Comedy Central Presents: Nate Bargatze

Before he was selling out arenas, Nate Bargatze brought his low-pulse Tennessee logic to a basic cable half-hour. The appeal of his early material is how he applies completely earnest reasoning to absolute nonsense. He doesn’t just suggest hunting a cow with a rocket launcher; he breaks down the economics of the $400 price tag and compares it to the cost of fistfighting a neighborhood goat. He explains marriage by comparing it to a mosh pit you immediately regret entering, and reasons that buying non-free-range supermarket chicken just means the bird’s parents were probably divorced.

Filmed at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater in New York City in late 2010, this set captured the comic at a major career turning point. He had just won both the New York and Boston comedy festivals and was finally transitioning from handing out flyers in Greenwich Village to working as a recognized touring act. The episode aired in early 2011 as part of the fifteenth season of the long-running series, establishing a national audience for his slow-paced style.