That exposure led to a performance on NBC's Today Show, and the following year we learned Herndon had been given her own A&E reality series, Little Funny, produced by comedian and daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.
The show's announcement gave Herndon an even bigger boost, but after that, talk of the production pretty much went silent. This Saturday, Herndon broke that silence when she posted to her Facebook page that A&E won't be putting the show out after all.
"I am announcing that this show is no longer going to air," Herndon wrote. "We were assured the show was wonderful and that the content wasn't the problem. All we know it [sic] that it stalled at
Herndon says she and the show's crew filmed Little Funny during the summer of 2016. She traveled all over the country, to places like Las Vegas, New Jersey and New York City, where she got to meet and work with some of the most famous names in comedy."I am announcing that this show is no longer going to air. We were assured the show was wonderful and that the content wasn't the problem. All we know is that it stalled at network."
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"I was given amazing opportunities," Herndon's Facebook post continued. "I spent to [sic] whole summer working on this project flying from place to place. Las Vegas to meet George Lopez who drove me all over the city and share [sic] incredible stories. Connecticut to meet Wanda Sykes before her show there. She was so supportive and funny. I got to fly to NYC and drive to Chris Rock's house in New Jersey. We knocked and he let us right in. So down to Earth and real. The kind of guy you would expect from his performance."
A&E had green-lit Little Funny for 10 episodes as part of a deal between the network, DeGeneres' production company, A Very Good Production, and the production companies Telepictures and This is Just a Test.
"It's crazy that Saffy is telling such hilarious jokes at 11 years old," DeGeneres said in a network press release in 2016. "When I was 11, I was telling knock-knock jokes. To be honest, I'm still telling knock-knock jokes."
Herndon started performing stand-up comedy around Dallas at the age of 8 after local favorite and Funniest Comic in Texas winner Linda Stogner gave her a three-minute set at the Backdoor Comedy Club. Her father, Steve, frequently accompanies her to her gigs.
Herndon's adult comic sensibilities made her a favorite at local comedy clubs and even a regular fixture on the comedy festival circuit. She performed at Gilda Radner's Laughfest in Michigan, the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival in Austin and the Amsterdam Comedy Festival in Dallas. She also finished second in the East Texas Funniest Comic competition and made it to the second round of auditions for an NBC comedy competition, according to her website.
