Graham Kay
Hangdog storytelling that treats family crisis like an everyday inconvenience.
1 special · 2026
Get an email when there's a new special. Use your email or Google.
Kay stands at the microphone with a slight slouch and a deadpan gaze, speaking in an unhurried cadence that makes neurotic unraveling sound like ordinary logic. He sets up a premise calmly, then stacks small, obsessive details until the situation tips over. When an audience hesitates over an awkward subject, like long-term care or developmental disability, he lets the room’s nervous silence breathe for a second before cutting through with a dry observation about his bickering parents or a compulsive childhood tic.
Stand-up specials
On stage
He works both ends of the circuit. In New York, he logs regular spots in the tight basements of the Comedy Cellar, while on tour he frequently opens for Nate Bargatze, playing arena stages to mainstream crowds.
His solo hour Pete & Me handles sibling responsibility and family stress as straightforward narrative comedy without angling for applause breaks. He is at his best when tracing the irrational internal rules of his own OCD, convincing himself that his clicking habit was the sole reason his family got thrown out of restaurants. When he drifts toward standard observational territory, like Airbnb host oddities or bad relationships, the sets lose some of that singular prickliness.
Raised in Ottawa before moving to Brooklyn, he brings a quiet Canadian politeness to the stage, only to pick it apart piece by piece.
Turning points
-
Canadian Comedy Award Breakout Artist Nomination
Kay earned industry recognition with a nomination for Best Breakout Artist at the Canadian Comedy Awards and placed as runner-up at the Seattle International Comedy Competition.
-
Release of Pete and Me on Nateland
Kay taped his acclaimed solo hour about growing up alongside his autistic brother Pete at SoHo Playhouse, which was executive produced by Nate Bargatze and released on Nateland Entertainment.
At a glance
Podcasts
-
Autastic · host
An autism awareness podcast hosted by Graham Kay.
Also on screen
- Super Troopers 2
A clip to start with
The Funniest Way To Get Fired From A Job. Graham Kay