Jo Firestone
A nervous substitute teacher leading the crowd in a deranged trust exercise.
3 specials · 2017–2021
Start with Good Timing with Jo Firestone, the breakout (2021 · 49 min · Peacock)
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When Jo Firestone walks on stage, she looks like she got lost on her way to a staff meeting. She speaks in a soft, halting monotone, leaving long pauses as if waiting for permission to continue. Instead of a setup and punchline, she pulls out a piece of notebook paper and asks the crowd to participate in a bizarre summer camp exercise. She might make the room loudly judge a drawing or divide them into teams for a game with changing rules.
Specials
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Jo Firestone teaches stand-up comedy to New York senior citizens.
Peacock · 49 min
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Comedy Central Records · Album · 65 min
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Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents
Deadpan crowd interrogations and obsessive confessions from a Brooklyn alt staple.
Comedy Central · 30 min
On stage
She is a fixture of the New York alternative scene who quietly took over mainstream writer’s rooms. While she projects the energy of someone overwhelmed by the microphone, she runs comedy departments for late-night television. She occupies a rare space: a comic other comics study who remains totally uninterested in traditional jokes.
Her live act relies on gentle chaos. The underlying premise of a Firestone set is that the show is going terribly. She leans into awkwardness, letting a bit fall flat just to softly apologize for wasting everyone’s time. Looking this hesitant requires absolute control over the room’s tension. Her commitment to the bit means she rarely drops the mask. An audience waiting for a polished anecdote will instead be forced to play a strange game about judging fruit.
Her sensibility translates naturally to television, like her role as a doomsday prepper on Joe Pera Talks With You. For her special Good Timing, she bypassed the standard hour entirely, choosing instead to film herself teaching comedy to senior citizens.
Turning points
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2011–2016
Creation of the Punderdome Card Game
Firestone and her father Fred created the cult-favorite live pun contest, which was later adapted into a commercially published card game by Clarkson Potter.
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Release of Good Timing Stand-up Special
Firestone directed and hosted a comedy special stemming from standup comedy workshops she led for seniors at Greenwich House, earning a Critics Choice nomination.
At a glance
- On stage
- since 2010
- Style
- crowd work, absurdist, observational, storytelling
- Breakout
- Good Timing with Jo Firestone
- Influences
- Ellen DeGeneres
- Topics
- Elsewhere
- Website, Wikipedia
Fans also like
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Joe PeraFirestone and Pera share a gentle, offbeat, and deeply compassionate comedic sensibility, collaborating closely as creative partners on Adult Swim's Joe Pera Talks with You.
Podcasts
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Dr. Gameshow · co-host
A playfully absurd call-in show where listener-submitted game concepts are played and judged.
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Everyday Decisions with Jo Firestone · host
A comedy and personal stories podcast interviewing friends, family, and comedians about the specifics of the past 24 hours of their day.
Also on screen
- Don't Think Twice
- 2018–2021
- Joe Pera Talks With You
- 2019–2021
- Shrill
- 2021–2023
- Teenage Euthanasia
- What We Do in the Shadows
A clip to start with
Jo Firestone Stand-Up