Will Franken
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Will Franken (born June 30, 1973 in Sedalia, Missouri) is an American character comedian and satirist whose work has been highly acclaimed in both the USA and Europe.
Franken was born in Sedalia, Missouri. He has a degree in literature from Southwest Missouri State University. Franken was credited with uncovering some illuminating literary discrepancies between two extant copies of David Garrick's one act farce, Miss in Her Teens The spotlight which this discovery shone on the role of political censorship from the Lord Chamberlain's office in the 18th century, proved of such interest to those in the field that Franken's article about it was published in the Huntington Library Quarterly.[1] He started performing comedy in the 2000s in San Francisco,[2] before moving to London in 2013.
In 2015, Franken lived as a woman, "Sarah", for seven months. To this day, many of his followers are still unsure whether this was a sincere pursuit or part of a satirical comedy. .[3][4]
In 2016 he created the "Defining the Norm" awards at the Edinburgh Fringe, for "safety, sameness and sycophancy".[5]
In 2020 Franken collaborated with English writer Alisha J. Prince on an unabridged, 13-hour audio production of Paradise Lost.
In October of 2020, Franken launched a complaint against Folkestone and Hythe’s anti-nature gentrification of the area by saving a large tree condemned to be destroyed. Franken’s argument was upheld and the tree still stands.
In April 2024 Franken had an article published in The Philosopher journal.[6]
In April 2025, Franken was shortlisted for The Observer/Anthony Burgess Prize in Arts Journalism, for his scathing review of Richard Gadd's Netflix series Baby Reindeer.[7]