A lot of Generation Z developed their personal relationships with comedy based on their access to the internet. Sure, some kids loved “SpongeBob Squarepants,” and others, like me, whose parents wouldn’t let them watch “SpongeBob,” were into “The Amazing World of Gumball” instead. There were shows like “Good Luck Charlie” and “iCarly” whose comedy holds up relatively well to this day.

Some kids watched TV shows that they shouldn’t have been watching so young, like “Scream Queens” or “Saturday Night Live,” which springboarded them into a strange passion for comedy and pop culture — which ultimately led them down a path of writing a biweekly column for the Daily Trojan. But that only happened to a select few.

But as a kid, internet comedy in its many forms was unavoidable. Epic fail compilations, Vine, Smosh, Good Mythical Morning, Funny Or Die, Markiplier, Cody Ko and Noel Miller — to this day, learning more about what people watched as a kid is one of my favorite ways to get to know a person’s taste in comedy. 

Except now, online comedy has grown beyond a spontaneous Vine or a quick meme on Twitter; online comedy pioneers like Good Mythical Morning or commentary channels like my personal favorite, Drew Gooden, are now the rule, not the exception.

Creators developing daily content and commentary run rampant across social media, as monetary opportunities like brand deals and sponsors draw in more and more comedy hopefuls, and internet comedy becomes a viable career opportunity.

The internet has helped creators launch internet comedians into more traditional forms of comedy, like veronika_iscool, aka Veronika Slowikowska, breaking free of TikTok and spot TV roles to join “SNL” and creators like Miller, Kurtis Conner and Danny Gonzalez developing their own stand-up careers.

What used to be the niche of “Mad TV” and Comedy Central in democratizing newer voices in comedy has now been assumed by platforms like TikTok and Instagram, allowing more people to explore comedy as both creators and enjoyers.

That being said, the sheer volume can be overwhelming for everyone involved — it’s hard to break through all the noise, and it’s also easy to grow dull-eyed at the amount of brainrot and mustached men posting sketch comedy with their roommates in Bushwick or Los Feliz.

But never fear. There is a light in this dark, dank world. And that is Grace Reiter.

Reiter rose to note via her involvement in the digital shorts TikTok account of American High, an entertainment production company originally generating content related to high school experiences, though it later evolved to encompass college and post-grad life.

Reiter and a few other wunderkinds, like Ryan and Aidan Micho and Julia DiCesare were featured players in numerous viral sketches, though they later began branching out to prioritize their own content like podcasts and short films. All of them are budding actors on screen and develop their own work, but Reiter is my favorite internet comedian I’ve come across in years.

I genuinely think she’s a comedic genius. She’s a young actress, writer and comedian whose budding career has been a delight to watch despite the fact that it’s in its early stages as she grows her social media presence, stars in an off-Broadway parody of the “The Parent Trap” (1998), and cowrote/codirected/costarred in an original short film titled “Spooners.”

Reiter’s authenticity speaks to me on a level I’ve struggled to find since coming across the golden trio of Gooden, Gonzalez and Conner years ago. Not only is her sense of comedy just my taste, but she is a ridiculously talented comedic actress, reminiscent of Maya Rudolph. Her control over facial expression and body language makes every delivery both natural and a surprise, a rare gem of a combination that makes everything she does authentic.

So, when, Nov. 18, the world was blessed with “The Hunger Games (but better) – A Parody” on Reiter’s YouTube channel, I rejoiced with the fervor of a religious disciple welcoming the return of the Sun. The short film is exactly what it sounds like — it’s a 42-minute recreation of “The Hunger Games” (2012) performed by Reiter and her comedian friends, but from memory with minimal production elements. And it’s perfect.

Despite being shot with semi-professional equipment by people who know what they’re doing and edited wonderfully, it’s a slapdash, runaway weekend with friends on film with people taking on multiple roles that are only differentiated by clothes and sets that are actually just someone’s house and a lot of greenscreens. The video might not be as high production, but each cast member leans into the lack of seriousness to make for the perfect caliber of ridiculousness.

This video is everything I love about the democratization of comedy via social media; those mundane personal moments that you wish you could share with others can now mix with shared cultural references like “The Hunger Games” and become entities of their own. I can both watch Reiter and her friends be spontaneous and follow their comedic instincts while also representing a new generation of internet comedy as they build their professional careers.

As I rewatch the parody over and over again and follow the careers of Reiter and her friends closely, I hope I’ll see them break through the mainstream and step onto the bigger screens — I’ve never wanted an amateur comedian on “SNL” more than Reiter. But in the meantime, I’m happy to keep watching her TikToks, listening to her and her friends’ podcasts and begging for another movie parody.

Anna Jordan is a junior writing about pop culture controversies in her column, “Chronically Online,” which runs every other Thursday. She is also an Arts and Entertainment editor at the Daily Trojan.