# Brooks Wheelan
**Brooks Wheelan** (born 1986) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcaster who was a featured cast member on *Saturday Night Live* for its 39th season and is known for his stand-up special *Alive in Alaska* (2024) and the podcast *Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1986, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; grew up in Manchester, Iowa[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/brooks-wheelan-769458/biography) |
| Education | B.S. in biomedical engineering, University of Iowa, 2009[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/brooks-wheelan-769458/biography) |
| SNL tenure | Featured player announced September 2013 for season 39; let go after one season, announced July 14, 2014[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/brooks-wheelan-769458/biography) • [2](https://time.com/2983652/brooks-wheelan-fired-snl/) |
| Debut album | *This Is Cool, Right?*, January 23, 2015, Comedy Dynamics; 12 tracks, 55 minutes 47 seconds[3](https://open.spotify.com/album/57EFNrKkcJe9OEQggNfORW) |
| Stand-up special | *Alive in Alaska* (2024), filmed at the Beartooth Theater in Anchorage; named one of the best specials of 2024 by *The New York Times*[4](https://cinematicarts.uiowa.edu/news/2026/04/iowa-snl-brooks-wheelan-campus-visit-stand-show) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34676427/) |
| Podcast | *Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan* (All Things Comedy, 2017 to present), in which guests describe the jobs they held before their careers took off[6](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/entry-level-with-brooks-wheelan/id1299984059) |
## Early life and engineering career
Wheelan was born in [Cedar Rapids, Iowa](https://www.edgepedia.org/cedar-rapids-iowa), and grew up in Manchester, a small town in rural Iowa, where he was an honor-roll student and a competitive wrestler[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/brooks-wheelan-769458/biography) • [4](https://cinematicarts.uiowa.edu/news/2026/04/iowa-snl-brooks-wheelan-campus-visit-stand-show). He has said he told his parents in elementary school that he wanted to join the *Saturday Night Live* cast, but he followed the sciences instead and earned a degree in biomedical engineering from the [University of Iowa](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-iowa) in 2009[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/brooks-wheelan-769458/biography). He performed stand-up around the Midwest in his late teens and studied at Second City Chicago during summer breaks[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/brooks-wheelan-769458/biography).
The engineering degree is what took him to Los Angeles. There he worked by day in a research lab with heart valves and eyeballs while performing stand-up at night, and he sharpened his improv and sketch skills at the UCB Theatre and the Hollywood Improv[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/brooks-wheelan-769458/biography). In a 2026 interview he described seeing comics like [Kumail Nanjiani](https://www.edgepedia.org/kumail-nanjiani), Kyle Kinane, and [Hannibal Buress](https://www.edgepedia.org/hannibal-buress) in the Chicago scene as models for what a comedy career could look like[7](https://littlevillagemag.com/interview-comedian-brooks-wheelan/).
## Saturday Night Live
Wheelan was named one of [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central)'s "Top 10 Comics to Watch in 2012" at the New York Comedy Festival, made his television debut on *Adam Devine's House Party* in 2013, and then performed at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal, where *SNL* creator [Lorne Michaels](https://www.edgepedia.org/lorne-michaels) saw him and invited him to audition[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/brooks-wheelan-769458/biography). In September 2013 he was announced as the last featured player added to the show's 39th-season cast[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/brooks-wheelan-769458/biography).
His most talked-about early appearance came in the [Jimmy Fallon](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-fallon)-hosted Christmas episode, in a [Celebrity Family Feud](https://www.edgepedia.org/celebrity-family-feud) sketch in which he played himself and insisted he was on the *SNL* cast while no one else on stage had heard of him[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/brooks-wheelan-769458/biography). On the show he did impressions of [Kid Rock](https://www.edgepedia.org/kid-rock) and One Direction's Harry Styles[2](https://time.com/2983652/brooks-wheelan-fired-snl/).
After one season, Wheelan announced on Twitter on July 14, 2014 that he would not return, writing, "Had a blast and loved every second of it. I'm totally honored to be able to make this next joke... FIRED FROM NEW YORK IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!"[2](https://time.com/2983652/brooks-wheelan-fired-snl/). A show representative said *SNL* does not comment on casting changes[2](https://time.com/2983652/brooks-wheelan-fired-snl/). He was one of three featured players let go that offseason, along with John Milhiser and [Noël Wells](https://www.edgepedia.org/noel-wells)[8](https://time.com/3332143/saturday-night-live-snl-michael-che-weekend-update-co-anchor/).
## Stand-up and recording
Wheelan released his debut comedy album, *This Is Cool, Right?*, on January 23, 2015 through Comedy Dynamics[3](https://open.spotify.com/album/57EFNrKkcJe9OEQggNfORW). The album is autobiographical, with tracks covering his Iowa upbringing, biomedical engineering, and his *SNL* experience; he recorded two performances of the same 55-minute show in one night and cut the recordings together himself[3](https://open.spotify.com/album/57EFNrKkcJe9OEQggNfORW) • [9](https://montrealrampage.com/interview-with-brooks-wheelan-this-is-cool-right/).
His stand-up special *Alive in Alaska* followed in 2024. Wheelan toured Alaska, filmed the material, and recorded the central hour at the Beartooth Theater in Anchorage; the special was released free on YouTube after he did not sell it to a distributor[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34676427/) • [10](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/dumb-people-town/brooks-wheelan-poop-not-punch). *The New York Times* named it one of the best comedy specials of 2024[4](https://cinematicarts.uiowa.edu/news/2026/04/iowa-snl-brooks-wheelan-campus-visit-stand-show).
## Podcasting and screen work
Since 2017 Wheelan has hosted *Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan* on the All Things Comedy network, a weekly interview show in which guests recount the jobs they worked before reaching their current positions; the show has run to nearly 300 episodes[6](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/entry-level-with-brooks-wheelan/id1299984059). In 2016 he hosted *Laughs in Translation*, an Above Average travel web series in which he searched for the funniest things in Denmark, France, and Germany[11](https://www.gq.com/story/let-brooks-wheelan-teach-you-to-be-funny-in-any-place-you-visit).
His screen credits include a Comedy Central special, appearances on *Conan* and *Late Night with Seth Meyers*, and guest roles on *A.P. Bio*, *I Think You Should Leave*, and *Girls*[4](https://cinematicarts.uiowa.edu/news/2026/04/iowa-snl-brooks-wheelan-campus-visit-stand-show). Since 2023 he has been part of a monthly residency at the Beacon Theatre in New York with [Seth Meyers](https://www.edgepedia.org/seth-meyers) and [John Oliver](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-oliver), and he tours as their opening act[7](https://littlevillagemag.com/interview-comedian-brooks-wheelan/).
## References
1. [Brooks Wheelan Biography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/brooks-wheelan-769458/biography)
2. [Saturday Night Live Cast Member Brooks Wheelan Says He Was Fired, TIME](https://time.com/2983652/brooks-wheelan-fired-snl/)
3. [This Is Cool, Right? Album by Brooks Wheelan, Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/57EFNrKkcJe9OEQggNfORW)
4. [From Iowa to SNL: Brooks Wheelan Campus Visit & Stand-up Show, University of Iowa Cinematic Arts](https://cinematicarts.uiowa.edu/news/2026/04/iowa-snl-brooks-wheelan-campus-visit-stand-show)
5. [Brooks Wheelan: Alive in Alaska (2024), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34676427/)
6. [Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan, Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/entry-level-with-brooks-wheelan/id1299984059)
7. [Comedian Brooks Wheelan on growing up in Iowa, road-tripping with Seth Meyers and the perils of Spider League, Little Village](https://littlevillagemag.com/interview-comedian-brooks-wheelan/)
8. [SNL Names Michael Che New 'Weekend Update' Co-Anchor, TIME](https://time.com/3332143/saturday-night-live-snl-michael-che-weekend-update-co-anchor/)
9. [Interview with Brooks Wheelan: This is Cool, Right?, Montreal Rampage](https://montrealrampage.com/interview-with-brooks-wheelan-this-is-cool-right/)
10. [Dumb People Town - Brooks Wheelan transcript, Podscripts](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/dumb-people-town/brooks-wheelan-poop-not-punch)
11. [Let Brooks Wheelan Teach You to Be Funny in Any Place You Visit, GQ](https://www.gq.com/story/let-brooks-wheelan-teach-you-to-be-funny-in-any-place-you-visit)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › American stand-up comedians, contemporary › Stand-up comedians born 1980 onward › Surnames N to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license