# Mae Martin
**Mae Martin** (Mae Pearl Martin, born 1987) is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, and recording artist known for co-creating, co-writing, and starring in the [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4)/Netflix comedy series *Feel Good* and for creating and starring in the Netflix thriller miniseries *Wayward*.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/118334/mae-martin) Martin, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, was born in Toronto, Ontario, and built much of their early career in the United Kingdom before returning to large-scale Netflix projects.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/118334/mae-martin) • [2](https://halifax.citynews.ca/2026/01/07/mae-martin-thrilled-queer-canadian-stories-are-embraced-as-wayward-heated-rivalry-earn-glaad-nods/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and birth | Mae Pearl Martin, born 1987 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/118334/mae-martin) |
| Breakthrough series | *Feel Good* (Channel 4/Netflix, 2020–2021), co-created with Joe Hampson; BAFTA TV Award nomination for Female Performance in a Comedy Programme[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10098620/awards/) |
| Stand-up specials on Netflix | *Dope* (2017) and *SAP* (March 2023), their first hour-long Netflix special[4](https://www.maemartin.net/) • [5](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/02/04/toronto-born-comedian-mae-martin-signs-first-look-deal-with-netflix/) |
| Taskmaster | Contestant on series 15 (2023) and series champion[6](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/mae_martin//) |
| *Wayward* (2025) | Created, co-showran, executive produced, and starred as Alex Dempsey; drew 1.5 billion streaming minutes in a single week[7](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/mae-martin-wayward-interview?inapp=true) |
| Music | Debut album *I'm a TV* (2025), a set of reflective indie rock[5](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/02/04/toronto-born-comedian-mae-martin-signs-first-look-deal-with-netflix/) • [8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mae-martin-mn0004785570) |
| Netflix first-look deal | Signed February 2026 to create and develop scripted series for the streamer[5](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/02/04/toronto-born-comedian-mae-martin-signs-first-look-deal-with-netflix/) |
## Early life and start in comedy
Martin grew up in Toronto to a Canadian writer and teacher mother, Wendy Martin, and an English writer, actor, and musician father, James Chatto; the family also spent several years of Martin's childhood on the Greek island of Corfu.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mae-martin-mn0004785570) They cite the Kids in the Hall, Pee-Wee Herman, and [Bette Midler](https://www.edgepedia.org/bette-midler) as early influences and went to a comedy club for the first time at age 11.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mae-martin-mn0004785570)
**A fast start with hard years behind it.** While still barely a teenager, Martin began performing with a comedy troupe for the first time, left school at 15, and took a job on the staff of [The Second City](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-second-city) club.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mae-martin-mn0004785570) In interviews they have described beginning stand-up at 13, soon followed by drinking and drug use, being kicked out of the house at 16, and going to rehab and becoming sober at age 20.[9](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/who-is-mae-martin/) They were 26 when they debuted the show *Slumber Party* at Edinburgh's 2013 Fringe Festival, and were already writing for television by the time of a 2017 *Soho Theatre Live* appearance.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mae-martin-mn0004785570)
Martin moved to the UK in 2011 and worked widely with [BBC Radio 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-4), presenting *Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Sexuality* (2016), *Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Addiction*, and *GrownUpLand*, a program aimed at millennials.[6](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/mae_martin//) The Radio 4 sexuality series, loosely based on their live show *Us* (premiered 2015), was nominated for a BBC Audio Drama Award.[6](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/mae_martin//) In 2019 they published the book *Can Everyone Please Calm Down? A Guide to 21st Century Sexuality*.[9](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/who-is-mae-martin/)
## Feel Good
*Feel Good*, Martin's first scripted series, ran for two seasons in 2020 and 2021 on Channel 4 and Netflix, with Netflix as international distributor.[5](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/02/04/toronto-born-comedian-mae-martin-signs-first-look-deal-with-netflix/) Martin co-created and co-wrote it with Joe Hampson and starred as a fictionalized version of themself, a comedian navigating a new relationship with George ([Charlotte Ritchie](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlotte-ritchie)), addictive impulses, and a strained bond with their mother Linda, played by [Lisa Kudrow](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisa-kudrow).[10](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/mar/15/mae-martin-comedian-addict-television-channel-4-feel-good-lisa-kudrow) The role of Linda was written with Kudrow in mind, and Kudrow told [NBC News](https://www.edgepedia.org/nbc-news) she read all of the first season's scripts before accepting.[11](https://steditions.com/series-lesbiennes/feel-good-la-comdie-dramatique-queer-de-mae-martin)
The series earned Martin a 2021 BAFTA TV Award nomination for Female Performance in a Comedy Programme.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10098620/awards/) Martin and Hampson won the [Royal Television Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-television-society)'s 2021 Writer, Comedy award, and Martin won the RTS Breakthrough Award that year; the show also took the Writers' Guild of Great Britain award for Best TV Situation Comedy in 2021 and the NME Award for Best TV Series in 2022.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10098620/awards/) At the 2022 RTS Television Awards Martin received the Breakthrough Award.[11](https://steditions.com/series-lesbiennes/feel-good-la-comdie-dramatique-queer-de-mae-martin) The first season held a 100 percent favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes across 41 critics.[11](https://steditions.com/series-lesbiennes/feel-good-la-comdie-dramatique-queer-de-mae-martin)
## Stand-up, Taskmaster, and podcasting
Martin's Netflix specials include *Dope* and *SAP*, the latter released in March 2023 as their first hour-long special for the platform.[4](https://www.maemartin.net/) • [5](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/02/04/toronto-born-comedian-mae-martin-signs-first-look-deal-with-netflix/) *SAP* scored 75 on Metacritic, with all four collected critic reviews positive; reviewers highlighted its earnest, self-effacing style and its direct criticism of comedians who make trans people the butt of jokes.[12](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/mae-martin-sap/critic-reviews/) • [13](https://exclaim.ca/comedy/article/mae_martin_sap_comedy_special_review_netflix-directed_by_abbi_jacobson) The special was nominated for a Juno Award for Comedy Album of the Year.[9](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/who-is-mae-martin/)
**2023 brought three visible wins at once.** Martin competed in series 15 of the British game show *[Taskmaster](https://www.edgepedia.org/taskmaster-tv-series)* that year and won the series championship, a run that British Comedy Guide credits with building them an additional fanbase.[6](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/mae_martin//) Also in 2023 they started the podcast *Handsome* with comedians [Tig Notaro](https://www.edgepedia.org/tig-notaro) and Fortune Feimster.[9](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/who-is-mae-martin/) Their other screen work in this period includes playing Grace St. James in *The Flight Attendant* (2020).[14](https://www.metacritic.com/person/mae-martin/)
## Wayward and recent work
*Wayward*, Martin's Netflix limited series, premiered in September 2025. Martin created it, served as co-showrunner and executive producer, and starred as Alex Dempsey, a trans police officer who moves with his wife Laura ([Sarah Gadon](https://www.edgepedia.org/sarah-gadon)) to the seemingly idyllic town of Tall Pines, home to a troubled-teen academy run by Evelyn ([Toni Collette](https://www.edgepedia.org/toni-collette)).[15](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/mae-martin-wayward-plot-release-date-news?inapp=trueOs) • [16](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/netflix-just-dropped-a-dark-psychological-thriller-series-that-will-keep-you-guessing-until-the-very-end) Martin has said the series draws on their own adolescence in early-2000s Toronto, and that the teen characters Abby and Leila were inspired by a real childhood friend who was sent to a "troubled teen" school for two years.[7](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/mae-martin-wayward-interview?inapp=true) • [9](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/who-is-mae-martin/) Netflix reported 1.5 billion streaming minutes for the series in a single week.[7](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/mae-martin-wayward-interview?inapp=true) In January 2026 the series earned a GLAAD Media Award nomination for outstanding limited series, and Martin's podcast *Handsome* was nominated for outstanding podcast; Martin said they were grateful Canada had reached a point where queer stories no longer have to live in the margins.[2](https://halifax.citynews.ca/2026/01/07/mae-martin-thrilled-queer-canadian-stories-are-embraced-as-wayward-heated-rivalry-earn-glaad-nods/)
**Music and a Netflix deal.** Martin released their debut album, *I'm a TV*, in 2025, reflective indie rock.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mae-martin-mn0004785570) In February 2026 they signed a first-look deal with Netflix to create and develop scripted series for the service, with a new stand-up special also planned; financial details were not publicized.[5](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/02/04/toronto-born-comedian-mae-martin-signs-first-look-deal-with-netflix/) Martin was also set to host the [Juno Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/juno-awards) in March 2026.[5](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/02/04/toronto-born-comedian-mae-martin-signs-first-look-deal-with-netflix/)
## Themes and style
Martin's material across stand-up, radio, and television returns to identity, sexuality, addiction recovery, and mental health, blending personal confession with comedy.[17](https://www.maemartin.org/bio) They have described *Feel Good* as a work of fiction with emotional truth rather than therapy, and have said that sharing things one is ashamed of draws audiences in: after shows about gender and sexuality, teenagers came out to their families in the lobby.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/mar/15/mae-martin-comedian-addict-television-channel-4-feel-good-lisa-kudrow) With *Wayward*, Martin moved from comedy into thriller territory while keeping the same preoccupations; the series touches on trans identity and the troubled teen industry, and reviewers noted that it contextualizes and complicates those topics rather than turning them into polemic.[18](https://time.com/7319656/wayward-review-netflix/)
## References
1. [Mae Martin, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/118334/mae-martin)
2. [Mae Martin 'thrilled' queer Canadian stories are embraced as 'Wayward,' 'Heated Rivalry' earn GLAAD nods, The Canadian Press via CityNews Halifax](https://halifax.citynews.ca/2026/01/07/mae-martin-thrilled-queer-canadian-stories-are-embraced-as-wayward-heated-rivalry-earn-glaad-nods/)
3. [Feel Good (2020–2021) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10098620/awards/)
4. [Mae Martin official site](https://www.maemartin.net/)
5. [Toronto-born comedian Mae Martin signs first-look deal with Netflix, The Canadian Press via CityNews Toronto](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/02/04/toronto-born-comedian-mae-martin-signs-first-look-deal-with-netflix/)
6. [Mae Martin, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/mae_martin//)
7. [Mae Martin on Creating the Thriller Wayward and Its Troubled Teen Story, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/mae-martin-wayward-interview?inapp=true)
8. [Mae Martin Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mae-martin-mn0004785570)
9. [Meet Mae Martin, the 'Wayward' Breakout Who Created the Netflix Miniseries, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/who-is-mae-martin/)
10. [Mae Martin: 'It's enriching to share things you're ashamed of', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/mar/15/mae-martin-comedian-addict-television-channel-4-feel-good-lisa-kudrow)
11. [Feel Good : la comédie dramatique queer de Mae Martin, St Éditions](https://steditions.com/series-lesbiennes/feel-good-la-comdie-dramatique-queer-de-mae-martin)
12. [Mae Martin: SAP critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/mae-martin-sap/critic-reviews/)
13. [Mae Martin Calls Out Discriminatory Comedians by Name on Empathetic, Insightful 'SAP', Exclaim!](https://exclaim.ca/comedy/article/mae_martin_sap_comedy_special_review_netflix-directed_by_abbi_jacobson)
14. [Mae Martin, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/mae-martin/)
15. ['Wayward': Mae Martin TV Show Now Streaming, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/mae-martin-wayward-plot-release-date-news?inapp=trueOs)
16. [Netflix's new No. 1 series is a twisted psychological thriller, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/netflix-just-dropped-a-dark-psychological-thriller-series-that-will-keep-you-guessing-until-the-very-end)
17. [Mae Martin – Official Biography](https://www.maemartin.org/bio)
18. [Toni Collette Is Quietly Terrifying in the Excellent Netflix Thriller Wayward, Time](https://time.com/7319656/wayward-review-netflix/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › British and Irish comedians*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 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