# Don't Tell Comedy

Don't Tell Comedy is a live stand-up comedy company that creates pop-up comedy shows in unique, non-traditional locations in over 200 cities worldwide. Founded in 2017, the company is based in Los Angeles, California.

## History

Founder Kyle Kazanjian-Amory wanted to create local stand-up shows that felt more casual than a comedy club and more professional than other local independent shows. The company first started producing shows in locations around Los Angeles before expanding to other cities, such as San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.
In March 2020, Don't Tell Comedy had to cancel shows and stop running live events due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company began creating digital content and live-streamed events, including a trivia format and private corporate events.
As of 2024, the company has produced shows in more than 200 cities throughout the world, including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Grand Rapids, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Nashville, Palo Alto, San Diego, San Francisco, Paris, Berlin, Melbourne, and others.

## Shows

The typical Don't Tell Comedy show is held in a non-traditional venue with an average of five comedians, running for roughly 90 minutes. When selling tickets to events, only the date, time, and neighborhood are advertised. The specific location is later revealed on the day of the show. The final lineup is only known at the actual show.
Some shows have been filmed and posted to the Don't Tell Comedy YouTube channel.

## Digital Video

In 2021, Don't Tell Comedy released its first comedy special with comedian Danny Jolles, 6 Parts. The video was released in collaboration with 800 Pound Gorilla Records and was distributed via YouTube and Amazon Prime Video. The New York Times listed the special as part of their "Best Comedy of 2021" wrap-up, labeling the special as 2021's "Best Grand Unified Theory." Forbes notes, "The project accomplished what Jolles set out to do: make a comedy special that’s actually, you know, special."
In early 2022, Don't Tell Comedy began releasing digital content on social platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, highlighting lineups of emerging comedians across the United States including Ralph Barbosa whose set earned 4.6M views on YouTube. The company has 5.2 million followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Other comedians who have released sets with Don't Tell Comedy include Fumi Abe, Katherine Blanford, Matt Braunger, Andrea Jin, Jay Jurden, Kyle Kinane, Leslie Liao, Michael Longfellow, Opeyemi Olagbaju, Lea’h Sampson, and Gianmarco Soresi.
Comedian Susan Rice remarked on her experience releasing a stand up comedy set on Don't Tell Comedy's YouTube channel: “Doing late night back in the ’80s when Johnny Carson was working, Carson made a lot of careers [...] But this, Don’t Tell, is comparable.”
Fellow Don't Tell Comedy alumni, Malik Elassal and Alec Flynn, echoed Rice's sentiment. “It’s changed my life,” said Elassal. Flynn noted, “As a comic, you want to be bitter and hate everything, but realistically, they changed my life.” Comedian Grace Johnson also remarked, “Don’t Tell right now stands out as one of the premier places to go to for comedy, in the way that Comedy Central has been.”
Don't Tell Comedy produced their first Netflix special for Hannah Berner titled, We Ride At Dawn. The special that was filmed at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, PA, premiered on July 9, 2024. The special Decider noted as a "solid debut" landed in Netflix's Top 10 most popular shows category.

## Notable performers

| Performer | Notability |
| Michael Che | Cast member of Saturday Night Live |
| Sam Jay | Writer for Saturday Night Live, co-star of PAUSE with Sam Jay |
| Iliza Shlesinger | 2008 winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing, host of Excused and TBS game show Separation Anxiety |
| Ali Wong | Best known for Netflix stand-up specials Baby Cobra, Hard Knock Wife, and Don Wong |
| Nikki Glaser | Host of Not Safe with Nikki Glaser |
| Bill Burr | Comedy Specials include: You People Are All the Same, I'm Sorry You Feel That Way, Walk Your Way Out and Paper Tiger. |