She rose to prominence on the YouTube original series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl between 2011 and 2013. The show won the 2012 Shorty Award for Best Web Show, Rae’s first career award. Rae later served as executive producer for the TV series The Choir from 2013 to 2015. Additionally, she was co-executive producer of First in 2014-15. She also appeared in the music videos for Pharrell Williams’ Happy (2013) and Jay-Z’s Moonlight (2017).

Rae is perhaps most notable for her leading role on HBO’s Insecure, which she also wrote and produced, from 2016 to 2021. She was nominated for three Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Comedy or Musical for her performance in Insecure, in 2017, 2018, and 2022. She also received two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, in 2018 and 2020. Additionally, Rae won three NAACP Image Awards for her work on Insecure. She won for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series in 2022 and Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series in both 2021 and 2022.

She also executive produced HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, the first sketch comedy directed by, written by, and starring all black women. Rae received a nomination for the 2021 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Meanwhile, the series as a whole received two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series (2021 and 2022).

Rae was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2022. The same year, she began executive producing the HBO comedy series Rap Sh*t. Rae also appears in Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film Barbie. In 2025, she produced the theatrical buddy comedy One of Them Days. She plays a key role as a mentor and executive producer on Project Greenlight, in which up-and-coming directors compete for the chance to direct their own feature film. Rae not only serves as a mentor to the aspiring directors, but also the show’s producer, through her production company HOORAE. 

Hader rose to prominence on Saturday Night Live, appearing in 161 episodes between 2005 and 2013. During his eight-year SNL tenure, Hader played a variety of onscreen characters. Notably, he portrayed the Weekend Update segment’s New York City correspondent Stefon.

Hader also appeared in several live-action films during his time on SNL. He made his feature film debut in You, Me, and Dupree (2006). Hader subsequently appeared in Pineapple Express (2008), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), and Men in Black III (2012) and voice acting on Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 2009 and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs the same year.

After leaving SNL as a full-time cast member in 2013, Hader subsequently continued his voice acting career for films including Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out (2015), The Angry Birds Movie (2016), and The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019).

Since 2018, Hader has starred as the titular character in HBO’s dark comedy Barry, which he co-created and also writes and directs. He received the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for Barry in 2019 and 2020. He also won the 2020 Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement for Writing in Comedy, also for Barry.

Hader has won a total of 35 awards as an actor, writer, and director. He won two Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (2018 and 2019), both for his titular role in Barry. In 2023, Bill Hader wrapped up HBO’s Barry—continuing to write, direct, and star in episodes like “Tricky Legacies,” “It Takes a Psycho,” and “Yikes”—and appeared in a cameo as a UPS driver in Ari Aster’s surreal tragicomedy Beau Is Afraid. In 2024, he began developing a new HBO comedy series with Barry writer Duffy Boudreau and was announced to voice—and executive-produce—the upcoming animated feature The Cat in the Hat. In 2025, Hader is co-writing, exec-producing, and may star in a Jonestown–themed HBO series. 

She began her career with roles in short films like Killswitch and In Love, and made early appearances on NBC’s 30 Rock and the web series The Jeannie Tate Show. Her breakout came in 2009 when she was cast as April Ludgate on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, a role that earned her a Peabody Award in 2012 and cemented her status as a fan favorite.

Plaza’s film career includes early roles in Mystery Team (2009), Funny People (2009), and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010). She starred in the indie hit Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), which marked her first leading role and showcased her unique comedic and dramatic range. She continued to expand her resume with voice work in Monsters University (2013), a memorable performance in Ingrid Goes West (2017)—which won the 2018 Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature—and the horror reboot Child’s Play (2019).

In 2020, Plaza drew critical attention for her performance in the psychological drama Black Bear and gained widespread acclaim for her role in the holiday rom-com The Happiest Season. She went on to star in Emily the Criminal (2022), earning Best Actress honors at the Annapolis Film Festival and strong praise for her portrayal of a woman pushed into the world of crime. That same year, she appeared in HBO’s hit series The White Lotus Season 2 as Harper Spiller, a role that earned her and her castmates a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series.

In 2023 and 2024, Plaza continued diversifying her roles, voicing Julie Powers in the anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and playing Rio Vidal in Marvel’s Agatha: Darkhold Diaries. She also appeared in two high-profile films: as older Elliot in My Old Ass (2024) and as Wow Platinum in Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Megalopolis (2024).

In 2025, Aubrey Plaza co-starred in the neo‑noir dark comedy Honey Don’t! She also set to star in and produce The Heidi Fleiss Story, a biopic about the infamous “Hollywood madam,”.