Episode Review: The Chris Gethard Show: A Very Weird Family Dinner

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The Chris Gethard Show’s audience often feels like a family, a group of disenfranchised weirdos who find a commonality in the accepting humor and wacky bits. Chris Gethard even said in the cold open that he thinks of the TCGS tribe as the family he chose. The comedian brought that familial vibe to the forefront on his May 11 show, when he set up a family-style dinner with his regulars, joined by comedian and network TV star Jerrod Carmichael.

The dinner was legit, with family-style servings of turkey, salad, and sides. They also took calls, anonymously, which Chris is already a pro at, thanks to his Beautiful/Anonymous podcast. The idea behind the anonymity was so callers could rant and rave about their family without having to face total embarrassment and condemnation.  For those of us who have our own shit with our families (read: every single person on the planet), a no-consequence platform to unload some baggage sounds very therapeutic.

And boy, was it. The first caller revealed a family secret: Before his dad died, their family found out his dad and that dad’s twin brother actually had different biological dads! (It’s called heteropaternal superfecundation. Google it). Another caller admitted to sleeping with his younger brother’s girlfriend, which took a dark turn when he says their mother blames him for destroying their family, and he is no longer allowed at family functions. Chris offers up some earnest advice: Say your piece to your brother and have him watch the episode.

After an appearance by Chef Benjamin Noodles, who dryly told the story of how his wife and kid were kidnapped (even though he doesn’t know what his 14-year-old kid looks like because he “doesn’t look at kids”), the cast returned to telling anecdotes about their siblings. Chris got punched out by his brother and Shannon nearly missed being nailed in the head by a Chinese throwing star. Human Fish has “70 brothers and they all live in the fridge at Russ and Daughters.” Things got really real when Murf shared a story that involved him and his cousin as children, a 40-year-old woman, and some light molestation.

chris gethard show family dinner

Again, one the best parts of the show came during the pre-taped segment, when Chris played intern for a day on Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal. He spent a lot of time asking “hypothetical” questions to the fellow interns, both millennial-aged women , about whether or not his show would appeal to them, without revealing that he is in fact Chris Gethard. “If Diddy, Puff Daddy, showed up on a show and you could Skype in and you could ask him advice on your love life, is that something that would have millennial appeal?” The ladies had no idea, and they could not care less. Their verdict? “People tend to like really stupid things happening.”

But the highlight of the show was when Chris’ actual older brother The Greggulator (Gregg Gethard) made a grand entrance and declared all the ways Chris has shamed their Irish Catholic mother. Some favorites: “When you told strangers in the grocery store that your mom made you eat cat food.” “When you joined your college improv troupe, and weren’t as good as that guy pretending to be a monkey, pretending to be a robot.” It’s clear who the favorite is.

For their final antic, Chris and Jerrod — clad in helmets and goggles —  tried to eat their New York cheesecake dessert while being pelted with streamers, fake leaves, tennis balls, and random debris. As they avoided getting slammed, they continued eating their dessert, and their conversation about politics and comedy. It was a very relatable family dinner moment, trying to dodge uncomfortable obstacles and painful confrontations. Except for most of us, instead of hard tennis balls and messy food, it’s usually conflicting opinions. This week’s show proves there’s little difference between the family you’re born with and the family you choose. Even if they’re all a bunch of weirdos.

The Chris Gethard Show airs Wednesday nights at 10:00pm et on Fusion.

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Christina Stiehl

Christina is a writer, editor and comedy nerd living in New York City. You can catch her performing improv around town with her indie team Darling Satan.
Christina Stiehl
Christina Stiehl
Christina is a writer, editor and comedy nerd living in New York City. You can catch her performing improv around town with her indie team Darling Satan.