Stand-up Special of the Week: Caleb Hearon: Model Comedian (2025)

I've been disappointed in most stand-up specials over the past few years. Many of my long-term favorite comedians have settled into putting out the same kind of material every two or three years, while the "anti-woke" bullshit has ruined a good chunk of younger comedians' stuff. There are notable exceptions, and I've liked plenty of recent specials, but I don't think I've loved a special in a few years. I've enjoyed shows from Stavros Halkias (Go Ravens!) and specials from Jerrod Carmichael, I'll watch every Gianmarco Soresi and Benny Feldman TikTok, and that's just about the entire list of people I regularly watch.

I say regularly watching because I'm constantly watching Caleb Hearon. If he shows up on my FYP, I watch it, then I send it to Taylor. I perked up when he appeared in the movie I Used to Be Funny. If there's an article about him, I'll read it - that Rolling Stone/Mr. Beast shit made my week. I just think every freaking thing he says is funny. His batting average would put Ted Williams to shame. His first special, Model Comedian, was an immediate, first-day watch for me. When it was announced that it was coming out on September 19th, I put it in the calendar. When I logged into HBO Max yesterday morning and saw that it didn't drop until 9:00p, I was quite disappointed.

When it finally went up, I watched it right away. And I had a great time. I don't want to spoil anything about it, so I'll just drop some of my favorite out-of-context moments here for you to refer back to after you've watched it as well:

“I have a gun.” 

"You got 30 days left on that lease baby girl, I’m gonna need you to soldier up."

“Pink Panther mode, I’m sleuthing, I’m slinking.” 

"Just to be prepared, I'm gonna take an improv class."