It’s been nearly a year since John Early released his first stand-up special, Max’s Now More Than Ever. But it’s only now that he’s gotten the chance to talk about the go-for-broke special in-depth, with any chance at promotion waylaid by last summer and fall’s back-to-back strikes.
And the comedian, best known for his work on Search Party, 30 Rock, and with collaborator Kate Berlant, is relishing his overdue moment in the spotlight. In this episode of The Last Laugh podcast—Early’s second appearance on the show, following his 2022 visit with Berlant—he opens up about the genesis of his Emmys category-breaking special, including how he sees himself as less in step with his fellow campaigning comics and more in the mold of performers like Bette Midler.
Originally pitched in 2019, it took until February 2023 for filming to actually happen. The long road is just one part of why Early is particularly excited to be on the campaign trail for this special, which led to what he says is “the first time I felt, privately, a real artistic success.”
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“This is the first time I’ve ever made anything where it builds and it swells and it delivers,” Early tells The Last Laugh. “I know that it’s also incredibly unfocused and insane and sloppy in many ways, but that’s also part of its charm, I think.”
Now More Than Ever is a unique entry into the Emmys race: a combination of observational humor, musical performances, and rock-(mock-)doc sketches stitching it all together. With his band, the Lemon Squares, Early switches between musings on millennials, iPhone apps, and cultural expectations and heartfelt balladry; one notable segment finds him gearing up for a performance of Neil Young’s “After the Gold Rush” by providing incisive cultural commentary, a tension released by his surprisingly beautiful singing. And the songs aren’t jokes; they’re simply complementary to them. Yet the special wouldn’t be the same without them, as weird as they may sound to an outsider.
Early is competing for recognition in the Outstanding Variety Special category at this year’s Emmys. The award’s previous winners reflect the strangeness of this pool; last year, a special celebrating Carol Burnett’s 90th birthday triumphed over acclaimed comedians John Mulaney and Wanda Sykes. (Also competing: Lizzo’s live concert special.) Adele and Hamilton won in the years prior, while Dave Chappelle took home the award in 2020.
Now More Than Ever is the definition of a variety show, making this grab-bag category seem well-suited for him. But the knee-jerk reaction is to compare Early’s potential in the category with that of comedians like Chappelle, Mulaney, and Sykes. But, by his own admission, that doesn’t feel quite right.
“It’s complicated because stand-up is almost a different thing from what I’m doing,” he said. “I mean, I have a microphone, I’m making jokes, for sure… But there almost should be two different categories [for the Emmys]—like classic stand-up, joke-driven, versus what I was trying to do, [which] was more like one of those old Bette Midler concerts for HBO.”
He adds, “In some ways, I feel sorry for the more traditional stand-ups when I come in, like, singing Britney Spears and barely writing a joke.”
Still, those traditional stand-ups are typically the ones walking home with the awards. (When an ode to a beloved celebrity or cultural product doesn’t, that is.) Most award shows are criticized for their predictability, and the Emmys is no different. The eye-rolling wins have even pushed some critics to consider awards meaningless—a notion that Early sees both sides of.
“I think it’s very human to want your work to be honored and to find yourself wanting an award,” he said. “However, I also believe that comedians should, as kind of cultural critics, have a disdain for the establishment and should have an emotional distance from these things. I find it always incredibly bizarre the way these people who are apparently quite funny will just take this kind of award stuff so seriously.”
At the same time, he’s here talking to The Last Laugh to promote his special ahead of the Emmy nomination period, and he knows it.
“Of course, I’m sitting before you—like, of course I would love for the special to get more attention. I would love whatever kind of creative freedom an Emmy could bring me. Of course, it’d be amazing.”
“But,” he says, “I also know it’s entirely political and it’s about money.”
