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Cover image credit: Promotional image via Comedy Dynamics

CPTSD

Carly Ballerini

Comedy Dynamics · 2026 · 47 min

A Chicago debut about bad Ubers, therapy, and odd parents

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Released , on Comedy Dynamics.

Carly Ballerini opens her debut special by recounting the ride over: her Uber driver spent twenty minutes explaining why women aren’t funny while dropping her off at her own taping. She spends the rest of the set laying out a family history that makes a rideshare heckler look mild, starting with the fact that her parents met in a mental institution and her mother went to clown college.

Comedy Dynamics released the 47-minute special in March 2026, directed by Jeremy Essig and filmed in front of a hometown crowd at The Den Theater in Chicago. Ballerini came into the taping as a working fixture in the city’s scene, having written for Cards Against Humanity, produced the Chicago chapter of Don’t Tell Comedy, and built momentum off a 2024 Cracked Comedy set.

Her material pairs clinical labels with oddball specifics. She gets into conversion camps, bizarre state laws like Alabama’s ban on strapping an alligator to a fire hydrant, and the delayed milestone of finally earning a driver’s license as an adult, noting that crying in a car beats crying on a bike.

Notable bits & set list

3 bits

  1. An Uber driver explains why he thinks women are not funny

    Recounts a 20-minute ride to a set where the driver argued women aren't funny because they don't discuss 'guy stuff', contrasting Wanda Sykes discussing government with Bill Maher making faces.

  2. Getting a driver's license late in life after biking in Chicago

    Highlights the benefits of driving a car over biking, notably the privacy of crying inside an automobile versus crying in public on a bicycle, and observing another driver punching himself on the highway.

  3. Unusual state laws and constitutional oddities

    Examines peculiar regulations such as Minneapolis's anti-lurking ordinance and Southern animal restrictions alongside modern political topics.

How it plays

Tone
A blend of honesty and humor addressing personal upbringing and social observations.
On stage
Honest, conversational, and self-deprecating.
About
parents' choices and upbringing, challenges for women comedians, relationships with friends, learning to drive and car culture, absurd state laws

Backstory

Filmed in front of a hometown crowd in Chicago, focusing on her upbringing, her parents' choices, and navigating adult life and the comedy scene.

Details

Released
Taped
The Den Theater, Chicago
Runtime
47 min
Where
Comedy Dynamics
Director
Jeremy Essig
Topics

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