Anthony Jeselnik Tour
Comedian Anthony Jeselnik has lined up a fall stand-up tour that will hit more than 25 North American cities—including Philadelphia, Toronto, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York—beginning in September.
The announcement of the tour—which will be marketed as “Anthony Jeselnik: Live”— comes in the midst of the second season of his wildly popular Comedy Central show, “The Jeselnik Offensive,” a weekly program in which the comic addresses the most topical low- and high-culture news items using his trademark style, oftentimes with the help of some of his comedian friends, which in the past has included stars like Aziz Ansari, Amy Schumer, and Joan Rivers.
The 34-year-old Jeselnik got his first big break in 2009, when he landed a special on “Comedy Central Presents,” a half-hour stand-up program that gives the spotlight to lesser-known acts. After his special aired, he was hired as a writer on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” and was the first stand-up act to appear on the program. After leaving the show in 2010 to pursue individual opportunities that allowed him more freedom, Jeselnik quickly found success, releasing his debut album, “Shakespeare,” and landing his first of many appearances on “Comedy Central Roasts” within the next year. Having found his niche in the “Roast” style, Jeselnik became the main attraction at the events, eventually parlaying his success to his first stand-up TV special, “Caligula,” and the aforementioned weekly series.
Jeselnik has garnered a huge following while climbing the ranks, using his distinct talent for dark comedy to draw a seemingly unending amount of laughter and gasps alike each time he takes the stage. His penchant for edgy humor often plays like a one-man roast of society in general, indiscriminately poking fun at anything and everything—from celebrities to death to disaster; nothing escapes the wrath of this comic.
The latest in a long line of comedians who have used Comedy Central as a launching point for individual tours, Jeselnik joins stars like Dave Chappelle, Daniel Tosh, Jeff Dunham, and Dane Cook as comedians that are enjoying the peaks of their popularity as live acts after making a name for themselves on the network.
Chappelle, whose “Chappelle’s Show” was a huge hit on Comedy Central during its two full seasons starting in 2003, kept a relatively low profile in recent years before announcing in June that he would be co-headlining the 2013 Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival, a 13-date tour set to kick off in Austin, Texas, in late August before concluding about a month later in Phoenix, Ariz.
Like Jeselnik, Tosh’s journey to earning his own show on the network began with an appearance on “Comedy Central Presents” years earlier. Although Tosh had already made a name for himself in the comedy arena, it wasn’t until his series, “Tosh.0,” debuted in 2009 that he rose to stardom. Tosh embarked on his “June Gloom Tour” this year and has recently added more dates for the fall.
Although Dunham had his own show for a brief time, the majority of his success has come via his countless TV specials with the network. The puppet master has used that success to go on several mega-tours, visiting hundreds of venues with each separate trek, including his current “Disorderly Conduct Tour,” which is set to continue well into 2014.
Like many others, Cook’s big break came via the visibility that the network’s brand provided him. After appearing on “Premium Blend” in 1998, Cook signed with Comedy Central Records and almost immediately started taping his own specials and headlining tours. Cook announced in July that he would be hitting the road in September for the “Under Oath Tour,” his first since 2009.