Yannis Pappas

Pappas was born and raised in New York; he says he started performing comedy in New York in 2000, and took roughly 2002 to 2005 off.⁠[1]

He recalls that after graduating from college he realized he would have to take a real job and saw comedy as a way to continue to “be a child”; his first set was five minutes at a “bringer” show at Carolines on Broadway, after which he “bombed for the next five years while getting better.”⁠[2]

He says he attended American University in Washington, D.C., where he majored in history and American studies.⁠[3]

By October 2010 he had produced more than 20 videos featuring his Greek character Mr. Panos, some drawing hundreds of thousands of 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 views.⁠[4]

He said the character draws partly on his mother, a college friend and his observations of the darker side and stereotypes of Greek culture; he described Mr. Panos as representing small-minded nationalists everywhere and said reactions ranged from treating him as a hero to anger and death threats.⁠[4]

In October 2013, as 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 and Univision prepared to launch Fusion, an English-language cable channel aimed at millennials, he was named, as a Greek-American stand-up comedian, to share the morning show desk with Mariana Atencio and Pedro Andrade.⁠[5]

In 2014 he was living in Miami, co-hosting Fusion Live, an hour-long news magazine airing weeknights at 8 p.m. Eastern on Fusion; that spring he flew to Boston to film his first The Half Hour stand-up special for Comedy Central, which debuted in June.⁠[1]

He recalls that the Fusion Live job lasted a year, that he got up at 3:30 a.m. every day, and that it taught him how to host.⁠[2]

In 2015 he cited Chris Rock, George Carlin and Bill Burr as influences on his observational material, which was often compared to that of the late Greg Giraldo.⁠[6]

He said his Puerto Rican transgender character Maurica had been embraced by the LGBT community and Latinos, while the Greek character Mr. Panos had caused much more controversy.⁠[6]

In 2015 he hosted 2 Point Lead, one of AOL’s new sports video programs, interviewing athletes such as Chicago CubsChicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team in the National League Central Division, playing at Wrigley Field on Chicago’s North Side. Originally known as the White Stockings, the club joined the National League as a charter member in 1876 and is the only team from its inaugural season still playing in its original city. The Cubs name became official in 1907. The franchise has won 17 National League pennants and three World Series titles, in 1907, 1908 and 2016. The 2016 championship ended a 108-year World Series title drought. The Ricketts family has held a controlling interest since 2009.Open the full entry first baseman Anthony Rizzo on a makeshift set at AOL’s New York headquarters.⁠[7]

After about a year in Miami he moved back to New York, where he hosted 2 Point Lead.⁠[8]

His debut comedy album, Let Me Be Yannis, was recorded live at Comedy on State in Madison, Wisconsin, in 2015.⁠[9]

In April 2016 SiriusXM’s Raw Comedy channel premiered the album; on the show he said both Maurica and Mr. Panos were born in his stand-up, that the characters were more popular than he was, and that he was a stand-up comic first.⁠[10]

The album was released by All Things Comedy and covers topics including gun control and destination weddings.⁠[11]

SiriusXM named Let Me Be Yannis its 2016 Comedy Album of the Year.⁠[12]

In July 2016 he headlined his own hour at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal and performed in its Ethnic Show.⁠[8]

He and comedian Chris Distefano created and co-host History Hyenas, a podcast that blends history and humor, which has been active since 2018.⁠[13]

By 2019 he and Distefano were also making the web series Bay Ridge Boys.⁠[14]

In May 2018 the VR broadcaster NextVR partnered with Oculus to offer programming including live stand-up comedy from Gotham Comedy Club through the Oculus Venues app.⁠[15]

He hosted Live in Gotham, NextVR’s virtual reality live stand-up series, which ran for 44 episodes in 2018–2019.⁠[16]

On September 8, 2019, he released his first hour-long stand-up special, Blowing the Light, on YouTube; produced by Andrew Schulz and shot at New York Comedy Club in New York City, it covers political division in America, online culture and how modern amenities have saved and ruined people.⁠[17]

The special was distributed by Comedy Dynamics and runs 1 hour 3 minutes.⁠[18]

On October 18, 2019, he performed in Jamestown, New York, as part of the National Comedy Center’s Tropicana Room stand-up series.⁠[14]

On April 12, 2021, he appeared on episode #175 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, titled “History and Comedy”; the outline covers Tim DillonTim DillonTim Dillon is an American stand-up comedian, podcast host and actor raised on Long Island who once worked as a New York City tour bus guide; he hosts the podcast The Tim Dillon Show and has released specials including A Real Hero on Netflix.Open the full entry and absolute power, mortality and immortality, the Battle of Crete, the History Hyenas podcast, conspiracy theories, Andrew YangAndrew YangAndrew Yang is an entrepreneur and author who ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination advocating universal basic income. He co-founded the Forward Party and is the founder and CEO of Noble Mobile.Open the full entry and New York City, and advice for young people.⁠[19]

He hosts the weekly podcast LongDays, which pokes fun at issues from all sides, with news and trending-topic rants on Saturdays and guest conversations on Thursdays.⁠[20]

In September 2021 he said he likes exploring the world through other people’s perspectives, and that besides Maurica he plays characters such as the Greek figure Mr. Palmer.⁠[3]

On May 18, 2022, he released the stand-up special Mom Love on YouTube, in which, as a new father, he explores gender identity, getting old, and how a mother’s love leads people to live in completely different realities.⁠[16]

On June 1, 2025, he released the stand-up special Property Owner on YouTube, telling the story of a father who moves from the city to the country and gets a crash course in rural life, and arguing that many political divides are really cultural ones between city and country; it was shot at the Comedy Mothership in Austin, Texas, and directed by Jason Katz.⁠[21]

His official biography says he has appeared multiple times and is a regular on podcasts including The Joe RoganJoe RoganJoe Rogan is an American podcaster, stand-up comedian and UFC commentator whose long-form interview podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, launched in 2009, is among the most listened-to podcasts in the world; he hosted the NBC reality show Fear Factor, and his show’s content and political statements have repeatedly drawn controversy.Open the full entry Experience, the Tim Dillon show, YMH, 2 Bears 1 Cave, Bad Friends, Lex Fridman and Tigerbelly; he also co-hosted MSG’s sports fan show The Bracket and BetMGM’s Unleashed with Olivia Harlan Dekker, has taken part in festivals including Netflix Is a Joke Festival and Just For Laughs, and tours the world.⁠[22]

His weekly podcast, The Yannis Pappas Hour, offers a comic twist on current events.⁠[23]

As of October 2026, History Hyenas listed 323 episodes on Apple Podcasts.⁠[13]

Earlier he had also appeared on AXS TV, truTV’s How To Be a Grown Up, VH1’s Best Week Ever, Fox Business and ABC’s Good Morning America.⁠[24]

Personal website: Public link: https://www.yannispappascomedy.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[25]

X: Public account: https://x.com/yannispappas (opens in a new window)⁠[25]

YouTube: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Yannispappascomedian (opens in a new window)⁠[25]