Ron Taylor Wins ‘Funny AF’ Competition Series From Kevin Hart

34-year-old Detroit-born comic Ron Taylor has been declared the winner of Funny AF with Kevin Hart, Netflix‘s comedy competition series which wrapped its first season last night.

Taylor prevailed over comics including Caitlin Peluffo, Usama Siddiquee, and Reg Thomas.

Hart said of the accomplishment, “Ron is such an amazing talent, he has a strong voice and I love his energy. He is poised, polished, and now positioned to be a face that we will be seeing for quite some time.  This competition was everything it was supposed to be plus more. The four finalists were all amazing – they did not disappoint. I am blown away at Ron’s win and we are all in full celebration mode.”

Taylor was crowned winner of Funny AF during a taping on Tuesday night, for an episode that aired live. As winner, he’ll now get his very own Netflix special, which he’s said he would title Elevate.

Hailing from Hartbeat and Alfred Street Industries, Funny AF was created by Hart with the goal of finding the next great voice in comedy with the guts, perspective, and punchlines to become the next household name. Over the course of the series, Hart was joined by a roster of comedy heavyweights in evaluating comics from across the country. This included Keegan-Michael Key, Tom Segura, Kumail Nanjiani, Chelsea Handler, Nikki Glaser, and Chris Rock.

New episodes of Funny AF were released over the course of three weeks, culminating with the semi-final and finale airing live, during which viewers around the world were able to vote in real time for their favorite comic.

Bill Dixon, Liz Cook, San Heng, Jason Raff served as showrunners of Funny AF, whose exec producers included Hart; Jane Lipsitz, Dan Cutforth, Nan Strait and Dan Volpe (for Alfred Street Industries); Luke Kelly-Clyne, Meghan Hoffman and Jeff Clanagan (for Hartbeat), and Jenny Groom.

Prior to Funny AF, Taylor had already been made a paid regular at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles and been selected by Bill Burr for the Comedy Central showcase The Ringers. He is repped by Ethan Stern at Underscore Talent and Innovative Artists Entertainment.