Tom Segura and Russell Peters are among the headliners booked for a revamped Just For Laughs comedy festival.
The Montreal summer showcase is touting a lineup that includes Toronto’s Mae Martin, Pakistani-American comic Kumail Nanjinai, and U.S. comics Fortune Feimster, Michelle Buteau and Adam Ray.
JFL president and CEO Sylvain Parent-Bédard says this year’s festival will have something for everyone as it rebounds from bankruptcy under new ownership.
Parent-Bédard’s company ComediHa! purchased Just For Laughs last year after the Montreal comedy giant declared bankruptcy.
The company mounted shows in Vancouver and Bermuda last year but the Montreal festival is their flagship event.
JFL is set to run from July 16 to 27 and tickets go on sale on May 12.
Parent-Bédard says he’s applying a “comedy first” approach to a new chapter of Just For Laughs.
“I have my hands on the wheel. We can make our own decisions, and we are going to make decisions about love for comedy, about passion,” Parent-Bedard said in an interview.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2025.
