Tom Papa

Comedian Tom Papa’s first book, Your Dad Stole My Rake - And Other Family Dilemmas, looked at families in all their weirdness, from the crazy aunts with mustaches to grandparents who communicate by yelling to uncles who use marijuana as a condiment. It was intended for anyone who has a family, grew up in a family or spent time with another human being.

That’s the universality of Papa’s humor. We know the people he talks about. That’s why he has had a two-decades-plus career as a stand-up comedian, with success as an actor, host, and author, with work in film, television, radio, podcasts and in front of an audience.

Papa has had five highly-rated specials on Netflix, including his most recent special, What a Day! which was taped at the iconic Wilbur Theatre in Boston. His other critically acclaimed specials include Human Mule, Freaked Out, and Tom Papa Live in New York City. The latter two were directed by Rob Zombie.

In 2020, Papa released his second book, You’re Doing Great! - and Other Reasons to Stay Alive. It made the “Summer Must Read” lists from Parade Magazine and The New York Post. He is also a contributing writer to The New Yorker Magazine.

Tom Papa hosts a weekly podcast, Breaking Bread with Tom Papa, which features him and his guests eating, drinking, and celebrating the true meaning of breaking bread with insightful, revealing, and always funny conversations. He also hosts the popular daily Netflix radio show What a Joke with Papa and Fortune on Sirius XM Channel 93 and the monthly show Come to Papa Live on Channel 94.

In 2013, Papa was seen alongside Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in the HBO film Behind the Candelabra, which was directed by Stephen Soderbergh and won 11 Emmys. His movie credits include The Informant with Matt Damon, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto opposite Paul Giamatti and Analyze That with Robert DeNiro. He was also seen in Soderbergh’s Cinemax series, The Knick.

On television, Papa was chosen by Jerry Seinfeld to host the NBC series The Marriage Rep, which ran for two seasons. He had a recurring role in the Julia Louis-Dreyfus series, The New Adventures of Old Christine.

Papa has had a long love affair with baking bread and in the fall of 2018, hosted his own Food Network series, Baked, where he took his love of baking and explored bakeries throughout the country. The show developed from his love of making sourdough bread using his own starter and visiting expert bakers while on tour.

In 2023, Papa released his highly-anticipated third book, We’re All In the Together…So Make Some Room. The book includes comedic essays that aim to unite us through our shared stupidity. Every mistake has already been made, and this should bring us great comfort as we join together in our fight for survival, or at least in our attempt to get through the day.

Whether we like it or not, we’re all in this together.

When he is not busy touring the country, the comedian lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two daughters and a cat and dog. He spends most of his time writing and baking bread.

Tom Papa is one funny guy. You’ll want to come to Papa, too.