Sorry NYC and Chicago, these ‘Funny AF’ comics say LA has the stand-up scene to beat

In the new Netflix competition show Funny AF, host Kevin Hart travels to the stand-up comedy hubs of New York City, Chicago and his adopted hometown of Los Angeles (no travel required) in search of “the next stand-up superstar.”

Ask which of those cities is the best for stand-up comedy today and you’re likely to have a debate on your hands.

L.A.’s comedy scene could arguably trace its roots back to the early days of Hollywood and comedic film production here, but for stand-up specifically, 1972 is when two major things happened — Tonight Show host Johnny Carson moved his massively influential late-night show from New York to Burbank, and The Comedy Store, the now-world-famous comedy club dedicated to stand-up and the first of its kind on the West Coast, opened on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.

In recent years, though, L.A.’s comedy scene has gotten a bit of a bad rap — with lots of talk of what feels like everyone leaving, film and TV jobs not being what they were pre-COVID (or pre-2023 strikes) — along with a long-standing reputation among comics that L.A. is a tough city to get stage time in.

Still, L.A.-based comedians Felicia Folkes, Steve Furey and Ray Lau say that for them, L.A. is the place to be. The three were among the group of 44 comics selected to compete in Funny AF for the grand prize — their own Netflix comedy special.

All three made it into the top 10, performing in front of crowds including guest judges like Chelsea Handler, Kumail Nanjiani and Keegan-Michael Key but were cut before making it to the final two episodes (which will film live May 4 and 5 during the Netflix is a Joke Festival in Los Angeles).

Folkes, Furey and Lau spoke with LAist about their experiences competing on the show and why they think L.A.’s stand-up comedy scene is still the one to beat.

The following responses have been condensed and edited for clarity.

Steve Furey

Steve Furey in "Funny AF with Kevin Hart" on Netflix.

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Steve Furey has been doing stand-up for 15 years and is originally from Northern California but now calls L.A. home. In the first round of competition on Funny AF, he got one of the most glowing reviews of all the L.A. comedians (with Hart describing Furey’s first set as “flawless”).

He told LAist that there’s a real camaraderie among comics in L.A. that other cities can’t match:  ”There's a couple people that everyone hates, you know … but overall, you're competing with people, but in the end [when] you see someone win, I don't really get mad about it and I don't think a lot of people [in L.A.] do.”

Steve Furey:  A lot of people since the pandemic have kind of s--t on L.A., especially some people that decided to move to other places …

[But] this is a great comedy scene. The best guy in that small town still moves here. The best person in New York a lot of times at some point’s going to still end up here. Sure, there was an exodus of a bunch of “podcast comedians” during the pandemic, but it allowed the scene to grow in a way that it hasn't seen in a long time. You know, there's a lot of younger people like Ray [Lau] now coming up and showing that this is a fantastic scene and it can hang with any other scene. 

We still have legendary clubs like The Laugh Factory. We still have legendary clubs like The Hollywood Improv. We still have the, in my opinion, greatest comedy club in the f--king world, The Comedy Store. They're still here, and we got other places popping up.

This is a great place to come [for] finishing — it's almost like you're searing steak. It's almost done, you put it in the oven for the last hour. That last hour, that heat that this place has is L.A. And that's how you can become great. It cuts the fat off the bulls--t of your act and it makes it great.

I'm proud to be from this scene. I will not leave the scene 'cause guess what? It's still f--king L.A. The ocean's right there. I look at the Hollywood sign, it’s beautiful. The weather's beautiful. The women are beautiful. The weed is wonderful. The comedy's awesome. This place f--king rocks and everywhere else is great, too, but I've been to those other cities and their weather sure f--king sucks sometimes. But I'm looking out right now and it's a blue sky, again. 

Ray Lau

Ray Lau in "Funny AF with Kevin Hart" on Netflix.

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Ser Baffo/Netflix

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Ray Lau, the son of immigrant parents from Hong Kong (who are featured briefly in the Netflix AF series when Lau calls them after each successful round) is originally from Seattle, but now based in L.A.

Lau has been doing stand-up for less time than Furey and Folkes but got glowing reviews from the Funny AF judges, too, with his fellow comics also praising him for his ability to get his material seen on social media and translate those views into ticket sales.

“It’s totally a grind,” Lau told LAist. “But at the same time, to be honest, I prefer it. Because I'm not really sure I would've cracked through in the old world where bookers and gatekeepers could decide whether or not you could move through the ranks.  And in this way, at least all of it is technically up to you. I mean, it's extremely exhausting and stressful and difficult and nearly impossible, but it is up to you.”

As for what Lau makes of the stand-up scene in L.A.:

Ray Lau: L.A. gets a lot of s--- talked [about it]. And in New York, there's a lot of good comics and there's a lot of stage time there, and that's good. I just like where I'm at. You know, sometimes the grass isn't greener. I like my life here … I like working on my standup. I like my friends here. I've gotten to know the bookers and other comics and it's just nice. 

Yeah, you might not be able to get up here as much as other cities, but the talent here is really, really good. Sometimes you're on shows and you're getting s---- on by these incredible comics and you're still feeling inspired all the time. There's still other people who are role models here that you can try to chase after, and there's still a lot to improve here.

Also I think all of us have a little bit of aspiration — we'd be down to be in movies or a TV show. That'd be kind of cool too, at some point — and it's just happening in L.A. I love it here.

Felicia Folkes

Felicia Folkes in "Funny AF" on Netflix.

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Ser Baffo/Netflix

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Felicia Folkes hails from Inglewood and has been doing stand-up comedy for about 12 years. In addition to the industry-wide disruption that the COVID pandemic caused, Folkes also spent about a year-and-a-half away from the stage while she underwent treatment for breast cancer.

Now, it’s something that she incorporates into her act. Folkes told LAist, “ I'm grateful to the gods and the energies that I have this creative outlet, honestly. Because I see a lot of people go through this and they don't have a way to express themselves about it. I don't take that lightly.”

As for why she’s stayed in L.A., apart from her family being here, Folkes said:

Felicia Folkes: I love comedy and [L.A.] has a great history. I can get up [on stages] here.  I know people complain a lot [about not being able to get stage time], but I think that's a skill issue. I've never had a problem getting up in my city. I don’t know what to tell these people.  I started doing open mics at Westside Comedy Theater, which is a smaller club. And so if you know where to go and if you know where to do — [I think people] wanna go to Hollywood and go on the main stage immediately at The Comedy Store. And it's like, ‘No.’ Like Ray [Lau] just sold out the main room at The Comedy Store — How many years have you been doing it? It took you a long f--king time to get there.

But people wanna come to the city and just get all the access. And it's like, I've been doing it for 12-plus years. It takes years and years to build these things. And for me, I'm from here. I've been doing comedy here since I was under age, like 17. I've been around, so I feel like I put time in the city. This is my city. And honestly I think they're kind of just jealous, all the other cities.  I think they're haters.