Says Montreal's Just For Laughs

Aziz Ansari has been named ‘comedy person of the year’ by Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival.

The former Parks and Recreation star has been praised for his Netflix series Master Of None and last year became one of the few comedians ever to sell out Madison Square Garden in New York. He has also recently released his first book, Modern Romance.

Maria Bamford was named ‘breakout star of the year’ by the festival for her critically acclaimed Netflix series Lady Dynamite, in which she plays a fictionalised version of herself.

Mike Judge and Alec Berg were named comedy writers of the year for Silicon Valley. Judge previously created King Of The Hill, while Alec Berg worked on Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The duo start production soon on the fourth season of Silicon Valley. 

Finally, Sebastian Maniscalco, who performed 11 sold-out shows at last year’s festival, was named stand-up comedian of the year. 

All five will receive their awards at a ceremony on Friday July 29 at the Just For Laughs Festival. The event starts tomorrow, with predominantly French programming until next week.

Published: 12 Jul 2016