John Franklin

He represents a very specific modern pipeline: the reality-TV-to-standup transition. After appearing as a contestant on Netflix’s The Circle, Franklin managed to convert internet celebrity into a working touring schedule. He bypassed much of the traditional open-mic slog, playing directly to a built-in audience that already felt invested in his personality before he even picked up a microphone.

His material mines his own mild humiliations and the absurdity of internet fame. He recounts breaking up with his therapist in the exact same baffled tone he uses to describe reading custom messages on Cameo. The bits are structured less like rigid jokes and more like breathless stories told over drinks. He draws heavily on a theater kid background, often closing out an hour with an acoustic guitar cover of an early-2000s pop song. He embraces the silliness of the room, completely unbothered by being lightweight.