King Baby

King Baby operates entirely on the physics of inertia. The comic spends the set standing mostly still, softly making the case for a life of minimal physical effort. He defends the snooze button, questions the purpose of the stairs next to escalators, and elevates bacon to an object of absolute worship. The material succeeds because he consistently undercuts his own mildness. After delivering a premise about camping or bologna, he switches into a high-pitched, judgmental whisper to play the role of an offended audience member complaining about the act.

Filmed at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, this 2009 set was the heavily anticipated follow-up to Beyond the Pale. He was already established as the guy who built a small empire out of a Hot Pockets routine. Here, he cements his reputation as a mainstream act who can work clean without sounding sanitized.

Reviewers at the time noted the hour lacked a singular viral moment to match his previous work, but they praised the structural tightness and his total commitment to the persona. The set pieces simply build on one another, moving from the inherent sadness of bowling alleys to a detailed, sustained takedown of Waffle House.