Mary Beth Barone knows her debut Netflix special, “Galaxy Brain,” may upset some people. In fact, she has a list that includes JK Rowling, Mark Zuckerberg, and male comedians in general, to name a few.
“I’m more than ready to put it out there and see who’s mad at me,” Barone told Variety over Zoom with a mischievous grin. This moment has been a long time coming for the comedian and actor, who started her career in the New York club scene before breaking out on comedy podcasts Obsessed and Ride with her collaborator and best friend Benito Skinner.
For the past two years, Barone has been workshopping material for special projects while on tour, and decided to start putting the feelers out to buyers last summer. Things moved quickly after that. A few weeks after the LA gig in August, I got a call from Netflix.
“I don’t really get excited, but in that moment I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is actually happening,'” she says. “This is a career milestone for any comedian, and I was like, ‘Wow, they said yes.’
But that doesn’t mean Netflix won’t be the butt of Barone’s jokes. In the first 10 minutes of “Galaxy Brain,” which was filmed at New York City’s Skirball Center in March, she riffed on advice on how to captivate viewers by getting streamers excited about the rarity of female-led specials. It set the tone that Barone wanted to be there, and for the next hour any topic was off-limits as she tackled the bad behavior of the men in her field: Ozempic, sex, politics.
“I think some of[the jokes]will be a little shocking, but I think women and queer people will like them enough,” Barone said. “And it’s time to blame people.”
Below, Barone talks to Variety about “Galaxy Brain” (now available on Netflix), including some jokes you won’t be able to say online, and talks about his plans for Season 2 of the Prime Video comedy series “Overcompensation,” which he co-wrote and stars in with Skinner.
Mary Beth Barone before recording “Galaxy Brain”.
side walk kira
What was the process of creating workshop materials for the special and how much has it changed?
I think when I first started doing that time it was probably 90% different material. Obviously, our lives are always changing, and I always want my sets to be up-to-date, but also kind of evergreen. So if there’s a mention of a topic, every time it comes out, we just make sure it’s relevant as long as special programming is available — which it will be until sea levels rise and we all drown in global warnings. This is a difficult process because sometimes your favorite joke just doesn’t work. But I wanted to strike a balance between something current and something that happened a long time ago, so things like Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and Jack the Ripper, for example, are timeless in their own way. I think one of the only really viral references was “Wicked.” And I thought about changing it to something that happened more recently, but I thought “Wicked” is eternal.
There’s no holding back in Galaxy Brain. At the beginning of the special, they pointed out how rare it is for women to actually watch Netflix specials and shared the advice they gave for captivating people in under three minutes. Why was it important for you to be cheeky and shout it out loud?
They were really great…they didn’t let me cut anything. They definitely taught me some best practices. Capturing people’s attention in the first three minutes was a real conversation we had. And I’m a good student, so of course I was going to do that. There was a joke at the beginning of the set that was making fun of cities that weren’t New York or Los Angeles or Chicago, and they said, “You’ve got three minutes to grab people’s attention and win them over. You don’t want to turn people away right away.” So on tour, I was thinking about what I could say in three minutes to make people want to keep watching, and it felt very natural to incorporate that into the set.
I think there will be a lot of edgy moments in the special. I want it to feel cheeky, and stand-up is such a special kind of performance work that I can’t imagine getting on stage and just standing up and not recognizing the moment, like we’re all in the room together and I’m holding the microphone and I’m about to make you laugh.
Do you think the situation for women in comedy is improving at all?
Of course, the internet has done some really, really good things for comedy, but then it’s also done some things that aren’t so good for comedy. But what’s great is that comedy has become more democratic. Because people can start with live performances, post online, and then create their own audience. The right people will find them. And I think that’s leading to more women and queer people being stand-up comedians who can tour and be financially independent. It’s been really fun to watch since I started doing comedy. At that time, the club scene was the mainstream, and unless you could get into it and work hard to get to the top, your chances were slim. It’s great to see more and more independent venues now, especially in New York and many cities like Pittsburgh, Denver, and Chicago, and to be surrounded by more and more women and the LGBTQ+ community. Because those are the people I want to make laugh with and the people I want to be friends with.
I don’t hesitate to invite male entertainers.
They are some of the worst people among us!
You mention specific people, including Chris D’Elia, and later jokes mention JK Rowling, Woody Allen, Mark Zuckerberg, and more. How did you decide specifically who to talk to?
I wanted to strike a balance between cultural references and common experiences, as well as moving through the world with a unique perspective, and there were a few names that I felt belonged in the canon of this feature. What I try to do is write jokes about that person that no one else would or could write. So I hope that’s where I ended up with these articles, and I’m sure some of them are a little shocking, but I think women and queer people have had enough badmouthing, and I think it’s time to badmouth people back.
Mary Beth Barone in “Galaxy Brain.”
Provided by: Netflix
There are several jokes in the feature that she said won’t be published online, including one about Ozempic that references Kim Kardashian’s infamous line, “Cheer up and get to work,” as she told Variety. What judgment do you make when it comes to jokes that are dangerous or potentially hurtful?
About that: I think I understood what she meant and then the conversation started. For me, that’s a successful interview.
As for that joke in particular, what makes it so ridiculous is that it will probably end up in the comments section online. And that’s just some of the recent specials…but for me, of course, sometimes I explore uncomfortable topics, but I don’t feel a sense of joy or accomplishment. I always want to feel like my jokes pack a punch. And sometimes, just by making a joke, you realize they’re not necessarily on the right side of the line. But yeah, it’s difficult. I want to offend the right people and I want to offend the right people. Sometimes it’s trial and error.
The internet is forever. What advice would you give to future comedians when it comes to mastering social media?
I think if you’re just starting out you have an instinct to post as many clips as possible and try to get noticed that way. But what I’m saying is, there’s no substitute for experience and stage time, and the more realistic experience you get from playing in front of an audience. You can’t fake it, so you need that foundation.
And you can always look away from the comments section. I’m really struggling with that. I read the comments. I was trying to quit and definitely created more boundaries for myself. More and more people I meet in this industry either don’t have access to the internet or don’t use social media at all and pay someone to post for them. It’s difficult as a comedian because I want my online presence to feel like an extension of me and authentic, but I also know that people have reached a limit where it’s not healthy. Even where I am now, I see people completely losing themselves and losing their grip on reality. So I’m very grateful that things have happened really gradually for me. I’m 35 now, so I have a lot of old friends, a great family, a lot of support, and I’m able to surround myself with people outside of the industry who keep me grounded.
I believe that the age at which you explode is the mental age at which you will remain forever.
The other side of that, especially with comedians, is potentially a level of disconnect where they have to rely on just being offensive in order to feel like they’re saying something. So my pledge to the public is that if I can no longer write about something I can relate to, I will never do a stand-up special. When you’re living a completely frictionless life, flying everywhere on private jets, and everyone around you saying “yes” to every whim of yours, it’s probably time to sit quietly, count your money, and leave the world alone.
You’re wearing a great dress in the special. Who designed it and what inspired its look?
It’s a Jackson Wiederhooft dress. We met with their team last year. As soon as I knew they were going to create something special, I wanted them to design my dress. Our reference was the dress she wears when she comes out of the water in “The Little Mermaid.” It was so amazing, so beautiful, and it was etched into my mind as a child. I also used Megara from Hercules as a reference. I knew I wanted it to be a lilac color, but it was actually a very specific color so I had to custom dye the fabric and I was really amazed at what they were able to create. And the corset was decorated with beads in the shape of the constellation Gemini. I’m a Gemini, so I felt like that tied in happily with the overall theme.
I’d also like to hear about “Overcompensated” Season 2, since I think they just finished filming. What can you tease about this season’s Grace arc?
That’s sad, but also funny. The great thing about coming to Season 2 was that the characters already felt so alive. So Benny’s approach was, can we do something that’s surprising but also fan service? I think the direction of this film is going to surprise a lot of people, but I have a really great love interest this season and I’m really looking forward to seeing it on screen.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
