Stand-up comedian

Janelle James

Who Janelle James is

Janelle James is a stand-up comedian, writer and actor from New York, best known as Ava Coleman in ABC's Abbott Elementary, a role that has brought four consecutive Emmy nominations and the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Janelle James's stand-up has toured with Chris Rock, Amy Schumer and David Cross and was showcased as a New Face at Just For Laughs in Montreal in 2016; the debut album Black and Mild came out in 2017, a stand-up special is part of the third season of Netflix's The Stand Ups, and Variety named Janelle James one of its Top Ten Comedians to Watch in 2020.

The work also includes writing and acting on Showtime's Black Monday and Apple's Central Park, hosting the 2023 Writers Guild of America Awards and ABC's The Final Straw, sets at the Flyover Comedy Festival in 2018 and 2023, and Brooklyn's Janelle James Comedy Festival, formerly the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival.

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At a glance

From
New York
Stand-up specials
The Stand Ups, season 3
Albums
Black and Mild
On screen
Abbott Elementary, Black Monday, Central Park and 2 more

On stage

No dated show on D.O.C.'s Comedy Calendar right now.

Lineups belong to the rooms and the comedians, and can change; each listing has the last word. Their nights on the Comedy Calendar →

Specials, shows and podcasts

Stand-up specials

Albums

On screen

Comedians like Janelle James

Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town.

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Career timeline

  1. 2017Black and Mild (2017) Album
  2. 2022The Final Straw (host, ABC, 2022) On screen
  3. 2023Writers Guild of America Awards (host, 2023) On screen

Questions and answers

Where is Janelle James performing next?

No date is on D.O.C.'s Comedy Calendar right now.

What stand-up specials have they released?

The Stand Ups, season 3.

Where can I watch their stand-up specials?

As each special's credit gives it: Netflix (The Stand Ups, season 3).

What TV shows and films are they in?

Abbott Elementary (Ava Coleman, ABC), Black Monday (writer and actor, Showtime), Central Park (writer and actor, Apple TV+), The Final Straw (host, ABC, 2022) and Writers Guild of America Awards (host, 2023).

Where is Janelle James from?

From New York.

Who are some comedians like them?

Brian Scolaro (also in Abbott Elementary), Casey Frey (also in Abbott Elementary), Jordan Temple (also in Abbott Elementary), Kurt Braunohler (also in Black Monday) and Marcella Arguello (also in Abbott Elementary).

Are you Janelle James?

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The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with a button to add them to your D.O.C., your twelve.

Their SUCDb record →

Sources

Updated 11 October 2026 · the record checked 11 October 2026