Ian Lara’s comedy star continues to ascend in the wake of his highly successful and well-received HBO Special Romantic Comedy, which premiered November 11 and is currently streaming on HBO. Without question, this has been a banner year for Lara. But he is not an overnight success. The Brooklyn-born son of Dominican parents put in the hard work during his early “salad” days working a full-time day job and doing open mic gigs in the evening at various comedy clubs. All that hard work now has him poised to become a bright, shining star in the Latino comedy galaxy.
The Son of Immigrants
Born in East New York, Brooklyn, Ian grew up in a neighborhood dominated by people of Puerto Rican and Dominican heritage. Ian benefitted greatly from that proud Latino background.
“My parents were immigrants from the Dominican Republic’, recalls Ian. “From an early age, they instilled in me the immigrant work ethic. A work ethic that says as an immigrant you must work harder than everyone else in order to fit in and be accepted.”
Ian also is the beneficiary of a big humorous family that loves getting together and enjoys laughing and joking with each other. “My parents were okay with me becoming a comic, but they insisted I had to work and earn money while trying to achieve my comedy goals,” says Lara. “I was always a fan of stand-up comedy and people suggested it to me” And wisely Lara took their advice to heart.
Perfecting His Comedy Craft
Lara’s comedy influences and role models are Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Kevin Heart. Lara’s on-stage style and persona is conversational, observational, sharp, edgy, often raunchy, hip, smart and insightful.
“My comedy,” says Lara, “comes from just living my life.” He has the unique ability to take casual encounters with friends and people he meets on the street and finds material for jokes within them. It’s a style that creates an intimacy with his audience. Even in the large 400 seat audience venue for his Romantic Comedy HBO Special, Lara’s style and delivery created an intimate energy much like that of a small comedy club.
Ian began his rise to comic stardom by way of Comedy Central and HBO Latino’s Entre Nos franchise, which spotlights the best Latino standup talent on the scene. Comedian Aida Rodriguez, also an alum of Entre Nos, directs Lara’s HBO special.
The premiere of Romantic Comedy is his second special of 2022. His first, Growing Shame, premiered on Comedy Central Digital on February 10th as part of their series of half hours. He performed his 30-minute debut comedy special LA Meets NY for HBO Latino’s esteemed Entre Nos franchise in 2020, which did so well the streamer gave him his current special now streaming on HBO.
His appearance on Comedy Central’s StandUP Featuring has garnered over 10 million views collectively on social media, and he was a regular on the network’s hit series This Week at the Comedy Cellar. He is also a big favorite on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
A Dynamic Duo Team of Latino Producers Make It Happen
It was through the tireless, creative efforts of the dynamic Latino producing duo of Victor Elizalde and Edwin Licona., who in conjunction and cooperation with HBO, brought the ground-breaking Entre Nos series to life. Elizalde and Licona explain: “We wanted to create a Latino stand-up comedy show that was clever enough to attract a discerning audience that spoke both English and Spanish and was true to the Latino experience. So, ultimately the brand was developed as Entre Nos—We Speak Comedy.
Elizalde and Licona, who also produced Romantic Comedy, point out that, “HBO programming fought hard for this show to get it placed including forcing the show to be a licensed product and not an HBO Original. They continue, “Kudos to the HBO team for leading the way whilst allowing us to own the brand we created. This is unheard of for almost any modern-day producers”
However, the two enterprising Latino producers came up against the usual obstacles to a Latino production. According to Elizalde and Licona, “Too many platforms did not originally see the need or demand for Latino based comedy”
Furthermore, they explained, “It wasn’t until the breakout Orlando Leyba‘s comedy special on HBO did executives start to take notice that not only was there an audience but that they had no idea who the main attractions were like Frankie Quinones, Chris Estrada, Jerry Garcia and Aida Rodriguez to name a few. Hollywood execs did not realize that these folks are all household names, but just not in their household”. The latest shows on HBO were with Ian Lara, Ralph Barbosa and Gwen LaRoka. Judging by the requests for comp VIP tickets to the launch parties and activations by the talent agents, managers and platform execs these obstacles are being removed quickly.
So, What’s Next for Ian Lara?
When Lara was asked where he saw himself in five years — doing more comedy specials, a TV sitcom series, possibly a movie, Lara without hesitation answered enthusiastically, “All of the above.” Will Lara get his shot at the brass ring to become a “household name” like Frankie Quinones, Chris Estrada, Jerry Garcia and Aida Rodriguez?
Producers Elizalde and Lacona have demonstrated their passionate commitment to showcasing the wide diversity, shapes, sizes in authentic, relatable programs that highlight the best of our culture. The opportunities for Lara will certainly be there and for this rising comedy star, the sky is the limit.
To find out about Ian’s upcoming tour dates, check out his website: www.IanLaraLive.com. Romantic Comedy is now streaming on HBO.
