Just For Laughs MONTRÉAL, in collaboration with Loto-Québec, returns in full form this July, running from July 13-31, 2022.
Celebrating it’s milestone 40th anniversary, the Montréal festival, which attracts over two million tourists to the city, will reunite the comedy industry’s hottest stars and rising talent at the world’s biggest comedy hub for over two weeks of non-stop live comedy, including arena shows, galas, concert shows, club series, and so much more. The world has endured major historical hardships in recent years, and as global leaders in comedy, our team is exerting every effort possible to curate an unforgettable festival, offering patrons from around the world the opportunity to disconnect and laugh with some of today's most prominent comedy stars. Today’s announcement is the first of many more announcements to come for this summer!
"We are overjoyed to be able to bring the preeminent Just For Laughs Festival back to Montréal this summer, for a historic milestone festival" shares President of Just For Laughs, Bruce Hills. "We share in the world's heaviness right now, and as leaders in the comedy industry, we are hopeful that we can provide some much-needed levity and premium quality laughter for all audiences, industry and artists planning to gather in Montréal this July."
GALAS
The Chelsea Handler Gala - Thursday, July 28 2022 | Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts | 7:00pm
Chelsea Handler is a comedian, television host, best-selling author and advocate whose humor and candor have established her as one of the most celebrated voices in entertainment and pop culture. After a strong seven-year run as the host of E!’s top-rated Chelsea Lately, a tenure in which Handler was the only female late-night talk show host on-air, she then launched her documentary series Chelsea Does followed by her talk show Chelsea on Netflix in 2016. She has penned six best-selling books, five of which have reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list, including 2019’s Life Will Be the Death of Me. Most recently, she released her first stand-up special in over 6 years, the critically acclaimed Chelsea Handler: Evolution on HBO Max, and launched her iHeart Radio advice podcast Dear Chelsea. Handler has been honored by TIME magazine as one of its annual “TIME 100;” Glamour Magazine as one of their Women of the Year; and the Human Rights Campaign, which gave her its Ally for Equality Award. Handler’s wide appeal and multi-platform success have been highlighted by publications all over the world.
The Jo Koy Gala - Thursday, July 28 2022 | Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts | 9:45pm
Having last performed at the festival in 2018 when he was awarded the prestigious “Stand-Up Comedian of the Year” title, comedian Jo Koy has come a long way since being named a New Face at the 2005 JFL Festival. This summer, he will be making his grand return to the JFL stage as host of his first-ever Gala! Koy continues to break records and sell out theatres and arenas around the world. His latest Netflix special Comin’ in Hot was released to rave reviews, and his podcast The Koy Pond with Jo Koy continues to top the charts, along with reaching #1 on the Billboard charts for his standup comedy album, Live From Seattle.
The Iliza Shlesinger Gala - Friday, July 29 2022 | Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts | 9:45pm
Iliza Shlesinger is an award-winning comedian, actor, writer, producer, and author, selling
out theatres around the globe. Her post-pandemic tour, Back in Action, is stopping in cities across North America. Iliza currently has five stand up specials streaming on Netflix, including Unveiled, and 2018’s Elder Millennial, which is the subject of Iliza Shlesinger: Over & Over, her “fan-u-mentary” giving fans an inside look into her life on tour. In recent years, Iliza has branched out into acting and can currently be seen starring in the Netflix movie Good On Paper, and recently starred opposite Mark Wahlberg in Netflix’s Spenser Confidential. Iliza’s second book All Things Aside will be available soon, following her debut Girl Logic: The Genius and the Absurdity. Her podcast, AIA: Ask Iliza Anything, features Iliza giving out her Dear Abby-esque advice from fan submitted questions. Iliza is the only female and youngest comedian to hold the title of NBC's Last Comic Standing.
The Russell Peters Gala - Sunday, July 31 2022 | Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts | 7:00pm
Stand-up comedian, actor, and producer, Russell Peters was named as one of Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Comics of All Time, after setting attendance records at venues from Madison Square Garden to The Sydney Opera House to London’s O2 Arena – where he broke the UK attendance record for highest number of tickets sold for an individual comedy show. In 2013, Peters became the first comedian to create a Netflix Original Comedy Special. Peters has been awarded Gemini, Peabody, Emmy and Canadian Screen Awards for his hosting, producing and acting talents. His last TV series, The Indian Detective set a Canadian viewership record for Bell Media and was released globally on Netflix. He hosts the podcast Culturally Cancelled with Russell Peters and is currently developing a TV series based on his childhood in Canada in the 1980’s. He was recently one of the judges on CTV Comedy’s Roast Battle Canada.
The Hannah Gadsby Gala - Wednesday, July 27 2022 | Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts | 8:00pm
Tasmania’s own Hannah Gadsby stopped stand-up comedy in its tracks with her multi award winning show, Nanette, which played to sold out houses at the 2019 Just For Laughs MONTRÉAL and in theatres across Australia, the UK and New York. Its launch on Netflix, and subsequent Emmy win, took Nanette (and Hannah) to the world. Hannah’s difficult second album, Douglas performed around the world, selling out the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Opera House in Sydney and the Kennedy Center in DC, a sit down run in New York and shows across the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Douglas was an Emmy nominated smash hit, and covered Hannah’s autism diagnosis, cleared up some confusion regarding a penguin, lectured some great masters, and saw the patriarchy needled with various levels of vigour. Douglas is available to stream on Netflix.
The Ronny Chieng Gala - Sunday, July 31 2022 | Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts | 9:45pm
Ronny Chieng is a stand-up comedian, actor and correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He starred in the worldwide Marvel Studios’ hit Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Disney + Doogie Kamealoha M.D., and Warner Bros.’ Crazy Rich Asians. He has his own Netflix special Asian Comedian Destroys America! as well as additional T.V. and film appearances including Young Rock, Godzilla vs Kong, Bliss, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
The Patton Oswalt Gala - Friday, July 29 2022 | Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts | 7:00pm
Award-winning performer, actor, writer and comedian Patton Oswalt is widely recognized for his iconic comedy specials, and more than 200 film and television roles including Parks and Recreation, for which he received a TV Critics Choice Award. He recently co-created M.O.D.O.K., a Marvel stop-motion animated adult comedy series for Hulu as well as voicing the titular character, and currently co-stars as on NBC Universal’s comedy A.P. Bio. In 2020, Oswalt’s Emmy nominated Netflix special I Love Everything received a Grammy nomination for his comedy album of the same name. His extensive film and television credits know no bounds, including the film adaptation of Dave Eggers’ novel The Circle, alongside Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Zoolander, The Informant, Magnolia, Starsky and Hutch, and provided the voice for ‘Remy’ the rat, in Brad Bird’s Oscar-winning Ratatouille.
The Marc Maron Gala - Saturday, July 30 2022 | Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts | 7:00pm
Marc Maron is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer and actor who has four hit stand-up comedy specials - including Epix’s More Later, Thinky Pain, Marc Maron: Too Real, and Netflix’s End Times Fun, which was nominated for a 2021 Critics’ Choice Award. With his landmark podcast WTF with Marc Maron, which averages 6 million downloads per month, Maron has interviewed icons such as Robin Williams, Keith Richards, Kate Winslet and former US president Barack Obama. Marc also starred in the Netflix original series Glow, and has had roles in the films Joker, Spencer Confidential, Sword of Trust, Stardust, and the 2021 Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect, alongside Jennifer Hudson. Marc will also star in the forthcoming film To Leslie, starring Andrea Riseborough and Allison Janney and Dreamworks animated feature, The Bad Guys alongside Sam Rockwell.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks when we announce more artists who will be joining these incredible hosts for an evening full of laughs!
CONCERT SHOWS
John Mulaney: From Scratch -Thursday, July 28 2022 | Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts | 7:00pm
John Mulaney is a two-time Emmy and WGA award-winning writer, actor, and comedian. In 2018, he traveled the United States with sold out Kid Gorgeous tour, which was later released as a Netflix stand-up special and won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Variety Special; In 2015, he released The Comeback Kid, also a Netflix original, which The AV Club called the “best hour of his career;” In 2012, his Comedy Central special New In Town had Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly hailing him as “one of the best stand-up comics alive.” Starting March 2022, he’ll be touring with his newest hour John Mulaney: From Scratch. John Mulaney has been invited to host Saturday Night Live for the fifth time on Saturday, February 26. He began writing for SNL in 2008 and created memorable characters such as ‘Stefon’ with Bill Hader and appeared as a “Weekend Update” correspondent. He has written for IFC’s Documentary Now! and Netflix’s Big Mouth, on which he voices the character of Andrew. He’s also starred on Broadway in the runaway hit written and performed alongside Nick Kroll in Oh, Hello On Broadway. The duo has since released a Netflix special of the same name, as well as Oh, Hello: The P’dcast, based on their characters Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland. In December 2019, the critically acclaimed and Emmy nominated musical variety special John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch debuted on Netflix. It was recently announced that festivities will continue with a pair of holiday themed Sack Lunch Bunch specials coming to Comedy Central in the near future.
Hasan Minhaj: The King’s Jester -Friday, July 29 2022 | Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts | 7:00pm
Hasan Minhaj was the host and creator of the weekly comedy show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj that premiered on Netflix in October 2018. The series explored the modern cultural and political landscape with depth and sincerity through his unique comedic voice. The show received a 2019 Peabody Award, a 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Motion Design,” and was recognized for a 2020 Television Academy Honor. In 2017, Minhaj earned rave reviews for his performance hosting the 2017 White House Correspondents' Dinner, and for his one-hour Netflix comedy special Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King, which earned him a 2018 Peabody Award. A first generation American, Minhaj joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as a correspondent in November 2014, where he was Jon’s last hire. He continued on in that role after Trevor Noah took over as host the following year and remained on the show through August 2018.
Tommy Tiernan: Tomfoolery -Monday, July 25 through Saturday, July 30 2022 | Gesù | 7:00pm
Tommy Tiernan has been working as a standup comedian for the past 20+ years. He currently moonlights as a chat show host and newspaper columnist. Performances are high intensity, high octane, a no holds barred roller coaster ride as Tommy continues his constant interrogation of the big ideas - Sex, Religion, Family through the lens of his quirks, personal demons and sense of outrage. His TV credits include Channel 4’sDerry Girls, BBC’s Dave Allen at Peace, SKY’s Little Cracker, and more. His film credits include Dark Lies the Island, Meetings with Ivor and more. Tommy currently hosts The Tommy Tiernan Show on RTE.
Vir Das: Wanted World Tour - Friday, July 29 2022 | L’Olympia | 7:00pm
As India’s biggest stand-up comedian and a Bollywood star, Vir Das has now crossed over to become a global comedy sensation, starring in the upcoming Judd Apatow film, The Bubble, for Netflix. Das was the first comedian from India to have a stand-up special on Netflix, which has since resulted in a multi-special deal with the platform. Das has written and produced four Netflix specials in five years, including Outside In, which was shot entirely in quarantine with audience members virtually attending from around the world. His special, For India, received an international Emmy nomination. Outside of his Bollywood films, Das starred as an actor in the ABC spy dramedy Whiskey Cavalier, Fresh Off the Boat, and the Netflix series Hasmokh, which he created and executive produced.
Celeste Barber: Fine, Thanks. - Thursday, July 28 2022 | L’Olympia | 9:30pm
Actress, writer, comedian and internet sensation, Celeste Barber has been hailed as the “Australian Queen of Comedy”, with her celebrity parody Instagram attracting over 7.2 million followers including Reese Witherspoon, Amy Schumer, Chelsea Handler, Cindy Crawford and Tom Ford. In 2019 she was included in Variety Magazine’s prestigious ‘Variety’s 10 Comics to Watch’ Awards.In 2019, Celeste Barber Challenge Accepted! performed at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal and her New York show at The Gramercy was recorded for her first Showtime special before continuing with a sell-out debut season in the UK and Europe. Celeste’s memoir; Challenge Accepted! was released in Australia in September 2018, with UK release following shortly after. The US version of the book was released in 2019 with foreign rights following in France, Germany, Russia and Poland. Celeste’s podcast; Celeste & Her Best, is currently in release via Luminary.
Neal Brennan: Unacceptable - Tuesday, July 26, Thursday, July 28, Saturday, July 30 2022 | Gesù | 9:30pm
Neal Brennan’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. 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 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 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.
CLUB SERIES
Just For The Culture - Wednesday, July 13 through Sunday, July 17 and Wednesday, July 20 through Thursday, July 28, 2022 | Club Soda & MTELUS
Just for The Culture (formerly known as The Ethnic Show) is a complete celebration of diversity, inclusion, and funny people. You'll laugh as a variety of comedians take the stage to talk from their perspective about what culture means to them. Hosted by Alonzo Boden, featuring Dave Merheje, Paul Rabliauskas, Debra DiGiovanni, Jessica Kirson, Sheng Wang and Yannis Pappas!
The Nasty Show- Wednesday, July 20 through Sunday, July 24 and Tuesday, July 26 through Thursday, July 28, 2022 | MTELUS
The Nasty Show is back and will be hands-down the filthiest show of the entire festival. Prepare yourself for a night of kill-or-be-killed comedy featuring some of comedy’s dirtiest minds, and see for yourself why this is one of the festival’s longest-running shows. Hosted by the one and only Big Jay Oakerson with more artists to be announced soon!
Brit(ish)- Wednesday, July 27 through Saturday, July 30 | L’Astral | 7:00pm
Back for another year at Just For Laughs Montréal, Brit(ish) boasts a lineup of some of the funniest comedians from across the pond. Featuring special guest, Dara Ó Briain and a whole lineup of other performers to be announced soon!
Midnight Surprise- Wednesday, July 27 through Saturday, July 30 | L’Astral | 11:59pm
The show is at midnight… the rest is a surprise! Hailed as one of the festival’s most popular series, audiences sell out each performance eager to find out which all-star comedians will be popping in for a surprise set. Previous guests have included Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Tiffany Haddish, Amy Schumer, Judd Apatow, and more.
Pre-sale tickets will be available from Wednesday, March 23 at 10am at www.hahaha.com
Tickets will be available to the public as of Friday, March 25, at 10am at www.hahaha.com
