{"id":2348603,"date":"2026-03-27T23:39:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T23:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2348603"},"modified":"2026-03-27T23:39:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T23:39:06","slug":"david-cross-says-stand-up-specials-arent-special-anymore-unless-comics-start-breaking-some-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/david-cross-says-stand-up-specials-arent-special-anymore-unless-comics-start-breaking-some-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"David Cross says stand-up specials aren’t special anymore unless comics start breaking some rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Ranting about the decline of comedy specials while releasing a new one at the same time feels a bit like an oxymoron. But somehow it still makes sense coming from alt-comedy pioneer David Cross, who isn\u2019t just complaining; he\u2019s finding his own route to making specials feel special again. The only way to do that is by putting one out in the manner he\u2019d like to see more often \u2014 starting by making the whole crowd stand up too.<\/p>\n

Capturing the energy of a concert at the famous 40 Watt Club in Athens, Ga., was the first step in differentiating \u201cThe End of the Beginning of the End\u201d from the typical hour you watch on a big streamer. And, with this new special, Cross is able to get back to his own beginnings of touring across the country with love bands as his openers, performing for crowds for as long as he could until he had to run offstage to pee.<\/p>\n

Premiering the special earlier this month on his website (and on April 7, it will be available on YouTube via production company 800 Pound Gorilla), Cross is hoping the special connects with comedy fans in a way that we\u2019ve forgotten specials could.<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited for length and clarity<\/i><\/p>\n

Your new special is called \u201cThe End of the Beginning of the End.\u201d What does that title mean to you as it relates to the impending doom of what we\u2019re all living right now. <\/b><\/p>\n

David Cross: <\/b>Well, you can look at it in a couple different ways. To me, it signifies that the beginning of the end has occurred. And we are now at the end of the beginning of the end. And from where you go with that, that\u2019s for you to decide.<\/p>\n

One of the things I love about the special is the fact that you shoot it at a club in the style of a live<\/b>–<\/b>music concert.<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve shot specials in theaters and it\u2019s just different, not that one is better than the other, but they\u2019re just different. You have a different relationship with the audience. When I first started touring, I would go to music venues and I\u2019d have a band open for me and then I would just go up and pretty much [perform] as long as I could until I had to pee. Sometimes I\u2019d have a band playing, sometimes two bands, then I\u2019d go out. And I did that a couple of times, and then stopped doing that and did theaters, and I decided for the last two specials I\u2019m going to go to, when I shoot it, I\u2019ll go to a music venue, and I was at the 40 Watt Club in Athens this last time, I was at the Metro in Chicago before that, both places I played on earlier tours, and, you know, it\u2019s not seated. People are standing there at the stage, and I prefer it. It\u2019s more fun. It\u2019s not as lucrative but, to me, a more fun show to do.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/picture>\n
\n

Comedian David Cross <\/p>\n

(Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

The ambi<\/b>e<\/b>nce of it was great<\/b>.<\/b> Y<\/b>ou can hear people shouting and drinking and having a good time<\/b>,<\/b> and the crowd work is also a little more spontaneous and fun than it would be in a regular venue. <\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah, well, there\u2019s more opportunity for that. But my thing has never been about crowd work. I like engaging with it, it\u2019s kind of a nice distraction from the set that you\u2019ve been doing 100 times, 150 times at that point. So it\u2019s always fun to have that thing happen and that feeling of spontaneity. And like the guy [who I talk to in the crowd during the special], I could not have asked for [someone better]. I mean, even if it was scripted, it wouldn\u2019t have been as good. The guy who [I talk to] during the stuff about hiking Machu Picchu [with Bob Odenkirk], that\u2019s just… [chef\u2019s kiss<\/i>].<\/p>\n

Speaking of Bob Odenkirk, you guys have this long relationship. How would you describe the dynamic of <\/b>working with Bob and just how you guys bounce ideas off each other? <\/b><\/p>\n

I mean, it\u2019s great. We have an inordinate amount of respect for each other, both as people and as creative partners. And so there\u2019s never any real issues. There\u2019s things we will definitely disagree with, but we\u2019re both decent people. So you know somebody backs off and says, \u201cOK, let\u2019s do it that way.\u201d But even then, there aren\u2019t that many of those [issues]. We just have really worked well at building something or molding it, creating it and shaping it. And our aforementioned hike to Machu Picchu, we have a documentary about that, that will be premiering at a fancy festival at some point in the near-future. And so we got that doc and we\u2019ve been working on that. And for the way we work now, because he lives in L.A. and I live in New York, and it\u2019s been like that for a while, he\u2019ll write a bunch of stuff, I\u2019ll make notes, I\u2019ll write my things, send it back. And so we\u2019re able to do that and not necessarily have to be in the same room because we\u2019ve had 30-plus years of working with each other.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a kind of like an unspoken language you guys probably have in terms of comedy, which is super important, I imagine, just <\/b>for <\/b> collaborating. <\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah, and it\u2019s something we discovered very early on … before there was even \u201cMr. Show,\u201d what would ultimately become \u201cMr. Show,\u201d when we got together to write sketches for this bigger kind of comedy collective thing, and these shows that we would all do with each other, for each other, and the stuff that we would write together was just, like, really good, easy writing \u2014 again, one person adding this thing and one person saying here\u2019s a switch yeah and another person adding this thing in. It was fun, it\u2019s cool, still is. One thing he doesn\u2019t get credit for is he\u2019s a really decent human being. And with all the awfulness in the world that\u2019s magnified, every sense is bombarded with it \u2014 it\u2019s just good to be hanging with somebody whose energy is a good person, a decent person and an equitable, nice guy, so that\u2019s good as well.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Comedian <\/picture>\n
\n

Comedian David Cross poses for a portrait ahead of his comedy special \u201cThe End of the Beginning of the End.\u201d <\/p>\n

(Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

One thing you guys also have in common is you <\/b> both have kids, and he has a comedy show for kids called \u201cThe Appropriate Show.\u201d <\/b>H<\/b>ave you taken your daughter to see it?<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sketch show [in which] all the sketches are appropriate for kids to watch. And the sketches have been done in other sketch shows onstage, live. And he puts together this thing once, twice a year here in L.A. And I took my daughter to it last year. It\u2019s just sketches that kids can [understand]. At least if they don\u2019t understand the actual references they get the archetype. \u201cOh, that\u2019s the boss, that\u2019s that uh… And it\u2019s great, it\u2019s a really cool idea uh… \u201c And would an ass\u2014 think of [a show like] that? No, one good decent person; a good man. But listen, this interview isn\u2019t about me, it\u2019s about Bob Odenkirk, so let\u2019s get back to that.<\/p>\n

Well, speaking of having comedy geared toward<\/b> kids, your daughter\u2019s at an age where she\u2019s probably consumed or seen some of your comedy at this point. <\/b><\/p>\n

Not, not really. No, no.<\/p>\n

Do you shield her from your stuff<\/b>,<\/b> or are you not so concerned about it?<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t actively shield her, but I don\u2019t introduce her to anything. So I was a little bummed out, and I got over it pretty quickly, but when I found out that she had seen a little bit of \u201cAlvin and the Chipmunks,\u201d and only because I don\u2019t want to spoil the enjoyment of what movies are and what kids\u2019 movies are and how things work. And I feel like that would introduce an element of reality that I want her to be able to just enjoy these things without \u2014 she\u2019s seen \u201cKung Fu Panda\u201dwhen she was younger, like, I don\u2019t know, three, four, five times, has no idea that I\u2019m in that, that my voice is in there. She knows I do stand-up, she gets that now. And when she was younger, she\u2019d say, \u201cDaddy\u2019s silly for a living.\u201d … I\u2019m just trying to ride the balance of letting her have those childhood joys and experiences.<\/p>\n

\n
\"David <\/picture>\n
\n

Comedian David Cross. <\/p>\n

(Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Does having a kid make you think about what\u2019s coming up in the future of comedy, or what kids are gonna maybe find funny, or what they find funny now? Do you have any thoughts on kid comedy in general? <\/b><\/p>\n

Not really. I mean, I can see that she and her friends, who are kind of like-minded, are naturally funny, and then that\u2019s kind of encouraging and heartwarming and they\u2019re silly, but I\u2019ll be long gone when that generation is is providing comedy. And I\u2019m still, although I\u2019ve kind of given up, I\u2019m still trying to grasp what works now. I mean, it\u2019s short-term TikTok, Instagram stuff. There are some amazing, like really, really great things being done as far as film sketches for YouTube channels. \u201cAlmost Friday,\u201d they\u2019ve got genius-level stuff. I mean, really good. And where the sketch goes in a place, you\u2019re never ahead of it, goes in a place where you\u2019re not expecting. It\u2019s really well written and well performed.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on what a comedy special is nowadays or what it should be?<\/b><\/p>\n

I mean, that\u2019s a great question. I think anybody who plays with the form, whether I think it\u2019s that funny or not, is different. But I\u2019m happy when anybody kind of tries at least to play with a form. I just went to Rory Scovel\u2018s taping last week of his latest special. I don\u2019t know when that\u2019ll air, but if you\u2019ve seen the beginning to his first special, stuff like that where you\u2019re like, \u201cWait, what\u2019s happening? What\u2019s going on?\u201d I love stuff like that. <\/p>\n

I still get excited to watch specials by some of my favorite comics, but there\u2019s a quality that\u2019s missing. And these are stand-ups I love, and they\u2019re not that great. They\u2019re not bad but they\u2019re not special, you know? And all those guys I mentioned, and more, have great specials. Like, you can go back and they\u2019re great. And I don\u2019t know why that is. I mean, there\u2019s still funny stuff, but I don\u2019t ever want to get to that place where its just feels a little phoned-in a little bit… that is, in part, why the last two specials were shot in this more intimate setting that feels special. And … as I said, the energy\u2019s different, it\u2019s a little bit different, and it\u2019s less slick. It feels like you\u2019re in the moment. You don\u2019t need a million dollars to shoot a special. You don\u2019t 28 camera angles, it\u2018s just bull\u2014. And it takes something away.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Comedian <\/picture>\n
\n

Comedian David Cross <\/p>\n

(Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

It all should feel the right amount of unsafe as well, I think. <\/b><\/p>\n

That\u2019s never gonna happen at a theater show. You\u2019re never gonna feel that. And I don\u2019t know, it really does feel almost like maybe we peaked in a sense, like there\u2019s too much, and because of that, these things aren\u2019t special. They\u2019re not revelatory, they\u2019re not unique. I dunno, can 18,000 people in an arena really relate to a … billionaire talking about how they\u2019re gonna get canceled. I mean, is that a thing I guess? Those other big, slick specials that are shot in, like, a 3,200-seat, 3,500-seat theater, it just feels like, \u201cOh this person is up there and I\u2019m listening to their jokes.\u201d There\u2019s nothing wrong with that. They\u2019re often very funny jokes, but it doesn\u2019t go beyond that. It\u2019s just like, \u201cAll right, tell me your joke.\u201d It might as well be an audio thing, you know?<\/p>\n

Well, hopefully the robots are<\/b>n\u2019t<\/b> coming for your job anytime soon. <\/b><\/p>\n

Absolutely not. I mean, this could be naive, but I feel 100% safe that you are never going to replicate an evening of stand-up at a nigtclub like that. And not sitting down at tables while you\u2019re having drinks and waitresses are coming by. I\u2019m talking about everybody\u2019s up on the stage, sold-out, maximum capacity; everybody\u2019s there, focused, we\u2019re all sharing that thing. You can\u2019t. AI\u2019s not going to be able to do that.<\/p>\n

Yeah, the robots can\u2019t do that, Terminator can\u2019t do that..<\/b><\/p>\n

Oh, I forgot about Terminator. He could do that. G\u2014 it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ranting about the decline of comedy specials while releasing a new one at the same time feels a bit like an oxymoron. But somehow it still makes sense coming from alt-comedy pioneer David Cross, who isn\u2019t just complaining; he\u2019s finding his own route to making specials feel special again. The only way to do that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2348604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2348603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/David-Cross-says-stand-up-specials-arent-special-anymore-unless-comics.com2Ff62Fd02Fd1408bd142ca94ac17f3c42c.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2348603"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2348605,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348603\/revisions\/2348605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2348604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2348603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2348603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2348603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}