5 Comedians Who Can Get the Greenlight to Launch Your Career

2. Chelsea Handler

Handler would be on this list just for hosting her E! chat show “Chelsea Lately” and its companion, “After Lately,” which give comics like Natasha Leggero, Jen Kirkman, Jo Koy, Arden Myrin, Kurt Braunohler, and many more not-ready-for-primetime performers the opportunity to gain a following. But this year she’s also lending her name to two new network TV projects that are currently in development: a comedy created by and starring “Chelsea Lately” writer-performer Heather McDonald for Fox, and Canadian actor and comedian Ingrid Haas' semi-autobiographical comedy for NBC. Handler is executive producing both projects for the 2013 pilot season.