Joel McHale seems to have gotten used to playing host.
Whether it was the satirical E! news show The Soup, the 2014 White House Correspondents Dinner, the 2015 ESPYs, or his very own hit Netflix show, The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale, which has its second season airing on July 15, the Seattle native may look a little out of place as The Chevalier Theatre plays host to him and his arsenal of new stand-up material for the night this Friday (June 22).
The Community actor makes his return to the Boston area on the heels of the successful maiden voyage of his new satirical variety series, and while he has remained fairly quiet about his return to the stand-up stage since getting with Netflix, he recently gave audiences a little glimpse into the freedom he’s experienced since signing on with the streaming giant.
“I don’t swear the entire time or anything, but now I can say whatever I want,” McHale tells Metro. “I don’t have a network, like, E! was very good to me before, then they said stuff like, ‘Please don’t make fun of the Kardashians.’ That was when I kind of saw the writing on the wall that that was going to be the end of it. Netflix, they hardly give any notes other than just like, ‘Be funny.’ I’m like, ‘Got it, I’ll try. I can’t guarantee it.’”
If the title of his 2016 book is to be taken seriously, maybe we should strive to be the best Joel McHale we can be, because things seem to be continuing to come up McHale in 2018, and for good reason. All the hard work he’s put in over the course of his career, from Almost Live! and that one episode of Bill Nye The Science Guy in the late ‘90s to Ted and the upcoming, yet already controversial The Happytime Murders, the man has put in his time.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Sure, Joel McHale may be one of the most sought after and respected names in comedy, but for what it’s worth, he’s only the second best McHale to do business in the Boston area.
JOEL MCHALE :: Friday, June 22 at The Chevalier Theatre, 30 Forest St. in Medford, MA :: 8 p.m., $29 to $69 :: Advance tickets :: Chevalier event page :: Featured image by Cliff Lipson/CBS