October's Stand-Up Specials, Recommended by a Man Who Has Not Yet Seen Them
Six new hours from Michael Che, Kate Berlant, Jamie Foxx and others arrive this month. We list them anyway, which is more than most critics would admit to.
By the Heckle Desk · · 2 min readIt is customary in this business to recommend a thing after you have seen it. We consider this a fine custom, and we intend to honor it someday. In the meantime, October has arrived with more stand-up specials than a reasonable person can watch, and we are reasonable people, mostly, so here is the schedule.
A word of advice before you begin. A stand-up special is an hour of a man or woman talking, which the rest of us get for free at Thanksgiving. The difference is that these people rehearsed. That counts for a lot. My uncle never rehearsed a thing in his life, and you could tell.
- 01
Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself (Hulu, Oct. 7)
Jamie Foxx can sing, act, do impressions and tell jokes, which seems greedy. Most of us were given one talent and told to make it last. He's out today, so if you were planning to do something productive tonight, you can now put that off with a clear conscience.
- 02
Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota (Netflix, Oct. 13)
Che reads the news on Saturday nights in the manner of a man who has been asked to do it and has decided not to make a fuss. That's a rare quality. Most people who read the news act like they invented it. This is Che without the desk, which, if you think about it, is just Che.
- 03
Kate Berlant: Parmesan (HBO, Oct. 16)
Berlant has a way of sounding like she's making it up as she goes, which is the hardest trick in comedy and also the hardest trick in a job interview. HBO says the hour covers the moon, her social feeds and her sexuality. That's three subjects. I've seen men build whole careers on one, and it was usually their ex-wife.
- 04
Heather McMahan: By a Thread (Hulu, Oct. 16)
Same day as Berlant, which forces a choice, and a choice is a terrible thing to give a person on a Friday. McMahan tells stories big and loud, the way stories were told before everybody got embarrassed about it. Pick both. Nobody's keeping score.
- 05
Adam Conover: Big Divorce Energy (YouTube, Oct. 23)
Conover made his name explaining why everything you love is secretly a scam. Now he's turned the investigation on his own marriage, which is the bravest thing a man can do, short of asking his ex-wife what she thinks. It's free on YouTube. You can't beat free, though people keep trying.
- 06
Zainab Johnson: Toxically Optimistic (Netflix, Oct. 27)
An optimist is a person who hasn't checked the mail yet. Johnson's title suggests she checked and decided to stay cheerful anyway, which is either wisdom or a medical condition. Either way, it lands four days before Halloween, and it beats a raisin in the candy bag.