Chris D’Elia’s star rises in stand-up and TV

Even people who watch TV more than stand-up know Chris D’Elia’s star has risen this year.

He’s gone from the South Point to The Mirage as a stand-up headliner (basically doubling the ticket price in the process), and from “the boyfriend on ‘Whitney’ ” to the star of “Undateable.”

NBC’s buddy comedy returns March 17, after its first season beat the odds for a TV show debuting in May, just in time for school to wind down and the summer movies to begin.

One could argue “Undateable” succeeded on its own merits. It certainly wasn’t forced on people the way D’Elia said “Whitney” was.

“NBC just blasted it out way too much. People were like, ‘All right we get it,’ ” he said last May. “People like to find out on their own what they want to see, and if they feel like it’s being crammed down their throat they don’t like it already before it even airs.”

Since July, D’Elia has been touring his stand-up show “Under No Influence,” which he defines as no alcohol or drugs, leaving him free to focus on sex.

“To me, doing stand-up was never to get to do something else,” D’Elia said last May. “That was the goal for me, was just to get onstage and it still is. I love it.”

If the 34-year-old had only wanted to be an actor, he had an inside track. His father is a veteran TV director, and D’Elia grew up visiting the sets of series such as “Northern Exposure” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.”

“It comes with its own difficulties,” he said in May. “People think, ‘Oh, that’s Bill’s son.’ It was easier to get in the door, but not to get the job. I had to earn my stripes as a comedian.”

And when he did, “People started to take notice. Opportunities started to present themselves when I started doing well as a stand-up.”

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.