Skip to content
Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

World War III

Katt Williams

Netflix · 2022 · 59 min

Katt Williams tackles pandemic shortages and drug conspiracies in Las Vegas.

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

Katt Williams has always relied on hyperactive physical delivery and high-volume repetition to sell a punchline, but his second Netflix special leans heavily on conspiracy theories and post-pandemic observation with varying success. Taking the stage in Las Vegas with his signature tailored-suited energy, Williams spends a significant chunk of the performance running back and forth across the stage to break down the logistics of the national chicken wing shortage, wondering how there could be a shortage of wings without a shortage of chicken thighs. It is a bit that highlights his classic physical commitment, even as the joke itself gets stretched to its absolute limit.

Filmed in January 2022 at the Dolby Live Theater in Las Vegas, the special marked the comedian’s self-directed debut. It arrived four years after his previous Netflix outing, Great America, during a period where he was touring steadily but keeping a lower profile in mainstream media. Here, he aims his sights at the war on drugs, pointing out the absurdity of the opioid epidemic and the chemical origins of methamphetamine. He also tackles the fentanyl crisis, joking about the extreme danger of the drug and how its touch-and-die potency keeps street-level dealers from handling it.

Viewer and critical reception was notably mixed. While some fans welcomed the return of his fast-paced, physical style, others found the set listlessly paced. The second half of the hour shifts away from social commentary toward prolonged sex talk and bragging, which drew criticism for feeling dated.

The set list

5 bits

  1. COVID-19 vaccination

    Williams states he will take whatever shots his dog takes because he is just as likely to bite someone.

  2. Chicken wing shortages and Taco Bell

    Argues Taco Bell selling chicken wings signals the Book of Revelation and exposes systemic lies regarding food shortages.

  3. Defending President Joe Biden

    Frames Biden as an elderly man doing his best while comedically inflating his age upward with each mention from 96 to 99.

  4. The War on Drugs and fentanyl

    Highlights that authorities stopped fighting the war on drugs because doctors became the dealers, noting Black people have nothing to do with fentanyl.

  5. The Garden of Eden and female anatomy

    Uses the creation story to contrast God's creations with science, using wordplay around water and female anatomy.

How it plays

Tone
Raunchy and irreverent.
On stage
Presents himself as an unfiltered truth-teller standing between the audience and liars in a war between fact and fiction.
Pace
Electrifying showmanship with physical comedy.
About
Truth versus lies and conspiracy theories, COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines, Chicken wing shortage, Politics and Joe Biden, The War on Drugs and fentanyl, Creation, religion, and female genitalia

What the critics said

Decider praised the first half-hour as technically brilliant social commentary, but found the second half ordinary due to its shift toward dirty sex jokes.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: netflix.com, rottentomatoes.com, thefutoncritic.com, nytimes.com, decider.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Filmed in January 2022 as the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 pandemic surged across the United States.

Details

Released
Taped
Dolby Live, Las Vegas
Runtime
59 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Katt Williams
Topics
Before
Great America (2018)
After
Woke Foke (2024)

More from Katt Williams

If you liked this