It’s the last week of our 2023 Annual Report, and we’re kicking it off with the announcement that Nate Bargatze is our Comedian of the Year. Check out our complete Annual Report highlighting the best music, film, and television of the year here. You can also listen to our full interview with Nate Bargatze on the Consequence UNCUT podcast, available wherever you listen or by using the player below.
He’d likely never label himself one, but Nate Bargatze is a bit of a business mogul. In addition to his standup tours and specials, he hosts The Nateland Podcast under the umbrella of his The Nateland Company, a platform he uses to produce and present specials from other comedians. The core of Nateland is similar to the core of Bargatze’s comedy: humor that everyone, across age demographics or media preferences, can enjoy together.
That “clean” approach to comedy wasn’t necessarily a conscious decision for Bargatze, but it’s a quality that’s evolved into an intentional part of his brand. “With comedy, you gotta deliver with confidence and be in your own voice,” he says to Consequence over Zoom. “My voice just ended up being this. I knew from the beginning.”
For those who only recently entered Bargatze’s very dry, deadpan orbit, perhaps thanks to his buzzy stint hosting Saturday Night Live or his 2023 Prime Video special Hello World, there’s a chance you might not realize how long he’s been working in comedy. Any perceived sudden success of this past year has actually been decades in the making from someone who cut their teeth in comedy clubs across the East Coast and and found breakthrough moments in opportunities like his 2017 appearance on Netflix’s comedy showcase series The Standups. He spun that into a pair of Netflix hour specials, 2019’s The Tennessee Kid, and 2021’s Grammy-nominated The Greatest Average American.
But there’s no doubt that 2023 was a milestone year for Bargatze. Things started off strong when Hello World debuted on January 31st and went on to smash the record for Amazon’s most-streamed original comedy special in its first 28 days with 2.9 million viewers — 400,000 more than the previous record-holder, Jim Gaffigan’s Quality Time. In April, his “Be Funny Tour” came to the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, where Bargatze lives with his wife and daughter, and broke the venue’s attendance record with a 19,365-person crowd. “There’s a dream in the back of your head when you first start comedy to play somewhere like Bridgestone Arena,” he says. “I never pictured what happened with the record or anything like that. I just pictured playing it.”
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Later, as the writer’s strike came to an end but actors were still mum in the media due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, SNL offered Bargatze a hosting slot in late October. To even be part of a taping at Studio 8H is a major ambition for so many comedians; to absolutely kill the way Bargatze did is beyond a dream.
Saturday Night Live has been running for nearly 50 years, and while people love to grumble about how the show was better during different iterations, we can all recognize a flop era when we see one. Bargatze’s episode injected much needed life into the long-running institution, serving as a reminder of what a cultural staple like this can be when it’s operating at its very best — clever, incisive, and incredibly funny. Following the episode, glowing reactions began rolling in from outlets like Vanity Fair, which asked, “Who is Nate Bargatze? A great Saturday Night Live host.” The Atlantic, which dubbed Bargatze the “nicest man in standup,” lauded the “simple truths” of his monologue.
Even more important to the Bargatze brand was the reaction from the general public. Just scrolling through the comments on the monologue confirms his accessibility: “He’s clean and hilarious. Few comedians can pull this off,” one reads. “I was guilty of not knowing who Nate was going into this episode,” says another. “But my God, did he kill it! Best episode of the season so far, and one of the best monologues ever, in my opinion. New fan over here.”
“I worked on the set a lot that week,” Bargatze says of tightening the monologue down to 10 minutes from material he’d been honing in longer sets throughout his tour. “I just wanted to make sure to do the best I could do, and I felt good about the material, but you’re nervous when you walk out. There’s a monitor. You can see yourself and the Saturday Night Live set behind you… You just have to get that first laugh and get into it.”
While the monologue was a definite success, it was an early sketch that left the Internet buzzing. “Washington’s Dream” felt handmade for both Bargatze’s observational comedic style and his monotone line deliveries, but he reveals that he wasn’t at all involved with the writing process. “It was just the perfect fit,” he confirms, also sharing that the sketch nearly got cut after a rocky dress rehearsal reception. “My timing is based off the laughter of the crowd, so without that, it wasn’t reading super fun,” he recalls. “It wasn’t going great… but it all came together.”
After a year packed with bucket list checks and landmark achievements, there are still plenty of dreams on the horizon for Bargatze. He mentions aspirations of a television show or movie down the road. He’s constantly busy with Nateland, but standup will always be his landing place. Thankfully, it’s a space that’s become increasingly popular over the last few years. “Live shows are booming, and standup is becoming such a big thing,” he observes. “Standup is getting a big audience and a big platform, so it’s interesting to see where that’s going to go.”
With social media also fueling the comedy scene in a new way, standup certainly is in an interesting place. The last few months have seen some comedians who found fame on TikTok manage to self-sabotage during what should have been a breakout year, or demonstrate that short-form humor doesn’t always translate to the traditional hour-long special. On the other hand, Bargatze’s massive year is proof that honing your craft, working hard, and staying true to your reputation as a decent guy is still as good a formula for success as any.
