SF SKETCHFEST Announces Initial Lineup For 2022 San Francisco

SF Sketchfest announces the initial lineup for the 20th Anniversary comedy festival taking place January 7-23 in venues across San Francisco.

For the 20th Anniversary festival, audiences can expect another outstanding year of programming and fun as SF Sketchfest will host major comedy stars and the best up-and-coming acts for non-stop entertainment including sketch, stand-up, alternative comedy, music, improv, films, cast reunions, tributes, live podcasts, storytelling, panels and more.

Tickets go on sale Sunday, November 21 at 10am PT/1pm ET at sfsketchfest.com.

The 2022 SF Sketchfest features live in-person Tributes, including the 50th Anniversary Celebration of comedy legends Cheech and Chong with Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong in conversation with Ben Fong-Torres; original "Saturday Night Live" cast-member and trailblazing comedian Laraine Newman with friends Dana Gould, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Maurice LaMarche, Rob Paulsen and Cole Stratton; actor and comedian David Alan Grier ("In Living Color") in conversation; an all-star Roast of iconic cult actor and "Evil Dead" star Bruce Campbell with guests Jeffrey Combs, Sharon Gless, Kane Hodder, Cassandra Peterson (AKA Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), Ted Raimi and Jennifer Tilly with roastmaster Dana Gould; TV's classic sitcom "Perfect Strangers" 35th Anniversary with Mark Linn-Baker and Bronson Pinchot; beloved Comedy Central series "Viva Variety" 25th Anniversary Tribute: A Very Special Evening with Mr. and the former Mrs. Laupin and Johnny Blue Jeans, aka Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenney-Silver and Michael Ian Black, in conversation with Ken Marino; Let's Make a Poop! With Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and celebrity panelists including "Weird Al" Yankovic; "Role Models" Live Read with David Cross, Beth Dover, Nyima Funk, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Phil LaMarr, Joe Lo Truglio, Jane Lynch, Ken Marino, A.D. Miles, Adam Scott, Bobb'e J. Thompson, David Wain, Matt Walsh and more, with live music by the Red Room Orchestra; a night with indigenous sketch comedy group The 1491s (featured in FX's critically-acclaimed series "Reservation Dogs"); The 5 Year Anniversary of the 10 Year Anniversary of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival with Eugene Mirman and friends Janeane Garofalo, Kristen Schaal, Sarah Vowell, Reggie Watts, and more.

Returning festival favorites include the hit legal arbitration podcast Judge John Hodgman, improv from the Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Matt Besser, D'Arcy Carden, Matt Walsh and more; Asian AF, The Black Version, The Improvised Shakespeare Company, and more.

Audiences can attend live recordings of popular podcasts including Alchemy This with Kevin Pollak, the uplifting Gettin' Better with Ron Funches, John Hodgman & Adam Savage: Spin-a-Wheel Conversation, Jordan, Jesse, Go!, Lady to Lady, the ever-fascinating Stuff You Should Know with Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, Talking Simpsons, and more.

The festival also hosts a fantastic lineup for storytelling and theater events with The Comedy Pack: an afternoon of short comedies by Eugene Pack starring Tony Hale, Tim Kazurinsky, Oscar Nuñez, Jennifer Tilly, George Wendt, and more; Bruce and Friend Kevin with The Kids in the Hall alums Bruce McCulloch and Kevin McDonald; Lottie Platchett Took a Hatchet! with Drew Droege, Tom Lenk, Ryan Garcia, Tom Detrinis and Pete Zias; The Medievalists: a play reading by Sketchfest mainstay Bill Corbett with Paget Brewster, Jason Ritter, James Urbaniak and more; Mortified; Porchlight: A Storytelling Series with guests David Cross, Chris Garcia, A.D. Miles, Ify Nwadiwe, and Atsuko, hosted by Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte, with music by Marc Capelle; RISK! with Kevin Allison and storytellers Mary Jo Pehl, Jonah Ray, Shalewa Sharpe and more; Stop Joking for 100 Years And Other Requests From My Kid (Stories of Parenting and Childhood) with Eugene Mirman, Nore Davis, Jena Friedman, Janeane Garofalo, Dana Gould, Natasha Leggero, Bobby Tisdale, Reggie Watts and more.

The SF Sketchfest Dozen, a yearly spotlight on twelve top comedians, is once again stacked with a dazzling array of diverse talent, featuring Fumi Abe, Mike Drucker, Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Amy Miller, Will Miles, Johnny Pemberton, Nori Reed, Shalewa Sharpe, Blair Socci, Sam Tallent, Jenny Yang, and Zach Zimmerman.

SF Sketchfest hosts many of the current up-and-coming headlining stand-up comedians from around the country including the variety shows Choose Your Own Adventure, Comedy Psychos, Filipino AF, Uptown Showdown; plus stand-up appearances by perennial festival favorites like Maria Bamford, Todd Barry, Joel Kim Booster, RB Butcher, Janeane Garofalo, Atsuko, Shane Torres, Brent Weinbach, Sasheer Zamata and more.

To celebrate its 20th year, SF Sketchfest is thrilled to feature original artwork by legendary animator and cartoonist Bill Plympton, who has collaborated with artists as diverse as Madonna, Kanye West and "Weird Al" Yankovic and who was saluted by the festival in 2019. Mr. Plympton's custom art for the festival reimagines the origins of the festival's three-headed logo, and honors the many years of belly laughs that audiences have brought to the event.

Tickets for all shows on sale Sunday, November 21 at 10am PT/1pm ET at sfsketchfest.com.