1. John Oliver

Points: 1083

Ballots: 13

Highest Vote: 1^st (Russel & Krissy)

HANNAH: I haven’t been on FaceBook in the last 6 months without seeing that someone has posted a Last Week Tonight clip. John Oliver took the Colbert-Stewart conventions and somehow made them new again? Don’t ask me how…I literally have no idea. But he did. So kudos.

John Oliver has had a fabulous year and I think we’re gonna see his popularity rise even more when lost Colbert fans look to fill the void that the end of his show will leave. I’ll be honest I was a little hesitant at first but J.O. won me over this year with his Real pets, fake paws Senate segment and footage that he posted to Youtube. It kills me.

“What can I say about John Oliver that Rolling Stone already hasn't? 

 Wait... what? Yes, the Fake News that Oliver learned at the desk of Jon Stewart and the Daily Show has taken him so far in his first season at HBO, it's put him on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. Don't worry he's made fun of it in the wonderful long form podcast that he does with his best mate across the pond, called The Bugle, but over the summer John Oliver also made fun of the Supreme Court, Food labels, FIFA, and net neutrality, to name just a few. 

 On HBO's Last Week Tonight, John Oliver has taken the familiar format created by the Daily Show and perfected by the Colbert Report and reformed it for the Internet. Making use of HBO's lack of commercials (and therefore commercial sponsors), lax on language, and free reign on its allotted time, he has created the most watched show that so few people have likely watched a full episode of. 

 With the next day delivery of Oliver's long form segments in HD, Last Week Tonight has taken 15 to 20 minutes monologues (more or less) that tackle hard subjects and made them viral videos. Keep up the good word.”

Ladies and gentlemen, our first Trivia Club Comedy 100 has come to an end! It's been a celebrating the best and the funniest. Again, share and talk alike about the entire list! You can talk about it here on the blog, or on our Facebook page and Twitter, as well!

TCC100 #2 - Chris Pratt
TCC100 #3 - Amy Poehler
TCC100 #4 - Louis C.K.
TCC100 #5 - Aziz Ansari
TCC100 #6 to #10
TCC100 #11 to #25
TCC100 #26 to #50
TCC100 #51 to #75
TCC100 #76 to #100

Russel Harder hosts Trivia Club at Cardinal Rule (5 Roncesvalles Ave) every WEDNESDAY, at Hitch (1216 Queen St East) every other MONDAY of the month, and Lou Dawg's near Ryerson (76 Gerrard St E) every TUESDAY!

2. Chris Pratt

Points: 1005

Ballots: 13

Highest Vote: 4^th (Sam)

ROB: Even more so than his scripted and edited performances, it’s his raw charm and persona in live appearances that have made him the runaway star of 2014.

SARAH: Over the last year Chris Pratt has been turning on the charm like a fire hose. While I think Guardians of the Galaxy is a little overrated, his charisma as a leading man is undeniable. Great comedic instincts and responsible for some of the best improvisation on  Parks and Rec.

SAM: Pratt was on fire this year! He's always been solidly funny as Andy Dwyer and Parks and Rec, but now he's permanently in the pop culture pantheon as Star-Lord in the biggest-grossing movie of the year. Pratt is definitely solidly funny in the movie - check out his dance moves when trying to distract the big bad from blowing up a planet!

And the opening sequence alone (in which he dances to Redbone) immediately establishes the movie as a crowd-pleasing comedy. Pratt sold the movie almost single-handedly on his charm and breeziness, which is immense.

JOHNNY: He lost the weight and remained funny!

No one ever pulls that off! Ask Seth Rogen, ask Jonah Hill, ask Drew Carey -- the list goes on. Regardless, Pratt crossed (the galaxy) into the mainstream consciousness as Starlord (c'mon you don't know Starlord?), leading man in the funniest (and arguably best) super hero flick yet. While those watching Pratt quietly work his way into hearts on Parks & Recreation know this already, Pratt is the perfect everyman: He's flawed, honest, goofy, and charming.

He is part of a great trend in funny right now where the people succeeding the most is the most real; the funniest friend you (wish you'd) have. Pratt, Louis CK, Fallon, are all near or at the top of their game and still somehow manage to feel like you could hang out with them and have it not be weird. At all.


Speaking of the top of their game. The very top of the Trivia Club Comedy 100 is only THREE DAYS away! So enjoy that Pratt Pratt Pratt, in all his gif'd glory before we return in short order to celebrate this wild project that is the #TCC100, as a whole!

3. Amy Poehler

Points: 924

Ballots: 11

Highest Vote: 3^rd (Megan)

BRIAN: Leslie Knope is one of the all-time greatest characters in television and it's no small part due to Amy Poehler. This year, aside from her amazing work in "Parks & Recreation", Amy also released her first book "Yes Please" and continues to work to inspire young girls with projects like the "Smart Girls At the Party" website. Amy is just effortlessly charming. Meeting her at a book signing earlier this year, re-enforces that you can't not love and respect her the second you hear that fantastic laugh and see her speak so eloquently about women in comedy.

Amy freestyle raps about Butter in one of the funniest things. Period. 

It's perfect.

RUSSEL: Amy Poehler is magic, in the last couple of years especially she’s grown into a powerhouse of the comedy world that has even eclipsed her former running mate at the Update Desk, and Golden Globes co-host Tina Fey.

But this isn’t a competition, so what am I saying? It’s just this kind of girl on girl business that Poehler would shake her head at. With her website “Smart Girls At the Party”, her inspiring and insightful book “Yes Please”, and support of such amazing female comedians as the Broad City duo, Poehler’s impact raises everyone around her up, as opposed to keep them down.

If not for breakout years by the TCC100 top two, Poehler would be number one and that would be a fitting end to a continuing great year for Amy Poehler in which Parks & Recreation came to an end while spotlighting the power of positivity.


Patron Saint of waffles, and the danger of making an effort! Speaking of which, our top two are not only a couple of funny guys that have a staggering number of things not in common, but they ALSO had likely the biggest years bar none for a number of different reason! Our TOP TWO, blew-up in 2014! And with that in your minds, we'll see you in THREE DAYS for the celebration of number two!

I'm not even going to bother introducing number four on the #TCC100, because you're no doubt already working on your best argument against this list and will therefore justifiably be skipping the intro to better manage your rage-mail.

4. Louis C.K.

Points: 898

Ballots: 10

Highest Vote: 1^st (Johnny, Leah, Kevin)

PATRICK: Earlier this year Louis C.K. was named GQ's Funniest Person Alive. The pop culture intelligentsia of Trivia Club, on the other hand, stopped short of bestowing Mr. C.K. with the same honour when it came to ranking the funniest entertainers of the past year. Nevertheless, this prolific stand up entertainer turned sitcom star turned internationally renowned comedic powerhouse has made 2014 a year to remember in the world of comedy.

RUSSEL: This has to be the most controversial result on the TCC100. Not because it’s fourth out of 100, Mark Forward would no doubt do some pretty outrageous things to get into the top five of the TCC100 (and yes, just specifically Mark Forward) no, the controvery is that LOUIS C.K. is fourth. No one got more first place votes this year then Louis C.K., and even I ranked him fourth, but I do under stand why he isn’t first.

Popular opinion has put C.K. as the funniest person alive since at LEAST 2010, because since he’s started releasing comedy specials at a yearly rate he’s been on a tear! An hour annually that has blown away the competition. Something shifted in 2014 though. And since this is a list to celebrate those in the comedy world who perform at the funniest of their capacity, let’s not dwell on the negative angle. If this was ANYONE else, I wouldn’t even be talking about it still, but it’s the elephant in the room. Or the Louis C.K. not even in the top three of the Comedy 100.

Yes, Louis has been unseated as the Funniest Person Alive. But that’s not to say that he hasn’t been exceptionally funny, he’s just mixed a much more personal and at times uncomfortable or tragic edge to his otherwise aggressively on point perspective. Oh My God blew us all away, in early 2013, and then Louis took something of a sabbatical, before returning with a season of Louie that was in turns both revelatory for C.K.’s narrative choices as a filmmaker and controversial for his choices as a storyteller. Which is all well and good, but not as traditionally HAHA as he was in years past. It’s complicated. This year he worked with Woody Allen along side Oscar nominees, was the literal butt of Bradley Cooper’s jokes in yet another Oscar nominated film, and lost his hold on the top of the comedy mountain. Can’t have everything.

LEAH: Is there anything more to say about C.K. than he is the closest our generation is ever going to get as far as a philosopher? I don’t think so… but i will elaborate anyway.  His comic genius lies in the way he honestly depicts the awkwardness and painful moments in life that we have all experienced.  The root of so many of our insecurities, that we don’t want to acknowledge or admit to, he has never been afraid to turn a spotlight on it and explore those dark places with genuine thought and comedy.

Russel Harder hosts Trivia Club at Cardinal Rule (5 Roncesvalles Ave) every WEDNESDAY, at Hitch (1216 Queen St East) every other MONDAY of the month, and Lou Dawg's near Ryerson (76 Gerrard St E) every TUESDAY!