The Half Hour: Gabe Liedman

Gabe Liedman’s 2013 set is a snapshot of the Brooklyn alt-comedy boom right as it was bleeding into mainstream television. He approaches the stage with the chatty, low-stakes energy of a funny friend holding court over drinks. He is perfectly content to spend his time under the lights explaining why he is completely over monkeys or detailing exactly what he appreciates about the anal sex scenes in Game of Thrones.

Filmed at the Royale in Boston as part of the second season of Comedy Central’s The Half Hour, the set captures the comic at a pivot point in his career. A staple of the New York scene through his long-running Big Terrific showcase alongside Jenny Slate and Max Silvestri, Liedman was just starting his run as a prolific television writer. He was shaping Inside Amy Schumer and Kroll Show at the time, well before his later work running PEN15 and Q-Force. The standup relies entirely on his conversational charm, filtering pop culture and daily annoyances through a dry, unaffected lens.