It could be considered a bad habit that I scroll through TikTok before I go to sleep. I should be reading a book or meditating, but I’m too old to care and besides, I’m too high from the pot gummy I take that lets me get some sleep, so I figure there are probably worse things I could do.
TikTok is a lot of fun. I’ve been on Instagram forever and my feed is all sea glass. I’ve been looking at the same sea glass for years, and was spending more time on the explore page to find new stuff, so when TikTok became the hot new popular girl in the cafeteria, I was into it even though it wasn’t really meant for my generation and my kids considered it “cringy” that I was adopting to it.
I like TikTok content because it’s snackable. Before bed while waiting for my sleeping pill to kick in (the pot gummy isn’t enough, it practically takes horse tranquilizers for me to get six hours of sleep at night) it’s perfect. Here’s a non-comprehensive list of some of my favorite TikTokers in the “funny” category. These are the creators whose accounts I check to be sure I haven’t missed a new video, which to me is the measure of a talented writer.
In no particular order:
- Shiadanni It’s fun to watch your favorite TikTok creators grow, and I found Shiadanni when she had a viral “Glam Kitchen” humor video; she now has a successful music album. Although the Latina beauty is a multi-talented singer-songwriter-musician, it’s her humor as a comedic actress and writer that keeps me hooked. Her interactions with husband Antuan, violent chopping and passive-aggressive shaming of the “Tiffanys” who are watching are all worth watching.
- Treynkennedy Stand-up comedians either made the transition to TikTok well, or they didn’t, and Trey is a great example of an artist who can handle both. The common denominator of every one of the 10 content creators on this list is that they’re all brilliant writers, and they also have to be great producers and directors too—Trey is excellent at all these skills in addition to acting. While he occasionally slides a little onto the side of gender stereotyping (note, there aren’t too many straight white men on my list), I enjoy his sharp wit, and his portrayal of whiny teenagers is always spot on.
- Celestebarber This Australian comedian found a niche and stuck to it. She remakes short videos of supermodels in realistic hilarity, while sending messages about body positivity. Like other creators, once she because famous her account got away from what it started out since she’s doing magazine covers, writing books, touring and other much bigger things, so if you check her out scroll back to some of her earlier content. She’s guaranteed to crack you up.
- Hina One of my favorite TikTokers, this deadpan Asian lesbian comedy queen delivers accurate zodiac signs as everything from childhood cereals to pretentious cocktails to natural disasters, and her lesbian bed and breakfast receptionist character is a riot as well.
- Rebmasel She’s a twentysomething lawyer, and her recipe for success is simple: she does a series on courtroom transcripts, which she reads, but with signature flair—her upside-down sunglasses, eye-rolls, and raspy voice dripping with sarcasm combine to make her comedic timing and delivery flawless. It’s the kind of series on TikTok that you find, and then spend until two a.m. bingeing because you have to see every single episode in the series.
- S8n Luckily, the Lord of Darkness himself is on TikTok and he’s hysterical. Satan (S8n) responds to the Subreddit “Am I going to hell?” and lets people know if their offenses will send them his way, interacts with Johnny from “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” shares troubles with his cat and responds to wacky Christian TikTok accounts.
- Actressbecc Maybe it’s the New York accent, her simple yet always-amusing choices of props, costume and makeup, but this actress-comedian (who reminds me a lot of Rachel Brosnahan from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) knows how to write, perform, direct and produce the short sketch POV comedy that is what TikTok (and Instagram reels) are made of. She sometimes relies on poking fun at the humor of her mother’s boomer generation, and that NY accent makes for its own character in many pizza shop and retail environments.
- Tanaradoublechocolate I recently discovered this creator, and can’t get enough of her posts, which mock ridiculous cooking recipes. As a black woman making comedic mincemeat out of primarily white women using ridiculous recipes involving, for example, packets of ramen noodles, scary raw meats, and insane amounts of sliced cheese, her videos are a riot.
- Sean Barry Parsons Sean Barry Parsons is a magical gay internet cult unto himself, and I couldn’t be more thankful to be a Kool-Aid drinking member. I bought a t-shirt of one of his characters (Helen Kummlicher) because we should all support the creators we adore. Whether it’s gifts within the app, cash app/Venmo, these artists are giving countless hours of their time to produce content for nothing and we should give back when we can. That said, please check out the many hilarious characters Sean dreams upregular—not the least of which is his own mother Mickey, a cafeteria worker in New Jersey who we have all come
to know and love through his (as she calls them) “little movies.”. He’s a brilliant writer, actor, director and producer of his comedy sketches. - ChrisMunchComedy Not everyone will “get” this, and although Chris does a few different characters, he’s making my Top 10 list because of one in particular. "Tinder Steve” (Stephen Stevens) is a parody of a creepy, gold-chain wearing guy with a lisp and he oozes too close to the camera with his clicky mouth sounds, cheesy, corny smiles and dorky dad-joke come-ons. It’s something you’ll either love or hate. This may sound odd, but watching him has made me miss my sister who passed away so much because she and I had the exact same sense of humor and every time I watch him I can hear her laugh. It’s so hard to find a friend who has this exact sense of humor—I find myself in his comments section bonding with the other Stephen Stevens fans, who recently include the singer Michael Buble; a back-and-forth between our favorite fake-Tinder guy and the singer has been a ball to watch.
-Follow Mary on social media.