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Liza Treyger | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987 (age 37–38) |
| Education | North Park University |
| Notable work | Night Owl |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 2014-present |
| Medium | Stand-up • Television • Podcasts |
| Genre | Deadpan •Observational comedy •Satire •Self-deprecation |
Liza Treyger (born 1987) is aUkrainian-born comedian, actress, and podcast host.[1]
Born inOdessa, then part of theUkrainian SSR (nowUkraine), and raised inChicago, Treyger made her television debut onNBC'sLast Comic Standing in 2014.[2] She is best known as a stand-up comedian who has performed on platforms includingLate Night with Seth Meyers andChelsea Lately.[2] Her first hour-long stand-up special,Night Owl, was released onNetflix in January 2025 to critical acclaim.[3][4] As an actress, she co-starred in Netflix'sSurvival of the Thickest and has further appeared inNope andThe King of Staten Island.[5] She co-hosts the popular podcastThat's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast with fellow comedian and friend Kara Klenk.[6]
Liza Treyger was born in the port city ofOdessa in theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, aconstituent republic of the formerSoviet Union (nowUkraine). At three years old, Treyger's family was granted the right toemigrate asSoviet Jews and, after a brief stop-over in Europe, in 1990 they settled in a northern Chicago suburb ofSkokie.[7][8]
Liza Treyger got her start in theChicago comedy scene. She started doingstand-up comedy andopen mic nights around 2009.[8] Her senior year of college she co-foundedRiot Comedy, a popular, women-run weekly comedy showcase.[8] In 2014, she performed at the inaugural Comedy Exposition standup festival in Chicago.[8]
After moving to New York City, Treyger continued doing comedy, performing on platforms includingLate Night with Seth Meyers,Chelsea Lately, andThe Stand-Up Show withKatherine Ryan onComedy Network. She also started acting, landing a major recurring role onHorace and Pete, a "Eugene O'Neill-esque dramatic web series" with Louis C.K., Steve Buscemi, Edie Falco, Alan Alda, and Jessica Lange.
Treyger recorded a half-hour stand-up special forComedy Central in 2015 in front of a live audience inBoston. In 2018, Treyger released her second half-hour stand-up special as an episode in the first season ofThe Degenerates, aNetflix series of "no-holds-barred" comedy specials from "rising comics."
In 2019, Liza Treyger brought her "wonderfully smutty solo show"In the Weeds to theEdinburgh Fringe Festival, where one reviewer, who gave the show four out of four stars, described Treyger as a "comedy queen" whose "jokes rain down thick and fast" and whose "unfiltered comments resonate with many in the audience."[9]
Treyger and fellow comedian/friend Kara Klenk have co-hosted the podcastThat's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast since November 2020. Each episode they break down episodes of Law & Order: SVU and interview actors, directors, writers and/or producers from the show.[6][5] In 2022, Treyger and Klenk took the podcast on a twenty-five-city tour.[5] Treyger has also appeared on popular podcasts likeConan O’Brien Needs a Friend andThe Mash-Up Americans.[2][7]
After smaller acting roles in movies likePete Davidson'sThe King of Staten Island (2020) andJordan Peele'sNope (2022), Treyger co-starred inMichelle Buteau'sSurvival of the Thickest (2023) on Netflix, which was renewed for a second season due to be released in March 2025.
In January 2025, Liza Treyger released her first full-hour stand-up special onNetflix,Night Owl, to critical acclaim.[10]The New York Times included it in their article"5 Smart and Silly Specials to Entertain You," in which they wrote: "Treyger presents herself as weary and slothful, her brain broken by the internet scroll. But there's an excitement, a danger even, to her onstage persona, as she pushes jokes further than you expect, roasting the crowd."[11] Similarly,Vulture included it in their January 2025 article"4 New Comedy Specials You Should Definitely Watch (When You Have a Moment)," writing that there's "a thrilling tension underneath all of Liza Treyger's stand-up" and that "Treyger's conversational style is refreshing, and the laughs she earns roll along with a unique rhythm."[4]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The King of Staten Island | Waitress at Denino's | |
| 2022 | Nope | Commercial Makeup Artist | |
| 2024 | Goodrich | Comedian | |
| 2025 | Night Owl | Self | Stand-up special forNetflix |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Adam Devine's House Party | Self | Stand-up |
| 2014 | Chelsea Lately | Self | Round Table; 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Comedy Central Presents: The Half Hour | Self | Half-hour stand-up special forComedy Central; 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Horace and Pete | Melissa | TV mini series/web series |
| @midnight | Self | 1 episode | |
| Not Safe with Nikki Glaser | Self | 1 episode | |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers | Self | 1 episode | |
| This Is Not Happening | Self | 1 episode | |
| Funny as Hell | Self | 1 episode | |
| 2018 | After After Party | Self | Video panelist |
| Comedy Knockout | Self | 1 episode | |
| The Degenerates | Self | Half-hour stand-up special forNetflix; 1 episode | |
| 2019 | The Stand-Up Show withKatherine Ryan | Self | Stand-up |
| 2019-2020 | Lights Out with David Spade | Self | Panelist; 3 episodes |
| 2020 | Gayme Show | Self | 1 episode |
| Planet Scum Live | Self | 1 episode | |
| 2021 | Pause with Sam Jay | Soul Stroke Class | 1 episode |
| 2023 | Survival of the Thickest | Jade | 6 episodes |
| Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen | Self - Bartender | 1 episode | |
| 2025 | Harlem | Elyse | 1 episode |
| Year | Title | Role | Medium | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2023 | That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast | Host | Podcast | 103 episodes |