Josh Johnson (comedian)

Johnson is from Alexandria, Louisiana. His mother was a special education teacher before having neurosurgery. After her surgery, she worked as a librarian at the same library Johnson visited after school.^[2] His father worked as a teacher. His parents are separated. He studied design^[3] and received a degree in lighting design for theater from Centenary College in 2012.^[4] While in college, he performed at open mic nights, inspired by Christopher Titus.^[3] He lived in Chicago before moving to New York City.

Johnson made his late-night debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he was also a writer and performer.^[4] Since 2017, he has been a writer for The Daily Show,^[4] where he made his debut as an on-air correspondent in 2024. His first half-hour special was released on Comedy Central in 2017.^[5] His comedic story "Catfishing the KKK" has been viewed more than 13 million times on YouTube.^[6]

In 2018, he appeared on the Netflix stand-up comedy series The Comedy Lineup.^[7] At the New York Comedy Festival that year, he was named New York's Funniest Stand Up.^[8] Beginning in 2019, Johnson toured with Trevor Noah on the Loud & Clear tour.^[9][4]

Johnson's first hour-long stand-up special was # (Hashtag).^[10] It was released in June 2021 on Comedy Central to a positive reception, including being named one of the best comedy specials of 2021 by Vulture.^[11][12] Variety named him one of 10 Comics to Watch.^[3] Also that year, he took bits from his stand-up and interspersed music compositions in a 33-track mixtape album called Elusive, which he worked on with Mike Relm.^[13][14] His second special, Up Here Killing Myself, was released in February 2023 on Peacock.^[11]

Johnson voices Harry Buns on the Disney Channel series Kiff, which premiered in March 2023, his first acting role in a major scripted TV series.^[15]

Since 2023,^[16] Johnson has uploaded routines from his open mics and performances at the Comedy Cellar and his running tours every week on his personal YouTube channel.^[17] Critics have praised Johnson's videos for their remarkable frequency, thematic consistency, and depth.^[18][19] Starting July 22, 2025, Johnson was added to The Daily Show's rotation of hosts, alongside Jon Stewart, Desi Lydic, Michael Kosta, Ronny Chieng, and Jordan Klepper.^[20]

In January 2025, Johnson embarked on a North American stand-up comedy show tour, Flowers, starting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.^[21] The sold-out tour^[22] continued into 2026, when his Josh Johnson's Comedy Band Camp tour was announced, with European destinations included.^[23]

He was announced as the host for the 30th Annual Webby Awards to air in May 2026.^[22]