From Stage to Screen (and Back Again): How Social-First Strategy Is Reshaping Stand-Up Comedy

Dylan Carlino via Den of Geek x Cracked

For decades, stand-up comedy followed a predictable path: years of performing in clubs, building material, and slowly earning bigger opportunities. Today, that model has flipped. In a recent interview with Cracked, Dylan Carlino pulled back the curtain on a major shift happening in stand-up comedy, one that’s redefining how comedians build careers in the age of social media.

Dylan Carlino spent over a decade doing stand-up the traditional way: waiting tables between sets, sharpening his material, and building credibility in rooms that didn’t always translate to broader visibility. Meanwhile, a new wave of creators was bypassing that process entirely, using social media followings to land the same stage opportunities.

Rather than resist, Carlino adapted. “I’m not going to do Instagram and TikTok like a stand-up comic,” he explained in the interview. “I’m going to do it like an influencer.” That mindset shift reflects a broader reality in comedy today: awareness comes first, fandom follows, and only then do ticket sales and touring opportunities scale.

For Carlino, social media wasn’t just a promotional tool, it became the primary engine for discovery. Instead of relying on stand-up clips, he leaned into front-facing, character-driven content designed for the way audiences actually consume comedy online. The result was rapid growth across platforms,and, more importantly, a fanbase that showed up in real life.

This approach aligns closely with what Chris Burns, Co-Head of Comedy at Underscore Talent, sees across the industry. “Dylan’s story epitomizes what we’re trying to do at Underscore,” Burns explains. “Find really funny, special comedians who not enough people know about and help them find that audience.”

When Underscore began working with Carlino, the talent was already undeniable. He had spent 10+ years developing his craft, won Austin’s Funniest in 2023, and was selected for the Netflix Is A Joke showcase, one of the industry’s top proving grounds for emerging comedians. But like many stand-ups, he faced a common challenge: not enough people knew who he was.

The rise of social platforms has shifted the bottleneck in comedy. It’s no longer just about being funny, it’s about being seen. Burns points to a key industry change: algorithms are increasingly favoring direct-to-camera, highly shareable content over traditional stand-up clips. That shift has forced comedians to rethink how they package their voice.

“The people who get the most return are the ones who can do it over and over again,” Burns says. “One video isn’t enough—you have to post consistently.”

Carlino embraced that process. His early breakthrough came with a reworked stand-up bit (“I’m not a waiter, I’m a waitress…”), which helped him scale quickly. When growth plateaued, he pivoted again, launching his now-viral “If I Was a Girl…” series, which further expanded his reach. That willingness to iterate and to treat content as a craft in itself, was critical.

The end goal of this social-first approach isn’t views, it’s conversion. Today, Carlino’s online presence fuels a thriving touring business, with thousands of tickets sold across the country, alongside brand partnerships and a growing community across platforms like Patreon and Discord. This is where many creators struggle, translating attention into action.

“One of the hardest things in entertainment today is bringing your audience with you across platforms,” Burns notes. “Getting someone to go from TikTok to buying a ticket, that’s rare.” Carlino has managed to do exactly that, in large part because his foundation as a stand-up comic ensures that the live experience delivers. Audiences may discover him through content, but they stay because of the performance.

Carlino’s trajectory highlights a broader shift in the industry: the path to the stage now often starts online. Comedians on social media aren't just writing material or working out bits, they’re building audiences. And those audiences, once established, create leverage for everything that follows: tours, specials, partnerships, and long-term careers. In this model, social isn’t replacing stand-up, it’s a platform for it.

For comedians willing to embrace both sides of the equation, the opportunity is clear: build awareness first, cultivate fandom, and let that momentum carry into the real world. Dylan Carlino didn’t abandon the traditional path, he augmented it. And in doing so, he’s become a blueprint for what modern comedy success looks like.