Who Is Andrew Santino
He grew up in Section 8 housing in Chicago. His mother raised him alone. The neighborhood was tough and money was always tight.
Today he has a six million dollar net worth, two of the most popular comedy podcasts in America, a recurring role on a major FX series, a Netflix special, and a Hulu animated show based on his podcast.
Andrew Santino did not get here through one lucky break. He spent twenty years showing up at comedy clubs, doing the work, building the audience, and stacking income streams one by one until the whole thing added up to something serious.
His story is worth knowing, not just for the funny parts, but for the discipline behind them.
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Andrew Santino Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Andrew Henry Santino |
| Nickname | The Red Rocket |
| Date of Birth | October 16, 1983 |
| Age in 2026 | 42 years old |
| Birthplace | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Grew Up In | River North neighborhood, Chicago |
| Heritage | Half Italian, half Irish |
| High School | Naperville North High School, graduated 2002 |
| College | Arizona State University |
| Wife | Jessica Michelle Singleton (comedian and writer) |
| Current Home | Los Angeles, California |
| @cheetosantino | |
| Best Known For | Dave (FX), Bad Friends podcast, Whiskey Ginger podcast |
| Netflix Special | Cheeseburger (2023) |
| Estimated Net Worth 2026 | $6 million |
Early Life: Chicago, Section 8, and Finding Comedy
Andrew Santino was born on October 16, 1983 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in the River North neighborhood, raised by his mother alone. The family lived in Section 8 housing, which is government subsidized housing for people with limited income.
He has talked about this upbringing openly in interviews and on his podcasts. Growing up as the kid without money in communities where others had more shaped his sense of humor. He became observational, sarcastic, and sharp. He learned to make people laugh as a way of connecting with a world that sometimes felt like it was not built for him.
He attended Naperville North High School. Even there, he stood out as a performer. He won the school talent show. He was funny in that specific way that makes people think someone might actually do something with it.
After high school, he moved to Tempe, Arizona to attend Arizona State University. He has said honestly on his podcasts that he was not a great student. He was more focused on the social scene and figuring out his comedy voice than on his grades. ASU is where he first started doing stand up seriously.
He is half Italian and half Irish by descent, which he has incorporated into his comedic identity along with his signature bright red hair. The nickname the Red Rocket came naturally from his appearance and stuck because his personality matched the energy of it.
Moving to Los Angeles: The Long Grind
After Arizona, Andrew moved to Los Angeles to pursue comedy full time.
Los Angeles is where comedy careers either get built or abandoned. The city has legendary clubs including The Comedy Store and the Laugh Factory, where the best working comedians in the country show up regularly. Getting stage time at these venues takes years of persistence. Getting recognized at them takes talent on top of persistence.
Santino did both.
He became a regular at The Comedy Store and the Laugh Factory, performing for audiences that included other working comedians and industry people who could open doors. This phase of his career was not glamorous. It was late nights, small paychecks, and the slow accumulation of stage hours that eventually turned a funny guy from Chicago into a professional comedian that people paid to watch.
During this period he also started working in television. He appeared in smaller roles, getting comfortable on camera and building a resume that would eventually support larger opportunities.
Television Career: From Small Roles to Series Regular
Andrew Santino’s television career built gradually over nearly fifteen years.
He appeared in Mixology on ABC in 2014. He had a role in This Is Us on NBC, which introduced him to a massive mainstream audience that did not necessarily follow the comedy world closely. He appeared in The Disaster Artist in 2017, the James Franco film about the making of The Room, alongside a cast that included Seth Rogen.
The role that changed his television profile most significantly came in 2017 with I’m Dying Up Here on Showtime. The series, executive produced by Jim Carrey, was a drama about the 1970s Los Angeles comedy scene. Andrew played Bill Hobbs. The show gave him his first extended dramatic role and proved he could carry a story beyond just being the funny guy in a room.
Then came Dave.
Dave aired on FXX from 2020 to 2023. The show stars rapper and comedian Lil Dicky as a fictional version of himself trying to become famous. Andrew played Mike, Dave’s best friend and manager. The character appeared across all three seasons of the show.
Dave was a critical success. It attracted a young, engaged audience and gave Andrew his most sustained television exposure. Three seasons as a series regular on a well-reviewed FX show is a meaningful credit that opens doors to bigger opportunities and generates residual income every time those episodes stream anywhere in the world.
He also appeared in Beef on Netflix in 2023, the acclaimed dark comedy drama that won multiple Emmy Awards. A guest role in an Emmy-winning Netflix show adds real credibility to any actor’s resume.
Stand Up Career: The Foundation of Everything
Stand up comedy is where Andrew Santino started and it remains the foundation of his identity and his income.
He released his first hour-long special Home Field Advantage on Showtime in 2017. This was his equivalent of a debut album. A Showtime special confirmed that he was not just a club comedian but someone whose material could hold an audience for an hour straight.
In 2023, Netflix released his special Cheeseburger. Netflix specials reach tens of millions of people globally. Comedians who have done a Showtime special and a Netflix special are in a specific tier of the industry. They have national and international recognition. They can fill larger venues. They can charge higher booking fees.
His booking fee for live performances reportedly ranges from twenty-five thousand to seventy-five thousand dollars per show depending on the venue and event type. He tours consistently, performing sold-out shows across the United States and internationally.
Stand up comedy is also the core of his brand. Everything else, the podcasts, the acting roles, the YouTube videos, all connects back to the image he built through twenty years of performing live.
The Podcasts: Bad Friends and Whiskey Ginger
This is the part of Andrew Santino’s career that has had the biggest impact on his income over the past several years.
Whiskey Ginger
Whiskey Ginger launched in 2018. The format is straightforward. Andrew sits down with a guest, usually a comedian, actor, or entertainer, pours whiskey, and has a real conversation. The show ran until 2020 and was his first major step into the podcast world.
The show built an audience that valued genuine conversation over interview formality. Guests said things on Whiskey Ginger that they would not say on more polished platforms. That authenticity became the show’s identity.
Bad Friends
In 2020, Andrew launched Bad Friends alongside comedian Bobby Lee.
Bad Friends is different from Whiskey Ginger in tone. Where Whiskey Ginger is conversational and interview-based, Bad Friends is chaotic, loud, and genuinely unpredictable. Andrew and Bobby have a real friendship with a specific dynamic where they challenge and embarrass each other in ways that only people who actually know each other can do.
The show became one of the most downloaded comedy podcasts in the world. New episodes drop every Monday. The show has a Patreon community with paying subscribers and a dedicated merchandise line that extends the brand between episodes.
Together, Bad Friends and Whiskey Ginger pull in over one million downloads per week combined. That number matters financially because podcast advertising rates are calculated based on downloads. A show with one million downloads per week commands premium rates from advertisers. Sponsors including Squarespace, Shopify, and FanDuel have all been associated with his podcast work.
The annual income from his podcasting alone is estimated to be substantial, potentially in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year from advertising, Patreon subscriptions, and live podcast events.
Bad Friends Animated Series on Hulu
The podcast’s success led to a next step that few comedians achieve. Bad Friends became an animated series on Hulu. Andrew serves as executive producer alongside Bobby Lee. The animated series brings their characters and dynamic to a visual format and reaches an entirely new audience that may not follow podcasts.
Having an executive producer credit on a streaming series adds both income and career credibility that performing alone cannot provide.
YouTube: No Bad Lies
Beyond his podcasts, Andrew runs a YouTube channel that includes content from his golf series No Bad Lies.
Golf is a genuine passion of his, not just a content strategy. The No Bad Lies series features Andrew playing golf, often with other comedians or entertainment figures. It reaches an audience that overlaps with but is distinct from his comedy audience.
YouTube generates advertising revenue based on views. A consistent creator with a loyal audience can earn meaningfully from the platform while also building discoverability for new fans who then find their way to the podcasts and live shows.
Andrew Santino Net Worth 2026
Andrew Santino’s net worth in 2026 is estimated at six million dollars. This is the most consistently reported figure across multiple credible entertainment and finance publications. Some sources extend the range to seven million when factoring in projections, but six million is the grounded consensus estimate.
Full Income Breakdown
| Income Source | Details |
|---|---|
| Stand up comedy tours | $25,000 to $75,000 per show, consistent national and international touring |
| Bad Friends podcast | Advertising revenue from major sponsors, Patreon subscriptions, merchandise |
| Whiskey Ginger podcast | Advertising and sponsorship income |
| Dave (FX) acting fees | Three seasons as series regular, ongoing streaming residuals |
| Netflix Cheeseburger special | Special fee plus ongoing streaming royalties |
| Beef (Netflix) | Guest appearance fee and residuals |
| I’m Dying Up Here (Showtime) | Acting fees and residuals |
| Hulu Bad Friends animated | Executive producer fees |
| YouTube No Bad Lies | Ad revenue from consistent viewership |
| Brand partnerships | Sponsorships connected to podcasts and social media |
| Merchandise | Branded items from podcasts and tours |
| Real estate | Los Angeles property investment |
Why His Model Works
Most comedians earn in one main way. They perform live and that is where most of their money comes from. When they are not touring, their income drops significantly.
Andrew Santino earns in at least eight different ways simultaneously. His touring income is the foundation. His podcast income adds a consistent layer that does not depend on whether he is on stage. His acting residuals pay him every time his old shows stream somewhere. His YouTube content generates passive income around the clock. His merchandise sells between shows and podcast episodes.
This structure means his income never fully stops. Even during periods when he is not actively touring or filming, money is coming in from multiple directions.
That is the difference between an entertainer who earns well and one who builds wealth.
Personal Life
Andrew Santino is married to Jessica Michelle Singleton. She is a stand-up comedian and writer in her own right. They keep the details of their relationship private, which is a deliberate choice that Andrew has mentioned on his podcasts.
He has said that he keeps his personal life separate from his public persona because he values having something that is genuinely his own. His comedy pulls heavily from personal experience and observation, but he draws a clear line around his marriage and keeps it out of public discussion.
He is based in Los Angeles, where he has invested in real estate. Property investment is common among comedians and entertainers who want to convert active income into long-term stable assets.
He is passionate about basketball, golf, and sports generally. Basketball references appear regularly in his comedy sets. Golf gave him the No Bad Lies YouTube series. Sports are not just hobbies for him. They are content and they are connection points with his audience.
Career Timeline
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Graduated Naperville North High School |
| Early 2000s | Began doing stand up at Arizona State University |
| 2010s | Became regular at The Comedy Store and Laugh Factory in LA |
| 2014 | Appeared in Mixology on ABC |
| 2017 | Released Home Field Advantage special on Showtime |
| 2017 | Appeared in I’m Dying Up Here on Showtime, The Disaster Artist film |
| 2018 | Launched Whiskey Ginger podcast |
| 2019 | Appeared in This Is Us on NBC |
| 2020 | Dave premiered on FXX, launched Bad Friends podcast with Bobby Lee |
| 2021 | Dave Season 2 |
| 2022 | Dave Season 3 |
| 2023 | Cheeseburger released on Netflix, appeared in Beef on Netflix |
| 2024 | Bad Friends animated series launched on Hulu |
| 2026 | Net worth estimated at $6 million, career still expanding |
Comparison: Andrew Santino vs Other Comedian-Podcasters
| Comedian | Main Platforms | Estimated Net Worth 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Santino | Stand up, TV, two podcasts, YouTube | $6 million |
| Bobby Lee | Stand up, TV, Bad Friends, TigerBelly podcast | $4 million |
| Matt Rife | Stand up, social media, touring | $5 to $6 million |
| Joe Rogan | Stand up, JRE podcast, UFC commentary | $250 million |
Santino sits comfortably in the new wave of comedian-podcasters who built real wealth by combining traditional comedy careers with digital media platforms. He is not at Joe Rogan’s level, but he built his model independently without a single massive platform deal, which means he controls more of what he earns.
Lessons From Andrew Santino’s Career
He spent twenty years building before anyone outside the comedy world knew his name. The lesson is not that patience alone builds success. It is that patience combined with consistent quality, smart diversification, and genuine connection with an audience eventually produces something that lasts.
He never stopped performing live. Even as his podcasts grew to millions of downloads and his acting career expanded, he kept touring. That commitment to the original craft is what kept his brand authentic and his audience loyal.
He built multiple income streams deliberately. He did not stumble into podcasting or YouTube. He recognized that the entertainment landscape was changing and put his energy into platforms that could generate income independently of whether a network or studio was hiring him.
He stayed private about his personal life. This is unusual in an era when celebrities share everything. For Andrew, keeping his marriage and home life out of the public space has allowed his comedy to remain his most visible self, which is exactly where he wants the audience’s attention.
FAQs
What is Andrew Santino’s net worth in 2026?
Andrew Santino’s net worth in 2026 is estimated at six million dollars. This figure is consistently reported across multiple entertainment and financial publications and reflects his earnings from stand up comedy tours where he earns twenty-five thousand to seventy-five thousand dollars per show, his Bad Friends and Whiskey Ginger podcasts which collectively reach over one million downloads per week, his acting career including Dave on FXX, Beef on Netflix, and his Netflix special Cheeseburger, the Bad Friends animated series on Hulu where he serves as executive producer, YouTube content, merchandise, brand partnerships, and real estate investments in Los Angeles.
What is Andrew Santino best known for?
He is best known for three things. First, his role as Mike in Dave on FXX, the comedy series where he played the best friend and manager of rapper Lil Dicky across three seasons from 2020 to 2023. Second, the Bad Friends podcast he co-hosts with comedian Bobby Lee, which is one of the most downloaded comedy podcasts in the world. Third, his Netflix stand up special Cheeseburger released in 2023, which expanded his audience significantly beyond the comedy world.
Who is Andrew Santino’s wife?
Andrew Santino is married to Jessica Michelle Singleton, who is a stand-up comedian and writer. He keeps their relationship largely private and does not discuss the details publicly. Jessica is a working comedian in her own right. Andrew has mentioned on his podcasts that he values keeping his personal life separate from his public persona.
Where is Andrew Santino from?
Andrew Santino was born on October 16, 1983 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in the River North neighborhood, raised by his mother alone in Section 8 housing. He attended Naperville North High School and later Arizona State University. He now lives in Los Angeles, California where his career is based.
What podcasts does Andrew Santino host?
Andrew Santino hosts two major podcasts. Whiskey Ginger is an interview format show where he speaks with comedians, actors, and entertainers over a glass of whiskey. Bad Friends is a comedy podcast he co-hosts with Bobby Lee. Bad Friends releases new episodes every Monday and has become one of the most downloaded comedy podcasts globally, with sponsors including Squarespace, Shopify, and FanDuel. The two podcasts combined reach over one million downloads per week, and Bad Friends has also been adapted into an animated series on Hulu with Andrew serving as executive producer.
Conclusion
Andrew Santino grew up in Section 8 housing in Chicago with a single mother, no particular advantages, and a natural ability to make people laugh.
He turned that ability into twenty years of grind at comedy clubs, a Showtime special, a Netflix special, three seasons as a series regular on FX, a guest role in an Emmy-winning Netflix show, two of the most popular comedy podcasts in America, a Hulu animated series, a YouTube golf show, and a six million dollar net worth.
None of that came from luck. It came from showing up, being genuinely funny, and being smart enough to build income from every direction available to him rather than waiting for a single big opportunity to define his career.
He is 42 years old. He is still touring. The podcasts are still growing. The animated series is still new. His best financial years are probably still ahead.
The Red Rocket is not done.

Albert Juff is a content writer at InsideWorth, specializing in net worth analysis, income breakdowns, and celebrity career insights. He focuses on delivering clear, research-based, and easy-to-understand financial content.









