matteo also performs a live cabaret, Streisand at the Bon Soir, to great critical acclaim. Fluent in five languages and with a singing range of six octaves, Matteo lived in Italy as an oil painter and opera singer before starting his comedy career.

• Cohen Gardner LLP presents Variety 10 Comics To Watch Uncensored

Michael Thorn is responsible for all scripted programming and development, as well as casting at FOX network. Thorn oversees the hit comedy series Call Me Kat, Welcome to Flatch as well as FOX’s slate of iconic animated hits, including the Emmy Award winner Bob’s Burgers; The Simpsons, the longest-running scripted series in television history; and ground-breaking comedy Family Guy. In addition to the all-new animated comedies HouseBroken and The Great North, also from Bob’s Burgers’ creator Loren Bouchard.

• A Fireside Chat with Michael Thorn, President of FOX Entertainment

Moses is a comedian and actor who can be seen in the NBC/Hulu comedy SUNNYSIDE. You may have also seen him in I’M DYING UP HERE on Showtime, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT for Netflix, and THIS IS US on NBC. He can also be seen in Hulu’s R-rated, teen comedy PLAN B, the Netflix romantic comedy THE LOVEBIRDS, the Hulu horror film BAD HAIR, as well as the 2015 high-concept Universal horror film UNFRIENDED, and the Adam Sandler Netflix film FATHER OF THE YEAR. He will next be seen in the ABC Signature/Freeform series EVERYTHING’S TRASH, from Phoebe Robinson, which premiers July 13th and the CBSTV/Paramount+ series PLAYERS, from the same team as AMERICAN VANDAL, which premiered June, 16th. As a stand up comedian, his debut one hour comedy special TRASH WHITE was just released on January 20th, 2022 on HBOMax to rave reviews, and is produced by Conan O’Brien/Team Coco. Moses has appeared numerous times on CONAN as a guest and a performer, and also hosts Conan’s live variety show “Team Coco’s Up & Up” monthly in Los Angeles. In 2018 he joined Conan on his multi city tour “Team Coco Presents Conan & Friends: An Evening of Stand-up and Investment Tips”. Moses regularly tours comedy clubs around the country, where he works with an inspiring amount of ambition to create unconventional interactive entertainment.

• Cohen Gardner LLP presents Variety 10 Comics To Watch Uncensored

Declared by The Washington Post as “unforgiving and darkly hilarious,” Patricia Williams (aka Ms. Pat) is a comedian, author, radio host, podcaster, and actress whose hit multi-cam series The Ms. Pat Show is currently in its second season. The series, produced by Lee Daniels and Brian Grazer, is streaming on BET+ and Paramount+ with an edited version airing on BET linear. The Ms. Pat Show, based on Pat’s real life story of an inner-city drug dealer turned suburban mom, shattered records for viewing and audience engagement on the BET+ platform. Decider raved “The Ms. Pat Show is bound to be one of the year’s notable new comedies” and Essence Magazine gushed “Ms. Pat is headed for the comedy stratosphere.” Pat’s hour standup special, Y’All Wanna Hear Something Crazy?, is also currently streaming on Netflix. The New York Times described the hour as “superb material” while Indiewire offered “There are a lot of comedy specials on Netflix these days, but Ms. Pat breaks through the noise.” In addition to her standup and TV projects, Pat currently serves as co-host of the long-running beloved morning radio show The Morning Culture with Big Tigger on V103.5 in Atlanta, GA. She also hosts her own popular podcast The Patdown.

• BET+ Presents The Journey to Ms. Pat the Series

Nate Odenkirk is the co-creator and Executive Producer of the highly-rated Audible Original comedy series Summer In Argyle. Nate has contributed for The Onion, and his work appears regularly on NewYorker.com. He has written and/or edited nearly 190 articles for his online political satire website, The Inquirist. He lives in Chicago with nobody.

• An Ear For Comedy with Bob and Nate Odenkirk

Three-time Emmy nominated writer, director, producer, and standup comedian Neal Brennan has become a force in the comedy world. An across-the-board talent, Neal has found success in almost every creative vein in the comedy landscape. He has collaborated with the top writers and talent in the business and worked on several popular shows in various capacities. If there is a comedy that audiences are responding to, Neal is often somewhere to be found.

Neal’s second one-man show Neal Brennan: Unacceptable opened in previews for a six-week run at The Cherry Lane Theatre in NYC on August 25th, 2021. In the show, directed by Artist/Magician Derek Delguadio (In & Of Itself), Brennan meticulously examines his own defects, attempting to understand his baffling inability to fit into a group and the alienation that comes along with it. Unacceptable’s run was extended through November 21st, 2021 due to popular demand with The New Yorker lauding “Brennan is sharp and entertainingly droll, with a deliberate pacing—he appears to walk in slow motion—that is very effective.” Neal’s critically acclaimed first off-Broadway one-man show 3 Mics also enjoyed a sold-out NYC run in 2016 with superstar musician John Legend serving as Producer. 3 Mics was taped as a stand-up special, which premiered on Netflix in 2017, with Paste Magazine offering “It will floor you in the best way possible.” In a break from traditional standup comedy, 3 Mics sees Brennan alternating between three separate microphones; one for traditional stand-up, one for one-liners, and one for short confessional monologues covering everything from managing his depression to his difficult relationship with his father.

Neal is currently a writer, Creative Consultant, and on-air correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He served as Executive Producer on Chris Rock’s latest standup special Chris Rock: Tamborine and as Director on comedian Michelle Wolf’s recent HBO special Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady. He also co-wrote the 2017 feature film The Female Brain alongside comic Whitney Cummings and he can be seen in the Netflix film Fonzo alongside Tom Hardy.

Neal’s half-hour special premiered on Netflix as part of their global stand-up comedy series Comedians of the World in 2019. The series features a diverse set of comics from 13 regions bringing their perspectives on what's funny around the world with Neal being one of five from The US. Neal’s first hour standup special Women and Black Dudes, which he also directed, premiered in 2014 on Comedy Central and was named one of the 10 Best Standup Specials of 2014 by Paste Magazine. His half hour standup special premiered in 2012 on the network’s series The Half Hours. In 2013 Neal directed several sketches on Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, as well as episodes of FOX’s The Mindy Project and New Girl. He also wrote with Seth Meyers on The ESPY Awards and his White House Correspondents Dinner speech in 2011. Brennan has done stand-up on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Conan, Last Call with Carson Daly, and Lopez Tonight.

In 2014, Neal was the host of The Approval Matrix on SundanceTV, a panel show inspired by the popular New York Magazine feature. In addition to ipanel discussions, the series featured Brennan conducting interviews with Jon Stewart, Amy Poehler and Chris Rock, with The New York Times calling the show “intellectually risky and appealingly frisky.”

Neal co-created Comedy Central’s legendary Chappelle’s Show, for which he received three Emmy nominations; one for directing, one for writing, and one for producing. Together, Brennan and Dave Chappelle wrote and produced virtually every sketch on the show themselves. In the second season, Brennan also served as director on many episodes, helming such classic sketches as “Charlie Murphy/Rick James,” “The Racial Draft,” “Charlie Murphy/Prince,” and the “John Mayer Sketch.” Also with Chappelle, Neal co-wrote the stoner cult classic film “Half Baked.” In 2009 Brennan went on to direct the feature film “The Goods” for producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Paramount. The film starred Jeremy Piven, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Ving Rhames, and Ferrell. In 2010, Neal appeared as an actor in the feature film “Get Him To The Greek.”

In addition to standup, writing, directing, and producing, Brennan has also directed popular commercials for Sprite, Netflix, Best Buy and Nike. He has a huge presence on social media with 375,000 followers on twitter, and was named “One of the Funniest People on Twitter” by Time Magazine and Rolling Stone.

After dropping out of the prestigious NYU Film School, Neal began his career at the age of 20 as a writer on the MTV dating game show, “Singled Out,” (you’re welcome) and the Nickelodeon sketch show, “All That.” Since then, he has performed standup and lent his hand at writing and directing several TV shows and films, developing what The New York Times calls his “hip-hop and Frontline aesthetic.” He regularly headlines the good standup venues in the good parts of America.

He does see Dave pretty often. Dave is fine.

• Comedy is Good: Neal Brennan Keynote Address

Oly Obst is a Hollywood producer and manager most known for producing Lovebirds (2020), The Invention of Lying (2009), The Resident, Chad, & The Mick among other television series and films. He’s been working at 3 Arts Entertainment predominantly as a literary manager since 2011, bolstering a client roster of writers, directors, and performers.

• A Fireside Chat with Michael Thorn, President of FOX Entertainment

Rebecca Wisocky is perhaps best known for portraying fan favorite ‘Evelyn Powell’ in the series “Devious Maids,” from executive producers Marc Cherry and Eva Longoria, and as a frequent face on TV in both comedy and drama. Some memorable appearances include recurring roles on “Star Trek: Picard,” “For All Mankind,” “True Blood,” “The Mentalist” and “American Horror Story.” She was recently seen recurring in the critically acclaimed Hulu series “Dopesick,” about the American opioid crisis.

On the film side, she has appeared in “Pollock” opposite Ed Harris, “Hello My Name is Doris” opposite Sally Field, and as the voice of ‘Ebay Elayne’ in the animated feature “Ralph Saves the Internet.” Wisocky will next be seen in director Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe feature “Blonde” for Netflix and in David O. Russell’s feature “Amsterdam” starring Margot Robbie and Christian Bale.

• CBS Presents: A Spirited Conversation With The Cast Of Ghosts

Richie Moriarty is an actor, writer and improviser, who has appeared in numerous films and television series while continuing to perform in New York and around the country with his improv and sketch group, Simply Unemployable.

Richie began taking improv classes in 2004 and joined the mainstage cast at Improv Asylum in Boston in 2006 where he performed in six shows every week for four years. After beginning to book roles in commercials and television shows in Boston, Moriarty decided to move to New York in 2013 and began writing and performing at the UCB Theatre in New York. In 2016, he performed at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal as a prestigious New Face Character. In 2018, Moriarty starred with John Malkovich in a CBS teaser broadcast before the kickoff of the AFC Championship game, which won four Sports Emmys. In 2019, CBS Sports had him back to star with John Malkovich and Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl LIII Opening.

He has been a recurring character in the television series “The Tick,” guest-starred on “What We Do In The Shadows,” “The Last O.G,” “Adam Ruins Everything,” “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “House of Cards,” “Orange is the New Black” and “Search Party.” He is also a voice actor who voices multiple characters in the PBS KIDS show “Pinkalicious & Petterific.” His film credits include “How to be Single” and “Going In Style,” which he starred in alongside Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.

Moriarty was born and raised in Rockville, Maryland and is a graduate of Boston College. He spent eight years as an architectural photographer photographing homes all over the greater Boston area. So, if you want to nerd out about lenses or f-stops or whatever, he’s totally down. The stars of his life are his wife, Ciara, their 3-year-old son, Devlin, and their June new-born. His mom, dad, and sister, Colleen, continue to be his biggest fans.

Richie’s birthday is April 25. He can be followed on Twitter and Instagram.

• CBS Presents: A Spirited Conversation With The Cast Of Ghosts

Román Zaragoza is a mixed-race actor of Akimel O’otham and Mexican descent on his father’s side, and Japanese and Taiwanese descent on his mother’s. He has worked with Native Voices at the Autry, the only Native American Equity theatre company in the U.S., for the last 10 years.

When Zaragoza was 3 years old, his dad, Gregory Zaragoza, played ‘Chief Sitting Bull’ in the original cast of the revival of “Annie Get Your Gun” on Broadway. Seeing his father on stage sparked something in him at a young age. Zaragoza acted in plays and musicals throughout school and worked on Disney Channel’s “Austin & Ally” while in high school. The big shift in his career took place when he was 18 and had the opportunity to dive into an intensely meaningful role of Nick, a young, troubled Tlingit wordsmith, in “They Don’t Talk Back” by Frank Kaash Katasse, at Native Voices at the Autry and the La Jolla Playhouse. Through this work with his artistic family at Native Voices, he was invited to work at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where he fell in love with Shakespeare and truly found his voice.

Recently, Zaragoza finished a three-season run at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, including portraying Orlando in “As You Like It.” His television and film credits include “Stumptown,” “Austin & Ally,” “Those Who Can’t” and “Shadow Wolves.”

Zaragoza graduated from Cal State Northridge with a B.A. in film production and is currently producing his senior thesis film titled “This Is Their Land,” about the Modoc War of 1872-1873. His mission is to raise the voices of the oppressed and help build a geography of hope for underrepresented and marginalized people.

Zaragoza grew up in a 450 square foot studio apartment on the ancestral lands of the Lenape, or what is now known as Greenwich Village in Manhattan, with his parents and two sisters. When he was 11, his family moved to Los Angeles to support their family’s pursuit of acting in television and film. He has enjoyed playing soccer since he was young, enjoys exploring nature with his camera, martial arts, yoga, fitness and dance. His birthday is May 8. He can be followed on Instagram.

• CBS Presents: A Spirited Conversation With The Cast Of Ghosts

Rose McIver is best known for her role as Samantha Arondekar on CBS’ GHOSTS, the number one broadcast comedy of the season, which was recently nominated for two Television Critics Association Awards for ‘Outstanding New Program’ and ‘Outstanding Achievement in Comedy’.

Previously, McIver played the lead role of Olivia “Liv” Moore in the cult favorite series “iZombie,” based on the DC Comic. She also starred opposite Rahul Kohli in the science fiction comedy-drama film, “Next Exit”, and opposite Andy Garcia in the production of “Key Largo” at the Geffen Playhouse, directed by Doug Hughes. McIver also had a recurring role on the Hulu series “Woke,” opposite Lamorne Morris.

In 2017, McIver starred in the massively popular Netflix film “A Christmas Prince,” and its two subsequent film sequels: “A Christmas Prince: A Royal Wedding” and “A Christmas Prince: A Royal Baby.”

Her additional television credits include “Masters of Sex”, “Power Rangers RPM” as the yellow Power Ranger, Summer Landsdown, and “Once Upon a Time,” where she played Tinkerbell. McIver’s film roles include “The Lovely Bones,” starring opposite Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz, and the independent films “Daffodils,” “Brightest Star” and “Brampton’s Own.”

• CBS Presents: A Spirited Conversation With The Cast Of Ghosts

Rosebud Baker is a New York based comedian, writer and actress, who is currently on the writing staff for the award-winning sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live in it’s 47 th season. Her debut hour standup special Whiskey Fists, produced by Bill Burr’s All Things Comedy, premiered on Comedy Central Digital in 2021. The special was a hit with fans and critics alike, as Vulture featured Rosebud in “Comedians You Should and Will Know in 2022.” The New Yorker included her in their annual list of “Best Jokes of 2021” and Rolling Stone gushed that her humor “ranges from merciless self-excavation to slashing social satire graced by intelligence and nuance.” She can be seen in the recurring role of MERI in the new Hulu series Life & Beth alongside Amy Schumer and Michael Cera, and she is a writer and performer on HBO Max’s WGA Award nominated sketch series That Damn Michael Che. Baker also co-hosts the popular weekly podcast Find Your Beach with her husband and fellow comic Andy Haynes.

• Cohen Gardner LLP presents Variety 10 Comics To Watch Uncensored
• Acast Presents the ComedyPRO Premium Podcast Series : Find Your Beach

Sheila Carrasco is an actress and writer who grew up on the South Side of Chicago before going on to receive her MFA from Harvard University and her BFA in directing and set design at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is an active member of the LA-based theater company IAMA, which recently produced her virtual one woman show, “Anyone but Me,” which she starred in and wrote.

Carrasco’s television credits include “The Good Place,” “Jane the Virgin,” “American Housewife,” and “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson,” and “The Odd Couple” and “Life in Pieces,” both on the Network.”

Sheila is an alum of the CBS Diversity Showcase as a performer in 2018 and as head writer in 2019. She is a former member of the prestigious Groundlings Sunday Company and has produced and starred in a series of videos for Broadway Video’s Latino comedy studio, Mas Mejor, based on her original character ‘Marisol at the Market.’

Born and raised in Chicago, Carrasco started acting when she was 7 in a community theatre production of “Annie,” as orphan chorus member #11. She enjoys hiking, camping, singing, painting, biking, basketball and is a recovering wig addict. Her birthday is May 16. She can be followed on Instagram and TikTok.

• CBS Presents: A Spirited Conversation With The Cast Of Ghosts

Sheldon Sabastian is a Mississauga born, Brampton raised musician and co-host of the Random Order Podcast. Sheldon has amassed over 2 million plays across digital streaming platforms with his music. He stars alongside Jermaine and Trevaunn Richards on Random Order, the weekly podcast that talks about everything from laundry to alien invasions.

• RANDOM ORDER: How To Go From YouTube To Podcasting

Sheng Wang is a comedian, actor and writer originally from Houston, TX. Most recently, he has been touring with Ali Wong and was a featured stand-up on HBO’s “2 Dope Queens” special. Sheng also wrote for the ABC show “Fresh Off the Boat.” He resides in Los Angeles and in his time off he enjoys visiting botanical gardens and discovering new ways to snack.

• Cohen Gardner LLP presents Variety 10 Comics To Watch Uncensored

Sophie Buddle is a stand-up, a tv writer, and a podcaster. You've seen her on CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes as a correspondent and as a staff writer, she's also been featured on JFL All Access, Kevin Hart's LOL Network, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and the Halifax Comedy Festival. Sophie released her first album this year, "Lil Bit Of Buddle". She released it herself so you can find it on iTunes in the genre "easy listening" which was a mistake, but it is easy to listen to so it's ok. Her podcast Obsessed with Sophie Buddle was also an instant hit and you can see it live at JFL42 in September. She is also a two-time runner up for Canada's biggest stand-up contest SiriusXM Top Comic and headlines across the country.

• 2 Q 1 Girl ! : Sophie Buddle Canadian Keynote Address
• Acast Presents the ComedyPRO Premium Podcast Series : Obsessed with Sophie Buddle

Born and raised in Inglewood, CA, Syreeta Singleton is a writer on the verge of becoming a house-hold name. The first script she wrote, “So Jaded” ended up being produced as one of ColorCreative’s inaugural indie pilots in 2014.

Since then she has written for three television shows, including HBO’s hit comedy series INSECURE, Showtime’s BLACK MONDAY and Apple’s animated series CENTRAL PARK. She is also currently writing two feature films, a buddy comedy for Columbia Studios and a remake of the hit movie SET IT OFF for New Line. The newest credits to her list are now Showrunner and Executive Producer for HBO max’s new show RAP SH!T.

Let me know if you have any other question.

• HBOMax presents The Cast and Producers of Rap Sh!t

Terese Classen is a Director of Casting for Hulu Originals, where she oversees the casting on projects including THE DROPOUT, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, and PAM & TOMMY. Prior to joining the team at Hulu, Terese was an Artios nominated Casting Associate who worked on series including 13 REASONS WHY and UNREAL, and co-cast the 2019 TIFF selection THE OBITUARY OF TUNDE JOHNSON. She began her career as an agency assistant on the east coast, where she helped clients with self-tape auditions, and learned that she loved working with actors.

• Casting A Wider Net: A Panel with Top Casting Executives

Tiara Guy has been working with SoundExchange in some capacity since November 2010. Beginning in our Data Management department she was able to bring her knowledge and skills of the royalty collecting system to the Industry Engagement department, first as an Outreach Representative, then as a Senior Manager of Industry Relations Outreach, and now as the Associate Director of Marketing Operations in Industry Engagement.

She is responsible for organizing the Artist and Label outreach program, as well as building relationships with other organizations within the music community. She finds and helps Artists and Rights Owners for whom SoundExchange has unclaimed royalties but aren't yet registered. You can also catch her at several industry events helping Artists and Labels register for their digital performance royalties or assisting with their current accounts.

Tiara holds a BA in Media Arts and Design from James Madison University with a solid background in Customer Relations.

• Gettin’ Paid: Navigating & Collecting Your Audio Royalties

Tim McAuliffe is a television writer/producer from Montreal, Canada. He is currently the Showrunner/Executive producer of the upcoming Paramount Plus show, Players as well as the Showrunner/Executive Producer of CBC’s Son Of A Critch (Season 1 and upcoming for Season 2). He is also a consulting producer on the Peacock series Macgruber (starring Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, and Ryan Philippe). Previously, he served as a Executive Producer/Showrunner/Writer of FOX TV’s, The Last Man On Earth (starring Will Forte, Kristen Schaal, January Jones), writer/producer on the Emmy-winning, NBC show, The Office (starring Steve Carrell, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms, and Rainn Wilson), writer for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, writer for NBC’s Maya & Marty (starring Maya Rudolph and Martin Short), writer/producer on NBC’s Up All Night (starring Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, and produced by Lorne Michaels). He is currently developing The Foundation with Zooey Deschanel. In Canada, he was Showrunner/Executive Producer/writer on CBC TV’s long running This Hour Has 22 Minutes and a writer for Canada’s most successful sitcom of all time, CTV’s Corner Gas. He has also written a series of live gala performances at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival (Montreal) for the likes of Chevy Chase, The Muppets, Bill Hader, and Andy Samberg. He has won two Writers Guild of Canada Awards.

• CBC presents The Cast and Creators of Son of A Critch

Tomii Crump serves as the Senior Vice President, Head of Unscripted Talent and Casting, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming where she leads unscripted talent casting for original entertainment content across NBCU’s broadcast, cable and streaming platforms: NBC, Bravo, E!, Oxygen, Syfy, Universal Kids, USA and Peacock.

In her role Crump oversees unscripted talent casting for programming across Unscripted Competition & Game Formats, Unscripted Docuseries and Lifestyle, Live Events & Specials and First-Run Syndication. As the head of unscripted casting, Crump manages relationships with key talent as well as agents, managers, publicists and producers.

Prior to this role, Crump served as Senior Vice president, Talent & Casting for NBC Entertainment’s Alternative and Reality Group. During her 5 years with the company, Crump has casted countless series including NBC’s “The Voice” and “America’s Got Talent”, USA’s upcoming “Barmeggedon”, E!’s “Celebrity Game Face” and Peacock’s “Love Island”.

In addition to casting talent across the entertainment content unscripted programming, Crump also founded The Talent Council where talent executives across the company meet quarterly to collaborate and strategize regarding talent. Important and successful synergy has come from the group including Steve Kornacki (NBC News, NBC Sports & Universal Television Alternative Studios), Al Roker (NBC Sports, Entertainment Content Scripted), and Meghan Trainor (Entertainment Content, Unscripted, Peacock, Global Ad & Partnerships).

Before NBCUniversal, Crump was Vice President, Daytime for Disney ABC Television Group.

• Casting A Wider Net: A Panel with Top Casting Executives

Tony Sepulveda is currently the SR VP of Casting at Warner Bros Television. He started out as a Casting Director their in 1988 where he cast such iconic shows as Knots Landing, Family Matters, The Drew Carey Show, Suddenly Susan, Friends and The West Wing. He has been nomintated for a Casting Emmy on three occasions. In 2003 he was moved to Casting Executive where he has overseen the casting on such shows as 2 BROKE GIRLS, THE BIG BANG THEORY, MOM, SHAMELESS, THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, YOUNG SHELDON, BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA, CALL ME KAT, SHINING VALE, ABBOTT ELEMENTARY & NIGHT COURT

• Casting A Wider Net: A Panel with Top Casting Executives

4YE Originals are brothers Jae and Trey Richards. For over seven years, the Brampton-born, Toronto-based comedy duo have created stand-out content amassing a loyal audience and over 100 million lifetime views between all of their YouTube channels. They’ve garnered praise from A-list entertainers including Kevin Hart and Drake.

Jae and Trey also host Random Order, a weekly podcast offering their signature comedic commentary on all things Toronto, life, food, pop culture, news and more.

• RANDOM ORDER: How To Go From YouTube To Podcasting

Vanessa Gonzalez is a comedian originally from Laredo, Texas. She started improv, sketch, and stand-up in Austin and was voted “Best Stand-up Comic” in The Austin Chronicle before her move to Los Angeles in 2018. She was one of the “New Faces” of the 2017 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and has been featured on TruTV’s LAFF MOBB LAFF TRACKS, HBO Latino’s ENTRE NOS, and has a half-hour COMEDY CENTRAL STAND-UP PRESENTS special. Vulture named her one of their “Comedians You Should and Will Know in 2019” and she made her late night debut on A LITTLE LATE WITH LILLY SINGHon NBC earlier this year. She will be featured on Will Smith’s new stand-up series THIS JOKA which is in the can. Vanessa's debut comedy album titled MY BIRTHDAY’S TOMORROW is available on iTunes and Spotify.

• Cohen Gardner LLP presents Variety 10 Comics To Watch Uncensored

Ajay Kishore is the founder and CEO of Stareable, the new home for digital creative talent in the TV industry. Through its festival, Stareable Fest, and industry partnerships, Stareable honors the year’s best content, and provides a space for the next generation of creators to connect with industry executives, grow their network, learn new skills, and build community. Stareable is dedicated to creating a representative, inclusive, and dynamic TV landscape. Ajay is a Yale and Bridgewater alumni, unabashed produce enthusiast, and TV nerd.

Allie Wasserman is a Vice President in Programming at HBO and part of the comedy team that develops and oversees the production of original half-hour series. She currently oversees HOW TO WITH JOHN WILSON from documentary filmmaker John Wilson and executive producer Nathan Fielder, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, and the upcoming NICE WHITE PARENTS pilot, an adaptation of the hit Serial podcast, from executive producers Issa Rae and Adam McKay. She also works on BARRY and AVENUE 5, as well as the new series RAIN DOGS, from Cash Carraway and Sid Gentle, starring Daisy May Cooper.

Prior to HBO, Wasserman worked for a Motion Picture Talent agent at UTA after moving over with the comedy group from CAA in March 2015. She graduated with a BA in Radio/Television/Film and English Literature from Northwestern University in June 2014.

Ally Engelberg is the VP of Production and Development at Above Average, a New York based comedy production company born out of Broadway Video. At Above Average, she oversees creative development and production of original programming, both maintaining the development slate and seeing projects through physical production. Currently, she is producing Season 3 of THE OTHER TWO for HBO Max, a feature for Comedy Central/Paramount+, and ongoing scripted comedy projects with Audible. She is also launching an Above Average slate on Amp, Amazon's new live radio platform. Recently, she served as an Executive Producer on Season 3 of LIZA ON DEMAND, a half-hour comedy co-created by Liza Koshy, Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont. In 2020, she was a Co-Producer on COLIN QUINN & FRIENDS: A PARKING LOT COMEDY SHOW for HBO Max and was the Co-EP of an Untitled WarnerMedia pilot for truTV. In addition to TV production, she's produced countless Above Average Live! stand-up shows in New York City and Austin, for audiences of 150+.

Ariel Jacobson is Manager, Original Programming Comedy at Showtime Networks where she works on original series such as DESUS & MERO, ZIWE, I LOVE THAT FOR YOU, and FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS. Additionally, Ariel oversees SPOTLIGHTS: A SHOWTIME SHORT FILM SERIES, a new series that showcases the work of underrepresented emerging filmmakers.

Ariel previously held roles at WME and MGM Studios. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and currently resides in Los Angeles with her cat Pickles.

In his twenty plus years in the Canadian film and television industry, Ben has served previously as a programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival, Director of Business Affairs & Development at Serendipity Point Films and as Director of Business Development at Halfire Entertainment. During his time at Halfire, he was a Producer of the 13 x ½ hour comedy, Working the Engels for Global and NBC. Since joining Project 10 in 2015 Ben has leveraged his considerable experience and strong relationships within the industry in overseeing P10’s robust development and production slates in addition to managing all business-related matters for the company. He has served as an Executive Producer of the multiple award-winning documentary Spirit Unforgettable, currently available on CraveTV and iTunes. He is an Executive Producer of the hit ½ hour comedy, JANN which is currently airing its third season on CTV and recently became available on Hulu in the US. He is an Executive Producer of the highly anticipated revival of the iconic sketch comedy series, Kids in the Hall for Amazon. He is also an Executive Producer of the upcoming ½ hour comedy Son of a Critch, based on the life and book of Mark Critch, which launches in early 2022 on CBC and is being distributed internationally by Lionsgate. He is a graduate of the Cinema Studies program at the University of Toronto.

Beth Belew hails from East Tennessee and is a comedy development executive with a career spanning over 20 years in the business of show. Beth began her career by doing hard time in the field as a producer on unscripted and scripted series for Comedy Central, IFC, ABC, MTV, VH1, Tru, TLC, TBS, SyFy, TV Land and Fuse.

After transitioning from producing into development, she spent time as a buyer at TBS/TNT Networks, where she worked on Emmy winning late night series CONAN and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and on the Mark Burnett produced cooking competition series On the Menu with Emeril Lagasse and the AFI Life Achievement: John Williams special. She also spent time at E! where she oversaw the late night talk show Busy Tonight from Executive Producer Tina Fey.

She's now the SVP of Longform Development and Current Programming at comedy production company Funny Or Die. In her time there, Beth sold and Executive Produced The History of Swear Words starring Nicolas Cage for Netflix, Co-Executive Produced The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon podcast for Spotify, developed and Executive Produced 52 episodes of Roku's first original series Roku Recommends and recently sold the upcoming CBS special Pickled with Stephen Colbert.

Bill Lundy is SVP Comedy for New Metric Media, a leading comedy focused entertainment studio and producer of LETTERKENNY, SHORESY, and CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING. Prior to this Lundy was SVP Development at Pier 21 Films and served as Executive Producer of RUN THE BURBS. Lundy also previously served as Production Executive, Comedy at Bell Media, developing and producing shows such as LETTERKENNY, THE BEAVERTON, and JUST FOR LAUGHS: ALL ACCESS. Bill was named in The Hollywood Reporter's Next Gen Canada: 15 Hottest Talents Under 35 in 2014. Participant

Bronwen Carter is a Manager in Programming at HBO and part of the comedy team that develops and oversees the production of original half-hour series. She works on series across the comedy slate, including The Righteous Gemstones, Curb Your Enthusiasm, How to with John Wilson, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Los Espookys, and Somebody Somewhere.

Carter joined HBO in 2015 as assistant to the executive vice president of Late Night & Specials. She was then assistant to the president of HBO programming, before joining the comedy department.

Carter has a BA in history from the University of Pennsylvania.

Carly McGowan has been working in the Canadian media industry for over a decade. Starting with a degree in journalism and following various stints in production and news, she landed at the crossroads of the Canadian media today. Currently serving as the Manager of the Independent Production Fund, she has also filled this role previously for the Cogeco Fund and the Bell Fund. Managing these funds, she has seen nearly every type of media project, for every screen, and every stage of creation. Within the Funds, Carly has the opportunity to liaise and work with each sector of the industry – producers, broadcasters, distributors, digital platforms, etc. Having reviewed over 1,000 applications, and supported over 80 web series through development and production, Carly has worked hard to enable creators on their path to create quality content that will be successful and find an audience.

Carly’s industry work includes being invited to serve on various Juries and panels ranging the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, the Canadian Film Centre to Creative Saskatchewan and Vancouver Web Fest, among others.

As General Manager, Carlyn Klebuc oversees development and production of all of Bell Media’s award-winning English-language independent programming and original digital content.

Klebuc and her team work closely on productions commissioned from independent producers, as well as original digital productionfor Bell Media’s multiple English-language linear and digital properties and platforms.

Klebuc joined Bell Media in 2008, most recently acting as Assistant General Counsel, Canadian Independent and In-House Production. Previously, Klebuc was an associate at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, specializing in lending, structured finance and securitizations and entertainment law.

Klebuc completed her degree in Film Studies at Queen’s University, and later received her LL.B. at the University of Saskatchewan. Klebuc is a trusted board member of Rethink Breast Cancer and Co-Chair of Entertainment and Media Law Symposium (Law Society).

Chloe Pisello is the LA-based Senior Vice President of Development at Avalon, the independent studio and management group based out of London, Los Angeles, and New York, behind numerous ground-breaking television shows including Emmy and Peabody award winning LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER (HBO), multi-award winning and multi-Emmy-nominated CATASTROPHE (Channel 4/Amazon Prime), breakout hit rom-com STARSTRUCK (HBO Max/BBC), returning for a third season; acclaimed parenting sitcom BREEDERS (FX/Sky) starring Martin Freeman, and the beloved slacker comedy series WORKAHOLICS (Comedy Central). Since joining Avalon in 2015, Chloe has worked on series across scripted, unscripted, and late-night, with a focus on championing and working closely with multi-hyphenate creators.

Chloe developed and now oversees, and executive produces the critically acclaimed narrative comedy series FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS (100% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), which is currently in its second season on Showtime. She also developed and helped launch Avalon’s GLAAD and HCA Award-nominated series EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE OKAY (Freeform/Hulu) from Emmy-nominated creator Josh Thomas, running for two seasons it was the first series to feature an actress with autism spectrum disorder playing a lead character with autism on American television. In her role at Avalon, Chloe oversees the US slate of TV projects from packaging to pitching to production, and has developed and produced pilots/presentations for networks including HBO Max, Hulu, Showtime, FX, Netflix, Adult Swim, Apple, HBO, Comedy Central, Peacock, Freeform, MTV, TruTV, IFC, Starz, and more.

Chloe is a graduate of Emerson College with a focus in screenwriting.

Adored for her genuine enthusiasm and positivity, Montréal native Chloe Wilde emerged in 2013 as the winner of the Much VJ Search and has since brought her fresh perspective and outgoing personality to her role as ETALK reporter.

Covering all things entertainment, Wilde brings viewers into the heart of events such as TIFF, Toronto Fashion Week, and THE IHEARTRADIO MMVAs, co-hosting five IHEARTRADIO MMVA RED CARPET specials. She has also interviewed some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Julianne Moore, Daniel Radcliffe, Robert Downey Jr., Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kings of Leon, Zac Efron, Joan Rivers, David Foster, and Tori Kelly. Following her MUCH VJ Search win, Wilde became the host of E! before arriving at Canada’s #1 Entertainment Show ETALK as a reporter.

An advocate for health and wellness, Wilde launched her own online community, Healthy Is Hot in 2018, creating a real, raw, and supportive space for open conversations on difficult health-related topics and tips and tricks for living one’s best life. In January 2020, Wilde took viewers on a life-changing journey for the mind, body, and soul in a Crave Original Series HEALTHY IS HOT, developed from her highly successful brand. The show inspires endless possibilities and exciting opportunities for healthier and happier living.

Growing up, Wilde dreamed of following in her grandparents’ footsteps as entertainment insiders – her grandmother was a pioneer in the Montréal burlesque scene and her grandfather worked behind-the-scenes for a news station. After completing a degree in psychology from McGill University, Wilde’s strong interest for science lead her to pursue a degree in nursing. While in school, Wilde hosted THE DAILY BRIEF, a current events web series for AskMen.com, which reignited her desire to work in the entertainment industry. With a passion for music festivals and concerts like Osheaga, Cavendish, and Bonnaroo, as well as, musical influences including Kygo, Halsey, Chet Faker, X Ambassadors, and Flume, Wilde ultimately decided to put her nursing career on hold, relocate to Toronto, and start a new chapter in her life in front of the camera.

Wilde immerses herself in all-things pop culture and is hoping to one day snag a dream interview with the likes of Ellen DeGeneres, Tina Fey, Angelina Jolie, and the cast of FRIENDS.

Colin Davis is Head of Scripted Originals at The Roku Channel, Roku’s free ad-supported streaming service, presiding over a diverse slate of programming across drama, comedy and animation. He is in charge of Roku’s scripted content strategy, including volume, genre, and talent for future original commissions leading a team of strategic creatives that are setting the standard for what audiences can expect out of the free streaming experience. Davis spearheaded the rollout of successful series including Die Hart seasons 1-2 starring Kevin Hart, Reno 911! Defunded, Emmy-award winning series Mapleworth Murders, Swimming with Sharks starring Kiernan Shipka and Diane Kruger, Most Dangerous Game starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz and more.? Under Davis’ oversight, The Roku Channel has greenlit several highly anticipated productions including Weird: The Al Yankovic Story starring Daniel Radcliffe, female-driven comedy Slip staring, directed and created by Zoe Lister-Jones, endearing and relatable comedy Children Ruin Everything created by Schitt’s Creek alum Kurt Smeaton, and more. He oversaw many “Roku firsts” including the launch of the company’s first original feature film Zoey’s Original Christmas, which brought back the full cast from the original series, and Doomlands, the company’s first-ever animated scripted series. As The Roku Channel continues to expand its slate original content, Davis is dedicated to connecting Hollywood’s best storytellers directly to its built-in audiences of millions of streamers.

Prior to joining Roku, Davis led Scripted programming for the short-form streaming service Quibi, where he was tasked with quickly ushering and developing high quality original shows with Hollywood’s biggest talent. In 18 short months he oversaw over 15 new series that married traditional media with a new innovative format and technology partnering with filmmakers including Jason Reitman, Antoine Fuqua, and Steven Soderbergh. Davis’ work has earned multiple Emmy nominations (and three wins).

During his time as Senior Director of Original programming at TBS, he was a key contributor to the network rebrand and is recognized as a champion of the critical darling SEARCH PARTY and the most watched original cable show of 2016, WRECKED. He also creatively managed six primetime original series, a late-night comedy block, multiple pitch-to-screen scripted development projects, and an adult prime animation pipeline.

Davis began his career at Fox Broadcasting Company in their inaugural Opportunity Fox program as a full-time Apprentice to the Chairman of Entertainment (Kevin Reilly). He has been recognized in both The Hollywood Reporter (Next Gen 2019: Hollywood's 35 Rising Executives 35 and Under 35) and Variety (2013 Hollywood’s New Leaders: 10 Assistants To Watch). Davis is a graduate of UCLA's School of Theater Film and Television with a concentration in screenwriting.

Dan Dion is currently the Head of A&R (Artist and Repertoire) at 800 Pound Gorilla Media, a comedy record label and video production company based in Nashville, TN. (Roster includes such JFL artists as Marc Maron, Iliza Shlesinger, Mike Birbiglia, Kevin Hart, and Jimmy Carr.) He works primarily to identify artists with which to record albums, as well as video components ranging from YouTube-intended projects up to the specs of the major streamers.

Your fifteen minutes with him would best be spent finding out the landscape of comedy audio- what makes a successful comedy record, and what 800 Pound Gorilla looks for in an emerging artist.

He was a comedy producer for Audible for several years before making the move to Nashville. His background has been in producing live comedy, running the Purple Onion and managing the Holy City Zoo in San Francisco.

His work as a portrait photographer of comedians was compiled in the book ¡SATIRISTAS!, a collaboration with Paul Provenza.

Dane Cardiel is the VP of Creator Partnerships at Headgum where he leads acquisition efforts for Headgum’s premier host-read ad marketplace, Gumball. He has most recently signed Tig & Cheryl: True Story, Keeping It Rel’ with Young Wayne, and critically acclaimed podcast Love + Radio. Above all else, Dane is committed to ensuring independent podcasters are supported and empowered to achieve success on their own terms.

Daniel Weidenfeld was named Senior Vice President, Animation, for FOX Entertainment in September 2019. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing all animated production and development for FOX Entertainment. Among the series under his purview are FOX’s iconic comedies THE SIMPSONS, FAMILY GUY and BOB’S BURGERS, as well as the THE GREAT NORTH, HOUSEBROKEN, DUNCANVILLE and the upcoming comedies KRAPOPOLIS, from creator Dan Harmon, and GRIMSBURG, executive produced by and featuring the voice of Jon Hamm.

Prior to joining FOX Entertainment, Weidenfeld was a writer and producer on a number of series, including Adult Swim’s “Lazor Wulf,” “Brad Neely’s Harg Nallin’ Sclopio Peepio,” “China, IL” and “The Eric Andre Show”; TBS’ “The Pound Hole”; and Netflix’s “Trigger Warning with Killer Mike.” From 2008 to 2010, he was Vice President of Content Development, TV & New Media at Generate, LLC. Weidenfeld graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature.

DENIESE DAVIS is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Reform Media Group, a media company focused on changing how marginalized stories are told. She began her career producing music videos, short films and digital content including Issa Rae’s award-winning web series The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl. She is a Co-Executive Producer on the HBO Emmy-nominated comedy series Insecure and a Producer on HBO’s Emmy-nominated A Black Lady Sketch Show. She is also Co-Founder of ColorCreative, a management company focused on changing the landscape of media by creating a direct-to-industry pipeline for women and minority writers and championing diverse voices by building creative business brands. An alum of CUNY Brooklyn College and The American Film Institute, Deniese sits on the board of Black Public Media and is a founding member of AFI’s Alumni Council for the Lawrence Herbert Alumni Center (LHAC).

Derek De La Rosa is the Executive Director of Animation at 20th Century Television. He recently joined the company and is excited to be a part of the team that’s helped create legacy adult animated shows like the Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, Bob’s Burgers, Futurama and King of the Hill. He’s responsible for helping develop other adult animated shows for Hulu, Disney+, FX Network and Freeform, including current animated shows, Solar Opposites and the upcoming Koala Man.

Previously Derek worked as a live action feature film executive at Netflix, working on Mixtape, 13: The Musical and True Spirit. He also worked as Director of Development at Burr! Productions where he developed and produced Christopher Robin, Mary Poppins Returns and Cruella with Walt Disney Studios, Dora and the Lost City of Gold with Paramount, Jingle Jangle with Netflix and the Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent with Lionsgate.

Devin Griffin is the EVP and General Manager of BET+, BET Networks’ subscription streaming service. He sets the company’s vision, business goals, and strategy while leading all aspects of the operation, including managing the P&L, original programming, content acquisition, brand & title promotion, performance marketing, communications and social.

Under Devin’s direction, BET+ launched in 2019 and features thousands of hours of premium Black content, including 13 BET+ original programs from renowned creators including Tyler Perry, Tracy Oliver, Will Packer, and Lena Waithe. A joint venture between BET and Tyler Perry Studios, BET+ enables users to stream hit movies, TV series, stage plays, stand-up comedy, documentaries, and specials, all in one place, commercial-free.

Prior to BET+, Devin was EVP of the Story Lab (part of Dentsu), where he built a premium content studio and led the company’s foray into long-form content production. There, he developed original series with Anonymous Content, ITV, and Stephen David Entertainment while forging partnerships with Procter & Gamble, Jaguar Land Rover, and the NBA Players Association.

Devin has also served in various senior content roles at Netflix. He formed and led the company’s unscripted group, commissioning and/or executive producing more than 40 series, including the Emmy Award-winning Queer Eye, The Last Dance (Michael Jordan), Down to Earth with Zac Efron, and the Peabody-winning Hip-Hop Evolution. In addition to his leadership in the unscripted space, Devin worked extensively on scripted TV series, stand-up comedy, and genre fare. Bringing a distinctive curatorial lens to the service, he was responsible for programming global hits like the Emmy Award-winning series Black Mirror, Designated Survivor, Chewing Gum, The Great British Bake-off, The Seven Deadly Sins, and original specials from Tom Segura, Chelsea Peretti, Nick Offerman, and Wyatt Cenac.

Earlier in his career, Devin served as Head of Business Development at Broadway Video, legendary producer Lorne Michaels’ production company, where he conceptualized, cofounded, and oversaw Above Average, a premium comedy network and studio.

Devin holds a BA from Stanford and an MBA from Wharton. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Sarah, and two young children.

Georgie Holt is Managing Director for the Americas at Acast, where she is responsible for driving commercial and content growth — cementing its position as the leading global podcast company. Georgie recently held the role as MD for Acast in the UK and IE and oversaw its most successful year to-date in 2021. Georgie has a near 20-year career which spans some of the world’s biggest news and magazine brands. In her two most recent roles she has been the Publisher and Executive Director of two of the UK’s biggest women’s media brands, Cosmopolitan and Stylist. Leading and delivering the successful strategic and commercial transformation for both brands. At Stylist, Georgie’s leadership focused on shaping a more truthful and respectful visual landscape for women in advertising and she worked with some of the world’s biggest brands to achieve this. Prior to her time at Cosmopolitan and Stylist, Georgie worked in strategy and creative leadership roles at Hearst, Clear Channel and ESI.

Heather Gordon is the Managing Director for Canada at Acast, the world’s leading independent podcast company. Joining the organization in September 2020 to launch operations in the market, Heather has curated a team of industry-leading podcast enthusiasts and advertising specialists to drive revenue and establish a robust and diverse roster of Canadian podcast talent.

Under Heather’s direction, Acast now serves as the home to many of Canada’s most popular, prestigious, and innovative podcasters — with its network featuring publishers and creators like CBC's Under the Influence, Fred VanVleet and Derek Folk of Bet On Yourself, Scott McGillivray of The Real Estate Rebel, Liv Albert of Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby!, Mitch Moffit and Greg Brown of Sidenote by AsapSCIENCE, and Jae and Trey Richards of Random Order Podcast.

Heather’s career spans work with many of Canada’s largest and most renowned media outlets. Prior to joining Acast, she spent five years directing digital sales at the CBC. Before that, she held leadership roles at organizations including CHUM Television and Bell Media, where she worked on dynamic brands like MuchMusic and MTV.

Heather lives in Toronto with her husband and their two children.

Jonathan Stern is as an executive producer and/or co-creator of over 18 series since founding Abominable Pictures in Los Angeles in 2006.

Past projects include “Wet Hot American Summer" (Netflix), the feature film "A Futile and Stupid Gesture" (Netflix), all seven seasons of “Childrens Hospital” (Adult Swim), “Mystery Science Theater 3000” (Netflix), “Medical Police” (Netflix), “The Hotwives of Orlando/Las Vegas” (Hulu), “Burning Love” (Yahoo! and E!), “Shrink” (Seeso), “Garfunkel & Oates” (IFC), “Do You Want to See a Dead Body” (YouTube Premium), and “NTSF:SD:SUV::” (Adult Swim).

Prior to starting Abominable Pictures, Stern produced indie films in New York including “The Vagina Monologues” and the Sundance-premiering “Scotland, PA” and “The Ten.”

Most recently, he EP'd the comedy series “Murderville” on Netflix, “The Scooby-Doo Reunion Special” for the CW (also writer/director) and the documentary feature “Film Geek,” as well as an upcoming slate of podcasts for iHeart Media.

Stern has three Emmy wins and five nominations, as well as Webby Awards, Streamy Awards, and a Comedy Award.

Joshua Poole is Director, Original Content at Audible, the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, where he oversees creative development and production on a slate of original scripted entertainment podcasts. Recent major releases include Nate Odenkirk’s Summer in Argyle (starring Bob Odenkirk), Team Coco’s Self Center, Paul Lieberstein’s Middlespace: The Rebels Attack, and then the Other Side Attacks As Well (starring Will Forte), Fishpriest(starring Ethan Hawke), and Moriarty: The Devil’s Game, the newest addition to the Sherlock Holmes universe (starring Dominic Monaghan). Prior to Audible, he was head of development at Broadway Video’s Above Average, where he developed and produced content for Comedy Central, TBS, YouTube Premium, Snapchat, Seeso, and others. Before Above Average, he worked at MTV and Random House. He’s a graduate of Vassar College and Boston University.

Kate Gill is SVP of development for Paramount Television Studios, where she is overseeing the upcoming Paramount+ musical series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, the critically acclaimed limited series Station Eleven and half hour comedy Made For Love for HBOMax. Previously, she worked at YouTube Originals as the development and current executive for multiple series and pilots including the series Weird City and On Becoming A God In Central Florida. Before she worked for the streaming service, Gill worked with prolific executive producer Jamie Tarses at her Sony-based POD FanFare and for the comedy company JASH heading up TV development. Gill graduated from Loyola Marymount University where she studied film production. She is a native of Carlsbad, California and lives in Los Angeles.

Kayla Moriarty is the VP of Marketing for Headgum. Kayla previously served as the VP of Digital Consumer Marketing for the MTV Entertainment Group, where she worked on campaigns for series and franchises such as: Broad City, South Park, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Recently named one of the Top Women in Media and a Social Media Groundbreaker by Cynopsis, she is also a Cynopsis 2021 It List honoree, regular panel speaker, and winner of several marketing awards from Adweek, YouTube Works, the Clios, and more. Kayla holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Fairfield University and a Master’s of Science in Social Work from Columbia University.

ABC Studios is expanding the comedy development ranks by adding Kellyn Parker as Vice President, Comedy Development, reporting to SVP, Comedy Development, Melanie Frankel.

He joins the Studio, a part of Disney Television Studios, from Comedy Central, where he served as Vice President, Original Programing & Development since 2016. Parker was responsible for overseeing development and production for west coast-based original series including South Side, New Negroes, Taskmaster, Gorburger and Comedy Central’s Colossal Clusterfest.

Prior to that, he managed the award-winning Partner Content Department for Funny Or Die beginning in 2011, where he executive produced over 150 campaigns including hundreds of videos, live events, and marketing activations with notable brands such as Fiat Chrysler, Universal Pictures, Adidas, Microsoft, Pepsi and Sony Electronics. He led the creative development and production efforts for Funny Or Die D.C. including the Everybody Votes! Project executive produced by Judd Apatow and the Jokes for Votes comedy tour headlined by Sarah Silverman.

Parker has received nominations and awards for several of his projects including three 2019 Peter Lisagor awards for the podcast South Side Stories, Digiday Awards winner, multiple Webby nominations, Key Art Awards finalist, Streamy Award nominee, among other honors.

Parker began his career at United Talent Agency in the Agent Trainee program. He’s a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Film, Television & Media.

Lana Maclin is a Creative Producer for New Metric Media, a leading comedy-focused entertainment studio and producer of CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING, LETTERKENNY, SHORESY, and the upcoming BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE.

Lana began her career and fostered her passion for development by producing and directing short films, broadcast commercial campaigns and digital sketch comedy. Through the Director’s Guild of Canada, she has also previously worked as an assistant director on various film and television productions including BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW and TRUE DATING STORIES. She is a graduate from Ryerson University with a postgraduate in Advanced Media Management from UCLA, and she currently resides in Toronto, Canada.

An Emmy Award winning creative producer with over eight years of scripted development, production and directing experience. Lisa Baylin manages the scripted development team at Cineflix Productions. Over the course of her career, her series have been showcased on Hulu, CBC, Bell Media, and Funny Or Die, and she has partnered with the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, Disney and Universal Music to create original works. Selected award-winning comedies include the Canadian Screen Award winning Fab Filippo series Save Me SI & SII and Mark Little and Dan Beirne series, Space Raiders SI & SII, as well as the Streamy Award winning series Epic Studios with EpicLLOYD from Epic Rap Battle of History. Currently, Lisa and the Cineflix Productions team are developing a scripted half-hour series with comedian Bonnie McFarlane based on her memoir You’re Better Than Me and scripted-improv series with Carolyn Taylor and Rob Baker as they continue to build out the company’s comedy slate.

Lizzie Potolsky is Director of Development for Funny Or Die’s award winning longform team, working on projects in various stages of development, and whose energy and creative instinct has proven her to be an integral member of the department. Currently, Lizzie is working on Funny Or Die’s upcoming CBS special, “Pickled,” a celebrity pickleball special. Last year, she worked closely with Funny Or Die’s chief creative officer and executive producer, Joe Farrell, on the launch of “For Heaven’s Sake,” the first comedy series for Paramount +.

She started her career as a writers production assistant on the FOX series “Gotham,” followed by jobs in the current department at Warner Bros., the comedy development department at FOX, and in programming at AMC/IFC/BBC America.

Born and raised in New York, NY, Lizzie graduated from Cornell University.

Marty Michael is the co-founder and CEO of Headgum and Gumball. As CEO, Marty is dedicated to building a product that helps both podcasters and advertisers effortlessly connect to drive both revenue and results. Prior to co-founding Headgum, Marty worked in digital sales at CollegeHumor. Marty holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Lehigh University where he was a Division I Track and Field/Cross Country athlete. In his spare time, Marty enjoys playing basketball, eating delicious food, and listening to funny podcasts.

Monika Zielinska is currently Vice President of Development and Series at Warner Brothers Animation focusing on such shows as Harley Quinn, Velma, Bedrock, and Harley Spinoff Noonan’s. Prior to that she spent 17 years at Comedy Central, most recently as Senior Vice President Original Programming and Development. Some of the shows she worked on include Key & Peele, Reno 911!, Southside, Awkwafina, Tosh.0, Crank Yankers, The Jim Jefferies Show, Detroiters, Another Period, Legends of Chamberlain Heights. She has overseen over 20 series in her time at Comedy Central. She got her start as an agent trainee at United Talent Agency.

Natalie is a director, writer, and producer based between Toronto and NYC with broad experience in both scripted and nonfiction works for all platforms.

Recent credits include the six-time Canadian Screen Award-nominated digital comedic series THE COMMUNIST’S DAUGHTER (2021) created, written, and directed by Leah Cameron (LoCo Motion Pictures for CBC Gem) WINNER of the Web Series World Cup of 2021 making it the most awarded web series in North America, and the CSA Winner for Best Supporting Performance in a Web Program or Series for George Stroumboulopoulos.

Natalie was an associate producer at Scythia Films from 2018 working on various projects including Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut, FALLING (2020), which played at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF in 2020. Other notable credits include PERCY VS GOLIATH (2020), starring Christopher Walken, Christina Ricci, and Zach Braff as well as SLASH/BACK (2022), an Arctic set sci-fi adventure about a group of teen Inuk girls that fight off an alien invasion written and directed by Nyla Innuksuk which premiered at SXSW 2022.

Natalie has a BFA in Theatre with a Specialized Honours in Acting from York University after which she studied comedy, graduating from Toronto’s Second City Improv Conservatory.

Natalie is presently pursuing her MFA in directing/screenwriting at NYU’s TISCH School of the Arts.

Paul Telner is one of the original YouTube comedy stars known for his viral comedy videos which garnered millions of views and landed him his own national comedy series called The Paul Telner Project on MuchMusic as well as appearing on US cable network G4TV. After many years of starring in and producing his own series, Paul stepped behind the scenes and became the comedy blogger for Just for Laughs and then served as Unscripted Development Executive at Emmy Award Winning Galafilm.

Paul then became Director of Unscripted Development at LA-based Studio71. Paul helped build the unscripted department and sold multiple comedy projects to buyers such as Facebook Watch (The The Text Committee, I Want My Stuff Back), Comcast Watchable (Logan Paul Vs), MTV (Ownage Pranks), YouTube Originals (Emmy nominated Roman Atwood’s Day Dreams), truTV (FALSE ADVERTISING starring The Kloons) and more. Paul has worked closely with top digital and traditional comedy stars such as Logan Paul, Lilly Singh, Rhett and Link, J.B. Smoove, Tom Green, Jamie Kennedy, Epic Mealtime, as well as helping launch the YouTube channel for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. In 2020, Paul’s Facebook Watch comedy series I Want My Stuff Back won OUTSTANDING DIGITAL REALITY SERIES OF THE YEAR at The American Reality Awards.

Currently, Paul serves as creative director for BBTV where he has set-up comedy projects at multiple production companies and studios. Paul is actively developing an unscripted project with TikTok comedy star Asif Khan, YouTube stars The Furrha Family, Mike Tyson, T-Pain, and many more.

Punit Mattoo is a Comedy Executive at Amazon Studios where he’s overseen series including Prime Video’s #1 Half-Hour Comedy, Upload, Good Omens, and the Emmy Award-winning Fleabag S2. Additionally, he’s helped launch PV’s animated comedy programming strategy with Fairfax and an upcoming series from Ramy Youssef & Pam Brady, and managed creative on PV’s entry into standup programming with specials from talent including Jim Gaffigan, Ilana Glazer, Rob Delaney, and Jimmy O. Yang. Previously, he worked in development at director Justin Linʹs (Fast & Furious) production company, Perfect Storm Entertainment, and prior to that as an Agent Trainee in both Motion Picture and Television Lit at United Talent Agency. He started his career at NBC Universal in their Operations Management Leadership Program working on projects such as the Beijing Olympics. He spent his early childhood years in England and Saudi Arabia before moving to the United States, and holds an MBA from the University of Oxford and a Masters and Bachelors in Engineering from the University of Michigan.

As Head of Development, Rachel Goldstein-Couto oversees the scripted and unscripted program development for CTV, Crave and the Entertainment Specialty channels of Bell Media. Rachel and her team work closely with independent production partners, writers and creatives to develop a slate of factual and scripted projects that are diverse, culturally relevant to Canadians and specific to the programming needs of the individual platforms and services.

Rachel has been with Bell Media since 2000, most recently as Director of Programming, Entertainment Specialty.

Rachel studied Communications at Concordia University in Montreal and Broadcasting at Seneca College in Toronto.

Richard Crouse is the regular film critic for the 24 hour news source CTV’s News Channel and CP24. His radio show, the Richard Crouse Show is heard across the iHeartRadio network. He writes for The Toronto Star and is also the author of ten books on pop culture history including the bestselling Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of The Devils and Elvis is King: Costello’s My Aim is True.

Rob Gati is Vice President, Content Development – Comedy in Hulu’s Originals group. Joining in 2014, he has developed and been the executive in charge of series such as Pam & Tommy, PEN15, Ramy, Catch-22, Dollface, Woke, Future Man, Casual, and Difficult People, amongst others. Rob’s upcoming slate includes This Fool, Welcome to Chippendales and History of the World Pt 2.

Rob also oversaw the launch of Hulu’s first animation initiative, which includes Solar Opposites, Crossing Swords, and Animaniacs. He is currently working on the upcoming Koala Man and the revival of Futurama.

Rob’s other credits include launching Hulu’s first original documentary slate with films such as Batman & Bill, SXSW Audience Award winner Becoming Bond, Dumb: The Story of Big Brother Magazine, Too Funny To Fail and Obey Giant.

Previously, Rob worked at Fox Networks Group, and before that at the management company Artists First.

Sandra is CBC’s Director of Current Production - Comedy. She leads production on all scripted comedy series and radio comedies. Sandra oversees production on multiple shows including the Peabody-winning Sort Of, Workin' Moms, Son of a Critch, Run The Burbs and Strays. She also managed Kim’s Convenience, Just for Laughs Galas, Mr D, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Cavendish and several digital series including The Neddeaus of Duqesne Island, Newborn Moms and My Kitchen Can Be Anything. Sandra is a CSA nominated producer and before joining CBC, she produced documentaries and short comedy films. She was also Managing Editor of Features and Documentaries, CTV/Rogers for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. Notably, Sandra directed and produced the Olympic retirement feature for celebrated athlete Clara Hughes. Previously, she held various positions at CTV, TSN and Discovery Channel.

Sarah Fowlie leads the Production of Original Programming across Bell Media's English Language platforms including CTV, CTV Speciality and Crave. Fowlie began her career at Bell Media in 1997 at The Comedy Network and has developed strong relationships with the Canadian and International content industry. She has held a range of positions in Acquisitions, Original Development and In-House Production. Recent Bell Media Original Productions include LETTERKENNY, TRANSPLANT, CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING, and CANADA’S DRAG RACE.

Sarah Quan is the Executive in Charge of Development, Comedy Scripted at CBC. Prior to joining CBC, she served as Creative Executive at Northwood Entertainment (Anne With An E, The Grizzlies) where she oversaw the day-to-day creative and logistical slate of television and feature film projects in development and production. Sarah started her career in production as a coordinator and line producer for independent film and digital series. As an award-winning producer and executive, Sarah is dedicated to discovering and nurturing underrepresented voices with fresh perspectives and producing work that changes culture and explores stories that have yet to be told.

Shaleen Desai serves as Senior Vice President, Adult Series, Warner Bros. Animation and Blue Ribbon Content. In this capacity, Desai spearheads the Studio’s efforts to develop original animated programming for adult audiences and oversees Warner Media’s scripted podcast initiative.

Desai is a 20-year veteran of the media and entertainment field, most recently serving as Head of Scripted Development at CMT, a Viacom Cable Network, overseeing all development and Prior to CMT/Viacom, Desai partnered with actor/director/producer Jason Bateman in Aggregate Films, which had a first-look deal with Universal Television. Over the course of that deal, the company sold pilots/series to NBC, FOX and Netflix.

Earlier in his career, Desai served as one of the three founding executives of 20th Century Fox’s cable arm, Fox 21 TV Studios, the prolific studio behind such series as “Sons of Anarchy” (FX), “Homeland” (Showtime), “Brickleberry” (Comedy Central), “Free Ride” (FX) and “Saved” (TNT), among many others. Desai started his career in the Fox Network’s comedy department.

A graduate from Toronto Film School, Shelby developed her strengths for production coordination and organization in the VFX world, working previously as the Prep Comp Coordinator at Legend3D. Shelby worked closely with artists and senior production in order to complete VFX elements on multiple feature films including Ben-Hur, Passengers and Resident Evil 6. Switching gears, Shelby got the opportunity to learn the animation process as a Production Coordinator with Spin Master, working on seasons one and two of the successful kids series, Rusty Rivets. After one year of production, Shelby jumped at the chance to move into the development department as the Coordinator working on multiple series’ in various stages of development. Shelby is thrilled to bring her passion for television and experience in both production and development to Project 10.

Shonna received her Honors B.F.A from York University. She is an award-winning director-producer and comes to Project 10 with over 15 years of extensive experience working on both the creative and business sides of the film and television industry. Professionally, she has held positions which include Executive Assistant, WGC Agreement Administrator, Assistant Production Manager, and Business Affairs Associate at award-winning production companies and deep rooted industry organizations in Canada.

As a freelancer, she has worked on productions for Sony Pictures/LifeTime, Warner /OWN, CBC, and Bell Media and has consulted on several pilot projects. Collectively, Shonna's notable work experience, extensive knowledge, and recognized work ethic have made her a valued and sought after asset to various production teams.

Shonna's passion for great storytelling combined with her obsession for consuming copious amounts of television and film, along with her joy for reading, lend to her role in development. She has a tenacity for sourcing great stories. Shonna looks forward to working with P10 and to shepherding new projects from development to small and big screens both domestically and internationally.

Sophia LePage is a Creator Network Partner Manager at Acast where she works closely with Canadian podcasters on audience growth and development, marketing efforts, editorial strategy, art direction and live podcast events. Recently, she partnered with Hot Docs to produce several panels for the Hot Docs Podcast Festival in Toronto, Canada. Previously, alongside best friend and creative collaborator Zoë Robertson, Sophia co-hosted and co-produced Just Chips Dot Com, a comedy podcast about potato chips and developed Magic Falls, a web series supported by Ontario Creates. Sophia has worked in Film, TV, creative marketing, and podcast production for the last decade and holds a Film Studies degree from Concordia University. She is based in Toronto, Ontario.

Spencer Griffin is currently the Head of TV Development for Just For Laughs and has recently sold and developed projects for HBO, Amazon, CW, Hulu, Starz, Meta, CBC, Bell, E!, Sony Pictures Animation, NBC Universal Television Alternative Studio, and more. Previously he has been an Executive Producer for shows on TruTV, IFC, PopTV, MTV, CBC, YouTube Premium, Facebook Watch, and more. And has sold and developed projects for Comedy Central, IFC, Freeform, TruTV, MTV, Audible, Eko, and more. Spencer has held Development and Executive positions at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, Big Breakfast, and CollegeHumor. He was recognized with a Webby and Telly Award for his co-direction and production of a rap video starring a rapping First Lady Michelle Obama.

Stefania Scarfo comes to Paramount+ with a keen eye for content that has proven to be successful on all platforms. Scarfo was an integral part of the original programming team launching Bell Media’s Crave. She has a strong focus on content and strategy in linear and digital.

In her role as Manager, Programming, Paramount+ Canada, Stefania plays a major part in all content including original programming and acquisitions. A true lover of everything television, she is passionate about documentaries that entertain while educating, Soapy and juicy dramas and unscripted reality TV!

As an assistant at Comedy Central I discovered the comedy group that would go on to make the series Workaholics. From $50k pilot to Comedy Central's first live-action narrative hit in sometime, I oversaw the development and creative execution of the first season. The show spawned actors such as Jillian Bell and Adam Devine. After overseeing the first season, I left Comedy Central as a coordinator and joined Adult Swim as a manager of development at the end of 2010.

At Adult Swim I've developed, overseen and EP'd a wide variety of animated and live-action programming such as: Rick and Morty, The Boondocks, Loiter Squad, Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories, The Eric Andre Show, Mr. Pickles, Joe Pera Talks With You, Black Jesus, Primal, Black Dynamite, The Jellies, Teenage Euthanasia, The Shivering Truth, Robot Chicken, Lazor Wulf, Dream Corp LLC, Ballmastrz: 9009, Tuca and Bertie, as well as the recently premiered Smiling Friends, upcoming Royal Crackers and more.

As the SVP of program development, I oversee the development department, help steer the network legal meeting, and am a key point of interface for marketing, PR, etc. Along with two of my colleagues, I hosted a live-streamed pitch show on YouTube for several years called Development Meeting in which we gave advice and occasionally bought pitches. The show gained enough traction to be aired in a cut down version on TV (at 4am). I've developed and overseen digital content and computer programmers making digital toys such as the popular Rick and Morty stretchy face "Elastic Man".

There's more, before and after the above, but this feels like a good place to start.

Wendy Steinhoff is currently the Vice President of Comedy Development for the ABC television network. Prior to joining ABC, she spent 18 years developing comedy on the studio side for Warner Bros. Television. Wendy has been involved with the development of over 150 comedy pilots, most recently “Abbott Elementary,” “The Wonder Years,” and “Maggie” for ABC/Hulu. Wendy is a proud alum of Northwestern University and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, three kids, one dog and one cat.

Yvette Urbina is Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Warner Bros. Discovery. In this role, she acts as the bridge between the programs and content at the core of the company’s mission to build a more inclusive and innovative industry. Her focus is identifying opportunities for talent from historically marginalized communities across the enterprise. She forges partnerships that provide content creators greater tools when hiring and connects both new and established diverse voices to creatives. Earlier this year, she was recognized by the Imagen Foundation with an Influential Latinos in Media Award for her work. Prior to this, Urbina served as Vice President, Nickelodeon, Current Series and Development, and was a member of the executive leadership team that sustained Nickelodeon’s position as the number one rated, ad-supported, basic cable network from 2011-2019. She previously headed TV development for Oscar-nominated actor, director and producer, Salma Hayek’s Ventanarosa Productions under an exclusive deal at ABC Studios. She is a proven programming leader with a producer background - bringing a mix of creativity and business to her roles - having been a driving force behind iconic series from The O.C. to That ‘70s Show. Urbina has served on the board of Los Angeles Team Mentoring since 2014. She is a Los Angeles native and has called downtown L.A. home for over twelve years.

At CBC, Zach oversees the YA & Scripted Digital Originals strategy and programming team, developing and commissioning Gen Z-targeted series for CBC Gem. This slate includes such titles as The 410, For Heaven's Sake, Kenny & Spenny Paldemic, Fakes, Next Stop, My 90-Year-Old Roommate, Save Me, the International Emmy-nominated comedy series The Amazing Gayl Pile and How to Buy a Baby, and many more. Prior to originating that role, Zach spearheaded Shaw Media’s first digital programming mandate, including Global TV special The Second City Project, Food Network’s Super Snack Bros. and comedy series But I’m Chris Jericho!. He also produced digital products and content associated with the company’s priority linear series, including Big Brother Canada, Vikings, Trailer Park Boys and dozens more, yielding an International Emmy win in 2012, and a subsequent nomination in 2014.