Chris Gethard’s “Career Suicide” will become an HBO special

Far from it, Chris Gethard’s powerful one-man show, “Career Suicide,” will give him his first HBO special because of it.

HBO announced the news today.

You can hear Chris Gethard tell me about his life and career on Episode #105 of my podcast, Last Things First. And you can read my review of his one-man show from when he was staging it at the UCB Theatre, before his successful Off-Broadway run which just concluded in January.

Here’s the press release:

Comedian, talk-show and podcast host, and writer Chris Gethard brings his one-man off-Broadway show CHRIS GETHARD: CAREER SUICIDE to HBO when it tapes at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in Manhattan on Feb. 11. Slated for May debut, the special will be executive produced byJudd Apatow, Chris Gethard, Brian Stern, Mike Berkowitz, Anna Wenger and Marcus Raboy, and directed by Kimberly Senior, who also directed the stage production. The show was written by Chris Gethard.

            CHRIS GETHARD: CAREER SUICIDE is a comedy about depression, alcoholism, suicide and the other funniest parts of life. Gethard holds nothing back as he dives into his experiences with mental illness and psychiatry, finding hope in the strangest places.

            “Chris Gethard is a fearless storyteller, and CAREER SUICIDE is exactly the kind of raw, relevant and hilarious comedy we are thrilled to share with our audience,” says Nina Rosenstein, executive vice president, HBO Programming.

            Executive producer Judd Apatow remarks, “I’m so excited that the entire world will be able to see Chris’ one-man show. And then, whenever he walks into a room, people will look at him funny.”

            Reviewing the original off-Broadway show, which debuted in Oct. 2016 and ended its run last month, the New York Times wrote, “Mr. Gethard…confronts with a bruising and sometimes hilarious frankness his longstanding urge to pull the plug on himself…he definitely qualifies as significantly funny.” The Village Voice called the show “howlingly funny” and the Huffington Post said, “Never before has anything felt so complete and so personal…Amazing!”

            Chris Gethard’s credits include the Fusion comedy series “The Chris Gethard Show” and the podcast Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People. His other TV credits include guest appearances on “Broad City,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Office,” “Louie” and “Inside Amy Schumer.” An alumnus of Upright Citizens Brigade, Gethard appeared in the feature films “Don’t Think Twice,” “The Other Guys” and “The Heat.” He also wrote the book “A Bad Idea I’m About to Do: True Tales of Seriously Poor Judgment and Stunningly Awkward Adventure.”

            The special will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

            CHRIS GETHARD: CAREER SUICIDE will be produced for HBO by Apatow Productions, Funny or Die and AGI Entertainment & Media Management; executive producers, Judd Apatow, Chris Gethard, Brian Stern, Mike Berkowitz, Anna Wenger and Marcus Raboy; directed by Kimberly Senior; written by Chris Gethard.