Live from the Mothership
Netflix · 2024 · 70 min
A quiet, dry hour targeting modern masculinity and racial tropes.
Brian Simpson spends the final fifteen minutes of his debut hour-long special talking about masculinity as a prison, but he starts his set by addressing the elephant in the room: racism. Specifically, he jokes about the expectation for Black comics to open with race, subverting those expectations with a story about a Black female Uber driver who got startled by him and desperately tried to smooth over the tension by blasting rap music. His delivery is steady, quiet, and noticeably devoid of frantic energy. He spends much of the hour either standing completely still or casually sitting on a stool, letting his dry, efficient timing do the work.
Directed by Baron Vaughn, the 2024 special was filmed at Joe Rogan’s Comedy Mothership in Austin, Texas, making it the first Netflix special to be shot at the venue. Before this hour, Simpson built his reputation through appearances on Comedy Central, Lights Out with David Spade, and the third season of Netflix’s The Standups. His background as a Marine Corps veteran and a former foster youth informs a worldview that is cynical without being entirely hopeless. Notable bits from the set include his comparison of the British royal family to the Targaryens from Game of Thrones, just without the dragons, and his breakdown of why men adhere to self-imposed, exhausting rules of manhood. Critical response highlighted his controlled, deliberate word choice, even if some viewers used to high-energy sets found his laid-back posture and deliberate pauses slow.
The set list
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An encounter with a startled Uber driver outside the Mothership
Explores everyday casual racism when a Black female driver acts scared of him and then plays rap music to appease him, illustrating that everyone carries a degree of prejudice.
-
Service in the United States Marine Corps
Notes that he enlisted in March 2001 for tuition support rather than patriotic heroism, joking about being the sole Black person in his platoon and the exhausting futility of acting as white peers' first Black friend.
-
Height as the male equivalent of cleavage
Compares male height to female breasts as an unearned physical trait people reward you for, and explores how male behavior would change if men had finite sperm counts like female egg reserves.
-
Society's reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic
Observes that humans did not cure COVID but simply stopped caring, drawing parallels between mask hesitation and condom avoidance while linking existential fear to sexual arousal and baby booms.
-
Cardi B's song 'WAP' and sexual leverage
Deconstructs female sexual leverage destroying relationships and nations, drawing a comparison to the British Royal Family, whom he refers to as Targaryens without dragons.
-
Fragile masculinity and the barber shop experience
Critiques toxic masculinity as a self-imposed prison and asserts that every man is at least 5% gay, closing with a secret about men getting nervous when a barber brushes against their genitals.
How it plays
- Tone
- Irreverent, raunchy, socially observant, provocative, and deadpan.
- On stage
- Low-key, calm, unhurried, gentle swagger, intelligent, unapologetic, and challenging toward the audience without being preachy.
- Pace
- Deliberate and relaxed tempo; predominantly static physically, either standing still or sitting on a chair, delivered in an even, monotone cadence with occasional pauses.
- About
- racism and race relations, fragile masculinity and gender dynamics, military service, relationships and sexuality, COVID-19 pandemic response, procreation and biology
What the critics said
Praised for clever joke-writing, insightful social commentary on masculinity and race, and confident delivery, though some critics noted uneven pacing and a flat vocal cadence.
In the room: An intimate club atmosphere featuring a standing ovation, vocal cheers, and moments where Simpson navigated tension from challenging material using crowd engagement.
Backstory
The first comedy special filmed at Joe Rogan's Comedy Mothership club in Austin, Texas. Simpson drew on his background as a former foster child and Marine Corps veteran.
Details
- Released
- Taped
- The Comedy Mothership, Austin
- Runtime
- 70 min
- Where
- Netflix
- Director
- Baron Vaughn
- Topics
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