Ryan Reiss: Bio, Comedy Style, and Where to Watch

Who is Ryan Reiss?

Ryan Reiss is a comedian, writer, and actor based in New York City who began his comedy career while attending NYU on a scholarship. He had previously studied at Nassau Community College, where three film classes convinced him that entertainment was his path. He started working at MTV as an assistant, did freelance writing for the network, and began doing stand-up at night, building his following in the New York club scene.

He is the long-running audience warm-up comedian for Late Night with Seth Meyers, a role he has held since the show launched in 2014 through 1,400-plus episodes, and also writes monologue jokes for the show. He has done audience warm-up for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. He has appeared on Gutfeld!, The Today Show, AXS TV’s Gotham Comedy Live, and Netflix. He co-wrote and appeared in the TV movie Brklyn (2016) and wrote for NBC’s Maya & Marty (2016). He is a Comedy Cellar regular whose crowd work has been featured in clips by the Comedy Cellar’s official social accounts. He appeared at the Carson Nugget in Nevada in March 2026 following a taping of The Jimmy Failla Saturday Night Show.

Ryan Reiss’s Comedy Style

Reiss is known for his quick wit, instant likability, and a particular gift for crowd work — the ability to engage any audience spontaneously and make it feel like the best conversation you’ve had all week. The Seth Meyers warm-up role is the purest expression of this: cold studio audiences, different every day, no prepared material that works for everyone. He has done it thousands of times and turned it into both a reputation and a craft.

Where to Find Ryan Reiss

Find tour dates at ryanreiss.com and follow on Instagram @ryanreisscomedy.

Ryan Reiss 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.