L.A. comedians to watch in 2020

Whether talking about her family’s dysfunction, her relationship drama or the general trauma of human life, Austin gets audiences to laugh at hardship while also making them feel like everything will be okay. “Whenever I see a guy starting a bar fight,” she jokes, “I’m like, ‘Just publish your short stories already!’” The Santa Barbara native is also unabashedly girly. She spends her free time making silly videos from inside the fitting room in a Ross Dress for Less, including one in which she advises “What to Wear for the Global Warming Apocalypse.”

The funniest thing about L.A.:
“If everyone here is a personal trainer, who are they training?”

M.i.’s Westside Comedy Theater is Austin’s home base—she was a finalist in its Comedy Showdown competition last year—and you can also see her cohosting both Pointless Comedy (at the Clubhouse on second and fourth Sundays at 8pm) and Mixtape (second Friday of every month at the Virgil). Follow her on her website and on Instagram at @caninesandcoupons.

The funniest thing about L.A.:  “I saw a six-year old send back sushi that was made wrong.”

See Bryant at Fat Cat Comedy, at the Virgil on the third Tuesday of every month. Follow him on Twitter at @TenderChris and Instagram at @TenderChris.

The funniest thing about L.A.: “Stopping at red lights is optional.”

Catch Catalano in Witch Hunt (at the Virgil on Jan 31 at 8pm) and at Venice Underground (at the Townhouse on Feb 5 at 9pm). Follow her on her website, on Twitter at @emilycatalano and Instagram at @catalano_emily.

The funniest thing about L.A.: “The coolest people from all over the world move to Los Angeles. Sometimes you feel like you don't measure up. But every once in a while you get to see one of these people out while their very normal parents are visiting and you can tell they’re kinda embarrassed. That’s my favorite show.”

See Danke at Comedy Garage in Echo Park every second and fourth Friday and often at Comedy Crawl (most Wednesdays at 8:30pm, meet by the swan boat rentals at Echo Park Lake, check @howardkremer). Follow him on his website, on Twitter at @pauldanke and Instagram at @pauldanke.

The funniest thing about L.A.: “Nothing is sacred. I went to a party at Hollywood Forever Cemetery where people were dancing on gravestones while sipping corporate-sponsored cocktails laced with B12. I hope my death will one day be the (literal) foundation for such resonant abandon.”

See Martinez in Talent at UCB Franklin on Jan 21 at 11pm, in Weirdo Night at Zebulon on Feb 2 at 7pm, and in Hot Tub’s 15 Year Anniversary Show at the Virgil on Feb 24 at 8pm. Follow her on her website, on Twitter at @xtina_catherine and Instagram at @xtina_catherine.

The funniest thing about L.A.: “When you first get here, you make fun of how fake and flakey everyone is because you haven’t learned to be good at it yet.”

Catch Grant in Characters: A Review at the Second City on Jan 30, in Comedy Joint at HaHa on Feb 2 at 8:30pm, and at M.i.’s Westside on Feb 3 at 8pm. Follow him on his website and on Instagram at @mrseangrant.

The funniest thing about L.A.: “The quiet agony of the Janis Joplin guitar sculpture at the Sunset Strip location of Chase bank.”

Catch Seregina cohosting (with Kyle Mizono) Goopy, a new monthly show launching Feb 13 at Lyric Hyperion, second Thursdays at 9pm. Follow her on Twitter at @touchingcheeses and Instagram at @CashMoneyGrandpa.

The funniest thing about L.A.: “L.A. is the only place I can text my roommate, ‘Hey if you hear me yelling I’m just practicing for an audition lol’ (There was no audition.)”

See Srinivasan in Funnilingus at Junior High in Hollywood on Jan 31. Follow her on her website and on Instagram at @sahanayomomma.

The funniest thing about L.A.: “The number of people who move here just to complain about it.”

See Straley in the Super Serious Show at the Virgil on Feb 19. Follow him on his website, on Twitter at @FinnStraley and Instagram at @FinnStraley.

The funniest thing about L.A.: “The price we pay for rent. I have a friend paying $800 a month to live in a sand castle. And his place is nowhere near the beach.”

See Unaka on Coming to the Stage on Hulu and at Comedy Kickback every second Sunday at Hollywood Improv Lab, and check the Laugh Factory for dates every month. Follow him on his website, on Twitter at @chineducomedy and Instagram at @chineduunaka.