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Promotional art for Welcome to Buteaupia
Cover image credit: via TMDB

Welcome to Buteaupia

Michelle Buteau

Netflix · 2020 · 58 min

Michelle Buteau commands the stage in her debut comedy hour.

Michelle Buteau walks onto the stage of New York’s Sony Hall wearing a gold sequin jumpsuit, ready to explain why falling down after age 40 requires a complex risk-assessment strategy. Filmed in March 2020 just days before the pandemic shutdown, the hour captures a performer stepping into her own spotlight after years of scene-stealing cameos, a podcast, and a gig hosting the Netflix reality show The Circle.

Rather than relying on high-concept setups, Buteau leans into her gift for expressive, silent reaction shots and animated storytelling. She covers her marriage to a Dutch husband, whom she uses to contrast relaxed European attitudes with American anxieties, particularly during a trip to an Amsterdam museum where a tour guide corrects her pronunciation of Vincent van Gogh. Other highlights include her brief time filming a movie alongside Jennifer Lopez and a defense of short men.

The hour was produced by Wanda Sykes and directed by Page Hurwitz, later earning Buteau a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Comedy Special. Though some of the parenting jokes cover standard observational territory, her expressive crowd work and theatrical stage presence elevate the routine.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Working with Jennifer Lopez on a movie

    Buteau shares her starstruck excitement on set and bonding over sharing the exact same birthday.

  2. Navigating communication in an interracial marriage with her Dutch husband

    Contrasts her New Jersey delivery against her polite husband, joking that whenever she makes breakfast he hears DMX shouting egg orders.

  3. Being the 'achievable Beyoncé' for government workers

    Asserts her unique power to make government workers named Otis work on holidays and argues why character and kindness count.

  4. Dutch cultural habits and learning the word 'swaffelen'

    Refuses to learn fluent Dutch until she can profit from it, but highlights the obscene Dutch term swaffeling.

  5. Audience crowd work about dating types

    Interrogates audience members about their romantic preferences and soulmates while celebrating unconventional body shapes like the chicken drumstick.

  6. Wanting Meghan Markle to let herself go

    Jokes that she hopes Meghan Markle gains weight and gets messy so Buteau can play her in The Crown.

How it plays

Tone
Uproarious, irreverent, raunchy, candid, and exuberant.
On stage
Sassy, confident, charismatic, bold, brash, and gleefully confrontational.
Pace
Dynamic, energetic, fast yet steady cadence paired with physical comedy and expressive facial reactions.
About
motherhood and parenthood, interracial marriage, cultural differences, body positivity and sexuality, short men, government workers

What the critics said

Praised as an uproarious, winning hour full of stage charisma, sharp timing, and refreshingly vulnerable humor.

In the room: Lively, engaged, and celebratory club atmosphere capturing what felt like the city's last night out before quarantine.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: rottentomatoes.com, ew.com, netflixqueue.com, netflix.com, theguardian.com, businessinsider.com, decider.com, vulture.com, en.wikipedia.org, npr.org, variety.com, imdb.com.

Backstory

Filmed on March 1, 2020, her late grandmother's birthday and just days before COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns took effect in New York City, following her recent entry into motherhood with twins born via surrogacy.

Details

Released
Taped
Sony Hall, New York City
Runtime
58 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Page Hurwitz
Honors
2021 Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Comedy Special
Topics
Before
The Half Hour (2015)
After
A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall (2024)

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