For his third Netflix comedy special, Anthony Jeselnik looks back on his two decades of stand-up to remind us long he has reigned as a dark prince of “gallows humor,” and rubs it in a bit when it comes to his peers who complain that “cancel culture” is somehow getting in the way of their ability to tell jokes. To borrow from one of them, is Jeselnik right, or is he right?
The Gist: Jeselnik initially broke through into mainstream attention thanks to his performances on the Comedy Central Roasts of Donald Trump, Charlie Sheen, and Roseanne. Jeselnik was a natural thanks to his onstage persona as a teller of darkly offensive jokes.
Even if you hadn’t seen his previous Netflix specials (Thoughts and Prayers; Fire in the Maternity Ward), you may have seen him hosting a season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, or in either of his former Comedy Central series, The Jeselnik Offensive, or Good Talk (where he gently ribbed his friends and fellow comedians in one-on-one chats).
So you probably think you know what you’re in for now, right? Well, yes and no. This performance, honed over the course of an 18-month tour, finds Jeselnik doing what he does best, whilst also offering a peek back into his professional arc.
What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: Netflix comedy fans may see some similarities between Jeselnik and the debut hour earlier this month from Adrienne Iapalucci. But they’re fundamentally different, stylistically, as Jeselnik’s jokes hinge on fictional relatives and relationships that let you know they’re not his sincere beliefs, whereas Iapalucci’s dark perspective feels more personal to her.
It’s also fitting and funny that Jeselnik appears this week as a guest on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, as these two comedians have used their platforms to speak out more than most against their hypocritically shallow transgressive peers in stand-up.
Speaking of which, in what could be incidental or intentional, Jeselnik’s new special was filmed in the same Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee as ventriloquist Jeff Dunham’s new holiday special out now on Prime Video.
Memorable Jokes: Staying true to his character, Jeselnik explains to us how a female audience member earlier in the tour had told him that his closing routine was “problematic” and hoped he’d change it. So he did, making it his opening gambit. Why? “Nail home the point that I’m the best.”
What’s the bit? He boasts it’s a trans joke, mocking that current comedy trends make it his “responsibility to get up in front of a group of strangers and give you my opinion on the trans community,” adding: “Look, guys, you’ve got to do it now. it’s in the handbook.” But as with any of Jeselnik’s jokes, there’s a twist, as he plunges his punchline dagger into a different target.
It’s perhaps a better opener than his previous bit, which Jeselnik explains was so good but also so awful that “I humbled Kanye West.”
A flurry of gags about pregnant women and kids follows, to the point where even he decides to stop to comment on the run 18 minutes in. “This is where audiences traditionally start to complain,” he explains. “They’ll say Anthony, why do you have so many jokes about abusing children? And why do you do them all in the beginning?”
He boasts later that his new closer “is trans-proof,” and in between, he shares his favorite joke of all time (which previously appeared on his debut album), and goes in hard on the comedians and comedy fans who have made Joe Rogan’s podcast so popular. To them, he jokes: “Joe’s my friend. He’s a good guy. But if you listen to his podcast, you’re a f—ing loser.”
Our Take: So why listen to Jeselnik?
Though his onstage persona is all about making him the bad guy, someone for you to boo at while also somehow cracking up at, he’s not really evil. It’s more that he sees life as sometimes so dark and awful that you have to laugh at it, lest you allow the reality of the situation to destroy you. “Gallows humor is what I’m all about,” he says.
Part of what makes this special truly special is how, starting from that moment, Jeselnik finally begins to pull back the curtains to reveal a bit of his wizardry, and he shares sincere stories from his 20 years in the business.
He reflects on what his life was like before fame and fortune, when he still had roommates and a soulless office day job. He reveals that he only took the job hosting Last Comic Standing because he wanted to meet and work with his comedic hero, the late Norm Macdonald (and shares a funny story of how his idol once pranked him). And he lets us know that despite his braggadocio, he once felt very insecure and afraid after telling one particular Comedy Central Roast joke.
It’s a breath of fresh air. Perhaps even more satisfying for comedy fans is watching Jeselnik take down his peers who complain about “cancel culture” and force him to answer questions about it all of the time, calling them “shit comedian(s) trying to get on Rogan.”
“Let me be clear: I don’t give a f— about cancel culture. What I’m sick of is comedians complaining about cancel culture,” he says. “It’s not that hard. Do your job.”
And Jeselnik remains very great at his job.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Even if you haven’t seen any clips of Jeselnik before, this serves as a perfect introduction to him. As he says at one point: “Comedians are supposed to be unparalleled badasses. I know this because I have a f—ing mirror.” It’d be great if more comedians were this bad-ass.
Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat. He also podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.
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