Josh Gondelman’s Clever People Pleaser Is a Welcome Comedic Oasis

Josh Gondelman’s name should ring some bells for the perpetually online. His is the type of profile that often comes up on your Twitter feed, regardless of if you follow him, because he’s that consistently funny. Besides being omnipresent on Twitter, though, Gondelman is the sort of beloved comedian who pops up everywhere, whether he’s writing for Desus & Mero or Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (which earned him a Peabody and multiple Emmys), or appearing on NPR (including opposite comedy whiz Emma Eun-joo Choi).

Accolades aside, Gondelman’s new comedy special People Pleaser is sure to endear him to fans both new and old. His delivery is at times self-conscious, not in a way where he lacks confidence, but highlighting just how aware he is that this is a performance. Gondelman easily interacts with the audience, calling out reactions to various subjects (the crowd is into moms and dogs, but not grandmothers, he observes), and it’s clear he doesn’t take his time on stage for granted.

His joke writing is exquisite: clever and creative, but still accessible. Certain moments of word play feel George Carlin-esque, particularly one where Gondelman analyzes the phrase “health scare.” While there are overarching themes to People Pleaser—namely the pandemic and his wife—the bits are fairly segmented and could stand alone, perfect for those short clips that are shared on social media. That’s not a criticism, either; Gondelman has his callbacks, and it speaks to his writing chops that his jokes can work both independently and as part of a whole.