Gadsby Thinks You Deserve a Break

The Genderqueer Lesbian Comic is Back with a Feel-Good Netflix Special

By Sarah Bricker Hunt

A lot has changed since Hannah Gadsby first took audiences on the unexpected journey that was “Nanette,” their 2018 career-making Netflix special. Yes, there was that whole Trump presidency situation and, oh, that global pandemic hiccup, but also, Gadsby got new glasses, an additional dog, created two more specials, put out a New York Times bestselling memoir (“Ten Steps to Nanette”), opened an art show in Brooklyn focused on Picasso's alleged misogyny (“It's Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby”), and picked up a new descriptor along the way: beloved wife.

It's that latter detail that Gadsby explores in depth in their latest Netflix endeavor, “Something Special.” Spoiler alert: A wild rabbit pays the ultimate price for Gadsby's wedded bliss, but it's totally not the rabbit's fault. It's just that, sometimes, the journey is exactly the opposite of what you're expecting, and maybe that's the point of, well, everything.

The newly released special is a departure from Gadsby's work on stage so far, which has focused on topics like neurodivergency (Gadsby is autistic), family dysfunction, mental health and other heavy topics. The comedian teases the audience that all the chatter about how this special would be more lighthearted than “Nanette” and “Douglas,” released in 2020, could be an elaborate ruse. Is existentialism and social reckoning right around the corner? Nah. Gadsby, as they remind us in example after example, is not a good liar.

This special, like the others, is about where Gadsby is at this moment in time. And, happily, this moment is a good one.

“I didn't expect to get married,” Gadsby tells us in a recent Zoom interview. “So, I thought that was an interesting enough place to begin. Also, I believe my audience has invested in me. I shared my pain and my trauma and my difficulties, and I think it would be weird to hide my current state of joy. That would feel like a disingenuous approach. So, I really wanted to share that.”

Gadsby's marriage to producer Jenney Shamash, who the comedian calls “Jenno,” has been surprising in one way, the comedian says. “Being surrounded by straight, unhappy married people my whole life, I'm mostly surprised that it's not so miserable. Like, you hear comedians talk about it: 'My wife's this, My wife's that.' Why did you marry that horrible person you keep complaining about?” they joke.

Gadsby says that as they toured with the new material, audiences responded in a way that made it clear this was a show they wanted and, in many ways, needed. “It's going to be a feel-good show because I believe I owe you one,” they say in the special. “I have dragged you through a bit of my shit over the years, and you've stuck with me. Much obliged! But it's time for some payoff.”

Still, Gadsby is happy to dig into the heavy stuff during our time together, acknowledging the deeply disturbing culture wars happening in the U.S. with the LGBTQ+ community at the center — especially LGBTQ+ kids and young adults. “I was a young person during a very similar time, but without the internet — so it wasn't that similar,” Gadsby says. “But the anti-gay rhetoric that I grew up with — the discourse surrounding me when I was growing up — was frighteningly similar to that which we're experiencing now.”

Coming of age in tiny Tasmania, an Australian island state some 150 miles south of the mainland, Gadsby said they felt isolated, a struggle in and of itself. But today's younger generation is experiencing an anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment “everywhere all at once.”

“So, it's incredibly difficult, particularly, to be a young queer person in this moment,” they add. “And I can't speak to that experience. I'm not queer… That is a joke. I'm not young. But I wanted to lead with the fact that I've overcome the trauma of this kind of environment.”

Gadsby is frustrated that the world is experiencing a new wave of anti-queer sentiment. “Part of the rage in 'Nanette' was the fact that we don't learn,” they say.

“Why aren't we learning? Why can't we learn? And I still have that rage. There's still a fight to be fought, but there'll be time for that. I just felt like we need a break also because we're fighting for our right to exist.”

Gadsby notes that people trying to oppress the queer community don't actually have skin in the game. “They're not going home and wondering if they'll be safe. They're already safe. That's what we have to remember as a community. It's like we have to look after ourselves and each other, on a very personal level.”

Looking after each other can be challenging for people experiencing trauma — the tendency can be to retreat into isolation. “Yeah, that's what trauma does,” Gadsby says. “And what's going on at the moment is incredibly traumatic. We're in a new place, and it's frightening, but I think it's horrible to think that I'm an 'elder' and me here. I think I'm… close. I'm always close, but just always fall short. But I think that's where comedy lives, so it's not a problem.”

Neurodiversity has been a central topic in all three Netflix specials. “And I'm really keen not to tell autism, and rather to show it. That's what this show really is. It's showing autism.”

At one point in “Something Special,” Gadsby recounts two separate stories involving awkward encounters with Jodie Foster. In one, Gadsby crumples up a bit of cardboard where Foster had written down her phone number, right in front of Foster (one of Gadsby's sensory issues relates to feeling “very irritated” when they have to hold small and irregular-shaped objects against their palms). In another, Gadsby responds to a birthday gift from Foster by saying “I've already got Bananagrams!” and then chucks the present to the side. The stories are universal on one hand — virtually everyone can conjure up encounters they'd like to do over — but resonate strongly with the neurodiverse community.

Foster, Gadsby says, was gracious about the incidents. “She was there with a wife, and they just kept on being amazing, kind, generous people,” they remember.

“She's very competitive at charades, though. I will give her that,” Gadsby adds.

I'm only 45, but we have to do our bit to help relieve the pressure.”

In many ways, Gadsby's presence on stage is a billboard for intersectionality. They are frank about their identity as a genderqueer lesbian and their 2017 autism diagnosis, aspects of Gadsby's personhood that has made it challenging for the entertainment world to figure out where they belong.

“Before I even began my career, I was difficult to categorize my entire life, and not for a lack of trying,” Gadsby says. “But I think that's where my comedy begins — it's me trying to be what people would prefer I be, and my persistent failure is what has gotten

Throughout the special, Gadsby stresses how important it has been to have Jenno by their side as both their romantic partner and producer of their shows, describing their relationship like the sport of curling. “I'm the giant puck,” they say in the show. “And every morning, we have a little team meeting and go, 'This is where you need to go, this is how fast you're gonna go there, this is the line you're gonna take,' and then we send me out, and there's not a fucking thing I can do about it.”

Perhaps neurodiversity is Gadsby's secret superpower? “Maybe. Although we've just told everyone, so, rats!”

“But no. You've always got to keep trying to make connections. That's what we are as humans, and it's a particularly difficult time to do that. All I can say is hang in there, and it's not your fault.”

By Romeo San Vicente

filmmaker Kelly Reichardt (“Showing Up,” “First Cow”). This one will take a while, as it's not set to start shooting until at least early 2024. But the creators are already determined that it will be as adult and NC-17-rated as possible, and that' s a welcome bit of news for filmgoers who're tired of timid arthouse films. More nudity now!

'Somebody Somewhere' refuses to go nowhere

Todd Haynes & Joaquin Phoenix Aim for NC-17

Filmmaker Todd Haynes is no stranger to retro queer romance. His Cate Blanchettstarring “Carol” is already considered a classic of LGBTQ+ cinema, and “Far From Heaven” before that perfectly evoked the Douglas Sirk 1950s. And he recently announced an untitled project in the works with actor Joaquin Phoenix that will be a gay love story set in 1930s Los Angeles — an era Haynes explored in his HBO adaptation of “Mildred Pierce.” The project has a script in development from Phoenix, Haynes and acclaimed novelistscreenwriter Jon Raymond, a consistent collaborator with indie

It's one of the best shows on TV right now, but it's still flying below the radar with most people. And so the good TV news in the middle of the current writer's strike is that HBO' s “Somebody Somewhere,” created by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, is getting a third season. Inspired by comedian and singer Bridget Everett's life, the small-town-Kansas-set series mines gentle, intelligent comedy from its unassuming setting. It's also very, very queer with series regulars Jeff Hiller, Tim Bagley and transgender comedian Murray Hill rounding out the ensemble and telling very specific rural LGBTQ+ stories. The episode run of the first two seasons have been short and sweet, making for a quick binge you'll want to return to again, and it' s guaranteed to whet your appetite for the next batch, already in production.

'The Wiz' revival gets a cast… almost A fact of life that never goes away is that anything related to “The Wizard of Oz” is automatically gay. We didn't invent this rule; it's just a rule that will always be a rule. So here here comes “The Wiz,” talk show MVP Amber Ruffin, and cool new cast featuring “A Strange Loop” star Kyle Ramar Freeman as the always queer-coded Cowardly Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson from the Apple+ series “Sharper” as the Tin Man and former “Voice” contestant Avery Wilson as Scarecrow. As for Dorothy… no word yet. But we expect to be wowed by whoever plans to step into shoes created by original Broadway star Stephanie Mills. Pre-Broadway tour gets rolling this fall.

The Roaring Queer 20s lived at 'Eldorado'

For Pride Month, Netflix delivers some queer history you might not have known about. A century ago, the Berlin night club Eldorado was a hub of the German city's queer life, and people from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum gathered there returning to Broadway in a new revival. The Tony Awardwinning all-Black iteration of “The Wizard of Oz” has given generations of theater kids an audition song (“Home”) to keep in their back pocket, and an endearing movie version with its own linoleum company merch tie-in (Google it). The new stage version will have fresh book material written by late night alongside celebrities of the era like Marlene Dietrich and Charlie Chaplin. But as Adolf Hitler rose to power, oppression crept back in and the club became an official target, closed by the Nazis in 1932. In the decade to come the city's queer community was persecuted, imprisoned, and killed. A documentary covering the club and the era called “Eldorado” drops June 28 on the streaming service, combining interviews, archival footage, and reenactments of historical incidents. When you're finished partying at the Pride parade, settle in and learn a little bit more about the troubled road earlier generations traveled. Learn from the past so it doesn't happen again.

Romeo San Vicente is deeply invested in the pansexual dating show “Love Allways”

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By Andreus Quinones

Dear Andreus,

My boyfriend and my best friend want to go into business together. They both have been in the restaurant industry for a long time and are talking about doing a joint venture on some type of food venue. I definitely want both of them to be successful, but I don't want them doing it together. My best friend has a huge crush on my boyfriend. He has even told me indirectly in so many ways. I am afraid that them working together could turn into something else. At the same time, I don't want my boyfriend to feel like I am holding him back from his dreams, if I say I don't agree. What do I do?

Sincerely,

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Your boyfriend and your best friend are adults. In this scenario, you must allow them to make decisions for themselves. Being afraid that something could happen and trying to block them from doing business together, does not stop anything from happening if they both want it to. Here is where you have to ask yourself how much you trust them both. If you are unsure about that, then what kind of relationship do you have with your best friend and with your boyfriend. Everything happens for a reason; you just must decide how you respond when it does or does not happen. Good luck!

Dear Andreus,

I am overweight, and it is a struggle I have had for most of my life. My boyfriend's mother calls me fat quite often, just in general conversation. She is always making jokes about my weight or saying this like – “I would invite you guys over for dinner, but you look like you don't need any food.” I have told my boyfriend that it is hurtful, but he just says that she doesn't mean anything or that she is just joking. I want to say something to her, but I don't want to upset my boyfriend. I really can't take much more. What would you do?

Sincerely, Christian

P.

Dear Christian,

Well, if it were me, I would say something. It is not alright for anyone to body shame or make jokes. However, it comes out, it is hurtful. This may be just the way she is, but it is not okay. If you have told your boyfriend, and he is not addressing the situation, then maybe you have to. Respectfully confront her, and just tell her that it is hurtful, and you prefer that she not reference your weight anymore. It is perfectly okay to speak up for yourself whenever you feel hurt, shamed, or disrespected. That's just my take on it. I hope this helps you gain some perspective, and I hope that she stops, and you all can move forward.