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Pete Holmes on His New Stand-Up Special, Proper Q-Tip Usage, and How Audiences Have Changed (Exclusive)

The ‘Crashing’ star’s new stand-up special premieres on YouTube on March 24

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Pete Holmes is a man of many hats. Since 2011, he’s hosted the podcast You Made It Weird, where he’s interviewed more comedians than you probably even knew existed, and from 2017 to 2019, he starred in the semi-autobiographical HBO series Crashing, which ran for three seasons. He’s even got a children’s book coming out later this year, so needless to say, he’s kept busy. But through it all, he’s stuck with stand-up comedy. Over the years, he’s steadily toured and released five hour-long specials. 

Holmes’ latest stand-up special, Silly Silly Fun Boy, drops March 24 on YouTube. Less than three years after his last hour, he’s back doing what he loves most. As a matter of fact, Holmes tells us that his newest hour is his favorite thus far (more on that below).

Ahead of the special’s release, we caught up with Holmes, where he waxed poetic about everything from the mystery of Q-tips to the one way audiences have changed since he started performing.

Many comedians move away from stand-up after finding success in other areas. What drives you to keep doing it?

I genuinely love performing live, there’s nothing like it. Movies and TV and all that, you’re so removed from the audience and there are also so many cooks in the kitchen. With stand-up, it’s just you and them and whatever you say, goes. It’s so fun.

In your new special, you talk about how Q-tips aren’t meant to be used for cleaning your ears. I actually had a doctor tell me that years ago, and it blew my mind. How recently did you become aware of this?

Me too! It’s so nuts. It’s the only thing I’ve ever used a Q-tip for. I think I learned it a while back, but that hasn’t stopped me from going in…DEEP. I love it.

You have an interesting way of touching on taboo subjects while also clearly not doing so to offend anyone. Is there any topic you think is off limits, regardless of a comedian’s intent?

Hmm. I’m not sure. I think the fun of stand-up is to try and get into all the weird corners and see if you can keep everyone with you. I play the same game at cocktail parties.

We’ve heard a lot about the contentiousness of modern audiences in recent years. Is this something you’ve noticed, and how would you say crowds have changed since you first started, if at all?

Not one bit. I think audiences have gotten more sophisticated and have a broader understanding of comedy, which, of course, helps immensely. 

The one change I’ve noticed is people think the comedian wants to talk to the crowd. That’s because of Instagram. Everyone posts their crowd work clips because they don’t want to post material. I get it, but it is making people shout out more. That’s fine, but I always think my act is better than me just asking one guy what he does for a living.

In a 2023 Collider interview, you said that your last special, I Am Not for Everyone, was your favorite. Is that still the case, or do you feel like you’ve topped yourself with this one?

My newest hour is always my favorite hour. That’s the one that speaks most directly to my life presently, and I think being a dad and being middle-aged is the funniest part of my life so far, by far.

You also mentioned that HBO was interested in doing a Crashing movie at one point. Is that something that might actually happen in the future?

I love that you know that! Haha. No, I love the way Crashing ended. If Pete went on to find success, which is where it probably would’ve gone, it wouldn’t be Crashing, it would be Flourishing. And I think the struggle years are the funniest and most interesting. No one wants to see Pete get a bidet and an espresso machine. We want to see him grind.

You’ve cited “Weird Al” Yankovic as a big influence and were also in a band in college. Are those two things related, or were you a serious musician?

Oh, my bands were DEAD serious. Pop punk, like Green Day or Rancid. We had NO sense of humor, apart from calling the band “Nude.” We thought that was funny. A poster that says, “Tonight, Pete Holmes, Aaron Bonner-Jackson and Steve McCabe… NUDE!”

Between your old TBS show and your podcast, You Made It Weird, you’ve interviewed a lot of different people. Does anyone stand out as particularly memorable? 

Interviewing Conan [O’Brien] on both was a dream come true. Conan was and is such a kind and goodhearted champion of younger comics, and interviewing him instead of the other way around was a delight. And slightly terrifying. 

You’ve referred to yourself as a “hooraytheist.” What does that mean, exactly?

That’s on the internet, but it’s not true. There is a chapter in my book, Comedy Sex God, where I dabbled in atheism and enjoyed the freedom of not believing in a God who wanted to send me to Hell. That’s the “hooray” part. Since then, I’ve found a set of beliefs that still make me go “hooray,” but I’m not an atheist.

I’d imagine you keep an eye on what other comedians are up to from time to time. Who’s got your attention these days? Are there any rising stars you think we should be looking out for?

Chris Fleming’s new special on HBO is maybe the best special I’ve seen…ever? I loved it so much. I was cackling.

What do you have coming up next? Any new projects in the works?

My first children’s book, Spells to Cast on Your Parents, is available for pre-order, which is very exciting! I really enjoyed doing that, and my daughter loves it, so the rest is gravy from here. 

Pete’s latest stand-up special, Silly Silly Fun Boy, premieres on YouTube on March 24. You can pre-order his new children’s book, Spells to Cast on Your Parents (available September 1) here.

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