Kill Tony had handed out Golden Tickets before. But as far as host Tony Hinchcliffe could remember, it had never turned a Golden Ticket winner into a full-time regular on the spot until Pat O’Neill. Here’s who he is and how he got there.
Pat O’Neill is a stand-up comedian from Massachusetts who started out in Providence, Rhode Island, and now lives in Austin, Texas. He’s a weekly regular on Kill Tony and a regular at the Comedy Mothership in Austin. He won a Kill Tony Golden Ticket on episode #758 and was promoted to full-time regular live on episode #766 in 2026.
- He won a Kill Tony Golden Ticket on episode #758, recorded in February 2026.
- On episode #766, Tony Hinchcliffe promoted him from Golden Ticket winner to full-time regular, something Hinchcliffe said he had never done before.
- He’s a regular at the Comedy Mothership in Austin, and he’s represented by UTA for comedy touring.
- His style is fast, dark one-liners. On Kill Tony he said he writes about 15 new jokes a week.
- He plays the Hollywood Improv on January 26, 2027.
The night Kill Tony made a new kind of promotion
On Kill Tony episode #766, the show brought Pat O’Neill back to the stage as one of its newest Golden Ticket winners. He wore a black T-shirt, held the red mic close and did one minute of tightly packed one-liners, calling back to an early punchline a few jokes later. The panel was loud about it. Someone called it the set of the night.
The panel asked him about his writing process. Then host Tony Hinchcliffe said he was about to do something he had never done in the show’s history. “You’re the first person ever, I do believe, elevated from a golden ticket winner to a full-time regular,” Hinchcliffe told him. The crowd cheered, and the panel called it a live promotion in real time.
The episode, KT #766 with Sam Tallent, posted to YouTube in early May 2026. By episode #768, the show’s official episode credits were listing Pat O’Neill alongside the regular cast.
Who is Pat O’Neill?
Pat O’Neill is a stand-up comedian and a weekly regular on Kill Tony, the live comedy podcast hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe and Brian Redban. He also performs regularly at the Comedy Mothership in Austin, where Hinchcliffe said on episode #766 that he had recently been passed by the club’s talent coordinator. His Instagram bio sums it up in one line: “Kill Tony & Mothership Regular.”
On stage, he’s a one-liner comic. His sets are short setups and quick punchlines, usually dark and aimed at taboo subjects, delivered in a flat, nervous-sounding voice the panel often jokes about. When the Kill Tony panel asked about his process on episode #766, he told them, “I do like 15 new jokes a week.”
He’s represented for comedy touring by UTA, and his bookings run through his Punchup page, which links from his Instagram.
Where is Pat O’Neill from?
He’s originally from Massachusetts, according to his UTA and Punchup bios. He started doing comedy in Providence, Rhode Island, where he performed at the Comedy Connection, opened for Mark Normand, and was featured at the Rogue Island Comedy Festival. He now lives in Austin.
In a March 2026 interview with the YouTube channel Joke WRLD, he said he moved to Austin specifically to get on Kill Tony and work at the Mothership. “I came down here to like get on the show and work in the club,” he said.
How did Pat O’Neill get started in comedy?
In that same Joke WRLD interview, he said he was close to five years into stand-up, with the five-year mark coming in the summer of 2026. He credited podcasts for getting him to try it at all: “I wouldn’t have done comedy if I never heard Joe Rogan and Bill Burr talk about how they sucked at it in the beginning.”
He also said his first jokes were attempts to make a point, and audiences didn’t go for it. So he leaned into tight, edgy one-liners instead, which became the style Kill Tony fans know now.
His road to the show took a while. According to Joke WRLD, his first Kill Tony appearance was as a bucket pull on one of the show’s Netflix episodes. He was pulled again on episode #736, a set he later posted to his own YouTube channel. He told Joke WRLD he signed up every week, and over about six months the bucket picked him twice before his Golden Ticket night.
Reader poll
Have you seen Pat O'Neill on Kill Tony?
How did Pat O’Neill win his Golden Ticket?
It happened on Kill Tony #758, with guests Donnell Rawlings and Trevor Wallace, recorded on February 16, 2026. Pat’s bucket pull came right after Adam Ray, who was performing in character. His one-minute set was a string of quick, dark jokes, and one of the panelists compared his nervous energy to a young Howie Mandel.
When he was offered a Golden Ticket and asked if that’s what he wanted, Pat answered, “More than anything in the world.” He posted the full set to his channel as “Pat O’Neill Golden Ticket KT 758.” About seven weeks later, the #766 taping made him a regular.
Why is Pat O’Neill going viral?
Kill Tony clips travel, and his travel well because they’re short and dense with punchlines. His most-played Instagram reel, a clip titled “Peak O’Neill” pinned to his profile, had about 6.8 million plays as of October 17, 2026. Two older reels, posted in April 2025 and filmed at small bar shows, each passed 1.7 million plays.
He also posts his own “Full Set and Interview” uploads from most of his Kill Tony appearances on his YouTube channel. Several, including his sets from episodes #774 and #778, have topped 200,000 views each.
What has Pat O’Neill done on Kill Tony since becoming a regular?
He’s been part of the show’s biggest nights. The official credits for KT #780, taped at the Intuit Dome in the Los Angeles area with Fluffy, Harland Williams and Adam Ray, list him in the cast. So does the show’s behind-the-scenes video from Madison Square Garden, recorded August 7, 2026. His Punchup bio says he closed both sold-out Kill Tony shows at the Garden that month.
He has kept appearing weekly through the fall, including episode #789 with Tim Butterly and Kirk Fox, which posted October 12, 2026.
Where can you watch Pat O’Neill?
He doesn’t have a stand-up special out yet. The best places to see him are below.
| Where | What you’ll find |
|---|---|
| Kill Tony on YouTube | New full episodes weekly, with Pat as a regular |
| His YouTube channel | His full Kill Tony sets and interviews, including #758 and #766 |
| Short clips, including the “Peak O’Neill” reel | |
| Fishing with David Lucas | A long-form podcast conversation with fellow Kill Tony comic David Lucas |
Is Pat O’Neill on tour?
Yes. As of October 2026, his official tour page lists these dates:
- October 30–31, 2026: Wiseguys Comedy Club, Salt Lake City, Utah
- November 27, 2026: Crystal Bay Casino, Crystal Bay, Nevada
- December 9, 2026: Helium Comedy Club, Atlanta, Georgia
- December 10, 2026: Goodnights Comedy Club, Raleigh, North Carolina
- January 13, 2027: Zanies, Nashville, Tennessee
- January 14, 2027: Levity Live, Huntsville, Alabama
- January 26, 2027: Hollywood Improv, Los Angeles (7:30 and 9:30 p.m.)
- January 27, 2027: Ontario Improv, Ontario, California
- January 28, 2027: Irvine Improv, Irvine, California
Between road dates, he’s in Austin for Kill Tony and the Comedy Mothership. Check his tour page for tickets and any added shows.
Where to follow Pat O’Neill
- Instagram: @patoneillcomedy (about 215,400 followers as of October 17, 2026)
- YouTube: @patoneillcomedy (about 66,800 subscribers)
- TikTok: @patoneillcomedy
- Tour dates: punchup.live/patoneill
Frequently asked questions
Who is Pat O’Neill?
Pat O’Neill is a stand-up comedian based in Austin, Texas. He’s a weekly regular on Kill Tony and a regular at the Comedy Mothership. He’s known for fast, dark one-liners and for being the first Kill Tony Golden Ticket winner promoted straight to full-time regular.
How did Pat O’Neill become a Kill Tony regular?
He won a Golden Ticket on episode #758, recorded in February 2026. On episode #766, after another strong one-minute set, Tony Hinchcliffe promoted him to full-time regular on the spot, saying he had never done that before in the show’s history.
Where is Pat O’Neill from?
He’s originally from Massachusetts. He started his comedy career in Providence, Rhode Island, performing at the Comedy Connection and opening for Mark Normand, before moving to Austin to pursue Kill Tony and the Comedy Mothership.
Does Pat O’Neill have a comedy special?
Not yet. As of October 2026, his work is on Kill Tony’s weekly YouTube episodes and on his own YouTube channel, where he posts his full Kill Tony sets and interviews. He also shares short clips on Instagram and TikTok.
Is Pat O’Neill performing in Los Angeles?
Yes. His official tour page lists two shows at the Hollywood Improv on January 26, 2027, followed by the Ontario Improv on January 27 and the Irvine Improv on January 28, 2027.
Image credits
- Featured image: The Comedy Mothership on Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, where Pat O’Neill is a regular. Photo: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped.
Sources
- Pat O’Neill on Instagram (@patoneillcomedy)
- Pat O’Neill on Punchup: bio and tour dates
- UTA: Pat O’Neill, comedy touring
- Kill Tony: KT #758, Donnell Rawlings + Trevor Wallace
- patoneillcomedy: Pat O’Neill Golden Ticket KT 758
- Kill Tony: KT #766, Sam Tallent
- patoneillcomedy: Kill Tony 766 Full Set and Interview
- Kill Tony: KT #768, Shane Gillis + James McCann
- Kill Tony: KT #780, Intuit Dome
- Kill Tony: Behind the Tape, MSG Night 1
- Kill Tony: KT #789, Tim Butterly + Kirk Fox
- Joke WRLD: The Untold Story of Pat O’Neill
- patoneillcomedy: Kill Tony 736 Full Set and Interview
- David Lucas: Pat O’Neill Is a Killer on Kill Tony
- Pat O’Neill on YouTube
- Pat O’Neill on TikTok
The LA Note and our team of talent networkers, writers, social media managers, and management are excited to present you with unique stories of amazing individuals following their dreams.
Read us often? Make The LA Note Magazine a preferred source in Google Search and see our reporting more often in Top Stories.
Tell The LA Note about your work. Use our editorial submission page to introduce yourself and your story.
