Mary Beth Barone knows her debut Netflix special, “Galaxy Brain,” might piss some people off. In fact, she’s keeping a list — on it are J.K. Rowling, Mark Zuckerberg and male comedians in general, to name a few.
“I’m just fully ready to get it out there and see who’s mad at me,” Barone tells Variety over Zoom with a sly smile. For the comedian and actor — who got her start in the New York City club scene before breaking through with comedy podcasts “Obsessed” and “Ride” alongside collaborator and bestie Benito Skinner — this moment has been a long time coming.
Over the past two years, Barone had been workshopping material for a potential special while touring, and decided last summer to start putting feelers out to buyers. Then, things happened fast — a few weeks after an L.A. gig in August, Netflix called.
“I don’t feel excitement very much, but that was a moment where I was like, ‘Holy shit, this is actually happening,'” she says. “It’s such a career milestone for any comedian and I just felt like, ‘Woah, they said yes.'”
But that doesn’t mean that Netflix is safe from being the butt of Barone’s jokes. In the first 10 minutes of “Galaxy Brain” — filmed at New York City’s Skirball Center in March — she razzes the streamer for the rarity of women-led specials and riffs on their advice for winning over viewers. It sets the tone that Barone is willing to go there, and over the next hour, no topic is off limits as she tackles bad behavior from the men in her field, Ozempic, sex, politics and more.
