Jes Tom
Apocalyptic romanticism and casual raunch delivered at a calm, steady pulse.
1 special · 2024
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Jes Tom tells a joke at a slow, deliberate pace, letting the silence hang until the audience leans in. They have the steady, low-pulse delivery of a late-night radio host, but they use it to describe messy hookups, the apocalypse, and the indignities of modern dating. When they suddenly break that stillness to mimic a terrible sexual encounter—arcing their back to pantomime an improv guy dangling a used condom—the burst of physical comedy gets a massive laugh because they spend so much of their set standing perfectly calm.
Specials
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Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda with Hannah Gadsby, Alok & 5 more
Hannah Gadsby hosts a showcase of seven standout genderqueer comedians.
Netflix · 75 min
On stage
They found a wide audience with Less Lonely, an off-Broadway solo show backed by Elliot Page. Tom occupies a distinct cultural space, drawing packed crowds of young queer people and their parents who treat the theater runs as communal events. Outside of standup, they worked as a story editor for the television comedy Our Flag Means Death.
The material is built on yearning. Tom mines their own gender transition, framing it not as an educational seminar but as a chaotic second puberty. They talk about shifting their identity with a bemused, detached tone. A signature run involves their obsession with the end of the world, pitching the apocalypse as the perfect excuse to finally rip off your clothes and confess your love to a crush. They take massive, existential fears—climate collapse, death, societal ruin—and filter them entirely through the lens of whether anyone will think they look hot while it happens.
Turning points
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Named Just for Laughs New Face
Tom was recognized as a New Face of Comedy at the prestigious Montreal Just for Laughs festival, accelerating their industry profile.
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2022–2023
Off-Broadway Success of Less Lonely
Tom's acclaimed solo show premiered at the Cherry Lane Theatre in 2022 and returned for a sold-out Off-Broadway run at the Greenwich House Theater in 2023 presented by Elliot Page.
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Performance on Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda
Tom opened the Netflix ensemble stand-up special shot at London's Alexandra Palace alongside six other genderqueer comedians.
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Public Name Change to James Tom
Tom publicly announced their name change to James Setsuo Tom on Instagram and detailed moving beyond their placeholder name in a personal essay for Them.
At a glance
Fans also like
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Margaret ChoTom cites fellow San Francisco-raised queer Asian American comic Margaret Cho as their primary comedic inspiration and formative hero.
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Hannah GadsbyBoth comics blend traditional stand-up comedy with vulnerable, theatrical solo-show storytelling confronting gender and queer identity.
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Chloe Petts
Both were hand-selected by Hannah Gadsby for the Gender Agenda lineup, sharing a sharp, confident approach to deconstructing masculine and queer gender dynamics.
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DeAnne SmithBoth perform stand-up centered on queer and gender-nonconforming experiences with finely tuned joke craft.
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Asha Ward
Both share the NYC alternative comedy scene and were featured alongside each other in Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda.
Also on screen
- Love Life
- 2022–2024
- Life & Beth
- Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda
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- Crush
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- Tuca & Bertie
A clip to start with
Stand-Up Comic Jes Tom On Straight Weddings & Non-Monogamous Relationships | Netflix