After coming out as gay in his previous HBO special Rothaniel, and then putting all of his sexual business out there in a reality series for HBO last year, where does Jerrod Carmichael go from here?
The Gist: Jerrod Carmichael won an Emmy for his 2022 stand-up special, Rothaniel. Critics were decidedly more split over the success of his follow-up project, Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show.
For his fourth HBO comedy special, filmed this February in NYC, Carmichael opens up about what his love life is like now (happy), and how he’s dealing with his family in North Carolina, all of whom rely on him financially even if they might not support him back emotionally.
What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: You don’t often find a comedian releasing a critically-acclaimed yet much-debated special, and then coming back to talk about the aftereffects of it. Perhaps it’ll remind you of how Hannah Gadsby followed Nanette? But no. If anything, Carmichael’s arc more closely follows that of one of his close comedy collaborators, Bo Burnham, in being wholly self-aware and self-referential while not seeming to care about what the audience thinks of him at all.
Memorable Jokes: In case you need catching up, or an explanation about Carmichael’s HBO reality series, he brings you up to speed immediately, attempting to explain himself this way: “I had this idea that if I document everything I’m most ashamed of, and release that out into the world, maybe that could me release some of my own shame.”
This hour isn’t about shame, though. Not at all.
It’s about how comedians and other celebrities get caught up reading online comments about them, no matter how good or how critical. It’s about Carmichael even going to therapy to try to break down his reaction to our reactions of his revelations.
But don’t worry too much about him. After all, he jokes: “I want black people to like me, but one white lady from HBO liked me, and I’ve been a multi-millionaire ever since so it’s different.”
It’s about his joy at settling down with one boyfriend. Even if it makes him think about both open relationships and weddings in a whole new light.
And it’s about dealing with his mom’s turn away from him and toward Jesus. He cracks: “Sometimes I feel like I’m in a battle with God for my mom’s soul, and I can’t tell who’s winning. ‘Cause I keep paying for stuff and she keeps thanking Jesus.”
Also, a couple of very funny bits, one recalling his reaction to D’Angelo’s sexual 2000 music video, another about trying to stay closeted in NYC while using Grindr as he was becoming mainstream famous, and a closing story about trying to embrace PDA in Paris that ties the hour up in a nice bow.
Our Take: The cinematography feels grainy and raw. As opposed to Rothaniel, where Carmichael remained seated in the dark, he’s constantly pacing across the brightly-lit stage with light curtains behind him. His physicality matches the nervous anxiety he keeps telling us about to describe his state of mind.
But mostly, this hour feels like a reset.
After using his last hour to come out in a very public way, and then showing us all his dirty little secrets in a reality series that even his friend Bo Burnham had to call him out for (while wearing his own disguise), perhaps Carmichael just wants to get back to telling jokes. Which he’s still quite good at.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Getting to peer behind the proverbial curtain of fame and fortune (it’s quite something to hear a comedian reveal themselves to be a multimillionaire!) feels more special when the famous person isn’t dropping a lot of names, just truth bombs.
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.