Kate Berlant

Kate Elizabeth Méndez Berlant (born July 16, 1987) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. She is known for her surrealist and absurdist style.

Early life

Kate Elizabeth Méndez Berlant was born in Los Angeles on July 16, 1987, the daughter of performer Helen (née Méndez) and artist Tony Berlant. She is of Spanish descent on her mother's side, while her father has Israeli-Jewish and Russian-Jewish ancestry. She received a Bachelor of Arts and then a Master of Arts in performance studies from New York University.

Career

Berlant first appeared on television in a 2002 episode of ''Lizzie McGuire''. She has since had roles in various comedy series, as well as films including '' Sorry to Bother You'' (2018), ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' (2019), and ''Don't Worry Darling'' (2022). She has performed stand-up on ''The Tonight Show'' and '' The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail'', and starred in two episodes of the Netflix sketch comedy series '' The Characters'' in 2016. She has performed regularly at the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival. She has also performed at (and collaborated with) arts institutions including MoMA PS1, White Columns, the Getty Center, and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. She won the American version of '' Taskmaster'' in 2018. She and John Early created the Vimeo original series ''555'', which was produced by Abso Lutely Productions.

In June 2022, Berlant and Early released the one-hour sketch comedy special ''Would It Kill You to Laugh?'' on Peacock. It was directed by Andrew DeYoung and co-starred Berlant and Early, who play fictionalized versions of themselves in the future who had previously been on the sitcom ''He's Gay, She's Half-Jewish'' and are reunited by Meredith Vieira after a bitter falling out. They use the framing device of the reunion to display short skits with absurdist characters that they liked and built upon over a decade of creating and filming short comedy videos, and structured the special around shorter, digestable segments that would be consistent with the popularity of short-form video, but aimed to use comedy that would be timeless. Some of the sketches had been planned for years, but were not filmed until Berlant and Early secured the budget for them. ''Would It Kill You to Laugh?'' was backed by both Peacock and A24.

''Paste'' positively compared ''Would It Kill You to Laugh?'' to Bo Burnham's special ''Inside'' for the way that both use identity in comedy to cause audience reflection, and praised its "no-holds-barred surrealism". ''Vulture'' praised the work as a "thoughtful and striking about partnerships and, in particular, about male–female relationships" and considered it "darker and more alarming" than Berlant and Early's previous collaborations. ''Decider'' recommended that audiences view it for the pair's ability to mine the "rich comedic tradition for overconfident characters who find themselves in way over their heads but cannot seem to get themselves out of the situation without making things worse". The special was nominated for Best Comedy Special at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards.

''Cinnamon in the Wind'', Berlant's largely improvised''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', September 15, 2022 debut stand-up special, was recorded in March 2019 at the Upright Citizens Brigade for FX. It was directed by Burnham, who first suggested that Berlant film a special after going to see one of her performances. For reasons that were never explained, the special remained unreleased for over three years until debuting on Hulu in September 2022, coincidentally while Berlant's next one-woman show ''Kate'' (also directed by Burnham) was still running in New York City. A ''Decider'' review praised ''Cinnamon in the Wind'' and pointed out the meta-textual element of the comedy. ''The New Yorker'' similarly praised Berlant's comedy for "breaking down the typical relationship between performer, ego, and audience". ''Kate'' finished its run at the Pasadena Playhouse on February 11, 2024, with a filmed special of the same name expected to be released in the future.

In November 2020, Berlant and fellow comedian Jacqueline Novak launched ''Poog'', a comedic wellness podcast under iHeartRadio's Big Money Players network. The show satirized the wellness industry as the duo explored "various products and practices, consulting experts and questioning their own pursuits of health and happiness". ''Poog'' amassed a cult following and aired more than 200 episodes before concluding on October 15, 2024, with a final episode titled ''Goodbye Poog'', marking the end of their contract with iHeartRadio. Subsequently, on October 22, 2024, Berlant and Novak debuted a new independently produced and self-titled podcast, ''Berlant & Novak''. This venture continues their comedic exploration of wellness themes, offering subscribers access to video episodes and bonus content.

Personal life

Berlant lives in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. She is in a relationship with MUNA band member Naomi McPherson.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlant, Kate
1987 births
Living people
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American women writers
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American LGBTQ people
Actresses from Los Angeles
American film actresses
American people of Spanish descent
American sketch comedians
American stand-up comedians
American television actresses
American voice actresses
American women comedians
American lesbian actresses
American lesbian writers
American LGBTQ comedians
Comedians from Los Angeles
Jewish American actresses
Jewish American artists
Jewish American comedians
Jewish women comedians
Lesbian comedians
Lesbian Jews
Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from California
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers
American people of Israeli descent
American people of Russian-Jewish descent