Best of Everything in Comedy 2016

Another year in comedy has come to a close. It’s definitely time to start talking about 2017, but before we dive into new comedy, there’s one last thing we have to take care of, and that’s announce the winners of our 2016 Readers Poll to find the Best of Everything in Comedy 2016.

Over 10,000 people voted again this year over two weeks, in 7 comedy categories including Stand Up Comedian of the Year, Best Album, Best Special, Best Book Written by a Comedian, Best Comedy Movie, Best Comedy TV Show or Series, and Best Late Night Host. You also voted on Best Viral Video, and the Biggest Scandal and Controversy in 2016. Also don’t miss our picks for 11 Innovators Who Changed Comedy in 2016 and our Award for Remarkable Achievement of Exceptional Noteworthiness in Unrelated Categories, even though we didn’t put those to a vote. You can see all our year end lists- all 17 of them- right here. Now onto the winners!

First the minor categories. Your pick for the BEST VIRAL VIDEO of 2016 goes to The HUH Challenge, and BIGGEST SCANDAL in comedy belongs to Amy Schumer being accused of plagiarism.

In the category of BEST COMEDY SERIES, first time nominee and newcomer Baskets grabbed a huge win in a race so close we were afraid to call it. When we first started seeing promos for Baskets, we honestly didn’t know what to think, but this show grabbed everyone by the heart, and made us all laugh, and we can’t wait to see where they go in Season 2.

BEST COMEDY MOVIE went to Deadpool, easily. It dominated the box office and the polls leaving everyone else way behind in theaters and in votes.

For the BEST COMEDY BOOK category, we nominated ten books written by comedians. There were some amazing comedy books this year– and you’ll want to read a whole stack of ’em. But it was Doug Stanhope’s brutally honest Digging Up Mother: A Love Story that came out victorious with the most votes. A big win in a prestigious category.

In the stand up categories, BEST COMEDY SPECIAL and BEST COMEDY ALBUM are closely tied together, and there are a few overlap nominees for albums that were also released as specials. BEST COMEDY SPECIAL was a hotly contested race, but in the end nobody could beat Barry Crimmins: Whatever Threatens You. Barry’s special, produced by Louis CK blew comedy fans away with a socially conscious special complete with a dose of reality, along with giant laughs. Barry has one of the strongest points of view you’ll find on a stage this year and he proved that comedy truly matters. We’re thrilled to see him win. BEST COMEDY ALBUM went to another one of our favorite people, Rich Vos for his fifth album, ‘V‘. The album includes some of Vos’ signature razor sharp crowd work, but mostly focuses on some fall-out funny material, and it is his best album yet.

Finally, the STAND UP COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR goes to Jim Jefferies, who has proven to be one of the giants of stand up comedy who will be around for a long long time. With a killer tour this year, and a special that is absolutely must see, Jim Jefferies is a comedy powerhouse. He aims to kill and he succeeds every time. A comedy sledgehammer in some moments, and a rapier in others, Jefferies is the big winner in this year’s vote. Congratulations to Jim Jefferies and all our other winners and nominees. 2016 was an amazing year and we can’t wait to see who kills it in 2017.

Scroll down below the graphic to see this year’s winners and past winners in a straight list. Or read our 2015 and 2014 awards posts here.

Stand Up Comedian of the Year

2016: Jim Jefferies

2015: Nate Bargatze

2014: Bill Burr

Best Comedy Album

2016: Rich Vos “V”

2015: Jay Mohr and Nikki Cox, “Happy. And A Lot.”

2014: Big Jay Oakerson, “What’s Your F#&@KING Deal”

Best Comedy Special

2016: Barry Crimmins “Whatever Threatens You”

2015: Jim Norton

2014: Jim Jefferies

Best Book Written by a Comedian

2016: Doug Stanhope, “Digging Up Mother”

2015: Colin Quinn “The Coloring Book”

2014: Joan Rivers “Diary of a Mad Diva”

Best Comedy Movie

2016: Tim Miller, Deadpool

2015: Judd Apatow, “Trainwreck”

2014: Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Best Comedy TV Show or Series

2016: Baskets

2015: The Jim Gaffigan Show

2014: Last Week Tonight

Best Late Night Host

2016: Conan O’Brien, Conan

2015: Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show

2014: New Category, No Winner

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