Saturday Night Live writer, rising stand-up comedian and Space Prince Julio Torres is headlining his first hour at HBO this summer, bringing his My Favorite Shapes show to the network on an exact date that has yet to be announced. It’s a natural expansion of Torres’ burgeoning relationship with HBO—he’s also starring in Spanish-language comedy series Los Espookys, debuting on HBO June 14.
My Favorite Shapes was taped in front of a live audience at Brooklyn’s Elsewhere, directed by frequent Torres collaborator Dave McCary, produced by A24, and executive produced by Torres’ SNL boss Lorne Michaels and his Los Espookys collaborator Fred Armisen. An HBO press release synopsizes the show as follows:
In this multimedia comedy show, Torres explores his favorite shapes, which include a plexiglass square, a triangle, an oval that wishes he were a circle, a self-conscious cactus and a Ferrero Rocher chocolate that Julio is mad at because she left her little skirt at home. The objects are presented via an industrial conveyer belt and serve as a jumping-off point for fantastical stories, anecdotes and jokes.
“Julio is an incredible talent who challenges comedy conventions with his unique style of humor,” said HBO Programming’s executive vice president Nina Rosenstein in a statement. “My Favorite Shapes is so truly imaginative and one-of-a-kind.”
“I just need to show my shapes. That’s all this is for,” says Torres.
Torres made Paste’s list of 2017’s best stand-up specials on the strength of his debut half-hour for Comedy Central, which Seth Simons praised as “dreamily detached, charmingly arrogant, placid and ethereal.” Suffice to say we, like HBO, are ready for some more Torres.
Stay tuned for more on My Favorite Shapes. In the meantime, revisit Torres’ 2016 Paste Studio set below.