Joe List has spent twenty years building one of the most consistent resumes in stand-up comedy. Now he’s doing something almost no one at the Cellar has ever done — directing a feature film. Tom Dustin: Portrait of a Comedian opens in LA and NYC on April 25, 2026, with a nationwide expansion on May 9. For a comedian whose entire career has been defined by understated precision, the move behind the camera feels less like a departure and more like an inevitability.
Tom Dustin: The Directorial Debut
The film is a mockumentary-style comedy about a delusional comedian who believes he’s on the verge of greatness despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. If that sounds like List channeling every open-mic’er he’s ever shared a green room with, it probably is. List has been watching the comedy ecosystem up close for two decades — performing alongside the best in the world at the Cellar while also witnessing the delusion that keeps less talented comedians going. Tom Dustin is that observation turned into a feature.
Small Ball: The Fourth Special
Two weeks after the film opens, List drops his fourth stand-up special Small Ball with a one-night-only theatrical screening on May 21, 2026. The double release — a film and a special within a month — is the kind of creative burst that happens when a comedian has been stockpiling material and ideas for years and finally decides to let it all out at once.
List’s stand-up has always been about anxiety rendered hilarious. His stage persona — slightly nervous, deeply self-aware, relentlessly honest — makes audiences feel like they’re watching someone process their own neuroses in real time. Small Ball is expected to continue that tradition with tighter writing and bigger stakes, coming from a comedian who now has the confidence of a film director on his resume.
The Cellar Foundation
List is a Comedy Cellar fixture. He co-hosts the podcast Tuesdays with Stories with Mark Normand — another Cellar regular having a massive 2026 — and the two represent a generation of comedians who built their careers on joke quality over social media virality. The Cellar gave List the reps, and now the reps are paying off in two different mediums simultaneously.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Joe List’s new movie?
Tom Dustin: Portrait of a Comedian is Joe List’s feature directorial debut. It opens in LA and NYC on April 25, 2026, expanding nationwide May 9.
What is Joe List’s new special?
Small Ball is Joe List’s fourth stand-up special, with a one-night theatrical screening on May 21, 2026.
What podcast does Joe List host?
Joe List co-hosts Tuesdays with Stories with fellow Comedy Cellar regular Mark Normand.
Is Joe List a Comedy Cellar regular?
Yes. Joe List is a longtime Comedy Cellar regular and one of the most respected stand-up comedians in the New York comedy scene.
