Gen Z comedians from the South Asian diaspora are having their time in the spotlight, thanks to those who broke barriers before them. 

Gen Z comedians from the South Asian diaspora are having their time in the spotlight, thanks to those who broke barriers before them. Starting as niche creators on YouTube, now-mainstream comedians such as ​​Lilly and Jasmeet Singh created relatable content specifically about the South Asian experience, becoming “like older siblings to a generation of kids with identity crises”—and laying a path for South Asian Gen Z to break into the scene. While ten years ago, finding South Asian voices in America’s comedy scene was practically unheard of, in 2022, the community is going strong, thanks in large part to social media. Abby Govindan, 25, is a comedian who gained fame on Twitter, for instance, while Jeremy Franco, 25, is a viral comedian who became TikTok famous. But these young comedians are also changing the face of South Asian comedy: while the OG YouTubers made their mark by imitating their traditional parents and families, the new generation is expanding their subject matter to make the focus less about being South Asian and more about being comedians. (NBC News)