Derrick Stroup is an Alabama-born stand-up comedian known for his rapid-fire delivery, animated storytelling, and a brand of Southern charm that hits fast and hits hard. Self-described as a Waffle House enthusiast who talks fast and makes jokes faster, Stroup is anything but the stereotypical slow-talking Southerner — performing with the energy and cadence of what he calls an angry auctioneer.

Stroup got his start in comedy the old-fashioned way, putting himself up at a local bar he ran in Jacksonville, Alabama, where he’d entertain the crowd for up to an hour with unpolished, off-the-cuff material. His bi-monthly show built a local following before he made the leap to Denver, Colorado in 2015 — and never looked back. In 2019, he won Comedy Works’ New Faces Competition, one of the most competitive comedy contests in the country, beating out more than 250 acts.

Since then, Stroup has become a regular at the Comedy Cellar in New York City and a touring presence across the country, opening for and sharing stages with Bert Kreischer, Nate Bargatze, Larry the Cable Guy, and John Crist. In 2023, he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and was named a New Face at the prestigious Just for Laughs festival in Montreal. In 2024, he shot his first Comedy Central special and was a featured performer on Nate Bargatze’s Nashville Christmas on CBS. His Netflix special, Nostalgic, dropped in March 2026.