Funny AF with Kevin Hart (2026) s01e01 Episode Script

1
- [traffic whizzing]
- [car horn honking]
[Chelsea] What does Kevin
think he's doing,
making a special entrance?
[Keegan] It's on brand. It's on brand.
[Chelsea] It's pretty impressive.
- There he is.
- [Keegan] There he is.
Thanks for coming, by the way.
We've been here for three hours,
- by the way.
- [Kevin] Oh, I'm sorry.
It was like four minutes.
- I mean, Jesus Christ.
- [Chelsea] All day long.
I'm nerv-- She's so hard on me
- for no reason at all.
- [laughs]
[Kevin] Here's what I want
to talk to you guys about.
Of course, comedy today,
I think we're in a good place.
But the business is supposed
to be fueled and filled
with new faces every…
- So many years. Yeah.
-…so many-- It's supposed to happen.
It's not supposed to be stagnant.
And I think we have an opportunity
to discover the next person
that will be the big face in comedy.
You want them to be big?
You want them to exceed your career?
- Of all of us combined.
- I open up doors
so you can kick them open.
But if you open the door,
it's already open.
So why would he kick it open?
- [laughs]
- [Kumail] And please, Chelsea…
- Chelsea, will you stop it?
- He's doing the intro to the show.
- Okay, look, look…
- [upbeat music playing]
[Kevin] Funny AF is the search
for the next great stand-up comedian.
I'm traveling to the best comedy clubs
in the country
to find the funniest comics
from across America
and give them the opportunity
to become a global star.
Back in the day, the stand-up comedy star
immediately got an opportunity
- to become the movie star because…
- They got their own sitcom.
They got everything. The opportunity
for those moments has died.
Joining me are some of my friends,
who also happen to be
some of the most trusted voices in comedy.
Together, we're putting on
three showcases in New York,
Los Angeles and Chicago.
So you go to Chicago with me.
- Why don't you do New York with me?
- I'll do New York.
- I love New York.
- Right, same thing. Also, guys, Tom.
Tom Segura, he's going
to help me in Los Angeles too.
So if you want to do the callbacks,
I'll let Tom do the first stage
of Los Angeles.
- Great.
- When we go to Chicago,
can I ride in your private jet?
Okay, so let's talk offline.
- We can figure it out.
- Okay.
Okay? I want to make sure our travels are…
- [laughs]
- I'll change my plans.
Whatever yours are, those are my plans.
[Kevin] The best comics will be invited
to callbacks.
Finally, the world will get a chance
to vote on their favorite… live.
This is when live voting
will come into play.
- Live vote?
- Live voting?
Is this person that's winning
getting a Netflix special?
They're gonna get a Netflix special.
Great. When were you gonna
fucking tell me that?
- I just told you.
- [laughs]
[Kevin] There's never been
a comedy competition
that actually captures
the real grind of stand-up.
- [laughs]
- [Kevin] So I teamed up with Netflix
to change that.
This person is eventually going
to become one of us,
a person that is gonna be invited
to sit down at a table like this.
The next household name.
That's my one. I want to help spark
the next stage of career
for the next person of funny.
[Kumail] When you started talking,
I was like, I don't think
Kevin knows what he's going to say,
but that was very inspiring.
- Well, I think--
- I mean, I wouldn't say it was inspiring.
He might have actually thought about this.
Yeah, well, guys, I'm like,
do you know it's my show? Like I'm…
- [overlapping chatter]
- We should start rolling the cameras.
That was good.
- [music concludes]
- [electricity buzzing]
[upbeat music playing]
[Kevin] First stop on the tour,
New York City.
A place where only the strong survive.
Joining me is someone who shaped
the comedy of a generation,
Keegan-Michael Key.
Oh, I think this is my man right here.
That's my guy.
- Big energy on the scene.
- [Keegan] Good to see you, man.
Welcome to New York.
I'm so excited about this.
- This is pretty dope.
- It's really dope.
- Walk with me. Walk with me.
- Let's see where we're going.
[Kevin] Keegan is the co-creator of one
of the greatest sketch shows ever,
Key & Peele.
He acts, he writes, he produces,
and he brings a completely
different perspective on comedy,
which I love.
Modern stand-up was born right here
in New York City at the Comedy Cellar.
Lenny Bruce, Eddie Murphy,
Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld,
me, we all came up here.
When it comes to stand-up comedy,
it's very hard to compete
with New York City, in my opinion.
So for this group of comedians,
the pressure is on.
This is the greatest comedy city
in the world.
- That is undisputable.
- That's why we're here.
[Eva] New York is very cutthroat,
and I wouldn't trade
this shit for the world.
When I go to other cities, I'm like,
this is what y'all laugh at?
The audience would've jumped your ass
if you was in Brooklyn
with this wack shit.
- All right guys, hey, hey, hey!
- [comedians cheering, applauding]
[Kevin] Good energy.
What energy.
- Look at this!
- Uh…
- Amazing energy.
- They're ready to go!
This is unbelievable, guys. Very exciting.
Coming in just to give you guys
a little brief introduction
before we get started with the showcase.
You guys get five minutes.
Five-minute set should tell me
what I need to know about a comedian.
How much can people walk away with
as an understanding of who you are,
why you're a comic,
what your style of funny is.
What can we grab
from that five minutes to hold on to
to make us want to come back
and learn more and understand more?
And we will pick a handful
of people from the showcase of 14
to move on to callbacks.
And to me, a handful is about five.
All competitions have something
that you take away from it.
The takeaway, a Netflix special.
- That's a big fucking deal.
- [all applaud]
- Big deal.
- [Kevin] A big deal, all right?
A big deal. All right?
We're looking for a person who's going
to be kind of a voice of a new generation.
We're going to pass this baton on to you.
We're really looking forward to this.
This is… This is unprecedented.
I've never seen anything like this before.
- We're in New York.
- [Keegan] We're in New York City.
Get your mind right,
and then get ready to do it.
All right? Congrats.
I'm going to sit out,
because I want to see you perform.
- I'm excited.
- [Keegan] Thank you very much, everybody.
- I'll see you guys out there. Thank you.
- We're looking forward to it.
- [indistinct chatter]
- I'm nervous.
- [Reg] You nervous?
- A little bit.
I can't believe it's a Netflix special.
That's insane.
That's the thing.
That's like the thing that we want.
- Yeah, that's what we all want. [laughs]
- That's like the… Yeah, yeah.
["Different Level" playing]
I can't predict what's going to happen
Like I'm Nostradamus ♪
[host] We do have Kevin Hart
and Keegan-Michael Key
- in the building.
- All right.
[all cheering, applauding]
Can I ask you this? Here's a question.
This is like, for my edification
What's-- What's the criteria?
To me, I think, as a comedian,
in five minutes, it's like,
well, how do I get you to remember me?
Here's who I am,
and here's some things about me.
Here's some things
that you're going to laugh at.
But this is my real world.
This is my truth.
- And this is what I find humor in.
- I think we're on the same page.
I love that we got this crowd.
- Whoo!
- Yeah, this is a fire-ass crowd.
[stage manager] Okay, Tata,
it's time to go to the stage.
- [comedians cheering]
- [Reg] Let's go, baby!
I got into comedy around age 26, 27.
And I was going through a weird breakup.
He left me for a virgin.
[laughs] I know, right?
I'm like, now I know
she was sucking dick or something.
And I went and said that
at an open mic a few days later
and never turned back.
- Am I allowed to say "sucking dick"?
- [producer] Yeah.
- I can just be me, right?
- [producer] Yeah, yeah.
Oh, fuck yeah.
Ooh, I thought I had to,
you know, button up a little bit. [laughs]
But I can let my titties loose. [laughs]
It's five fucking minutes, bitch.
You got this.
The past two years have been challenging
because I faced a lot of rejection.
But I told myself to keep going.
[host] Give it up for Tata Sherise,
ladies and gentlemen.
- Let her hear it.
- [audience cheering, applauding]
[Tata] Winning this competition
could change my life
in so many ways
because people seeing me on this show,
seeing my personality, seeing my talent.
I'm ready to work,
and I think this can open doors.
[audience cheering, applauding]
Oh.
- Hey!
- [audience] Hey!
My name is Tata Sherise.
I did have the name
before I had the titties.
[audience laughing]
Need to get that shit out the way.
Address the elephants in the room.
[audience laughing]
I know I got some big ass titties,
I understand.
Man, no, but honestly,
I'm feeling good, man. I'm feeling light.
[audience cheering]
Mainly because I lost some weight.
[audience cheering, applauding]
Yeah, I lost 30.3 pounds.
You can't leave out the decimal.
All that shit count.
Man, but I'm realizing as I get smaller,
I'mma miss a couple things
about being a big girl.
I have fat people privileges.
[audience chuckling]
You feel me? Like, uh…
kidnapping.
[audience laughing]
Baby, I was safe.
- [audience laughing]
- [both laugh]
I could run through Central Park
butt-ass naked.
Big mama making it home.
- [audience laughing]
- [Keegan laughing]
They going to have to grab
the little bitch in front of me.
And to be honest, it's gonna take
at least two to three niggas
to put me in the van.
Okay, I'm not going out without a fight.
And I got backup.
[imitates gunshots]
Like, you know what I mean?
- [audience laughing, applauding]
- [laughs]
I'm walking around,
I'm feeling vulnerable.
Nervous, because I'm getting small.
I'm like, "Oh, my God,
how do you little bitches do this shit?"
I'mma miss my fupa.
Y'all know what a fupa is, right?
Front upper pussy area.
I'mma miss that shit.
I am, because between me and y'all,
I used to sit this shit
on niggas' foreheads, okay?
They got to lift it up for air.
[inhales, exhales]
[audience laughing]
I ain't gonna hold you.
I like when a nigga lift my shit up
like the hood of a car,
give a bitch an oil change.
[audience laughing]
And I think that's my motherfucking time.
I'm Tata Sherise.
[audience cheering, applauding]
[Keegan] Great persona,
great way to start it.
- Confidence.
- Confidence.
- Confidence.
- Yeah.
Stage presence, right?
- How did that feel?
- Oh, man, that felt good.
I didn't do the jokes at the end
that I wanted to do,
but I said, "Fuck it,
we up here, let's ball."
- Oh, yeah! That's great!
- Let's ball, baby, let's ball.
I'm feeling like I did
what I was supposed to do.
I feel confident, you know,
but I wish I had closed out
on the joke that I wanted to,
but it's okay, because when I,
you know, go to callbacks next week…
[laughs]
…I get to use that same joke.
There's a lot of personality,
a lot of charisma, of course.
I felt like I wanted the closer
to be a little stronger.
You know, in a five-minute set,
the dismount is very important.
[stage manager] All right,
LeClerc, time to go to stage.
- [Winston] All right, LeClerc.
- [Caitlin] Go get 'em, LeClerc.
I feel like a coach.
- [producer] Watch the microphone!
- [thuds]
- [Winston] Don't do that.
- [Caitlin] Yeah, you get 'em, LeClerc.
It only hits LeClerc.
[chuckles] 'Cause he's so tall.
[LeClerc] I'm very tall,
and if I don't address my height
while I'm on stage,
then it becomes a distraction.
[producer] And how tall are you?
6'7"?
I've been doing comedy
for 11, 12 years now.
I grew up in Maryland,
raised by a single mother from Haiti.
I did stand-up comedy
for two years in Maryland.
I saw what it meant
to be a big fish in a small pond,
and I really wanted to give myself
a chance to be bigger than that.
So I just took a leap of faith
and decided to move to New York.
- [host] Give it up for Mr. LeClerc Andre!
- [audience cheering, applauding]
[LeClerc] This is the biggest opportunity
I've ever had in my career.
- This means everything to me.
- All right, here we go.
[LeClerc] I really gambled on myself
when I moved to New York.
Making it would give me
all the validation I've ever looked for.
- What's up, y'all?
- [audience cheering]
My name's LeClerc Andre.
Yeah, I'll give you a second to adjust.
- I'm sorry. [chuckles]
- [audience laughing]
[LeClerc] Yeah, this is my body.
I'm very tall.
Yeah. You a tall guy?
- How tall are you?
- [audience member 1] 6'5".
6'5"? That's adorable.
- 6'5". [chuckles]
- [audience laughing]
I used to be 6'5".
That's a good height, man.
- You know, to be young. [laughs]
- [audience chuckling]
Why'd you stop,
if you don't mind me asking?
- [audience laughing]
- Keep going, man. Believe in yourself.
- [chuckles]
- Very smart.
[LeClerc] I was in Alaska last week.
They have a lot of bears in Alaska.
I didn't know that.
I feel bad for black bears.
They get a bad rap.
They really do.
They're some of the best bears out there.
Seriously, they're the only bear
that if they get aggressive,
just make yourself big
and they will run away.
That's a cool bear, right?
- [audience cheering]
- You know what the most dangerous bear is?
You know what the most aggressive bear is?
You guys know?
- [audience member 2] Polar bear.
- I was gonna say white, but yeah, polar.
[audience laughing]
Polar. [laughs]
That's crazy, you know?
- You call them polar bears, huh?
- [audience laughing]
You got no problem calling them black
and brown bears,
you know, but all of a sudden
the killer bears are polar.
That's crazy, you know?
I call them privileged bears.
That's what I call them.
- [audience laughing]
- [laughs]
Nah, shout out to polar bears, man.
Y'all got a good PR team. You really do.
[audience laughing]
They do, man. They got them
out there drinking Coca-Cola.
- What the hell is going on, man?
- [audience laughing]
- These are murderous bears.
- [audience laughing]
It's propaganda.
If I see a black bear drinking Hennessy,
- I'm going to burn this city down.
- [audience laughing]
[LeClerc chuckles]
Like, stop break dancing.
Nigga, get up. This is bullshit.
[audience laughing]
Man, you guys have been so much fun.
I gotta run.
My name's LeClerc. Guys,
have a good night. See you later, goodbye!
- Very, very smart.
- [audience cheering, applauding]
[upbeat hip-hop music playing]
Very clever.
All of his punchlines were hidden.
He wants the audience,
he baits the audience to go, "Polar."
And I was like,
"Oh, I thought that was the joke."
- Oh, that's what you call it. Yeah, yeah.
- Oh, that's what y'all call it.
It just went ding, ding, ding.
It was really well constructed.
It was a very well-written set.
[comedians applauding, cheering]
[Eva] You killed it! I'm so proud of you.
- [Caitlin] Yeah!
- That was fun.
- [Caitlin] That was great. You killed it.
- [Eva] You look like you had fun.
Kevin Hart's here
And so is Keegan-Michael Key ♪
Let's fucking go ♪
I'm pretty nervous, pretty nervous.
Knock 'em dead! You got this.
- Come on now.
- [chuckles]
I'm from Cartersville, Virginia,
which is population 550 people.
So very, very tiny where I was born.
Pretty much you know everybody.
And I think if people watch my comedy now,
they would be surprised
to learn how conservative
that I grew up, like I was--
And when I was in high school,
I was like a young Republican
and I was surrounded
with a lot of folks that looked
and thought exactly like me.
When I got into comedy
and when I got into college,
being faced with different views
that I had never thought about before
was really, really beneficial for me.
I got it.
This is already like
a big comedy milestone for me,
so just anxious and emotional
and I hope I don't start crying.
That'd be crazy. [laughs]
That would not be a good look,
but yeah, I'm excited, so… [sighs]
- [Eva] Go, Winston!
- [Tata] All right, let's go, Winston.
[audience cheering, applauding]
Hell yeah, brother!
What's up, man? How's everybody doing?
- Everyone doing good?
- [audience cheering]
My name is, uh, Winston Hodges.
I'm a straight fella. I've been straight…
[audience laughing]
[laughs] …you know,
pretty much the whole time, I guess.
You know what I mean?
You have to remember what counts.
Thoughts don't count, brother.
They don't count. [laughs]
- [audience laughing]
- [speaks indistinctly]
But I'll tell you right now, man,
like, being straight's different now
than when I was a kid. I'm 35, man.
It used to just
be you were straight or gay.
Now you can be straight and still have,
like, good stories.
You know what I mean?
Like, I'll give you a perfect example.
I am straight,
but I have had sex with five people
who immediately after having sex with me,
uh, they decided, um, that perhaps,
um, it would be in their best interest,
um, to begin their transition.
That is true. I have fucked… Yes.
- [audience laughing]
- Some of you are like, "Holy shit,
what percentage of the people
you fucked is five?"
It's enough, you know what I mean?
It's enough to track that number,
you know what I mean? It's true.
Within a week of fucking me,
I've had five people call me and be like,
"Hey Winston, I've had a lot of fun,
but I have decided to become the man
that God intended for me to be."
And so I am the only straight man
on earth that has five ex-boyfriends.
And I tell you, that's an interesting…
You don't have to believe me.
I'll show you a picture.
It looks like a pretty good pickup
basketball team is what it looks like.
- [laughs]
- [audience laughing]
I look like a coach in there.
I'm like, "Pick and roll, Margaret."
- You know what I mean? "Get in there."
- [audience laughing]
- [Keegan laughing]
- [Winston] Do what you need to do, man.
You can tell he's setting up
for the big closer.
- Let's hope it pays off, all right?
- [audience laughing]
And I don't know about y'all,
but I've had sex with five people
who immediately afterwards
started thinking about my dick.
And every last one of them was like,
"I'm going to fucking get me
one of these."
- You know what I mean? I tell you…
- [audience laughing, cheering]
I've been Winston Hodges.
You guys have a good night.
- Wow.
- [Salma] That was a really good closer.
- It killed.
- Yeah, that was a good closer.
Killed.
- [Kevin] Very, very good.
- Very good.
Thank you, bro.
[Mia] How do you feel?
You'll get 'em next time.
Yeah, that's what it felt like.
It felt bad. [laughs]
- Did not feel like a good time.
- Really?
- No?
- [Winston] Yeah, it felt brutal.
- What?
- Really?
Yeah, that one didn't feel great.
He fucked me up because finding humor
through areas where most look to…
You're-- Like the most--
the most profound insecurity.
What would be
the most profound insecurity about him
- is where he found the humor.
- Found the most humor.
That's a talent…
And that is a hierarchy in comedy, right?
- Yeah.
- Everybody's going this way.
I'm gonna go this way.
["Bombshell" playing]
And the first touch
And my mind's blown ♪
[Kevin] I think what makes
a good joke is finding humor
in the things that most don't see
to be funny.
I love people that aren't afraid
to talk about the things
that are a little more unexpected.
To me, that is my favorite kind of comedy
that has a real emotional heft to it.
And point of view
is the most important aspect.
Your point of view
can't change all the time.
That's true. I think that let--
Seeing things through your lens
might be the most important thing.
No, the point of view and perspective,
that's what I think makes a good joke.
Like, what-- what are you doing different
than what the pack has done?
["Top Notch" playing]
Yeah, homie, I'm just big bad
A rock star ♪
What you think the judges are looking for?
I think the judges are looking
for originality
and somebody that's gonna stay true
to themself.
[stage manager]
Thirty-second warning for Reg.
- You're gonna be great.
- [Reg] Thank you so much.
Doing stand-up comedy for 14 years
is like having a PhD and almost making it.
I've almost been him so many times.
I've made a lot of sacrifices
in hopes that I was
gonna allow myself
to be the best stand-up comedian
I could be.
At times, I didn't have a place to stay,
and for a certain period of time,
I was living with my…
[chuckles] …with my weed man.
[chuckles]
- [audience applauding]
- Let's get it!
If I win this whole thing,
it'll mean the world to me, man.
This is gonna be a levelling up.
- [host] Give it up for Reg Thomas!
- [audience cheering, applauding]
[Reg] My style
is definitely autobiographical.
I definitely talk about my life,
my experiences.
So that way, you know,
even if you're not from where I'm from,
hopefully I get you two
or three jokes that let you know,
"Okay, I kind of understand
this guy a little bit more."
[Usama] Boom. Got the New York.
- Okay, Reg.
- He about to smash it.
How y'all doing? My name's Reg Thomas.
I'm from Brooklyn.
Very happy to be home.
I was just down in D.C.
They got a little homeless problem in D.C.
In New York,
we have a homeless problem too,
- but we've been doing this for a while.
- [audience laughing]
Like in New York,
we have a very strict no-touch policy.
In Washington D.C.,
they will just hug you.
- And it's like, "My nigga." [chuckles]
- [audience laughing]
[both laugh]
I gave you the money, what is this about?
[audience laughing]
And in New York,
our homeless people have more hustle.
I was at a Starbucks the other day,
and for lack of a better word,
I witnessed a bum off.
[audience laughing]
- A bum off is funny.
- A bum off.
This first guy walks in
the Starbucks, he like,
"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen."
[audience laughing]
"I'm very sorry
for interrupting your day."
[audience laughing]
And out of nowhere, another one walked in
and he was like, "I'm way more sorry!"
[audience laughing]
And that's capitalism, that's competition.
[audience laughing]
Guys, I know
homeless jokes aren't for everybody…
- but I wrote a lot of these, so…
- [audience laughing]
- [laughs]
- [Kevin] That's good.
- Lock in, I believe in y'all.
- That's good. Very good.
On Valentine's Day,
I saw a homeless couple,
they were holding a sign
that said, "We have no money,
we have no food,
all we have is love and each other."
I was like, "Y'all need to break up."
[audience laughing]
I don't give money
to homeless white people.
[audience laughing]
Y'all felt that?
[audience laughing]
Y'all felt the room change
when I said that?
- [audience laughing]
- [laughs]
I said, I don't give money
to homeless white people.
- Y'all looked at me like, "I never did."
- [audience laughing]
"Was that the joke?
Because we're with you."
I treat them the same way
regular white people treat them.
I give them a look
of confusion and disappointment, like…
- [audience laughing]
- [Keegan laughs]
"You're going to have to get it together."
[audience laughing]
- "Get out of here, Scott!"
- [Keegan] "Scott"!
[audience laughing]
And in America,
we have stereotypes about everyone.
Everyone gets roasted in America.
When you Haitian,
they think you do voodoo.
And they don't even ask you.
They just accuse you. They're like,
"You do voodoo, right?"
And I used to be so confused.
I was like,
"You think this is my voodoo body?"
[audience laughing]
No. If I did voodoo, I'd be taller.
My dick would be…
My dick would be the same,
but I'd be taller.
- Like, so much taller.
- [audience laughing]
- That's good.
- Hey, yo, my name is Reg Thomas.
Thank y'all very much.
- [Kevin] That's very good.
- [host] Reg Thomas, ladies and gentlemen.
[audience cheering, applauding]
What a nice variety
- of what makes me a comic.
- Yep, yep.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Here's my cadence. Here's my makeup.
Great material, right?
- Yeah.
- Understanding punchline.
- Understanding bit out.
- Yeah.
- Like, let me get in. Let me get out.
- Out, yeah.
I got five minutes.
Here's a piece. I'm out.
The architecture was fantastic
and his stepping-outside energy,
which was-- He's like,
"I know it's a lot of homeless jokes,
but strap in 'cause
I got a whole mess of 'em."
- And breaking--
- Such good writing.
- Breaking the fourth wall.
- Breaking the fourth wall.
That was actually sublime.
- How do you feel about yourself?
- I was like, "That's what I need to do."
I was like, "Damn, that five minutes
go by quick as hell."
I feel amazing. There's nothing
I wish I had done differently.
That was the set I wanted to do,
and it went exactly how I wanted.
[exhales] Damn, that shit felt good.
So for me, Reg and LeClerc are tied.
Okay. I'm going to go our girl up top.
Tata, there's an aura
about her of comfortability.
I think Winston's
got a fucking thing, man.
- There's something going on with Winston.
- He's got a fucking thing.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Okay.
[upbeat music playing]
Can you bring the camera a little closer?
Oh, my God. No. No! [laughs]
Wait, no, not until after the brush.
[stage manager] Thirty-second warning
for Caitlin.
Shitballs, shitballs, fuck.
God damn it!
Growing up, my family was very funny.
My dad was more pull-my-finger funny,
and then my mom was very,
like, sophisticated funny.
So you got the best of both worlds.
Winning a Netflix special would be huge.
Will my parents finally be proud of me?
[chuckles] No.
I've been doing comedy for 11 years.
I think I was 24 when I wanted to try it.
I asked a boyfriend once if he thought
I was funny, and he said,
"I think you're entertaining,
not necessarily funny."
So that'll put you down a little spiral.
But once you break up with him,
then you Google
how to start stand-up comedy.
- [host] Give it up for Caitlin Peluffo!
- [audience cheering, applauding]
My name's Caitlin, I'm doing pretty good.
I'm excited to be here.
I had a good year.
I lost 45 pounds last year.
- I did. Thank you. Thank you so much.
- [audience applauding]
That's why I'm wearing a crop top.
Oh, I'm so excited.
If I lose five more pounds,
I'mma show off my vulva.
Yeah, I'mma let her wiggle out. [laughs]
I like it. This guy is like,
"What's a vulva?"
- What?
- [audience laughing]
Do you know? He knows what it is.
It's not a car, okay?
It's not a car.
It's a whole pussy, all right?
[audience laughing]
I lost a bunch of weight,
but I want to be very clear.
I lost a bunch of weight not to be skinny.
That's not the goal.
The goal is not to be thin.
I'm trying to get jacked.
Yeah, I wanna be yoked, you know?
My ex-boyfriend, he loved it.
He loved that I was getting stronger
because he wanted the protection.
- [audience laughing]
- Yeah, I was dating a short king.
You know what I'm talking about?
I love a short king.
We got any Tiny Tims in here? Come on.
- Oh, I know, baby doll. I know, baby doll.
- [audience laughing]
Look at this little nugget.
- [Keegan laughing]
- [Caitlin] How you doing?
How tall are you? How tall are you, Kevin?
- 5'4".
- 5'4". Oh, who's your big boy?
- Oh, my goodness.
- [audience laughing]
That's so hot.
Kevin's like, "I'm 5'4".
Just makes my dick look huge."
Yeah, six inches goes down
to your fucking knee, cowboy.
I like that.
[all laughing]
I'm so sorry. That was very intense.
Uh… [chuckles]
I'm ovulating, so…
[laughs]
It's crazy, I'm being such a hoe. I am.
My older sister, she's the opposite.
She married the first guy she ever kissed
and then immediately had two children.
[laughs] I know. I know.
I have fucked
four different Christophers, okay?
- [audience laughing]
- Thank you, thank you.
- It's a different lifestyle choice.
- [laughs]
She tried to give me advice.
I'll never forget this.
I was going away to college.
She just graduated.
She was like, "Caitlin, remember,
no man's gonna marry a woman
if she's had sex
with more than three guys."
And I was like, "Well,
I waved goodbye to that at prom." [laughs]
- [audience laughing]
- Three men, that's it?
You get more crayons
with the kids menu at a Denny's, okay?
If you've only seen three dicks,
you're still laughing
when you see a new dick.
They're so funny looking.
The last one I saw, he dropped his pants,
and I was like, "Wow, that's crooked!"
Okay.
"I didn't know they could bend
in the middle. Is that a knuckle?"
[laughs]
[Caitlin over TV]
"What the fuck is happening?"
"And why is it a different color
than your whole body?"
[audience laughing]
- [laughs]
- [laughs]
You guys have been so fun.
I'm Caitlin Peluffo.
- [audience applauding, cheering]
- [Keegan] Holy shit.
[Caitlin] Thank you.
- Thank you, guys.
- Well done.
- [Caitlin] Thank you.
- [audience cheering]
- Thank you.
- [Kevin] Well, buddy.
- That's a kick down the door right there.
- Well, buddy.
"Well, buddy." [laughs]
Well, bud-- Shake up.
Now, we got a shake up.
There was 100% nothing wrong
with that set.
- I have no notes. I have no notes.
- I don't have notes.
Girl, you had me screaming.
I did not expect him
to play into the short king joke.
Then Kevin clapped immediately
and I was like,
"Oh, my God,
I have to do crowd work with Kevin Hart."
I'm thrilled that worked out.
It could have really backfired. [laughs]
There was another little Tiny Tim
in this-- in the front.
- Oh, there was a Tiny Tim!
- Yeah, I was gonna talk to him,
but then Kevin made some noise,
and I was like, "All right."
And you were like,
"All right, little boy!"
- [comedians laughing]
- I know!
[Conor] I need to hold something to make
sure my hand doesn't shake.
- Microphone, is my hand shaking?
- [Eva] Yeah.
[stage manager] Conor,
it's time to go to stage!
- Okay, thank you.
- [Caitlin] Break a leg, Conor!
- [comedians cheering]
- [Caitlin] You got this, Conor!
What are my jokes? Okay, okay.
- I feel nervous, but I feel ready.
- [interviewer] Shake off the nerves.
- [upbeat hip-hop music playing]
- [host] Conor Janda!
[audience cheering, applauding]
My name is Conor, and I'm a gay guy.
But I also identify as queer,
um, to seem younger.
[audience laughing]
I feel like if a slur applies to you,
you should get to say it.
So, like gay people, we can say, like,
"fruitcake" or "supporting character."
And then, like, bi people,
you can call each other, like, "liar."
[audience laughing]
But then I asked my dad,
who is heterosexual still,
I was like, "Have you ever
called someone the F slur?"
Because he went to high school
in the 1980s.
And he's like, "Conor, I promise you
that I've never said that word."
And then I realized that in high school,
my dad was, like, a loser. [scoffs]
I love him though, he's so sweet.
Like he grew up really poor
and then he worked his way out of poverty
by marrying my mother.
- [audience laughing]
- [laughs]
When I was a kid,
he was, like, a stay-at-home dad.
And then my mom was a lawyer
for Big Pharma.
Yeah, when I was little,
if I did bad at school,
teachers would be like,
"I'm gonna call your mom."
And I think,
"Unless you're, like, suing Pfizer,
she's, like, not gonna talk to you."
Um… So, something about me,
I have two brothers,
and both of my brothers are also gay.
And if you're like,
"That's 'cause your dad didn't work,"
- I agree with you.
- [audience laughing]
Sometimes when people hear that,
they're like, "Oh, my God,
three gay kids, one family. Did you,
like, make that up for your joke?"
No, God made that up for the joke.
- Nice, nice.
- People also kind of try to gauge like,
"Of the three of you,
which one is, like, the gayest?"
And I do think it's rude to ask questions
you know the answer to.
[laughs]
I am the gayest because
my older brother is a lawyer
and my younger brother is kind.
- [laughs]
- [Keegan laughing]
- I'm Conor, thank you so much.
- [Selma] Yeah, Conor!
- [audience cheering, applauding]
- [indistinct chatter]
You know what?
I saw a little nervousness at the top.
Little nervous.
And it took him a second
to get into the groove, right?
But I stayed connected,
and I saw the set build.
Being true not only to himself,
but his environment, I like that.
I like Conor.
And I think Conor gets
in the conversation.
I might be Caitlin, LeClerc, Winston.
I like Tata.
And then my honorable mention,
it's Conor.
- I agree. I agree.
- [Keegan] Yeah.
God damn it, man.
[upbeat hip-hop music playing]
[Keegan] It's funny the spectrum
of comedy we've seen.
[Kevin] It's all unfiltered and raw.
[Keegan] And all for different reasons.
- [audience applauding]
- [music concludes]
I'm not gonna lie,
when they first asked me to do this,
they were like, "We want you
to do a competition on Netflix
for a large cash prize."
I was like, "What is this,
Squid Game?" [laughs]
"The fuck?"
- "What you got me signed up for?"
- [audience laughing]
I'm gonna get shot
in the face by Kevin Hart…
[laughs] …if I make it past this round.
- I think a very solid set.
- Very solid set, yeah.
What I like though,
he stood in the pocket.
- And he… he didn't flinch.
- [Kevin] He did not flinch.
- Did not flinch, yeah.
- [Kevin] Did not flinch.
I've been, uh, I've been a little confused
about my sexuality.
I think I'm asexual.
That's what I landed on.
It's because I went
to an asexual orgy recently.
Yeah. Do you guys know about this?
They're a real thing.
This is completely real.
It was just game night. [laughs]
- [Kevin] A little nervousness.
- [Keegan] Okay.
But, uh… Some good jokes in there.
Some things I saw coming.
I found out my boyfriend was ugly.
Oh, my God, I didn't know
for three years he was ugly
because he was paying for everything.
[audience laughing]
Then one day he asked me to go half
on the bill and I was like, "Ew."
"Have you always been bald
and broke and ugly?"
I can see how smart she was
through the choice of material
and through how she took us
on that journey.
Very, very smart.
I have a niece,
and I love this baby so much.
And I shouldn't even be here right now.
I'm on aunt-ernity leave.
- [audience laughing]
- Um… This is my parents' first grandchild.
But we don't really know a lot about her.
You know, he was like,
"We love you, come live with us."
And I'm like,
"Let's just let her talk first."
You know, let's… let's see
what this baby's about, you know?
I love the baby.
I love the babies, too,
but let's get to know her.
The segue between jokes wasn't as smooth
as I would have wanted.
I hear that, yeah.
I'm trying to be tough and sexy right now,
but I know what I sound like.
You know, like, um--
That's not the funny part.
Don't laugh at that.
I know what I sound like.
I try to overcompensate
in a lot of ways, right?
Like, I was driving a car
with my best friend,
and this car cut us off in traffic.
And I said out loud in the car,
I was like… [gasps] …"Jeez Louise." And…
- [audience laughing]
- [both laugh]
My friend was like, "What did you say?"
I was like, "Jeez Louise, cuz."
- Like, I tried to make it…
- [audience laughing]
I, like, tried to make it tough, you know?
We got out of the car, and I was like,
"Let's skedaddle, my nigga."
- Like, let's…
- [laughs]
- A very smart approach.
- Smart, smart approach.
If you're going to toe the line,
be different in how you approach the line.
Yeah, yeah.
[Kevin] The opportunity at hand
is massive.
And when you know
that you're judging talent
that wants to be bigger and better
in their lives and career,
all decisions are hard decisions
because, you know,
you want to make sure
that you're putting the best person
- in a position to move forward.
- Are you nervous a little bit?
A little bit, a little bit.
But I'm excited. It's a good nervous.
- Yeah. Let's just-- Let the…
- Let's go for it.
You look like you got on,
like, lucky pants or something.
- [Usama] Yeah. [laughs]
- [Tata] Lucky pants.
[Usama] Just because they flowy?
[stage manager] Thirty-second warning
for Usama!
Okay, okay, let's do it, let's do it.
I'm Usama Siddiquee,
South Asian golden boy growing up,
to my parents, you know,
the Bengali immigrants who came,
son's gonna be a doctor, triple sevens.
I was in medical school,
and you can defer for one year
if you have, like,
an extenuating circumstance.
So, I lied. I messaged them, like,
"Hey, I'm sorry, my mom is going
through, like, a leg amputation."
Whoa!
And then I deferred for a year,
and I secretly came to New York,
and I was like,
"Let's see this comedy thing."
And I was like,
"If I'm gonna not do med school for this,
let me put that same work ethic
into comedy."
So I would basically do the 5 p.m. mic,
all the way to 1 a.m., four mics a day.
What's up?
Uh… My name's Usama Siddiquee.
How y'all feeling?
[audience cheering]
I'm feeling good,
hanging out with my mom today.
You know, we love her.
If you're hanging out with your parents,
never tell them an emotion
that you're having, right?
They just hit you with
the "back in my day" stories that are,
you know, fucking unverifiable.
[laughs]
I'll be like, "Mom, I'm tired."
She's like…
[in South Asian accent] "…Tired?
Every day I used to climb Mount Everest."
[audience laughing]
"Huh? You're tired? How about I'm tired
from raising such a pussy, huh?"
[audience laughing]
[in normal voice]
She lives in Texas. I'm from Texas.
But I don't sound like it
because I learned how to read, you know?
- So…
- [audience cheering]
[in Texas accent]
Comes right off post alphabet.
[in normal voice] You know, Texas thinks
New York is some left-wing hellscape.
- Y'all know that, right?
- [audience] Yeah.
They're like… [in Texas accent]
…"Go to fucking New York,
everyone's having fucking gluten-free
gender surgery up there, but…"
- [laughs]
- "All fucking eating non-binary cupcakes…"
"Fake bread! Goddamn!"
"Goddamn!"
- [audience laughing]
- [both laugh]
[in normal voice] I used to go
to this sushi restaurant in Texas.
Every time it was your birthday,
five of the kitchen staff
would get into a dragon costume
and dance around your table.
- Is that racist, y'all think?
- [audience member] Yeah.
What is more racist,
the fact that this Japanese restaurant
is doing a Chinese tradition,
or the fact that everyone
in this dragon was a Mexican?
[both laugh]
It was five Mexicans in a dragon.
And, Kevin, these guys were so short,
the dragon became a caterpillar,
I love it.
- [audience laughing]
- [Usama laughing]
Listen, brown people, we're coming up.
People wanna fuck us now, you know.
[audience cheering]
People want to fuck the South Asians now.
Here's the issue
with brown sex symbols in America.
Still very white-sounding names,
you know? Dev, Zane.
Won't be any real progress
until the hot white cheerleader's like,
"You know who I want to fuck?
Devakonna Kannakutty."
- [laughs]
- [audience laughing]
[Keegan laughing]
[laughs]
[Keegan] Oh, my God.
Oh, he's fucking slaying.
- [Kevin] He's so good.
- [Keegan] He's good.
"I just want to go behind the bleachers
and suck off Bala Subramanian."
- [Keegan laughing]
- [audience laughing]
I can't, I can't.
- That's good. That's good.
- [Keegan] I can't, I can't, I can't.
He's over for me.
- He's over. He's over.
- I think we go straight in.
- He goes straight in.
- [Kevin] He's coming in.
I'm gonna go tell him.
I've been Usama Siddiquee.
Y'all have been great.
Thank y'all so much. Thank you, guys.
- [upbeat music playing]
- [audience cheering, applauding]
Oh, wait.
I just…
First and foremost, great set, man.
Phenomenal set.
- [audience cheering]
- Uh… Very poised, polished set.
Uh… And I just want you to know, man,
that we want to just get your praise
and just due by me saying,
- for sure, you're going to the next level.
- [audience member] Yeah!
[audience cheering, applauding]
Fuck that! I don't want to hear that shit.
- Sike, no… [laughs]
- No, no, he deserves it, come on.
[upbeat music playing]
Fuck me.
[Winston] Usama having that moment,
I'm worried I might not make it
through to the next round.
[Usama] I'm feeling insane.
I'm feeling legitimately insane.
It's incredible.
I didn't realize that Kevin was there
that whole time on stage.
So, I was like, feeling the love,
and then just… [gasps] He's right there.
That was insane, dog. That was fire.
- [Glorelys] That was amazing.
- I know you on cloud nine right now.
- I'm happy for you. That's a dope moment.
- Thank you.
Did he whisper something in your ear?
Uh… Just,
"You're so hot, and you're so cute."
- [laughs]
- You doing--
You… You got enough applause breaks.
You're good, you killed it.
You… You exploded on stage.
Yeah, but he didn't come on stage and say,
"This guy, this guy was amazing."
- [laughing]
- ["Ahead of the Game" playing]
I got it on lock
I'm ahead of the game ♪
[Kevin] What makes a good joke?
[Keegan] Set up an expectation,
subvert it.
- Set up an expectation, subvert it.
- It's all surprise, yeah.
[Keegan] It's all surprise.
It's how you surprise us
has to be the best part.
[Chelsea] I think there's
two different styles
- of, you know, stand-up.
- [Keegan] Yeah. I agree.
There's personal storytelling,
and then there's
- joke-telling straight up.
- Joke, joke joke.
Like Dave Attell.
Dave Attell doesn't ever tell you
a personal story.
- [Keegan] A story about himself.
- He's like, "I… I want a hooker
with a lazy eye
so when she's sucking my dick,
she can also look out for the cops."
- Yeah.
- [Chelsea] Like, he does that
over, and over, and over again.
- Right, yeah. Bang, bang, bang.
- We lost Kevin.
[Keegan] We lost Kevin.
Kevin loves that one.
[upbeat hip-hop music playing]
Wordplay is satirical
Technique is empirical ♪
[Leonard] All right, y'all.
[Tata] Come on, Leonard.
You got this, big baby.
I'm all right, I'm ready to go.
Ain't nobody else to watch.
Usama done already got the ticket,
so that's the bare minimum now in my eyes.
Kevin gon' have to come back on stage,
tell me I'm going to L.A. too.
[host] Leonard Ouzts,
ladies and gentlemen, let him hear it!
[audience cheering, applauding]
Hell yeah, Leonard Ouzts from Virginia.
- [audience cheering]
- Yeah.
- [audience laughing]
- [laughs]
Uh, I'm a nerd,
but I feel like I'm not nerdy enough
sometimes because I'm cool, too.
[audience laughs]
Like, I love Harry Potter
until somebody asks me
if I read the books.
[audience laughing]
Like, I said, I was a fan, not a virgin.
The movie was three hours,
you think I read the script, too? Goddamn.
I really love Harry Potter.
I really love shit like that,
until I meet somebody
that love it a little bit more than I do.
Like I want to go to those Comic-Cons
or like those dress-up,
but it's like, I know ain't nothing cool…
about my big ass walking around
no Marriott banquet hall…
[audience laughing]
…talkin' about I'm playing Quidditch.
[laughs]
'Cause then it's like, well, what kind
of broom I got that I'm floating?
- [laughs]
- [audience laughing]
I'm gonna need a bushel of brooms.
I'm gonna need that hospital broom--
That high school broom they sweep
the whole high school with.
[audience laughing, applauding]
Just started getting
into these Marvel movies.
Marvel don't got my favorite hero.
My favorite hero is Batman.
I love Batman,
but I'm tired of him being white.
I'll be honest, 'cause he always sad
and crying about some shit.
[audience laughing]
If Batman was Black,
he wouldn't even fight crime.
[audience laughing]
You a billionaire,
you ain't got no parents.
It's hard to save Gotham from Tulum.
[laughs]
Y'all been a lot of fun, man.
I'm Leonard Ouzts, thank y'all.
- [audience cheering, applauding]
- [upbeat music playing]
The alignment of his set,
I felt it was really strong.
- Really well put together.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I love his energy, unflappable. Tulum?
"It's hard to save Gotham from Tulum."
Great reference.
That might be one of my favorite jokes
of the entire day.
- Yes, very, very smart.
- That's a great truth.
- I can't wait to call my mama afterwards.
- I know.
I'mma send my picture
to my mom of the, uh, the lineup.
I'm just anxious to do it
and call my mama.
[stage manager]
Thirty-second warning for Eva.
- All right.
- Here we go, Eva.
- Here we go.
- I was raised by my single mother.
And she is my biggest supporter.
Like, she thinks I'm hysterical.
- [stage manager] It's time to go to stage.
- All right.
- [Caitlin] Break a leg, Eva! You got this.
- [comedians applauding]
[Eva] Like, one of her friends is,
like, a legit heart surgeon.
And she's like, "Oh, well, my…
my daughter tell jokes, so, mm…"
"I'm doing better than you." [laughs]
[host] Keep it going! Keep it going!
Let 'em hear it!
[Eva] To have this Netflix special,
man, like,
that's an opportunity worth everything.
It'll make all my sacrifices worth it.
I'm hungry.
I've been hungry for a long time,
and I'm ready to eat.
Yeah!
And I feel like Netflix
can prepare a nice table for me.
So, let's get it.
My name is Eva Evans.
I am a product of Jamaican immigrants.
- [audience cheering, chuckling]
- Yes.
My mother raised me by herself.
I was raised by a single mother.
But she tries
to give me dating advice all the time.
I had to tell her the other day, I'm like,
"Ma, you've been single since I met you."
"Okay? And didn't you used
to fuck with my father?"
"And you kept his baby. You're wildin'."
"I'm not listening
to nothing you gotta say." [laughs]
My sister's married.
She always calling me,
trying to hook me up with somebody.
The other day--
Let me tell you, first of all,
my sister married a Muslim man, right?
She converted to Islam for him.
She calls me the other day.
She says, "Eva, come down to the mosque."
"There's some really nice young men
I want to introduce you to."
I said, "Sis, there's nothing
mosque-appropriate about a bitch."
Okay, I got some halal pussy,
but that's about it.
[audience laughing]
[Eva] Okay?
I said, "You and I live
two complete different lives."
"You read the Quran,
I fuck niggas named Quran."
- [laughs]
- [audience laughing]
It's very different.
I have a gay cousin always trying
to give me dating advice.
He's like, "Eva, you should try
to date a bisexual man."
I said, "I'm… I'd rather die alone."
Let me explain. It's not…
Not homophobia, I just…
I'm just not open
to constructive criticism.
[audience laughing]
I feel like if I have a bisexual boyfriend
and I'm giving him head,
he'll stop me in the middle of it.
He'll be like, "Babe, let me…"
"Step to the side,
let me show you what I usually do."
- [Kevin guffaws]
- [audience laughing]
"Let me show you
how a real nigga suck dick."
[both laugh]
I'm not that progressive, y'all.
Yeah, I'm not there.
I do like to date older men.
I'm in my early thirties.
My preference
and my recommendation to y'all
if y'all want to go older
is date a Black man.
Because with Black men,
you don't know how old they are.
For real, they age so beautifully.
Black people in general, but…
So, I was dating this older guy
and I knew he was older,
but I didn't know how old
until one day
he posted a throwback Thursday.
I'm sorry, his grandson helped him post
a throwback Thursday.
[audience laughing]
But the picture was
in black and white, y'all.
So I was like, "Okay,
there's gotta be a filter,
'cause he looks exactly the same."
And so I look at the picture
a little closer,
I'm like, "Hold the fuck up."
"Is that a whites-only bathroom
in the background?"
[audience laughing]
"How old is Earl? Goddamn."
- "How old is Earl?"
- [laughs] "How old is Earl?"
[Eva] Goddamn.
- [laughing] "How old is Earl?"
- [laughing] "How old is Earl?"
Listen, my name is Eva Evans.
Thank you for fucking with me.
Have a good night.
- [audience cheering]
- [upbeat hip-hop music playing]
- It's all raw, first and foremost.
- Yeah.
- [Kevin] Unfiltered, unapologetic.
- Thank-- thank y'all.
I'm so engulfed
in your world of storytelling.
- Yep.
- By the way,
we weren't dealing with, like,
punchline, joke, set up,
punchline, joke, set up.
We were in a story.
You could hear a pin drop in this place.
- Right, it was--
- Right before the blow.
"Welcome to my lens,
I'm going to now take you,
you're going to go
through the rabbit hole with me."
- [Kevin] Yes. Yes. Yes.
- "My rabbit hole, I'm the tour guide."
[Kevin] It's refreshing to see
that that's an understood assignment.
Eva, you know they said no cursing, right?
- I'm just-- [laughs]
- [laughs]
I'm like, "I'm here
to fuck these niggas, get money."
Thank y’all for fucking
with your girl. [laughs]
["Bake It" playing]
If it ain't movin', I'mma shake it
If want it, I'mma take it ♪
- All right.
- Okay.
Everybody was so good.
- This is why I want to fuck with you.
- I love this.
Your energy, your level of awareness,
by the way, your excitement,
your attentiveness in watching them.
- Yeah, yeah.
- That's why I wanted you here, man.
[Kevin] Usama's already through.
So, now we've got
to decide who else is going with him.
Okay, I'm a fan of Winston,
so I'm going to put this star
- just next to Winston.
- [Keegan] Okay, yeah.
- We have one next to Reg, okay.
- Next to Reg, yeah.
Eva? Super solid.
- [Kevin] I think a very solid set.
- Very solid set, yeah.
And then, I mean,
Caitlin or maybe… maybe Tata.
- Your person also was LeClerc, okay.
- Was LeClerc. Yep.
I loved Conor.
So, you like LeClerc over…
over, uh, Eeland?
Yeah.
- [Caitlin] Great job, so funny.
- How did I do? I was wondering.
- Thank you.
- [Caitlin] You killed it.
Actually, it's very tight.
It's very tight, actually.
Y'all had a good show.
- This is so stressful, you know.
- [Caitlin] It is.
- [Kevin] So, our five.
- All right.
- What a day.
- I mean…
- [cheers]
- [Kevin] What me and Keeg do…
His takeaway and observation
was extremely valuable today,
because mine is
a more methodical breakdown.
His was so true and authentic to,
"Oh, my God, it made me laugh,"
but I like how he got there,
I like the journey that he took me on.
So, together, I think we were able
to make a combination,
uh, that was extremely impactful
for our choices today.
I saw how hard everyone was killing
and the level of people in the room.
- [overlapping chatter]
- And I was like, "I want to be that."
And I feel like sometimes I am.
This wasn't it, so…
[comedians applauding, cheering]
What's up, what's up, what's up?
[Kevin] All right.
Phenomenal showcase.
We had a very, like,
hard conversation, right?
Like, you know,
we're narrowing it down to five spots
from the showcase of 14.
So, understand that that
is a very difficult decision.
With that being said, our five.
Usama, I already told you
that you're going to L.A.
- [comedians applauding]
- Thank you, thank you.
- Caitlin, you're… you're my second, okay?
- [comedians cheering, applauding]
[Caitlin] Thank you.
From top to bottom,
the tightest set that I saw.
I was with you the whole time.
Uh, number three…
[upbeat music playing]
- Eva. Uh…
- [comedians cheering, applauding]
- Thank you.
- I think, raw, unfiltered, smart.
We saw Caitlin kill, we saw Eva kill.
So, I already knew, that's two down.
And then Usama… Bro,
we down to two more people?
I was like,
"Oh, so let's just go home, guys."
Hard decisions.
- Hard.
- You wanna go four and five?
Lots of toss-ups here and there.
But, ultimately, we had heard something
in a way
that we had never heard it before.
And it was how you were delivering
your material, Winston.
The way that you were delivering
your material.
- [comedians cheering, applauding]
- Okay, Winston.
Your command, your stance,
your volume, your voice.
What we do is find a laugh
where most people can't.
Uh… Good job in doing that.
- [Keegan] Finally…
- This was tough.
Before you say it, like, we…
we had an alignment of four.
That's what took us so long
to come up here.
We were literally
just batting the differences.
- And just moving the criteria around.
- Batting the differences.
And this is here, and how do you do this,
and what-- It was-- It was insane.
- [tense music playing]
- [Kevin] And those four comedians were,
uh… Conor.
I love you saying,
"You know what, I'm a gay man,
and I'm gonna come up,
and my humor isn't just about being gay."
"It's actually about my world
as a gay man."
"And my world as a gay man
is interesting."
That's smart comedy.
Tata, I liked your set.
I'm a fan of self-deprecation.
As a comic, I understand
the importance of self-deprecation.
"Titty bit, this is what they are."
Uh… "The elephants in the room."
A voice is everything,
your voice was so strong.
Reg, very smart, man.
You know,
I've heard homeless jokes before,
but the idea of the bum off,
you simplified it after.
Right? It was, "Hey, uh, I'm sorry."
"I'm even more sorry." And that was it.
You… You got out so fucking fast,
but I got the concept of the bum off.
We looked at each other
and said, "That's smart."
- That's smart, yeah.
- That's very fucking smart.
LeClerc, dude, all your jokes
and punchlines were fucking hidden,
but they weren't really the punchlines.
Like the, "Oh, 6'5"?
Oh, man, hey, well, why'd you stop?"
You think that that's
the conversation piece,
but you're in your set.
I saw where you were going,
and I watched each joke build.
[suspenseful music playing]
- This was tough. It was tough.
- This was really tough.
But the fifth person going
to callbacks is…
[music concludes]
["Backwardz" playing]
Say they ready for the show
I don't know, I don't know ♪
Hit another stage
Gotta go, gotta go ♪
Turned another page
Other chapter long ago ♪
Handling this business
Like a pro, like a pro ♪
Stay authentic
We gone get it ♪
We drop in it
Represented ♪
We jumped in it
Gotta keep it hot ♪
- With the true sauce in ♪
- Never gone stop ♪
- That's proof we wit it ♪
- Never gone stop ♪
- We will never quit it ♪
- Never gone stop ♪
- This just the beginning ♪
- Never gone stop ♪
You thought that it ended, admit it ♪
We gone keep it movin', yeah
'Cause there ain't no other way ♪
Only way to do it, yeah
Do it every single day ♪
Gotta keep the focus, yeah
Locked in and loaded, man ♪
That's the way we do it, yeah
You must have it backwardz, and ♪
- Backwardz, backwardz, backwardz ♪
- Yeah, you got it ♪
-Backwardz, backwardz, backwardz ♪
- Yeah, you got it ♪
Backwardz, backwardz, backwardz ♪
[music concludes]