Meet the new Queen of Comedy Central.
Stand-up comedy is probably one of the most subjective forms of art out in the world today. With all of the lovely offense that it causes, I often have a hard time picking out the best acts aside from your usual group of all time greats like George Carlin, Penn & Teller, and so on. However, a relative newbie comes along once in a while to rock your world. In this case, it’s Nikki Glaser. Her new show on Comedy Central is called Not Safe, and it is perhaps the best creation on that network since Tosh.0.
The Host
Focus on the comedy. Focus on the comedy. Focus on the comedy.
I feel like I can’t address this show without touching on the topic of women in comedy. Much to the dismay of the internet hate mob, I think that the issue is not that women are different from men. For me, the appeal problem hinges on the fact that almost all of their material seems to hinge upon THE REALITY OF BEING A WOMAN™ (as told by someone who has never been outside of the New York or Los Angeles comedy bubble).
Luckily, Nikki has the skill to dodge this horrible state, reaching for a more universal brand of humor that focuses mostly on sex and relationships. There is something here for everyone, especially since she astutely avoids politics and other stupid stuff that can inhibit people’s enjoyment of the show.Her execution of the show reminds me of an early version of Daniel Tosh, mostly because of the bawdy subject matter and her willingness to give it her all. I’m still waiting to see where this goes, but I’m going to check out some of her other work soon.
It’s All In The Execution
I hope the writers can stay innovative with ideas like this segment.
Not Safe is surprisingly fun to watch, mostly due to Nikki’s ability to mix things up and subvert our expectations quite a bit. There are several funny segments that have aired so far, ranging from a game called Tinder Tapout to a funny look at sex-related studies with a panel. Oh, and she’s not afraid to let her guests shine, so she gets bonus points in my book.
In my opinion, the funniest segment thus far has to be their howlingly funny attempt at “classing up” the erotic pic. It’s the right mix of stupid and silly that only means good things for future episodes. I’m not going to spoil it here because that would be rude of me. Go find it on Youtube once you are done here.
The Problem
So many pervs, so little air time.
Since I have established that Nikki is fine and the show works, what might be the problem here? Well, I would argue that it is the same issue that may affect all one topic shows. The show may end up getting boxed into a corner because it only touches on sex and relationships, whereas something like Tosh.0 focuses on the wide world of the Internet. I wouldn’t want it to be a one-trick pony.
That being said, there is an easy fix to this problem. The creative team could simply focus on all things that are not safe for work, rather than just sex talk. It would help us to get a better understanding of Glaser’s brand, while ensuring that the show can run for quite a while. After all, there is only so much juice that you can squeeze out of a single orange.
Conclusion
Nikki is very good at what she does.
It is always surprising to see a fresh and funny show make its’ mark. I am officially a fan of Not Safe, and I hope that it has a bright future alongside Tosh and the other staples that make up Comedy Central. It has a nice message regardless of who might be tuning in, a great host, excellent writers, and a bizarre and irreverent style. Go watch it!
Now, if only I had included more puns in this review. I tried, but I didn’t want to screw up my thoughts for you fine people. HA!
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