Mia Jackson

Mia grew up obsessed with stand-up comedy — watching specials, analyzing bits on the phone with her cousin after school, and quietly taking mental notes on how jokes worked. She learned early about misdirection and twists. By the time she actually set foot in a basement bar in Athens, Georgia to watch an open mic, she'd already been writing jokes and bits in her journal for a full year. She wasn't planning to perform. She was just looking.

As an HR professional by day, Jackson wasn't about to jump into anything hastily. But a comedian named Micah Sherman spotted her in the crowd and called her out immediately—he spotted a spark in her and knew she wanted to perform. Mia said no. He said yes. She reluctantly agreed to come back and try. Her aunt said she had no choice—her family believes in follow-through no matter what. So she brought twelve people to a bar that occasionally flooded, took a shot of something she can't quite remember, and did stand-up for the first time with a TV on behind her. She got off stage, thought "I did it," and showed up again the following week. And the week after that. Destiny awaited.

Mia spent years doing stand-up on the side while holding down a day job she was already checked out of. She kept saying she was going to quit — and kept not doing it. Then one day, a new manager called her in and tried to very gently redirect her to a different department. Mia interrupted the whole speech and asked him to just fire her. He was visibly thrown off. She left with the company AmEx still in her pocket (she did eventually give it back).

Within a week of walking out, a TV set she'd taped for Nickelodeon's NickMom Night Out over a year earlier — that had been sitting on a shelf the whole time — suddenly aired. To the untrained eye, it looked like she'd quit her job and immediately landed on television. From there: Last Comic Standing semi-finalist, New Faces at Just For Laughs Montreal, Amy Schumer's tour. The timing was wild, but looking back, she says it just felt right.

If you've seen Mia's Comedy Central half-hour, you already know about the biscuit. If you haven't: a Popeyes biscuit broke in the box on her way home. Her ex accused her of stepping on it, and somehow that story became one of her favorite jokes — and apparently also inspired a random trucking company to start selling T-shirts. The joke originally had a meaner ending, but a fellow comic nudged her to soften it, and that tweak is part of why it lands so universally.

The special opened doors — real headlining credits, a co-written pilot that got optioned, and a growing comfort with the idea that her comedy can live in a lot of places beyond the stage. These days, Mia jots premises into her phone and still finds bits in everyday conversations. As she tours the country, she finds herself studying a new city or town. She loves making audiences feel like she appreciates their way of life. "I'm not just trying to be cookie cutter. I'm actually experiencing your your place, your town, your city." But don't ask her to drive your Ford F-150.