To Catch a D*ck

London Hughes walks onto the stage with the posture of an established superstar, even though she is performing this set to a masked, socially distanced outdoor crowd in Los Angeles. She commands the space by immediately declaring herself to be incredibly funny, then spends the hour proving it through explicit storytelling about her sex life, her career, and her refusal to settle for mediocre partners. The performance feels like an uninhibited party where Hughes serves as the host, detailing everything from blowjob tutorials to her brief stint as an adult chat-line presenter.

The special, directed by Kristian Mercado and executive produced by Kevin Hart, was released on Netflix in late 2020 after Hughes relocated from the UK. The material was adapted from her breakout 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe run, which earned critical praise and made her the first Black British woman to be nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show. While some critics noted that the outdoor LA pandemic setting lacked the chaotic energy of her original UK club performances, her stage presence remained intact.

Beneath the graphic anecdotes about dating foot-fetishists and chaotic investment bankers, Hughes details her perspective on the double standards of modern romance. She contrasts her own single status with the romantic ease of her male peers, pointing out how comedians like Pete Davidson and Colin Jost date Hollywood stars while successful women are often treated as intimidating. She uses these imbalances, along with a routine about the unequal expectations surrounding oral sex, to demand that men start matching the confidence and effort of the women they date.