Austin is about to get a little funnier and a lot weirder.
SXSW has officially announced the lineup for the 2026 SXSW Comedy Festival, bringing a massive wave of stand up, improv, podcast recordings, and comedy showcases to Austin from March 13 through March 16 during the festival’s 40th anniversary year. If the rest of SXSW is about discovering the next big filmmaker or startup, the comedy side of the festival is where the smartest people in the room come to laugh at how ridiculous everything has become.
This year’s lineup reads like someone spilled an entire comedy club onto Red River. Bill Burr, Eric André, Chelsea Peretti, Natasha Leggero, Adam Pally, Devon Walker, Chloe Radcliffe, Frankie Quiñones, Tina Friml, and Jared Freid are just a few of the names bringing their chaos to Austin stages.
And in true SXSW fashion, the comedy world is colliding with everything else happening at the festival. Filmmakers, podcast hosts, musicians, and actors are all crossing over into the comedy lineup this year, which basically guarantees at least a few moments where someone famous walks on stage unannounced and the room loses its mind.
SXSW Comedy Director Sam Schles says that mix of discovery and established talent is exactly the point.
“This year’s lineup celebrates where comedy is headed,” Schles said. “We’re bringing together the new comedy vanguard and established icons who continue to redefine the craft. SXSW has always been a place for discovery.”
Translation. You might walk into a room to see a comic you’ve never heard of and walk out thinking you just saw the next big thing.
The festival will host events at The Creek and The Cave and Esther’s Follies, both of which already feel like natural homes for the slightly unhinged energy SXSW comedy thrives on. All badge types including Platinum, Film and TV, Music, and Innovation can attend the comedy programming, though some events may have limited capacity.
One of the bigger draws this year will be Bombing with Eric André, a live podcast recording where André and guests swap stories about their worst career disasters on stage and in life. Considering André’s track record for turning chaos into an art form, this one could get wild fast.
Elsewhere, comedy duo BriTANicK are bringing their new show “dummy,” which they describe as part sketch comedy, part childhood trauma, and part being bad at math. Honestly, that math checks out.
Another highlight is CHAOS, a stand up and scripted comedy showcase featuring Chelsea Peretti, Natasha Leggero, and Sabrina Jalees performing material written specifically for the show. Expect sharp writing, strange energy, and at least one joke that makes the room gasp before laughing.
SXSW will also host a mix of comedy gameshows, improv performances, and live podcasts from platforms like Dropout, SmartLess, Funny Or Die, Reductress, and Don’t Tell Comedy.
Carnival Cruise Line is even setting up a neon LOL Booth, an interactive comedy installation where guests can dial up curated punchlines and potentially win prizes including a cruise. It sounds ridiculous, which means it will probably have a line around the block.
That’s kind of the magic of SXSW Comedy. Some shows will feature huge names. Others will introduce comedians you’ve never heard of who suddenly become the most interesting person you’ve seen all week.
And in a festival famous for big premieres and billion dollar tech ideas, sometimes the best thing you can do is sit in a dark room in Austin and laugh at how weird the world has become.
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