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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy
Cover image credit: Thumbnail: YouTube · Tiny Pony

Maybe They're Dead

Ryan Goodcase

YouTube · 2024 · 40 min

Quiet, analytical deadpan from a comic who overthinks everything.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Ryan Goodcase’s debut stand-up special, Maybe They’re Dead, is driven by a very specific brand of neurosis. He performs with a quiet, deadpan stillness, delivering jokes constructed like rigid logic puzzles. The title track perfectly captures his internal monologue: when a girl doesn’t text him back, he doesn’t assume he’s being ghosted; he logically reasons that she must be dead, because it is the only option that keeps his self-esteem intact.

Released on YouTube by Tiny Pony in January 2024, the special catches Goodcase just as his career was gaining mainstream traction. Later that year, he would be selected for the Netflix Is A Joke Fest’s “Introducing…” showcase, catapulting his viral reach. Zach Lord directs the performance, which features Goodcase bringing his awkward energy to topics like the intellectual equivalence of astrology and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, as well as the confusing mechanics of female condoms. His delivery is incredibly dry, letting the quiet in the room do as much work as his precise punchlines.

The set list

4 bits

  1. Nobody deletes dating profiles when someone dies

    Notes that deceased users never removing profiles explains why he gets few responses on dating apps, inspiring the special's title.

  2. Buying a first non-used bed

    Jokes about graduating from sleeping on warm dryer laundry to buying a king-sized bed, only to sleep next to it on the floor.

  3. Religious instruction and the Virgin Mary

    Remarks on God impregnating a teenage Mary, jokes 'Yikes' and comments on thoroughly demonetizing his special before transitioning to drug jokes.

  4. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    The Countdown closer

    An audience participation routine requiring an audience member to count backwards.

How it plays

Tone
Dark, dry, self-deprecating, and independent.
On stage
Deadpan delivery, leaning into slacker vibes, self-deprecating humor, and what he describes as 'school shooter vibes' and a 'Columbine complexion.' Praised for smart writing and dry delivery.
Pace
Dry, deadpan, and low-key slacker cadence.
About
dating apps and death, slacker lifestyle, religion, drug use

What the critics said

Praised for smart writing and dry delivery.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: kuvun.com, m.lemy.lol, movies-series.lore-le.ch, filmcave.net, nola.com, ganjingworld.com, donyc.com, onthestage.tickets, music.apple.com, improv.com, cinemaos.tech.

Backstory

Debut special produced with Tiny Pony; Goodcase previously worked in neuroscience research labs in the Bay Area before committing to comedy.

Details

Released
Runtime
40 min
Where
YouTube
Director
Zach Lord
Topics

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