Bobby Lee (comedian)

Lee began his career in his hometown of San Diego, where he met Pauly Shore at a comedy club’s amateur night; he recalled that early on he was a late-night comic playing to about ten people.⁠[1]

He began his stand-up career in the 1990s and made his name at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.⁠[2]

In 2001 he joined the sketch comedy show MADtv, where he spent eight seasons as a cast member through 2009.⁠[3]

By January 2007 he had been a MADtv regular for five seasons, playing characters including Connie Chung, Barbara Walters and Bae Sung.⁠[1]

That August he said he was starting his seventh year on MADtv, had toured with Carlos Mencia and done many shows with Martin Lawrence, and had a small part in Judd Apatow’s film Pineapple Express.⁠[4]

In November 2008 Fox’s MADtv was canceled after 14 seasons; Lee, who joined in season 7, had become one of its breakout stars and one of the few Asian American men on television.⁠[5]

In January 2012 he joined Maker Studios, which financed BobbyTV, a new YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel he created, and featured him in its relaunch of The Station.⁠[6]

NBCNBCNBC (National Broadcasting Company) is an American national commercial broadcast television network. It was founded by RCA in 1926, began as a radio network and later developed television. With ABC and CBS it is one of the three traditional U.S. broadcast networks; it passed to General Electric with RCA in 1986, merged with Universal to form NBCUniversal in 2004, has been controlled by Comcast since 2011, and is one of the five networks that rotate in the White House television pool.Open the full entry’s sitcom Animal Practice premiered on August 12, 2012, with Lee as a regular playing Dr. Yamamoto, an offbeat veterinarian also devoted to gambling and partying with the staff; it moved to Wednesdays from September 26.⁠[7]

He played Kenneth Park in the Harold and Kumar films and appeared in The Dictator; he was also a regular guest on E!’s Chelsea Lately.⁠[7]

In 2015 he began hosting the podcast TigerBelly with Khalyla Kuhn.⁠[8]

In July 2016 The CW named returning cast for its new MADtv, with Lee, a 2001–2009 veteran, set to guest in an episode after the July 26 premiere.⁠[9]

On March 27, 2018, ABCABCABC (American Broadcasting Company) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It grew out of NBC’s Blue radio network, took its name after becoming independent in 1943, developed into a national television network after merging with United Paramount Theatres in 1953, was acquired by Capital Cities in 1985, and has been owned by The Walt Disney Company since 1996. With CBS and NBC it is one of the three traditional U.S. broadcast networks, and it is one of the five networks that rotate in the White House television pool.Open the full entry’s sitcom Splitting Up Together premiered, with Lee among its stars alongside Lindsay Price and Kelsey Asbille.⁠[10]

In 2020 he and Andrew Santino launched the podcast Bad Friends.⁠[11]

In 2021–2022 he played Dr. Kang in Reservation Dogs; he also played Magnum’s eccentric friend Jin Jeong in Magnum P.I., a character who debuted in season 2, episode 2 and remained through season 5.⁠[8]

He appeared on episode 287 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast; the outline covers video games, grappling, fame, Carlos Mencia, TigerBelly and power.⁠[12]

In January 2026 HuluHuluHulu is a U.S. subscription streaming service offering series, films and original programming from the major television networks and studios, along with Hulu + Live TV, which includes live channels. It was founded in 2007 as a joint venture between NBCUniversal and News Corporation and opened to the public in March 2008; after a series of ownership changes, The Walt Disney Company took operational control in 2019 and full ownership in 2025, and is integrating Hulu into Disney+ as Disney’s global general entertainment brand.Open the full entry announced his first stand-up special after more than 30 years in comedy, filmed at the Balboa Theater in his hometown of San Diego, directed by Louis Katz and produced by North Hill Productions, with Lee, Bill Burr and Mike Bertolina as executive producers.⁠[13]

In March 2026 he announced The Finally Tour 2026, his first headline run, starting April 24 in Detroit with 19 cities listed; his voice work includes The Awesomes, Inside Job and Wish Dragon.⁠[14]

In April 2026 he announced his first solo tour of Australia, starting in Perth on August 13 and visiting Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane before ending in Auckland, New Zealand, on August 23.⁠[15]

In October 2026 Bad Friends signed an ad sales and distribution deal with Wave, with 7EQUIS continuing to produce the show; the podcast was then drawing more than 38 million monthly views across platforms.⁠[11]

His screen credits also include And Just Like That… and the Netflix series Love, and he appears in Sony’s animated film GOAT; he is a frequent guest on podcasts such as This Past Weekend and Flagrant.⁠[15]

X: Public account: https://x.com/bobbyleelive (opens in a new window)⁠[12]