Rekha Shankar is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for her writing and performing work with Dropout (previously CollegeHumor).

Rekha Shankar
Alma materNew York University
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • writer
Years active2014–present
Websitewww.rekhashankar.com

Career

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Shankar grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University.[1] She initially worked as an editor before moving into comedy.[2] While in New York, Shankar performed improvisational comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, wrote for the MTV News web series Decoded and the satirical website Reductress, and appeared in web videos for ClickHole and Funny or Die. She was in a sketch group, DUMB video, that made YouTube videos.[3] In 2016, she created the web series Hustle, supported by crowdfunding on Kickstarter, which portrayed the life of struggling freelancers as a video game.[4]

Shankar was hired by the comedy company CollegeHumor in 2017.[5] She moved to Los Angeles and became the head writer for the company's CollegeHumor Originals web series.[2] CollegeHumor rebranded over time into the streaming service Dropout; Shankar has appeared in Dropout series such as the actual play show Dimension 20 and the game show Game Changer.[6][7] In 2019, she created the Dropout miniseries Gods of Food, a parody of the Netflix food documentary series Chef's Table.[8] She has hosted Dropout shows such as Celebrity Slumber Party in 2018, Erotic Clubhouse in 2020, and Smartypants in 2024, in which performers put on comedy PowerPoint presentations.[9][10]

Shankar played a small role in Netflix's Between Two Ferns: The Movie, released in 2019, and wrote for the Netflix series Magic for Humans and Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show.[11][12] She appeared in an episode of the HBO show Hacks in 2021.[13] She later wrote for shows such as NBC's Grand Crew and Comedy Central's Digman![9]

References

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  1. ^ "Rekha Shankar". rekhashankar.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
    "Reel". rekhashankar.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Meet Rekha Shankar of CollegeHumor Originals in WeHo". Voyage LA Magazine. November 25, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Nelson, Jenny (February 17, 2017). "@RekhalShankar Wants to Be a Void". Vulture. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  4. ^ Corbin, Sam (October 25, 2016). "Rekha Shankar's 'Hustle' turns freelancing into a video game that's impossible to beat". Brokelyn. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  5. ^ Sandberg, Bryn (April 19, 2017). "CollegeHumor Adds Trio of New Castmembers (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  6. ^ Zachary, Brandon (June 27, 2024). "Dimension 20 Beginners Guide: Where To Start & What You Need To Know". Screen Rant. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  7. ^ Wellen, Brianna (August 9, 2023). "College Humor's Overlooked Streaming Service Is a Game Changer for Game Shows and Improv". Primetimer. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  8. ^ Morabito, Greg (July 29, 2019). "New Mockumentary 'Gods of Food' Pokes Fun at the Cult of 'Chef's Table'". Eater. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
    Morabito, Greg (August 21, 2019). "How Rekha Shankar Created a Pitch-Perfect 'Chef's Table' Parody With 'Gods of Food'". Eater. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  9. ^ a b "2024's Comedians You Should and Will Know". Vulture. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  10. ^ Velocci, Carli (March 28, 2024). "Dropout's new show Smartypants is bringing PowerPoint parties to your screen". Polygon. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  11. ^ Wright, Megh (September 28, 2020). "Just for Laughs Announces Its 2020 New Faces". Vulture. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Philip, Tom (September 23, 2019). "Between Two Ferns: The Movie Is a Perfectly Minor Triumph". GQ. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  13. ^ Mutuc, Peter (June 6, 2024). "Every Real Stand-Up Comic In Hacks". Screen Rant. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
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