Comedian Ian Edwards To Donate Proceeds From ‘Untitled’ Special To 2025 Wildfire Victims: “L.A. Has Given Me So Much”
- Leslie
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Client: Ian Edwards – Comedian
Comedian Ian Edwards is about as funny as it gets — and that’s no accident.
Fully applying himself to the craft since the ’90s, he’s also steadily worked as a writer and producer in television comedy over all of those decades. (He’s currently at work on Netflix’s hit series Survival of the Thickest, with additional credits including The Carmichael Show, Crashing, Friends from College, and The Last O.G.) Edwards has taken each of these experiences as an opportunity to add to his “repertoire of funny” — picking up lessons wherever he goes. Comedy is his “first woman,” he jokes,” and his goal is “to be proficient in the MMA of comedy, all styles of comedy.”
Born in England and raised between Jamaica and the U.S., Edwards shows his chops early in his new self-released special, Untitled, as he takes on gender reveal parties. It’s a well-worn topic, of course. But he attacks it with a barrage of jokes — what feels like a dozen tags underlining the absurdity of these events that you can’t believe you haven’t thought of before. He then goes on to kill with jokes about everything from Black albinos to the cultural appropriation of The Handmaid’s Tale.
If Edwards garnered industry attention very quickly, given his sharp observational skills and singular dry deadpan, leading to consistent film and TV work, he acknowledges that it’s been an effort to be taken as seriously as a stand-up as he is as a writer. Still, until that day comes, he’ll be here plying his trade.
Edwards’ Untitled is directed by Jason Katz and produced by 2 Buffoons and Paul Elia. Below, the comic discusses his process in breaking a new hour as someone whose day job keeps him in L.A., rather than constantly on the road. He also gets into his history with the Comedy Store, where he taped Untitled, his decision to donate proceeds from his special to the victims of L.A.’s devastating January wildfires, and more.
DEADLINE: Let’s start with the obvious question. Why Untitled?Because I couldn’t find a title that more than one person liked. Then, I had a raw cut of the footage one day and a friend of mine was over. Jason Katz, who edited it, sent it with the holding-place title, Untitled, and my friend saw it and just started laughing. He’s like, “I thought that was the title.” I said, “No, that’s just a placeholder.” And then as a comic, I was like, “Yes, I meant that. That’s the title.” So I just called it Untitled.
DEADLINE: What about the special are you proudest of?Doing it in La Jolla, it’s a great room at The Comedy Store, and to bury the material in a place that it deserves to be buried, in front of a great audience, it’s just good to give it a good resting place. And then also, the proceeds from the views and ad sales will go to help victims of the fire.
DEADLINE: That’s a very noble move. But tell me about how you came to think of doing that with the special.We did it last year in August, so I was going to release it earlier this year, and then the fires happened. And then it just really kind of brought me down for a little bit, just witnessing it all around me. I had to evacuate too because we had a scare. I evacuated to Palm Springs, which is hilarious because it’s such an L.A. evacuation point. While everything is burning out here, we’re looking at the mountains and palm trees, poolside. Some hotels out there gave L.A. people discounts, so people were pitching in and helping out, and then I wanted to do something. Because L.A. has been affected by not just the fires, but the writers’ strike. And I’m a writer too. And it’s been affected by Covid. It’s just taken a really big hit, and everything I have now is from living and working in L.A. I feel like L.A. has given me so much…so I just wanted to do something to help back.
DEADLINE: When did you begin developing the material in the new hour?Even before the pandemic, to be honest. I’ve been wanting to shoot this, but then I ended up writing on some other shows. It kind of got delayed. And then I was like, I’ve got to do this. I wasn’t getting a deal from any network or anything like that, so I was like, I’ll just put it on YouTube. And then the fires happened, that got delayed. But I was like, All right, let me just make this a charity thing.
DEADLINE: You have a long history with The Comedy Store, where you shot the special, having first taken to the stage there in the early 2000s. Tell me about the L.A. club now versus when you first walked through the doors. The place has been through a lot of highs and lows…When I first got in, it was a big down period, and then something happened. They got rid of the talent booker and then brought in Adam Eget, and he really turned it around. That’s when it was like the last heyday. But then the pandemic happened; a lot of people left town. So then now it’s kind of settled down. It’s not as big as before the pandemic, but it’s pretty good. So that’s where I’m at. I’ve been there when it was some desolate nights, you know what I mean?
DEADLINE: You’ve built an interesting career for yourself, as a comic who also works as a television writer. What’s your process in breaking a new hour while anchored in L.A. by your day job for long periods of time?I mean, I’m not married. I don’t have any kids. So when I come home in the evening, I can take a nap without the guilt of neglecting or ignoring anybody. And then after the nap, I can go do a spot at the club and then come home and get some sleep. So for a single person like me, it kind of works out in my favor. I don’t know if I’d be able to do that with a family. So I guess that’s the good part about it. I’m definitely married to comedy; she is my first woman right now.Then, I guess with the writing schedule, I worked today. We worked till 3, and then I come home, I do this [interview] with you, maybe do some errands. And then if I have a set tonight, an hour before the set, I’ll get to some place near there and work on the jokes and then try them. And I’ll record the set. And then on the way to the club for the set the next day, I’ll do the same thing.
DEADLINE: But you’re generally working in different places around L.A.?Different places. Like, I’ll be at the Laugh Factory, I’ll be at the Comedy Store, I’ll be at the Improv. And then there’s these offshoot rooms. These special shows, I’ll do those. Flappers, or somebody will have a show in a house, in a backyard, on the roof of some place. Somebody has a back deck. There’s a lot of holdover pandemic-style shows that are still really good.
DEADLINE: What purpose does a comedy special serve for you? Is it about helping to fuel ticket sales on the road, expanding your audience, or something else?I think it’s both of those things. It’s an opportunity to make a big push to get on all the podcasts, and for people who don’t know you to get to know you, and people who already like you, to re-like you and then get them excited about your new material and wanting to come see that and support you and follow you and go for a good, fun ride. It’s like a rolling stone, gathering moss downhill. You just want to keep rolling and picking up and growing and becoming bigger.
DEADLINE: As someone who has released a special through an outlet like Comedy Central before, what did you see as the opportunity in going straight to YouTube with this one?It’s about ownership. It’s good to have intellectual real estate that you could always sell or market. And then also, when I had the special on Comedy Central before, I would get DMs from people that said, “Where can I see it? I’m from Canada, I’m from Australia.” And I couldn’t figure out a way for them to watch Comedy Central from where they were. But then if you put it on YouTube, everybody can see it, and they can pass it around. And then more people will want to come to see you. You just have to promote it and advertise it.I never was big with the gatekeepers. Netflix never gave me a special; Comedy Central gave me one, but nobody else ever did, HBO or anything like that. So it’s like, I might as well. Maybe I’m just an independent guy. And I see a lot of independent comics doing really well, so I like that. I like being in control of your own destiny.
DEADLINE: What do you most like and dislike about comedy today?I enjoy all the things that I liked from day one. Having a new joke work is like sex without having sex: It’s one of the best feelings. For me, it’s good to have a job where you can have moments like that, that make you feel good all week.Then, my career is in my hands. I’m going to go as far as I push it, and I don’t have to get somebody’s approval to get myself out there. It’s all based on, was I good to people and am I funny? So I do like that aspect of it.The way [the industry] was before, I always liked it, but it didn’t always give me my flowers. So, like I said, I’m happy where it is now, and some people may like [my work], some people may not. But as long as I have a place where I can go try new material and build another 45 to 50 minutes, I’m happy.
DEADLINE: You’ve been writing on Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest for years now. What have you enjoyed about that?It’s a really good show. It’s in its third and final season. Over the years of being in that room, I’ve been with some really good writers, I’ve learned a lot, and I like to gather funny techniques. Like, “Oh, I never thought that you could do that to be funny.” Or, “I can add this to my repertoire of funny.” Because all I want to do is figure out a way to get funnier. When you’re around funny people, that happens.I want to be proficient in in the MMA of comedy, all styles of comedy. So it’s good being in a room with all these creative, funny-ass people, and learning from them and getting better. And also getting paid to write.
DEADLINE: What do you make of the situation for film and television writers now, post-strike?Just because of the strike and AI, and the streaming platforms, some of them not having the effect that they thought they were going to have, and some of them kind of failing and having to consolidate, there are less jobs now. When I started, early 2000s, there weren’t streamers. So there are still more jobs than when I first started writing. But there’s less than a few years ago. My only weapon is, just stay funny.
DEADLINE: What are your hopes for the next leg of your career?I feel like I have a bigger writing profile than I do a stand-up profile, and I’m trying to get my stand-up profile to the heights of my writing profile. I want to be able to sell out on the road and not go to some towns and be like, how come there’s only 20 people here? And then do the show and people are like, “Man, that was a great show. There should be more people here.” I’d love to go places and confidently sell out. I want the club to make some money; I want to make some money. And then I’ll give some of the money to charity. Make people laugh and help people out and just keep that vicious cycle of fun going. That’s really what I want to do.