Upstate NY native Jordan Jensen releases first Netflix standup comedy special

Jordan Jensen’s first-ever Netflix comedy special, “Take Me With You,” debuted on the streaming platform on Sept. 9.

In the special, which is just over an hour long and not intended for a family audience, the Ithaca, New York native talks about the trials and tribulations of women’s underwear, having her sexuality questioned, getting waxed, and the bouncy balls she was given at school to help manage her ADHD.

She gives audiences little glimpses of her untraditional upbringing with lines like “I have three lesbian moms and a dead dad.” She also harps on her “fat mall goth” teenage phase and how learning that otters have tiny pockets on their bodies for rock storage has changed her life.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times ahead of the special’s release, Jensen outlined her unique career path, explaining that before she started delivering punchlines, she worked as a carpenter in Upstate NY.

“I built houses with my parents and I’ve roofed,” she told the outlet. “I’ve done mason work and landscaping and stuff. But in New York I did remodeling, so I’d do things like turn a crepe shop into a hair salon.”

According to The Ithaca Voice, Jensen’s father, Jack, who passed away from a heart attack at age 58, was a construction magnate in the community. He was a member of numerous neighborhood housing organizations. The Cornell graduate also owned and operated two private contracting firms for 28 years.

Jensen told the LA Times that at the time of her father’s 2014 death, she had relocated to Buffalo, NY, so she could be close to a friend who had become paralyzed. There, she had attempted doing open mics, but nothing stuck. After her dad’s passing, some friends convinced her to move to Nashville, Tennessee, to live with them, where she really cultivated her comedic talent. Now, she’s back in the Northeast and lives in New York City. She filmed her special at the Gramercy Theater.

Although Jensen moved away from her home turf, she reveals in the special that she did buy a house somewhere in Upstate New York, where she got emotional after closing the deal. Much to her chagrin, her mom asked her if she was upset because she envisioned buying her first house with a husband.

While Jensen admitted that it was partially due to the fact that the house needed work and she missed doing carpentry with her dad, she had a much more twisted reason for shedding tears in her new digs. Her off-colorful thoughts, along with many other dark comedic anecdotes, can be found in “Take Me With You,” which is now streaming on Netflix.