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Promotional art for Someday You'll Die
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Prime Video

Someday You'll Die

Nikki Glaser

HBO Max · 2024 · 60 min

A raunchy hour of stand-up about aging and childlessness.

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

Nikki Glaser opens her second HBO hour by mourning the loss of a friendship to a newborn baby, setting the tone for a set that rejects traditional milestones in favor of aging on one’s own terms. Her comedy has always leaned heavily into the details of her personal life, but here she frames her characteristic raunchiness within a larger, cynical contemplation of mortality. The standout moments rely on physical work, such as when she acts out her planned cosmetic brow lift by pulling her face taut to admire the result.\n\nFilmed at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, the special premiered on Max in May 2024, capitalizing on a wave of public attention following Glaser’s performance at The Roast of Tom Brady only a week prior. She uses the hour to tackle her commitment to childlessness, her sexual fantasies, and her history with depression. While a detour into the mechanics of cancel culture feels well-trodden, the show is at its strongest when Glaser turns her self-deprecating eye toward her own inevitable decline. The special went on to earn two Emmy nominations, including one for picture editing, and drew some of the highest premiere-week viewership for an HBO comedy special in years.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Mourning friendships lost to friends having babies and contrasting age-related infertility with unfair pregnancies

    Examines her commitment to childlessness, dark thoughts about pregnant friends, and the absurdity of reproductive biology

  2. Comedians using personal caveats and disclaimers to avoid getting canceled

    Satirizes comics who justify controversial or offensive jokes by citing their relationships to marginalized groups, comparing it to claiming permission to discuss suicide or rape

  3. Suicidal ideation, assisted death, and American healthcare access

    Jokes about wanting a dignified exit via euthanasia while noting that guns are far easier to acquire in America than compassion, repeatedly reminding viewers of the 988 lifeline

  4. Aging and funding cosmetic surgery

    Talks about spending special earnings on a brow lift and acting out facial pulling in the mirror to critique societal beauty pressures on aging women

  5. Susan Boyle's 2009 Britain's Got Talent audition

    Bursts into song to unpack the viral talent show moment, highlighting society's immediate impulse to judge women based purely on conventional attractiveness

  6. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    Role-playing, fantasy, and working the stage stool closer

    Describes graphic bedroom fantasies including being blindfolded to imagine multiple partners, concluding with a physically intensive stool act-out satirizing traditional 1990s male comics and questioning her career choices at age 39

How it plays

Tone
Dark, cynical, sexually explicit, irreverent, and provocative yet personal
On stage
Brutally honest, glamorous, confident, and unapologetic; described as a 'walking intrusive thought' willing to delve into macabre and taboo thoughts
Pace
Solid, rhythmic cadence with meticulous comedic timing, balancing dark musings with physical acting and stage movement
About
Childlessness and friends having children, Aging and physical appearance, Sexual fantasies and role-playing, Suicidal ideation and euthanasia, Comedic disclaimers and cancel culture

What the critics said

Praised for Glaser's fearless confidence, glamorous stage presence, and ability to blend personal introspection with darkly relatable musings, though noted as potentially too dark or crude for some audiences

In the room: Enthusiastic, sold-out crowd greeting her with rock-star adoration, responsive cheers, and occasional moments of tense, provocative shock

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: rottentomatoes.com, hbomax.com, deadline.com, press.wbd.com, vulture.com, decider.com, pastemagazine.com, imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Filmed in December 2023 and released shortly after her breakout, widely praised performance at the live Roast of Tom Brady on Netflix; also addresses contemporary stand-up tropes such as cancel culture caveats and content warnings

Details

Released
Taped
2023, Moore Theater, Seattle
Runtime
60 min
Where
HBO Max
Director
Hamish Hamilton
Honors
Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
Topics
Before
Good News (2022)
After
Good Girl (2026)

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