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Bill Maher, Conan O'Brien among headliners at New York Comedy Festival

By Justin Klawans   |   Aug. 15, 2022 at 10:55 AM
Bill Maher and Conan O'Brien will be among the notable headliners at the upcoming New York Comedy Festival in November. File Photo by Christine Chew/UPI Conan O'Brien delivers a comedy routine during the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) in Washington, DC in 2013. File Photo by Pete Marovich/UPI Bill Maher presents the award to Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks at the ACLU of Southern California's annual Bill of Rights Dinner in 2006. File Photo by Phil McCarten/UPI Conan O'Brien poses for photographs while on a tour of the media work area at The White House in Washington, DC in 2013. File Photo by Chris Kleponis/UPI John Mulaney appears backstage during the 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles in 2018. File Photo by Christine Chew/UPI

Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Bill Maher and Conan O'Brien will be among the notable headliners at the upcoming New York Comedy Festival, the event announced Monday.

The largest comedy festival in the United States, the New York Comedy Festival will return for its 18th year from Nov. 7 to Nov 13, and feature over 100 total shows.

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A slate of high-profile comedians will be among the performers at the festival, which will take place in venues across all five boroughs of New York City, including a number of Broadway theaters, Madison Square Garden and the recently built UBS Arena in Long Island.

Maher, who has hosted HBO's tentpole political talk show, Real Time with Bill Maher, for 19 years, will be performing at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12.

The Emmy Award-winner is a New York City native, and has had notable interviews with former President Barack Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders.

He also hosts a podcast, Club Random, with a number of non-political guests, including director Quentin Tarantino and William Shatner.

Maher began his career in standup, and still performs in shows across the U.S. every year.

O'Brien, meanwhile, is best known for his work as a host on multiple network late-night shows.

Over a quarter-century in show business, O'Brien has sat behind the desk for NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. He would retire from late- night in 2021 as the host of Conan on TBS.

It has been reported that O'Brien will launch a new streaming show on HBO Max in the near future, though details of this potential show remain slim.

Similar to Maher, O'Brien also hosts a successful podcast, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend -- which he will perform a live taping of on Nov. 10 and 11.

The pair will not be the only star comedians with their name on the marquis, though.

Others slated to perform include Saturday Night Live alumni John Mulaney, comedian and newly minted director Jo Koy, Wanda Skyes and Tracy Morgan.

The festival will bring together over 200 comedians in total, though the full lineup of performers has not yet been revealed.

"To come together and experience the best in stand-up comedy and shared laughter is more important than ever," said New York Comedy Festival founder Caroline Hirsch in a statement. "The festival has grown over the past 18 years, as we continue to shine a spotlight on the industry's biggest and brightest stars and the most talented up-and-comers, and reach new and expanding audiences through an amazing line-up of talented and diverse artists."