BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo)

Nicole Byer opens her first Netflix stand-up special by sliding down a stripper pole in custom hamburger lingerie, immediately establishing that she is not here to be subtle. Filmed at the Gramercy Theatre in New York, the set features Byer in a tailored purple suit and a leopard-print crop top, matching a stage wrapped in animal print. She spends the hour describing the indignities of the early-2020s lockdown, focusing heavily on dating struggles, quarantine horniness, and her self-proclaimed status as “basically vegan” despite still eating meat.

By the time the special debuted in late 2021, Byer was already a household name for hosting the baking reality show Nailed It! and anchoring several popular podcasts. BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo) was her opportunity to reintroduce herself to audiences who knew her primarily as a PG-rated television host. Her stand-up persona is loud, physical, and relentlessly dirty, characterized by long, winding anecdotes, such as a story about an overzealous nurse who tried to steal her underwear during a hospital emergency.

The show earned Byer an Emmy nomination for outstanding writing for a variety special in 2022. While the heavy focus on pandemic-era fatigue and explicit sex talk divided some viewers, Betsy Thomas’s direction captures the theatrical energy of Byer’s stage presence.