Olivia Carter’s roots in improv are part of what has made her a strong comedian who’s on the rise. The Stilwell native is currently appearing on “Funny AF with Kevin Hart” on Netflix.
The show features a variety of stand-up comedians working through various challenges as they compete to be the one person who will get their own Netflix comedy special.
One challenge saw Carter writing jokes to roast retired NFL player Marshawn Lynch. Another was based on crowd work, where comedians pick out an audience member and have a small dialogue.
She’s now qualified for the semifinals of the competition. She has found the experience to be a good challenge, as well as an opportunity to spend time with other comedians she’s known for years.
“While it was all really stressful, I did really enjoy writing the roast jokes, because I do love to write,” she said.
Attended Blue Valley High, K-State University
As a Blue Valley High School student, she was deeply involved in the improv team at the school and went to the state forensics competition.
Carter kept the momentum going while attending Kansas State University and credits the school with giving her lots of opportunities to explore different arts activities.
“In college and high school, I was just able to do everything I wanted. I was in the film club, I was in broadcast, I was doing plays, I was doing choir. I was able to do everything I wanted, because it wasn’t super competitive,” Carter said.
When she graduated from college in 2020, the pandemic made doing improv impossible, so she turned to stand-up comedy. Following graduation, she moved to Milwaukee to be closer to her parents, who lived there at the time. That’s when Carter went to her first open mic night.
She kept on doing stand-up and eventually moved to Chicago in 2022 and then New York two years later. Both cities had larger stand-up scenes.
“I remember leaving work and running to an open mic at 5 p.m. and doing them till midnight,” she said.
She got on stage as much as possible.
“The first year you’re just nervous, so it just got me comfortable, then after you stop being nervous, you start being yourself,” Carter said.
“I’m on the right path for myself”
Though she loves living in New York City now, where she has been since 2024, Kansas and the Midwest still have a special place in her heart.
“People are friendlier. Whenever I go back home, I have to adjust myself to — you have to wave to people when you’re walking. You have to say, ‘Hi.’ In New York, you just keep head down and don’t look at people,” Carter said.
The audiences in New York are tougher than in Chicago, too, she said.
“If you’re in New York, and you’re on stage, it can be like, ‘Who are you? You’re not famous,’” she said.
Having a clear voice and strong writing skills from her years doing improv has served her well.
Carter got slots on “The Tonight Show” and at the Just for Laughs Festival last year.
“I hadn’t gotten anything before that. That was the first thing that I did, and I was like, ‘Are you sure? I’m not as experienced as other people.’ And they were like, ‘We love your material, and we think you would do well in the format,’” she said.
When she couldn’t get time off to pursue her “whirlwind” of comedy opportunities, she quit her job as a sales assistant for Hearst Media.
“I was like, ‘All right, I gotta go. Check me out on ‘The Tonight Show’ next week.’ … They all knew I wanted to do comedy, and I was friends with all of my coworkers, and I think they were happy to see me pursuing that,” she said.
Now, she’s putting together a tour for when the Netflix show is over.
“The goal is to be on the road all the time, because that’s the funnest part: getting in new rooms, seeing people who want to see you, being able to headline. That’s the best,” she said.
At some point, she’d love to write for a TV show or even develop her own TV show.
“I feel very lucky,” she said. “I feel like I’m on the right path for myself.”
When to watch Carter on Netflix
New episodes of “Funny AF with Kevin Hart” drop Monday on Netflix.
As the comedians compete during the live shows at 8 p.m. on May 4 and 5, viewers can vote on the semifinalists and finalists through their TV or with the Netflix app.
For more information on Carter’s in-person appearances, follow her on Instagram.
