5 truths we learned about comedian Jerrod Carmichael in his new reality show

Stand-Up Comedy

Miriam Katz April 5, 2024

Since he started performing comedy in 2007, at age 20, Jerrod Carmichael has surprised and delighted audiences by speaking candidly about his personal life. In his 2014 special Love at the Store, he

admits acknowledges

that he makes good money not murder money, say, but enough that he can slap a white woman and still be free by Friday. In his 2022 Emmy award-winning special Rothaniel, he reveals his real name, talks about his fathers years of infidelity, and comes out of the closet. So what does a truth-telling comic of his caliber do next? The answer for Carmichael is to invite other people in his life his friends, family, therapists, boyfriend, fans

,

and various men he meets on Grindr to take part in an even more nuanced and expansive kind of truth-telling, in his new eight-part HBO series Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show.

As Carmichael says many times in the show, recording helps him to be honest. Cameras make me feel more comfortable. It seems permanent. And it feels really dumb to lie. Carmichael is a model subject for documentation because he freely shares himself, both on stage and off. In the series we see him send and receive salacious sexts, pray to God, get high, sing gospel songs, and struggle with his sadness. Some of the most fun parts of the show feature Carmichael talking about sex, engaging in sex, and playing around in a sex shop. Its refreshing to see someone so uninhibited on camera and so unapologetic in his act. And unlike talking head interviews typical of reality TV, his confessional interstitials come in the form of stand-up comedy performances in which he openly admits his flaws, while making the audience laugh. Whether you’re a fan of Carmichaels comedy or just getting acquainted, here are five things the show reveals about this bold comic.

1. Hes learning to be a better friend 

Throughout the show, Carmichael is particularly honest about his selfishness (I have this problem. I only like to do exactly what I wanna do, he says in

E

pisode 3

.)

We watch him miss his best friends wedding, opting to eat a hot dog instead. When he tells the story on stage later, an audience member even says so from the crowd: You might not be a good friend, bro. He is perfectly capable of making this a comedic moment, but instead he takes a beat to ask himself: Am I a good friend? He spends an entire episode exploring the question, culminating in an extended apology montage. The jokes Carmichael makes during the show are simplified, truncated pieces of truth. The series allows us to see the real-life fallout from the stories he tells on stage. To make up for missing his friends wedding, the comedian flies to Atlanta in a tux, asks the groom for forgiveness, and delivers a belated best man speech.

2. Hes learning to be a better boyfriend

Carmichael also speaks frankly on stage during the show about cheating on his boyfriend, Mike. I am in a relationship that I want to be monogamous. And then he wasnt in the city I was in. Thats all it took. I was like I love you I love you I love you, and then youre out of town? Alright, Ill f

*ck

anybody then. At times our laughter accidentally propels us onto the comedians side, despite certain rational objections. And yet, in the show, we get to know Mike. We see the repercussions of Carmichaels actions the effect they have on his significant other and the work it takes to repair the relationship. The joke is unfurled, and we become privy to a more elongated and specific story.

3. Hes trying to connect with his dad 

The comedian often talks about his family in his act, and as such they play a large role in the series, particularly its thornier passages. During a road trip in

E

pisode 4 to his fathers hometown of Dillon,

South Carolina S.C.

, the comedian presses his dad on a number of sensitive topics, including his parents brutal reaction to him coming out. In a fluorescent-li

gh

t

ed

diner, Carmichael speaks honestly to his father: Hiding that much of myself goes against my morals Me not being able to bring someone I love home is you turning against me. The comedian ends the conversation with a heavy-duty sting: What makes it even more insulting, respectfully, is a house that Im paying for. Im paying for a home that I wouldnt be fully accepted in. Thats how much I love my family. His father, surprisingly, apologizes. Its a brief, beautiful moment that might not have made it into one of Carmichaels sets.

Jerrod Carmichael on coming out, his movie about depression and pandemic survival

Later, by an outdoor fire, Carmichael doggedly pursues the subject of his fathers cheating. His dad is pained: The way that you dont wanna be hurt, I dont wanna be hurt this doesnt have to be discussed on cameras. Carmichael gives a lengthy, affecting reply: If the cameras help me then they f

ing

help. But your way is nothing. Your way is silence. Your way is death. Im not doing that. Im being a man. After a long pause his father responds quietly, with a verbal punch to the gut: You said a mouthful, son. You expressed yourself Can I go home? Not everyone wants to talk about everything, and Carmichaels father

not

being willing to share is still an important piece of the truth.

4. Hes meeting his mom where she is

Another emotional and riveting portion of the show involves Carmichael doing what he can to contend with his mothers staunch homophobia. As he tells a friend in the show, It breaks my heart. Carmichael takes her to a Harlem Baptist church that accepts gay people. She remains unwavering in her beliefs. He takes her to therapy. She is mostly cold and grasps firmly to her point of view. Carmichael eventually holds her hands as she implores God to make him straight, perhaps to hear for himself that after several years she still firmly has faith that she can pray away his gay. On stage he later admits his remorse: She was so happy that I let her do it. I immediately regretted it. These moments with his parents arent funny. But they are compelling and real, and anyone whos ever felt misunderstood by family just may feel extremely seen.

5. The critic in his life cares a lot about him 

Carmichael tells the camera: I keep saying that I wanna live more truthfully. But one character in the comedian

s

s life doesnt believe that the series reveals the capital T truth. Several episodes in the show feature an anonymous man in a mask, his voice modulated to protect his identity, who rails against Carmichaels promise of veracity: This is not a neutral eye, this is not truth, this will be narrated, edited and I have no access to that, so Im like

fuck that,

you dont get any of me. Although carefully veiled, comedy obsessives may recognize the anonymous mans speech pattern as that of comedian Bo Burnham, director of Rothaniel. His direct and sometimes harsh criticisms, and Carmichaels honest responses to them, make the show stronger and more well-rounded.

By the final episode of Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show,

the anonymous manBurnham

turns from critique of Carmichaels exhibitionism toward protectiveness and concern for his friend: This is going to be viewed by the giant revolting mass of people that is argumentative, insane, and thats a scary collective for the judgment of the most precious things in your life.

nd so, all of this is on a conveyor belt into fucking hell. Which is the release. You know?

The

a

nonymous

m

an

ends on a lighter note: Fingers crossed that everyone is just watching Tik Tok, no one gives a f anymore.

Maybe the ratings come back absolute shit, who gives a f.