This May Be the Most Polarizing Comedy Special of the Year

Sections SEARCH Skip to content Skip to site index Television Subscribe Log In Subscribe Log In Today’s Paper Advertisement Supported by On Comedy ByJason Zinoman Aug. 24, 2018 The safe move for Drew Michael, a well-regarded 33-year-old comic, would have been to make a typical debut television hour, stringing together his funniest jokes into a tight set performed in a packed theater. Instead, he took a risk, not to mention a stand in a simmering battle over the artistic future of the comedy special. As specials have proliferated, stand-ups have increasingly pushed these shows’ boundaries. Ali Wong’s “Baby Cobra” and Hannah Gadsby’s “Nanette” leaned on narratives with twists and a thematic through-line. Introductory scenes have become more cinematic. (See John Mulaney.) And it’s become common to draw laughs through visual or audio elements, like the narration broadcasting the inner thoughts of Demetri Martin in his witty new Netflix special, “The Overthinker,” transforming stand-up into a double act starring his public and private selves. Such ambition is the sign of a maturing art form, but it’s also elicited a grumbling backlash, with some rightly saying that some of these innovations are distracting gimmicks, at odds with the timeless simplicity of the… Read full this story

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