New Tom Segura Netflix Special Is Complete Trash, I’ll Come Up With An Appropriate Headline Once I Calm Down

If you spend any amount of time on Reddit, following comedy, or listening to podcasts, you probably already know that Tom Segura’s name isn’t always received with warmth these days. Most of the hostility stems from his 2023 Twitter tirade about “the poors” after having an unpleasant experience at the airport, and you can tell that some of the negative reviews for his latest Netflix special, Teacher, are coming from people who simply don’t want to see him succeed based on that alone.

While I admit those comments were a bit extreme when he made them, I never took them to heart, even though I probably fall into the demographic of people he refers to as the poors. I’m from a middle-class family, and I still occupy the middle class. The problem is that the middle class is rapidly disintegrating, and the gap between people trying their best and those who are incredibly wealthy has only gotten wider, rightfully angering people. Whenever I make a significant purchase, I tally up exactly how many hours of labor it would take me to buy the thing, and that’s how I decide whether it’s worth it. Lots of people operate this way. Comedians also run their mouths for shock value, so there’s no need to take them seriously either.

A lot of the anger directed toward Tom Segura stems from those controversial hot mic moments on his podcast and on social media, which has resulted in some of the review bombing for Teacher. But we don’t need to get overly socio-economic about why Teacher currently sits with a nine-percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter. The reason it’s performing so poorly is much simpler. It’s just not funny.

Let The Art Speak For Itself

I totally understand why large swaths of people who are trying their best to get ahead in life are upset with the “I’m rich and therefore better than you” persona Segura has leaned into over the past few years. But let’s get down to brass tacks. Tom Segura didn’t rise in popularity through sheer dumb luck. He broke through because of his observational humor, storytelling, and cynical worldview, the same traits most up-and-coming comics have when they’re hungry and actively playing the game.

They’re living on the road, playing hundreds of shows a year, honing their craft, and hoping they’ll finally experience the big break that so many aspiring comedians are chasing. While the massive success Segura has found through podcasting and Netflix has afforded him a lifestyle that makes his observations less relatable to the average person, I don’t think that’s why Teacher is his weakest hour-long special to date.

Dave Chappelle is worth millions, but he’s still a master storyteller. Bill Burr has seen enormous success, but his confessional delivery about family life and managing his anger remains universally relatable. Wealth alone doesn’t break comedy. Complacency does. Point in case: Tom Segura went to private school, but his early specials are his best work.

Podcasting Ruining Standup?

Teacher, which has Rotten Tomatoes user reviews saying things like “Tom Segura is as funny as staring at a dog’s ass,” falls into a different category altogether. It points to a larger problem in standup comedy designed for mass consumption through streaming. It doesn’t feel like a new hour.

The most common complaint about Teacher is that many of the anecdotes can be traced back to interviews and podcast episodes. That’s become standard practice now that most high-profile comedians rely on podcasting to stay visible and generate income when they’re not touring. The unintentional side effect is that when comedians spend hours casually talking shop with other comedians, they’re essentially workshopping their next hour in front of millions of listeners.

By the time those jokes are refined on tour and eventually filmed for a special, it doesn’t feel like fresh material. It feels like a repackaging of something you already heard on your commute, now with an added video component of a man standing in front of a microphone.

My biggest issue with Teacher is that the storytelling element that originally drew me to Segura’s standup is almost completely gone. Instead, the special plays like a loose collection of unrelated anecdotes, bouncing from family life, to documentaries about Hitler’s stimulant abuse, to more stories about crapping his pants. Most of the jokes follow a standard setup and punchline structure, which is perfectly fine in theory, but there’s rarely any meaningful payoff.

2018’s Disgraceful, on the other hand, features a brilliant setup involving In-N-Out Burger that’s briefly introduced early on, then revisited much later with an unexpected payoff during an entirely different bit. That level of craftsmanship just isn’t present in Teacher. Here, each joke feels like a standalone gag, with no connective tissue or satisfying escalation from one segment to the next.

Other Projects Taking Precedence? 

I still keep Segura’s first three Netflix specials, Completely Normal, Mostly Stories, and Disgraceful, in regular rotation. I still yell “Bikes!” and call my wife a honky whenever the opportunity presents itself. I learned about Steven Seagal: Lawman thanks to Completely Normal, and I strongly suggest everybody watches the series.

I hate to say it, but Ball Hog, Sledgehammer, and now, Teacher, simply don’t hit the same way or have the same staying power. Despite the mixed reactions, I genuinely enjoyed Bad Thoughts, largely because many of its skits felt like fully realized extensions of jokes from those earlier specials. You could tell real care went into the production, and that the cast and crew were invested in making something memorable.

Teacher, by comparison, feels like an obligation rather than a passion project. It plays like Segura was ready to move on to other ventures, but was handed a blank check by Netflix and asked to deliver another hour. I could be completely off base here, but it feels like his creative focus has shifted from standup to production. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that.

But for my money, Teacher, currently streaming on Netflix, earns its low score, not because of what Tom Segura says offstage, but because of what he says when he’s on it.