Thursday, October 1, 2026
Massapequa comedian Tom Kelly has built a sizable social-media following by finding humor close to home, turning the quirks of Long Island life into material for viral reels. Kelly, who has worked as a warm-up comedian for “Good Morning America,” “The View,” “America’s Got Talent” and other television productions, also hosts “The Tom Kelly Show” podcast. The Herald spoke with Kelly about what inspires his recent Long Island-focused content, why it resonates with his online audience and how he uses his platform to go beyond laughs — highlighting people doing good in local communities and discussing serious issues closer to home, including bullying.
You have already had quite a notable career as a comedian, including opening for Taylor Swift. What made you decide to dive into Long Island-specific content?
I started doing Long Island content because I was here. I am a comedian who has worked for 20 years on television shows like “The View,” “Good Morning America,” “The $100,000 Pyramid,” “America’s Got Talent,” but people know me when I talk about All-American Hamburger, traffic on the Southern State and whether or not the service road is really better than the Long Island Expressway.
Tell us about the video that made you realize this content resonates with viewers.
What happened was, a clip of me drunk at 2 in the morning talking to my best friend about the five different Massapequa neighborhoods went viral and that’s when I said — well, maybe people want more stories that have to do with Long Island, and I think Long Island really is such a quirky space.
What is it about Long Island that you believe makes such great material?
What I think is interesting is that Long Island covers a lot of territory but we do have a lot in common. I think we really are, as a group, New York City’s overshadowed middle stepsister, and we are beautiful on the inside. Long Island is Jan Brady (the middle daughter in the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch). Long Island is the uncelebrated middle child. I think we all have a certain grit in common. I think we have all been beaten up by New York in so many ways, but yet we love it so much that we stick around.
I think my content resonates because part of loving Long Island means loving complaining about it and I think Long Island content resonates because we have a story that hasn’t quite been told without a veneer on it. I think there’s a story to be told, complaints to be made, and I think I’m a good-hearted person enough to tie everybody together — at least that’s what I try to do. I like to think of myself as Mister Rogers meets Larry David.
And how did you first get started in comedy?
I’ve worked in television my whole life. I used to work at Rosie O’Donnell’s old television show, and when that show ended, I couldn’t quite find any television work so I started doing stand-up because I felt if someone else is going to read the joke I wrote, I should have the courage to perform it myself.
I was probably doing stand-up for three or four years. I then got a job consulting for morning radio shows around the country and I was literally doing a web television show about me quitting comedy to become a male mermaid in a mermaid show down in Florida and that’s when I got the call that Rosie O’Donnell had recommended me to be the new warm-up comedian at “The View.” The job was supposed to last two weeks and it lasted 12 years.
You mentioned that you believe Long Island has a story to be told that hasn’t been told without a veneer on it. With your comedy, you also address heavier subjects, including the recent bullying incidents in Massapequa. Please tell us why you decided to go beyond the laughs and address heavier issues as well.
I’m talking about it because I think Long Island is a region of angels with dirty faces. We do have flaws. The hard part of the suburbs is we don’t talk about our flaws and then the flaws get worse. You look at Long Island, especially Massapequa, we’re crazier and crazier when you look at the news and then we’ll be like — ‘oh, we got to fix that.’ I think humor can be used to talk about things you don’t want to talk about. When you make fun of a problem, within reason, it keeps it in a positive way in the zeitgeist and you hope that people say — ‘we got to clean this up.’
Bullying in Massapequa is real. Massapequa is a place where I love Massapequa the most when we’re a tough town and we have a moment of being gentle together. After 9/11, we were the most beautiful place — people checked in on each other. After Officer Diller’s death, we pulled together, we checked in on each other, we were sad together and Massapequa is beautiful when tough alpha people kind of calm down and are human beings again.
That’s why I think it’s important to talk about the bullying— even how we treat each other in traffic, and we call each other on it. I do think that in comedy, if you joke about something you don’t like enough, someone will eventually fix it. That’s why I’m doing this. It’s a television station in your pocket.
What has been a particularly meaningful reel that you produced as of late?
My favorite video over the last six months is my lowest rated where Debbie from Angels of Long Island — she is thrift store chic, she looks like your typical Long Island mom — she has a look, a character, and all she cares about is feeding the poor and hungry. That’s the video that should have not only gone viral but driven millions of dollars in donations to this place. It did okay.
It seems one of your key strengths is that you haven’t allowed your reels or podcast to be pigeonholed into one specific topic. What would you say is your main reason for doing your content in this way and staying flexible, even with the different routes your career has taken?
At the end of the day, I’ve been around and I pay attention. The one thing you can learn from me, and it’s advice I give to my nieces and nephews, is when your career gets knocked down, if you can’t connect the dots, start making them.
Many artists, whether they are songwriters or authors, note that they have something available at all times to get their thoughts down, whether that be a notebook or a recorder. What is your process to make sure the ideas you receive on the spot are not forgotten?
A good comedian keeps a notebook next to them or the note app ready to go. I have some bad notes. You wake up the next morning and wonder what the thing you wrote down means. I find that whatever you do, you should journal in the morning and have a notebook for in the middle of the night because I think you can kind of put pieces together of your psyche or you at least get it out and give that thought meaning.
What else would you like readers and listeners to know about your comedy and why you continue to pursue this path?
I’m going local with my content because I enjoy feeling like I’m making a difference. I enjoy the little moments where I feel like I’m making a difference. I think at the end of the day, I’m at my best when I make something matter and I bring joy to people. I love untold stories. I like telling stories that haven’t been told. I also like being in the moment and being silly.
In my videos, I have returned a set of keys in Syosset. I have returned a high school diploma to a girl from Syosset that I found on the street in New York City, and I just recently returned a cell phone with the help from people at Dirty Taco of Smithtown. I enjoy when it’s real and it’s in the moment, and maybe it’s moments you can’t quite replicate.
To learn more about Tom Kelly, visit TomKellyShow.com and follow him on social media, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook at @TomKellyShow.
