Shane Gillis has a habit of toeing the line. His comedy always lands somewhere near the line between funny and inappropriate, and not always on the preferable side, but he has a laid-back, likeable personality that always makes the edgier jokes land a bit softer.
Gillis has been on a path to stardom since starting stand-up comedy in 2012, but much of his current popularity comes from viral stand-up and podcast clips in which the comic is usually telling stories about his family or riffing on the absurdity of current events or from his recent appearances in commercials for products like Bud Light, in which he appeared alongside Post Malone. Gillis also co-created and stars in the Netflix series Tires, a scripted comedy show that has an impressively funny cast, including Gillis, Steve Gerben, who is also a creator of and writer for the show, and Stavros Halkias, another popular comedian and podcaster.
Regardless of how, there’s a high likelihood you’ve not only seen some of Gillis’ work, but had a chuckle at it. It’s comedy that tends to speak to a wide variety of people, because while Gillis’ jokes challenge political correctness, they also fall squarely in the middle. In his first live comedy album, Shane Gillis: Live in Austin, the stand-up pretty quickly goes into a set of jokes about his Fox News-watching dad, but just before losing the interest of half the room, he launches into lighthearted riffs about how his social media hilariously reflects contrasting views of people from his hometown to his new home base in New York City.
One might assume a comic with the rare ability to land in the middle of many political issues would go without backlash, but that’s not the case for Gillis. He relentlessly throws punches in every direction. No matter who you are, Gillis has a punch line for you. And from time to time that lands the comic in hot water, but it doesn’t slow his roll. In his 2023 Netflix special Beautiful Dogs, Gillis fearlessly plays with touchy topics, but very cleverly pulls the crowd back by acknowledging when jokes may not land in the same affable tone fans love him for, and with hilarious interludes with jokes that crack the whole room up.
Fans have two chances to catch the funnyman at Resorts World Las Vegas this week, and as the comic is hitting new career highs, breaking attendance records and taking over the algorithm, this is a great time to see what he has to say. Gillis is someone whose growth is apparent throughout his projects, and it’ll be exciting to watch his already engaging storytelling style reach new levels of excellence.
If an hour of laughs just isn’t enough for you, get more Gillis on Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast, which he cohosts with fellow comedian Matt McCusker. Gillis brings the same hilarity you expect from him, but the conversational style of the pod breaks free from the scripted nature of stand-up and feels like you’re just having a chat with two funny friends.
Resorts World Las Vegas, 8 p.m. Oct. 17-18, starting at $99 plus tax and fee. rwlasvegas.com
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