Marina Franklin: Bio, Comedy Style, and Where to Watch

Who is Marina Franklin?

Marina Franklin was born in Chicago, earned a master’s degree in theater from Syracuse University, moved to New York City in 1997, and committed to stand-up full-time by 1999. Her first paid gig came as a last-minute opener for Tracy Morgan while she was still working shifts as a server. She took an introductory class at Gotham Comedy Club, which the open-mic comics teased her about mercilessly. She kept going anyway.

She broke through nationally with an appearance on Chappelle’s Show in 2004. Her career has since spanned television, film, writing, and podcasting. Film credits include Trainwreck (2015), 5 Pounds of Pressure (2024), and The Last O.G. She was a staff writer on HBO’s Divorce (2016) and in 2025 served as a staff writer on the Paramount+ series Crutch, starring Tracy Morgan. She was featured in the Hulu documentary Hysterical about women in stand-up. She has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, and Conan, and toured with Conan O’Brien for his Comic-Con shows. Her stand-up special Single Black Female is available on streaming. She has performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Glasgow Comedy Festival, Just For Laughs Montreal, Bonnaroo, and Kilkenny Comedy Festival. She hosts the podcast Friends Like Us, which features women comedians of color and their takes on current events. She has been a Comedy Cellar regular for years — one interview describes a journalist first meeting her while working as a waitress at the Cellar while Franklin was performing.

Marina Franklin’s Comedy Style

Franklin’s comedy is self-investigating and honest — her own description. It comes from difficult personal experiences, she has said, but the stage transforms them into something cathartic. Her material covers relationships, race, identity, and the particular experience of being a Black woman in an industry that has historically not made space for her. The master’s in theater is audible: her material is crafted with a dramatist’s attention to structure, even when the content is personal and raw.

Where to Find Marina Franklin

Find tour dates and the Friends Like Us podcast at marinafranklin.com. Follow her on Instagram @marinayfranklin.

Marina Franklin 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.