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PostMortem

Sarah Silverman

Netflix · 2025 · 63 min

A deeply personal tribute to grief, family, and funeral discounts.

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Turning a double eulogy into a comedy set is a risky move, but that is exactly where the material for this hour comes from. After her father and stepmother died just nine days apart, the veteran comic decided to process her grief by building a show around their lives, their deaths, and the absurdity of funeral planning. The set is built around highly specific family details, from her father’s New Hampshire factory outlet to a “plus one” bargain she secured on a burial plot—a deal that required convincing her traditional Jewish father to agree to cremation.\n\nFilmed at the Beacon Theatre in New York City and released on Netflix in May 2025, the show represents a significant pivot toward storytelling. While there are still plenty of crude detours, including a detailed bit about a summer camp roleplay fantasy with her boyfriend, they serve as pressure-relief valves for the heavy subject matter. She also shares memories of her late mother, Beth Ann, and recounts an unproduced SNL sketch from the 1990s.\n\nCritics and audiences split on the results. Many praised the vulnerability and warmth of the tribute, noting how vividly she brings her eccentric parents to life. However, some felt the balance leaned too far toward sentimentality, leaving the performance feeling more like an intimate podcast episode than a traditional, laugh-dense stand-up special.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Remembering her father Donald 'Schleppy' Silverman and his store Crazy Sophie's Factory Outlet

    Recounting his nickname, humorous personality, move to New Hampshire, and how the outlet was inspired by NYC's Crazy Eddie rather than a real Sophie.

  2. Father's Yelp review of their shared dentist

    Silverman reads his Yelp review aloud, interrupting herself to borrow a pair of reading glasses from an audience member because she forgot hers for filming.

  3. Stepmother Janice's doctor visits on WhatsApp

    Detailing how recordings shared with the family of Janice's diagnosis were repeatedly and crudely interrupted by her father Donald.

  4. Mother Beth Ann's last words

    Cherishing the bittersweet, blunt truth of her mother looking up at her from her deathbed only to comment that Sarah's hair was dry.

  5. Unproduced SNL deathbed fly sketch with Phil Hartman

    Reflecting on her 1993–94 season on Saturday Night Live where she pitched an unproduced sketch featuring Phil Hartman as an elderly dying housefly.

  6. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    Men calling into her podcast to rave about her father as a camp counselor closer

    A sentimental yet ribbing tribute recounting emotional caller stories about how her father changed young men's lives at summer camp.

How it plays

Tone
Cathartic, bittersweet, tender, and irreverent, balancing dark gallows humor with loving filial tribute.
On stage
Intimate, tender, and candidly sincere while preserving her trademark blue, shocking wit, deadpan irony, and unfiltered bluntness.
Pace
A balanced, thoughtful cadence alternating between heartfelt, poignant storytelling and sudden, sharp comedic misdirection.
About
Grief and bereavement, Death of parents and stepmother, Family dynamics and quirks, Funerals and end-of-life care, Aging, sex, and truth

What the critics said

Critics praised the special as a tender, cathartic, and emotionally moving tribute that skillfully pairs grief and filial affection with classic dark, blue comedy, though some reviewers noted the somber subject matter left it less joke-heavy than traditional specials.

In the room: An attentive, warm, and engaged theater crowd sharing in both poignant emotional reflection and laughter, actively participating when tossed into the act.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: rottentomatoes.com, variety.com, broadwayworld.com, nytimes.com, decider.com, theguardian.com, metacritic.com, en.wikipedia.org, rollingstone.com, npr.org.

Backstory

Crafted following the loss of her father Donald ('Schleppy') and stepmother Janice nine days apart in May 2023, as well as the prior loss of her mother Beth Ann in 2015; Silverman developed the material starting from her father's eulogy and filmed the special mid-tour.

Details

Released
Taped
The Beacon Theater, New York City
Runtime
63 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Sarah Silverman
Topics
Before
Someone You Love (2023)

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