Soder’s screen work spans comedy and drama. He portrayed Michael “Mafee” Maffei on Showtime’s Billions, appeared on television for HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central, and earned late-night turns on Conan and Late Night with Seth Meyers. His stand-up hours include Comedy Central’s Not Special and HBO’s Son of a Gary, both praised for blending precise jokes with an open, conversational tone that feels intimate yet explosively funny.
A fixture since the mid-2000s, Soder reached a wider audience as co-host of The Bonfire on SiriusXM, showcasing his improvisational chops and collaborative spirit. Internationally, he has performed at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal and toured in the UK and Europe, gaining a reputation for material that travels well without losing its personal touch.
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Known to fans as “the Golden Retriever of Comedy,” Soder balances optimism with honesty, letting vulnerable stories and crafted bits land with emotional resonance. On set and in clubs, he remains a comic’s comic and crowd favorite. See him live.
Early Life & Education
Childhood background and influences.
Dan Soder was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and raised in the suburbs of Aurora, Colorado, a setting that blended calm with the grit of a working family. At home he absorbed humor as a pressure valve; clever one-liners were a way to defuse awkwardness, and storytelling around the dinner table taught rhythm and timing. Loss in his family during his teens forced him to grow up early, and that grief later became the wellspring for his mix of warmth and gallows humor. He devoured VHS tapes of stand-up and stayed up late for cable comedy blocks, learning that jokes could be playful and painfully honest.
Education and first steps toward comedy.
In high school he treated class presentations like mini-sets, discovering the rush that comes when a room leans in. He enrolled at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where the campus bulletin boards and coffeehouses advertised late-night open mics. Between lectures and part-time jobs, he wrote premises in spiral notebooks and tested them at night, learning to trim fat, place tags, and record every set. Summer breaks took him back to Colorado, where Denver’s storied Comedy Works provided a demanding crucible of tough audiences. Those reps showed him the importance of joke discipline and camaraderie.
Early inspirations and first performances.
Soder’s early influences ranged from Richard Pryor and George Carlin to Dave Attell and Patrice O’Neal, comics who combined sharp observation with emotional truth. His first paid spots were in bar backrooms and bookstore corners, where clinking glasses and espresso steam competed with punch lines. He built five minutes about growing up in Colorado, friendship, loss, and triumphs, then stretched to ten by adding setups and tighter callbacks. The lessons were simple: write daily, bomb gracefully, listen harder than you talk.
Career Beginnings & Breakthrough | Dan Soder Tour Dates
Dan Soder’s path started at humble open mics, first as a college student testing jokes in Tucson coffee shops and at Laffs Comedy Caffe, then grabbing extra stage time in Phoenix and back home in Denver. After graduating, he moved to New York City in 2007 to chase more reps, working day jobs while hustling from bar shows to late-night club spots at places like Carolines and Stand Up NY. Those early years were about learning to bomb, trimming premises to their essence, and developing his signature mix of blue-collar storytelling and elastic character voices. He leaned into personal material—grief, friendship, and sports fandom—while keeping the tone playful and humane.
Initial recognition came as bookers noticed his consistency. A showcase at Just for Laughs in Montreal as a New Face signaled he was on the industry’s radar, and Comedy Central followed, first with sets on shows and then with The Half Hour. Around the same time, MTV2’s Guy Code introduced him to a younger audience that liked his everyman perspective. Late-night appearances on Conan and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert sharpened his economy of language, forcing tight five-minute blasts that highlighted his precise timing and strong tags. As clips circulated online, his voices—gravelly tough guys, sensitive bros, and sports-radio archetypes—became calling cards.
The breakthrough phase clicked when he co-launched The Bonfire on SiriusXM with Big Jay Oakerson in 2015, building a daily, joke-rich chemistry that produced countless shareable moments. In 2016, he landed a recurring role on Showtime’s Billions as Michael “Mafee” Maffei, translating his comic timing into grounded acting and introducing him to viewers who rarely watch stand-up. That momentum set up his first hour, Not Special, and later HBO’s Son of a Gary, a widely praised special that balanced sharp jokes with vulnerable stories about loss. Bits from those hours traveled far on social platforms and streaming services, drawing new fans to club dates and podcasts.
Compared with peers, Soder favors warmth over confrontation. Where Big Jay thrives on fearless crowd work and Mark Normand on rapid-fire wordplay, Soder leans into character-driven storytelling with a soft touch that still lands hard laughs. He shares Nate Bargatze’s approachable tone and Joe List’s neurotic honesty, yet his radio chops and acting credits broadened his mainstream profile without sanding down his club credibility, a balance that marks his true breakthrough on club stages and national television. That reputation keeps growing.
Dan Soder Shows & Style, Specials & Projects
Dan Soder’s stand‑up blends warm storytelling, sharp observational tags, and nimble character work. Onstage he feels like a funny conversation—lowering his voice for confessions, then snapping into goofy sound effects, wrestling‑promo cadences, and quick, precise impressions. The nickname he embraces, “the Golden Retriever of Comedy,” matches an eager, friendly presence that disarms the room and invites honesty. Instead of roasting the crowd, he usually flips the jokes inward, mining his working‑class childhood, grief, and sobriety with self‑deprecating good humor. The result is an affable persona that still lands hard, technical laughs.
Notable specials and long sets:
- The Half Hour (Comedy Central, 2012) — a breakout 30‑minute set introducing his storytelling and voices to national audiences.
- Not Special (Comedy Central, 2016) — his first hour, pairing rowdy act‑outs with family stories; widely available via Comedy Central platforms and official clips on YouTube.
- Son of a Gary (HBO, 2019) — an acclaimed hour on fathers, grief, and growing up, available on Max, often cited for balancing tenderness, silliness, and dense joke writing.
Beyond stand‑up, Soder plays trader Dudley “Mafee” on Showtime’s Billions, a recurring role that showcased his dry timing. He has appeared on Inside Amy Schumer and MTV2’s Guy Code, and performed stand‑up on Conan and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. From 2015 to 2023 he co‑hosted The Bonfire on SiriusXM with Big Jay Oakerson; today he remains a frequent guest on podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience and You Made It Weird, and posts tour clips across YouTube and social platforms.
Critics highlight his humane jokes, finely drawn characters, and patient storytelling that still delivers big laugh payoffs. Audiences praise Son of a Gary for turning heavy topics cathartic and fun. Peers cite his clean setups, purposeful act‑outs, and crisp tags that sustain headliner momentum consistently.
Dan Soder Tour 2026 & Live Performances
Touring is the heartbeat of a comedian’s career, connecting crafted material with real audiences across cities and continents. National runs usually start with club weekends, then scale to theater circuits once demand grows, while international legs target English-speaking hubs and festival hotspots like Edinburgh, Melbourne, Montreal, and Just for Laughs tours. Routing balances travel costs, venue capacity, and night-of-week strength; Fridays and Saturdays anchor the schedule, with Sundays for travel or bonus matinees. Successful tours blend local references, proven bits, and adaptive crowd work so the show feels fresh in Miami, Manchester, or Melbourne without sacrificing the comedian’s core voice.
Signature live formats range from tight, new-material “work in progress” hours to polished, filmed specials. Many comics design themed tours around a central idea—family, identity, tech, or politics—so the arc of jokes lands like a story with act breaks. Recurring formats include crowd-work nights, improvised riff sessions with a pianist or DJ, and “best-of” anniversary sets. Clubs offer intimacy and multiple shows per night; theaters trade proximity for production—lighting cues, screens, and openers matched to tone. Typical ticket prices range from $20–$45 USD in clubs, $45–$120 USD in theaters, and $150+ USD for premium meet-and-greet bundles, depending on market demand.
Special events expand reach and create buzz. Co-headline tours pair complementary voices, letting audiences enjoy contrasting perspectives in one night while splitting production costs. Festival galas put comics alongside actors, sketch troupes, and podcasters, attracting press and social clips that extend beyond the room. Increasingly, comedians tour with live podcast tapings, crowd Q&As, and post-show meetups that deepen community. Collaborations with nonprofits support causes through benefit shows, while partnerships with streaming platforms enable “on tour” recordings that later become specials. Limited residencies in New York, Los Angeles, or London help refine material efficiently without the wear and tear of continuous travel.
| Year | Cities | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | New York, Chicago, Toronto | Club-to-theater breakout; added late shows after sellouts |
| 2023 | London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Berlin | European leg with local openers; festival gala taping |
| 2024 | Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin, Miami | Theater run with live podcast encore and new hour preview |
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Awards, Achievements & Influence
Dan Soder’s résumé is heavy on meaningful milestones, even if his shelf isn’t crowded with major trophies. His breakout hour, Not Special, premiered on Comedy Central in 2016 and established his voice as a sharp, empathetic storyteller. In 2019, his HBO special, Son of a Gary, earned widespread praise for its balance of personal candor and hard laughs, expanding his national profile. On television, his recurring role as Mafee on Showtime’s Billions introduced him to audiences beyond stand-up, while his long-running SiriusXM show The Bonfire built a loyal following. He has also headlined respected festivals and theaters, underscoring durable, industry-wide recognition.
Soder’s influence shows up in greenrooms and podcasts where younger comics study his process. He models how to turn specific biographical material into relatable stories, using clean premises, precise tags, and character voices without losing emotional truth. His willingness to talk about family, loss, and insecurity—while relentlessly chasing the best joke—has helped normalize vulnerability in modern comedy. Through The Bonfire, his riff-heavy banter and quick, collaborative tagging demonstrated how radio can function as a daily writer’s room, shaping a generation’s approach to improvisation. Offstage, his consistent work ethic and emphasis on building a new hour annually set a pragmatic standard.
Artistically, Soder’s stand-up blends the tight, joke-dense mechanics of New York’s club tradition with the conversational looseness of talk radio. Growing up in Colorado, he absorbed sports chatter, wrestling promos, and regional working‑class humor, later refining those rhythms on East Coast stages. The result is a style that moves fluidly between act-outs, voices, and straightforward observation, anchored by careful structure and economy of words. He favors clarity over cynicism, earns laughs with specificity rather than shock, and treats crowd work as a supplement to written material. That combination shapes his reputation as a reliable craftsman and a generous collaborator.
Dan Soder Songs & Albums: Personal Life & Fun Facts
Bo Burnham’s personal life reflects the same careful thought he brings to the stage. Born on August 21, 1990, in Hamilton, Massachusetts, he is the youngest of three children; his father, Scott, owned a small construction company, and his mother, Patricia, worked as a hospice nurse. He attended St. John’s Preparatory School, sang in the choir, and was accepted to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts before deferring to pursue comedy full time. Burnham has lived in Los Angeles for much of his career and has been in a long-term relationship with writer-director Lorene Scafaria; the pair keep their home life private, sharing only occasional professional updates. Away from the spotlight, he writes every day, reads plays and poetry, records demos in a small home studio, and relaxes by playing piano and pickup basketball.
Interesting bits of trivia help explain his creative path. He uploaded his first comedy song to YouTube at age 16 in December 2006, inadvertently launching a career from his bedroom. He performed his first club set at 17 at The Comedy Studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and soon began touring nationally. His official YouTube channel has accumulated over one billion views, with multiple videos, including “Welcome to the Internet” and “All Eyes On Me,” crossing the 100‑million mark. Burnham is six feet five inches tall, often performs barefoot, and meticulously storyboards shows, timing lighting and sound cues with musical precision. He has spoken candidly about anxiety and panic attacks, a theme that informed the behind-the-scenes honesty of Make Happy and Inside, and he balances public work with long stretches of offline writing and directing. In addition to stand-up, he enjoys directing other comedians’ specials and narrative projects, a hobby-turned-craft that keeps his creative life varied and resilient. He values privacy, kindness, curiosity, and steady craft.
Dan Soder Biography Q&A
What is Dan Soder’s full name?
His legal name is Daniel E. Soder, but he performs and is widely known as Dan Soder across stand-up, TV, radio, and podcasts, keeping a clear, memorable stage identity for his audiences.
When and where was Dan Soder born?
He was born on June 24, 1983, in Hartford, Connecticut, and raised in Aurora, Colorado, experiences that shaped his voice with a mix of a coastal birthplace and Rocky Mountain childhood perspective.
How did Dan Soder start their career?
He started stand-up at the University of Arizona, then moved to New York City in 2007, grinding through mics and spots until televised sets and Comedy Central appearances expanded his audience.
What are Dan Soder’s most famous specials?
His hours include Not Special (Comedy Central, 2016) and Son of a Gary (HBO, 2019), praised for storytelling, character voices, and heartfelt material about family, grief, friendships, and everyday awkwardness too.
What tours has Dan Soder performed in?
Recently, he’s headlined The Golden Retriever of Comedy Tour, with stops at The Plaza Live (Orlando), Tampa Theatre, Boston’s Boch Center, Miller Theater Philadelphia, Texas Theatre Dallas, Cullen Performance Hall Houston.
Has Dan Soder won any awards?
He hasn’t taken home big mainstream awards, but his specials and radio work draw critical praise, and he’s a fixture at top festivals and clubs, earning industry respect and a growing audience.
What is Dan Soder’s humor style?
Observational and self-deprecating, he blends personal stories with social commentary, vivid character voices, and radio-DJ impressions, weaving themes of grief, friendship, sports, and pop culture into conversational sets that candid and relatable.
What projects is Dan Soder working on now?
He’s touring new material for a future hour, appearing on podcasts, and pursuing TV roles, building toward another special while refining jokes in clubs between theater dates around the country.
How can fans get tickets to Dan Soder’s shows?
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What makes Dan Soder unique among comedians?
His blend of vulnerability, precise writing, and playful radio-style voices creates a personable stage presence that balances laughs with emotional depth, broadly appealing to comedy diehards and casual theater audiences alike.
What’s next for Dan Soder after 2026?
Expect continued touring and development of a new special, alongside acting roles and podcast appearances; timelines may shift, but his focus on crafting stronger hours and connecting with audiences should remain.
Where did Dan Soder grow up and study?
Born in Hartford, he grew up in Aurora, Colorado, then studied at the University of Arizona, where campus shows and clubs gave him stage time and confidence to pursue comedy.
Which TV shows or films has he appeared in?
He played Dudley “Mafee” on Showtime’s Billions, popped up on Inside Amy Schumer, Guy Code, and late-night talk shows, and has acting credits in indie films and comedy cameos.
What inspired his comedy in the first place?
Early exposure to stand-up, pro wrestling, and classic radio voices, plus personal experiences with loss and friendship, pushed him toward honest storytelling that balances silliness with sincerity and resilient humor.
Does he host or appear on podcasts and radio?
He co-created and co-hosted The Bonfire on SiriusXM (2015–2023) with Big Jay Oakerson, and he frequently guests on comedy podcasts, bringing his radio chops and riffing style to audiences.
How does he write material and build a set?
He develops ideas onstage, recording sets, trimming words, and testing tags across clubs and theaters; themes emerge organically, then he sequences bits for momentum, callbacks, and balance before taping.
Is his comedy family-friendly or adult-oriented?
Generally adult-oriented, with language and themes best suited for mature audiences; that said, his tone is warm rather than mean-spirited, often focusing on personal stories and silliness over shock for shock’s sake.
How have critics and audiences responded to his work?
Reviews highlight his empathy, craftsmanship, and character work; audiences praise the balance of vulnerability and laughs, and his shows often sell strongly in theaters, with repeat attendees bringing friends.
How does he engage with fans on social media?
He shares tour updates, clips, and personal notes, replies selectively to questions, and uses platforms to drive ticket sales, podcast appearances, and awareness for new projects or added shows.
What advice does Dan Soder give aspiring comedians?
Write constantly, get onstage as much as possible, record and review sets, be kind to other comics, and develop your own voice rather than chasing trends; time and persistence compound.