Variety‘s Power of Comedy, presented by Inspire Brands, will return at SXSW on March 10 and honor Chelsea Handler, Patton Oswalt, Anna Kendrick, Phoebe Robinson, Jake Johnson, Rachel Sennott, Eric André, Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin.
Hosted by comedians Nick Thune and Mike Lawrence, Variety Power of Comedy joins the official SXSW Comedy lineup. The event will feature food and drink provided by Inspire Brands’ six restaurants — Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s and SONIC Drive-In.
Handler will receive the Icon Award, recognizing her achievements as comedian, TV host and bestselling author. Recently, Handler made her return to Netflix with her comedy special “Revolution.” Next, Handler will embark on her stand-up tour “Little Big Bitch,” beginning later this year.
Oswalt will receive the Stand-Up Award, honoring his accomplishments as a beloved comic, having filmed eight comedy specials and seven comedy albums. The film “I Love My Dad,” which Oswalt produced and starred in, won the Audience Award at SXSW in 2022.
Kendrick will receive the Comedy Actress Award for her numerous standout comic performances across film and TV. Notable credits include “Up in the Air,” “A Simple Favor,” “The Accountant” and the “Pitch Perfect” and “Trolls” franchises, and she’ll be seen in the film “Self-Reliance” premiering at this year’s SXSW.
Robinson will be honored as a Comedy Innovator, recognizing her multi-platform success across digital, TV and podcasting. She is the co-creator and co-star of the podcast turned HBO series “2 Dope Queens” and served as creator, star and executive producer of Freeform’s “Everything’s Trash,” based on her book by the same name.
Johnson will be honored with the Director’s Award for his directorial debut “Self-Reliance,” premiering at SXSW, in which he stars alongside Andy Samberg, Christopher Lloyd and Kendrick. The “New Girl” fan favorite will next be featured in “Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse.”
Robinson and Kanin will receive the Sketch Award for their work as co-creators on the Emmy Award-winning show “I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson,” which premieres its third season on Netflix later this year.
André will receive the Cult Favorite award, recognizing his work as the creator and star of “The Eric André Show,” which kicks off its sixth season this spring.
Sennott will receive the Breakthrough Artist Award, honoring her recent starring turn in horror film “Bodies Bodies Bodies.” She also co-produced, co-wrote and stars in “Bottoms” and stars in “I Used to Be Funny,” both of which premiere at this year’s SXSW.
“We’re excited to bring Variety Power of Comedy to the SXSW festival to honor such extraordinary talent,” said Dea Lawrence, chief operating and marketing officer, Variety. “We are grateful to partner with Inspire Brands who will integrate a unique culinary experience within our event.”
“We are thrilled to be a part of Variety‘s Power of Comedy. Only Inspire Brands can do something like this at SXSW,” said Rita Patel, chief marketing officer at Arby’s. “On behalf of all the marketing leads, we are excited to showcase our innovative culinary teams with an exclusive menu of food and beverage mashups across six iconic brands: Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s and SONIC Drive-In.”
The event will be open to SXSW badge-holders (platinum, interactive, music and film & TV) on a first come, first served basis.
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