Emil Wakim: Bio, Comedy Style, and Where to Watch

Who is Emil Wakim?

Emil Pierre Wakim was born on March 11, 1998, in Chicago, Illinois, of Lebanese descent. He identifies as an Arab Christian. He attended Hinsdale South High School and studied at Indiana University Bloomington, where he began performing stand-up comedy. He is now based in Brooklyn, New York.

He was selected as a New Face of Comedy at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He made his late-night television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2022. His stand-up has been featured on Don’t Tell Comedy and Comedy Central’s Stand-Up Featuring. He has opened for Roy Wood Jr., Kyle Kinane, Nikki Glaser, Hasan Minhaj, and Neal Brennan — and was a regular tour opener for Nikki Glaser. In September 2024, he was announced as one of three new Featured Players on Saturday Night Live for its milestone 50th season, becoming the first cast member of Lebanese heritage in the show’s history. He performed at Just for Laughs Montreal in July 2025. In August 2025 he announced he would not be returning to SNL for Season 51, describing the call as “a gut punch.” He returned to touring stand-up and performed at the New York Comedy Festival in November 2025. He is currently a writer on the upcoming animated series Mating Season, from the team behind Big Money. He also wrote on CBS’s After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson. He performs regularly at the Comedy Cellar.

Emil Wakim’s Comedy Style

Wakim is warm, self-deprecating, and socially conscious — his foreign parents’ description of his comedy as “we don’t get it” is both the premise and the punchline. His material draws on his Lebanese-American identity, his faith, and the specific experience of growing up Arab-Christian in the American Midwest. The SNL casting as the show’s first Lebanese-American cast member reflects both his talent and the cultural specificity of his perspective.

Where to Find Emil Wakim

Find tour dates and follow on Instagram @emilwakim.

Emil Wakim has performed at the Comedy Cellar in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Check the current lineup and upcoming shows at comedycellar.com.

Catch Comedy Cellar shows live from New York on Mint Comedy at watch.mintcomedy.com.