A roast is a form of comedy, originating in American humor, in which a specific individual, a guest of honor, is subjected to jokes at their expense, intended to amuse the event's wider audience. Such events are intended to honor a specific individual in a unique way. In addition to jokes and insult comedy, such events may also involve genuine praise and tributes. The assumption is that the roastee can take the jokes in good humor and not as serious criticism or insult. The individual is surrounded by friends, fans, and well-wishers, who can receive some of the same treatment during the evening. The party and presentation itself are both referred to as a roast. The host of the event is called the roastmaster, since it rhymes with and plays on toastmaster. Anyone mocked in such a way is said to have been roasted.
Nicholas Rocco Di Paolo is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, radio personality and podcast host. He is the host of The Nick Di Paolo Show podcast, and is best known for his appearances as a regular on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, the Comedy Central Roasts, Opie and Anthony, and The Howard Stern Show, as well as recurring roles on Louie and Horace and Pete.
Gregory Carlos Giraldo was an American stand-up comedian, television personality, and lawyer. He is remembered for his appearances on Comedy Central's televised roast specials, and for his work on that network's television shows Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, and the programming block Stand-Up Nation, the last of which he hosted.
Jeffrey Ross Lifschultz is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known as the "Roastmaster General" for his insult comedy, his multiple appearances at celebrity roasts held by the New York Friars Club, the Comedy Central Roast television series, and the Netflix historical comedy series Historical Roasts. In 2009 the Chicago Tribune called Ross "the new millennium Don Rickles." His directorial debut, the 2006 documentary Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie, won the prize for Best Film at the Comedia film festival held at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal.
Comedy Central Roast is a series of celebrity roast specials that air on the American television channel Comedy Central. The first official Comedy Central Roast premiered on August 10, 2003. On average one or two roasts air every year. There are eight to ten people invited who roast each other before finally roasting the title subject of each show. As of 2019, seventeen roasts have aired. Targets of roasts have included musicians, actors and comedians. Since 2010, Comedy Central affiliates outside the United States have occasionally produced their own roasts; twelve such roasts have aired so far, in five countries.
Anthony Jeselnik is an American comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is known for his dark comedy style, which emphasizes ironic misdirection, non sequiturs, biting insults, an arrogant demeanor, and a stage persona that frequently takes amoral or psychopathic stances.
Orbit Showtime Network commonly known as OSN, is a Dubai-based satellite TV company serving the Middle East and North Africa region. OSN mainly broadcasts programming from TV networks owned by Paramount Global, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, DreamWorks and the BBC; as well as regional, mostly Arabic, Turkish and Pinoy content.
Chinese comedy has a long history that dates back to the Zhou Dynasty when the aristocracy kept jesters in their homes. At that time people in higher society were profoundly influenced by the teachings of Confucius, and as a result comic shows were usually looked down upon in feudal China. During the late Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) and Republic of China period, different styles of comedy flourished in big cities and the genre of xiangsheng comic drama began to emerge. Since the 1980s, the rapid development of media throughout the country has led to the formation of new forms of comedy, which have become popular among the general population. Today, the most consumed genres of Chinese comedy are Chinese skit and Xiangsheng.
The Burn with Jeff Ross is a comedy panel show hosted by comedian Jeff Ross that aired on Comedy Central. The show debuted on August 14, 2012, and was executive produced by Ross himself. The program featured Ross roasting a wide variety of targets, along with guest appearances by fellow comedians who make up a panel of roasters. The show was renewed for a second season by Comedy Central, which premiered January 8, 2013.
Nikki Glaser is an American stand-up comedian, actress, podcaster, radio host, and television host. She was the host of the television series Not Safe with Nikki Glaser, which premiered on Comedy Central and Much on February 9, 2016. She is the star of the 2022 reality show Welcome Home Nikki Glaser? on E!. She hosted the Reality TV dating shows Blind Date (2019) on Bravo and FBoy Island (2021-) on HBO Max & The CW and its spinoff Lovers and Liars on The CW.
Jesse Joyce is an American stand-up comedian, Emmy Nominated and WGA Award winning writer. Joyce has made many television appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live, Comedy Central's @midnight with Chris Hardwick, Comedy Underground with Dave Attell, Live At Gotham, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Last Call with Carson Daly, AXS's Gotham Comedy Live, Comedy.TV, AMC's Date Night, Comedy Central's Roast Battle, Seeso's The Guest List and was a regular guest on History Channel's I Love The 1880s and VH1’s Big Morning Buzz Live with Carrie Keagan. He was a recurring guest on Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld and was a semi-finalist on the 2010 season of Last Comic Standing. In addition he has written for numerous television specials and award shows, most notably the 85th Academy Awards, 90th Academy Awards, and 95th Academy Awards, the 72nd Emmy Awards, the 71st Tony Awards and the Comedy Central Roasts.
Comedy Central is a Spanish pay television channel owned by Paramount Global under its Paramount Networks EMEAA division.
Dane Baptiste is a British stand-up comedian, writer and presenter. He was the first Black British act to be nominated for the "Best Newcomer" award at 2014's Edinburgh Comedy Awards and his comedy series Sunny D premiered on BBC Three in Spring 2016. He has made numerous TV and radio appearances, and hosts his own podcast Dane Baptiste Questions Everything. In January 2021, Baptiste's comedy pilot Bamous launched on BBC Three / BBC One. In 2024, Baptiste was dropped by his agents after he posted a death threat on social media which was condemned for being antisemitic and misogynist.
Tony Hinchcliffe is an American comedian who hosts the live comedy podcast Kill Tony, which is a showcase of professional and amateur comedians who take turns doing one-minute sets. Hinchcliffe is known primarily for his roast comedy. His one-hour stand-up special One Shot premiered on Netflix in 2016. He has been on the writing staff of the Comedy Central Roast series. He also appeared as a roaster on the All Def Digital Roast of Snoop Dogg in 2016 and the Roast of Tom Brady in 2024.
Philip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi is a British-Malaysian stand-up comedian and comedy writer who is a member of the sketch comedy group Daphne, and co-creator of their BBC Radio 4 series, Daphne Sounds Expensive. He currently hosts the comedy podcast ‘BudPod’ with fellow comedian and Footlights alumnus Pierre Novellie.
Joseph Albert List is an American comedian and actor.
Larry Dean is a Scottish stand-up comedian. His comedy routines have earned him several awards including Scottish Comedian of the Year.
Saturday Night Live Arabic, commonly known as SNL Arabia, is an Egyptian late-night sketch comedy and variety television program broadcast on OSN Ya Hala HD. It is the Arab world's edition of the long-running American TV show Saturday Night Live on NBC. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast as with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, "from Cairo, it's Saturday Night Live in Arabic", properly beginning the show.
Roast Battle is a British roast comedy show that is broadcast on Comedy Central. The show is hosted by Jimmy Carr and features comedians facing each other in roast battles.
Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle is an American roast comedy competition television series that was broadcast on Comedy Central from July 27, 2016 to August 28, 2018.
