TCB Debriefing 10/4/23: Beth Stelling Special, The Drew Barrymore Show, Chloe Troast on SNL, Moshe Kasher, Zainab Johnson,
1. The long awaited follow up from Girl Daddy, a special that will be remembered as one of the best of this decade, is finally here. That’s right, Beth Stelling brand new special, If You Didn’t Want Me Then, has just been released on Netflix this morning and delivers on the high expectations that were riding on it. Stelling is somehow even more self-assured in this hour (when that’s already her specialty), commanding the theater and anyone watching it as a special on Netflix with such ease and casual grace. It’s that sort of ever present sense of calm (reinforced by her choice of tea rather than the standard issue bottle of water on the stool) that makes her punchlines and tags and asides pop so acutely. Her continued, evolving portrait of herself as a woman in this day and age is so rich and full even though it feels like an old friend (albeit, your funniest friend) is just catching you up to speed over the last few years. Just give Beth her own late night talk show already. While we wait for that to happen, enjoy If You Didn’t Want Me Then now streaming on Netflix here.
2. The Drew Barrymore Show is now set to return after the debacle of trying to return during the WGA Strike, then rescinding the announcement. That said, her head writers Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon and Liz Koe have declined the offer to return as a result of not only Drew trying to get back on the air during the strike, but finding out via social media ticket giveaways (THR). So, expect at least one, if not a few, “very special episodes” of The Drew Barrymore Show when it finally makes back to TV
3. Chloe Troast will be SNL’s newest cast member and, as of this debriefing, the only new cast member to be added this season. We hope this signals a continuation of SNL getting weirder and wilder as it has with Sarah Squirm, Please Don’t Destroy, James Austin Johnson, and Bowen Yang.
4. Some folks actually did get around to their King Lear during lockdown. One of those folks is the brilliant comedian Moshe Kasher. Moshe already has one astounding memoir under his belt with Kasher in the Rye and is set to release his next one, Subculture Vulture: A Memoir in Six Scenes, on Jan. 30th. Kasher is such an exquisite writer and storyteller that he shouldn’t have to make a promo on IG to promote the book, but he did anyway so you can enjoy something until the book’s release. Pre-order Subculture Vulture here.
5. Take your first gander at Zainab Johnson‘s very first hour special, Hijabs Off, due out on Oct. 24th on Amazon Prime. It’ll be the perfect time to watch it as you probably also try to get two day shipping on whatever last minute costume you’re coming up with for Halloween.
6. We’ll leave you with this: Should we rebrand the term “gallows humor” as “2020s humor”?
