Part 3/16:
He reflects on his earliest days in warm-up, working on shows like Last Call with Carson Daly in 2005, and points out the dominance of small, tight-knit communities of warm-up comedians, of which there are perhaps a dozen or so working in LA and New York.
He also discusses the financial aspects, noting that warm-up comedians can earn around $4,000 per episode today—translating to roughly $80,000 per season for 22 episodes. This is a considerable, steady income compared to older days, when rates hovered around $1,500 to $2,000 per gig. Gary suggests that this sparked a conversation about how the industry’s compensation has shifted over time, with some high-profile sitcoms offering multi-million dollar paydays for principal roles, but much less for the warm-up act.