With the recent departure of several Saturday Night Live veteran cast members, Rolling Stone released a list of 10 comedians that should be on Lorne Michaels' short list for potential new hires. It’s no surprise that the majority of the spots were awarded to men and women currently performing at The Second City.
What was surprising, however, is the media’s lack of attention given to The Second City performers who were lauded with spots on distinguished lists by magazines other than Rolling Stone.
It is disheartening that in this day and age-- where opportunities in comedy are more vast and diverse than ever-- that we still focus on SNL as the only path to future comedic success. Here is just a sampling of 10 Second City performers and distinguished alumni who are also crushing it in published list form.
Katie Rich
#7 on Spin's list of "Second City People Most Likely to Join the Cast of Hoarders"
Michael Lehrer
#8 on Time Out Chicago's "Current Second City Performers That If They Had a Dead Guy in Their Apartment, It Wouldn't Be a Surprise At All" list
Steve Waltien
#3 on XXL's rundown of "Dudes from Vermont Who Know All the Words to The Chronic Because They Used to Listen to It in 7th Grade When They Cut the Grass"
Sam Richardson
Jessica Joy
#2 on The Branson Gazette's "Likely Candidates for the Role of Britney Spears Impersonator for the 2014 Season" Reader’s Poll
Carisa Barreca
#8 in Us Weekly's "Performers Who Would Be Nice Even to Hitler" digital slideshow
Rob Belushi
#3 on Men's Health special advertiser’s section on "Most Likely to Have 2% Body Fat Now That They Are Sober"
Brad Morris
#1 on Time's round-up of "Second City Alumni Who Have Done More Commercials Than the Sonic Guys"
Maribeth Monroe
#7 on TV Guide's Top Picks for "Reasons to Watch Workaholics Even If You're Not a White Suburban Teenage Boy"
Tim Paul
#1 on Out magazine's "Most Likely to Write an Article That Gay People Don't Realize is Satire" list