The pressure is on Aziz Ansari—or should be. With production wrapped on his feature film directorial debut, Good Fortune (and a release date set for October), Ansari had some flexible time before the film’s publicity campaign is in full swing. He put it to good use, scheduling his Hypothetical tour and keeping his mind on stand-up comedy before his future is determined by success at the box office. Never has so much been riding on his shoulders.
It’s been three years since his last Netflix special, Nightclub Comedian, and more than a decade since he performed before 12,000 people at Madison Square Garden for an hourlong special on the streaming service. Ansari’s career was red hot at the time, with the end of his seven-season run on NBC’s Parks and Recreation giving way to the beginning of Netflix series Master of None.
Ansari, who turned 42 in February, won two Emmys for writing and a Golden Globe for acting in Master of None. He got married, moved to London and removed himself from the algorithmic tyranny of smart phones and social media. Going from maximum exposure on television (including making commercials for American Express) to limited engagement with the public enabled him to reallocate brain space for feature filmmaking.
Nightclub Comedian featured a matured, reflective Ansari dressed down in a corduroy jacket and beanie for the December 2021 unannounced appearance at The Comedy Cellar. Clips from an appearance 20 years prior appear in Nightclub Comedian’s credits, illustrating how far Ansari has come since first taking comedy club stages as a student at NYU Stern School of Business.
The South Carolina-born son of immigrant professionals from India’s Tamil Nadu state, Ansari expanded his comic chops performing improv with Upright Citizens Brigade and collaborating on MTV sketch comedy series Human Giant before being drafted for Parks and Recreation. His chemistry with co-stars such as Upright founder Amy Poehler helped secure that show’s success and put restrictions on capitalizing on his celebrity with comedy tours.
He’s making up for it now. The 32-city Hypothetical tour began in Kansas City, Mo., and takes Ansari to venues such as Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and Radio City Music Hall before ending April 19 in Boston. His current relationship, current events and pop culture give him a fertile field to cultivate new material from as he reconnects with audiences who discovered Ansari at various points along his quarter-century comedy career.
Good Fortune stars Keanu Reeves as a ne’er-do-well angel who tries to prove himself worthy of his wings as he encounters mortals played by Seth Rogan and Keke Palmer. The actors were set to star in Ansari’s previous directorial debut Being Mortal before production on that film was suspended, but Palmer has expressed being involved should the cameras start rolling on that film again.
That depends on Good Fortune’s net profits, which depends on several factors: Reeves’ box office mojo, competition from other films, influencer approval and, of course, if Ansari is a comedy jack of all trades.
Caesars Palace. 7 p.m. April 5, starting at $59 plus tax and fee. ticketmaster.com
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