The Comedy Cellar is a comedy club in Manhattan where many top New York comedians perform, sometimes referred to as the "Harvard of comedy clubs". It was founded in 1982 by then stand-up comedian, and current television writer/producer Bill Grundfest. It is located in Greenwich Village on 117 MacDougal Street between West 3rd Street and Minetta Lane. Above the club is a restaurant called The Olive Tree Cafe to which it is connected, where many of the comedians hang out after performing. The club is owned by Noam Dworman, who inherited it from his late father Manny in 2003. It is being booked by Estee Adoram, who has developed the club's talent for nearly four decades. The businesses share the same menu, kitchen, and staff as the Olive Tree Cafe.

Louis Alfred Székely, known professionally as Louis C.K., is an American stand-up comedian, actor and filmmaker. C.K. has won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award as well as numerous awards for The Chris Rock Show, Louie, and his stand-up specials Live at the Beacon Theater (2011) and Oh My God (2013). In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked C.K.'s stand-up special Shameless number three on their "Divine Comedy: 25 Best Stand-Up Specials and Movies of All Time" list and ranked him fourth on its 2017 list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.