Comedian Caleb Hearon has a simple philosophy for this modern, polarizing era — “The world’s on fire, but I’m like, let’s get silly with it, you know?”

Hearon provides many similarly wise words in his first comedy special, Model Comedian, released on HBO Max Friday.

Hearon has written for Netflix and acted in several TV shows, including Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Overcompensating on Amazon Prime, but his podcast So True with Caleb Hearon has perhaps earned him the most Internet fame through his collaborations with figures such as Ziwe, Brittany Broski and Trixie Mattel. Hearon was sixth on Rolling Stone’s list of “25 Most Influential Creators of 2025.”

The hour-long special delves into Hearon’s life as a self-described “fat, gay, from Missouri, not Republican yet” man.

With personal anecdotes relating to family and friends mixed with pertinent political commentary, Hearon makes it clear he’s just another guy trying to deal with his life.

He delves into many sensitive topics in his special, including suicide, mental illness, gun violence, homophobia, transphobia and the Holocaust. Although Hearon’s acknowledgement of these topics is sometimes abrasive, he effectively speaks to the issues his audience is already painfully aware of.

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Hearon excels at balancing the bleakness of our present moment with an abject joy for life.

He begins the special describing his newfound tendency to appreciate the little things, calling himself “Midwestern Aunt-pilled.” Even something as dull as nice weather is enough to get him teary-eyed.

This brand of positivity is quite rare in the entertainment world these days, even in an industry like comedy.

The target audience for Hearon’s special is undoubtedly millennials and Gen Z, as Hearon makes heavy use of modern Internet slang and phrasing. Older viewers may not understand sentences like, “Yeah, pack ’em up, baby boy.”

But to the chronically online, Hearon’s linguistics cement his status as a regular guy.

His overall comedic timing is solid throughout, never losing momentum in his delivery.

Hearon frequently uses sarcasm, though many instances fall flat.

After giving very heartfelt insight into what it was like to lose his father, whom he had a rocky relationship with, Hearon follows up by saying, “And if any of you had ever been through anything … this part would probably be hitting like crazy.”

He offers the sarcastic insinuation that his audience members lack experience with grief, but the joke has no ground to stand on, needing a precursor relating to the crowd’s personal lives.

The part of the special with the most payoff is a three-minute segment in which Hearon asks individual audience members to yell fatphobic remarks at him so that he can respond with a new anti-bullying phrase he wants to teach overweight kids.

He does this three times with three different audience members, the first of which he deems too kind, the second too harsh and the third just right. This Goldilocks-esque bit culminates in Hearon responding to the scripted bullying in a monotone voice, proclaiming his anti-bullying slogan: “I have a gun.”

It’s a dark joke that nonetheless has a great set-up and follow-through.

Hearon also weaves political commentary throughout his special. He emphasizes how conservative straight men appear gay through their appearances and rhetoric, mocking figures, including Ben Shapiro and JD Vance and calling them variations of the f-slur.

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While popular with the special’s live audience, this segment lacks any originality. Discourse regarding “closeted” conservative Republicans is all but a household topic nowadays, making the bit seem stale.

Ending the special, Hearon boldly discusses the Holocaust, recounting a trip to a concentration camp that he and his LGBTQ+ friend group took in Berlin. 

He jokes about the tour guide’s absurdly casual demeanor while simultaneously emphasizing the horrors of the Holocaust. The subject is clearly close to his heart as a gay man, and he treats it with just the right balance of sincerity and absurdity.

Model Comedian won’t make your stomach hurt with laughter, but it provides an intriguing and humorous ride through Hearon’s life.