Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out 205. Taylor Tomlinson: Hope No One Filmed That
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Mar 9, 2026 Taylor Tomlinson, stand-up comedian and writer known for her Netflix specials, chats about turning notebook lines into jokes and testing risky material live. She discusses confessing toxic relationship patterns, navigating audience reactions, religion’s impact on her comedy, and planning a cleaner observational hour. Expect new jokes about sex dreams, lovebombing, and baby names.
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Stand Up Is Harder Than It Looks
- Insight: Stand-up is undervalued despite being a difficult, lucrative craft when mastered.
- Taylor notes many people dismiss stand-up as 'you just talk' while it requires years to master and can pay off financially.
Telling 300 People A Secret Too Soon
- Taylor admits to that moment on stage when a bit lands but she realizes she's not ready to reveal the truth to 300 people.
- She often hopes no one filmed those early, too-personal moments and defers the joke until later.
Treat New Material Like A High Wire Act
- Try treating new hour development like a high-wire act: early iterations are thrilling but risky.
- Taylor and Mike describe the first phase as risky experimentation and the later phase as secure rehearsal before taping.