Caleb Hearon Debut Comedy Special Trailer and Premiere Date on HBO Max Revealed (Exclusive)

Caleb Hearon Debut Comedy Special Trailer and Premiere Date on HBO Max Revealed (Exclusive)

Caleb Hearon is ready for you to laugh, preferably while high, while watching his upcoming debut stand-up special premiering on HBO and HBO Max Sept. 19.

The comedian-actor-podcaster tells The Hollywood Reporter that the hour-long comedy special, titled Caleb Hearon: Model Comedian, was some time in the making. “The newest joke in that special is maybe a week old and the oldest premise is maybe seven years old or something,” he says. “It’s my first hour that I’ve ever crafted.” 

And though he initially questioned if he could put together an hour-long special, he “really built it on the road” throughout his latest sold-out comedy tour, So True LIVE Tour, adding that “it grew and evolved over time.”

“If you do it really well, it feels effortless to the audience and they forget that you’ve spent thousands of hours poring over every single little piece of this,” Hearon adds. “And that’s just such a funny thing to try and hide the work like that because the work is so tedious and long, but I’m really happy with the way it came out.” 

Directed by Sandy Honig, Caleb Hearon: Model Comedian “showcases Hearon’s ability to unpack life’s most absurd contradictions with his signature charm and razor-sharp wit. Taking us back to his roots in Kansas City… where it all started, newly 30-year-old Hearon deploys his generational Midwestern wisdom to solve most of the world’s problems — politics, internet trolls, learning we’re not that different from our parents, and more,” the logline reads.

Hearon tells THR that he was “over the moon” once he learned his first special would premiere on HBO Max. “HBO has been the standard in stand-up specials for a longer time than I’ve been alive, like HBO is the standard for where you want your special when you start comedy, in my opinion,” he explains. 

As for what fans can expect from the special, the Sweethearts actor says, “I really hope that you laugh. There’s some stuff in there about my personal life that I’ve talked about briefly on the podcast [So True with Caleb Hearon] and things like that. … And this is the culmination of a bunch of work that I’m really, really proud of, and I hope that what you will get out of it will be to have a really good time and laugh with your friends and family.” 

“Honestly, if I had my way, it would be mandated that everyone who watches this special watches it with their four best friends on the couch after smoking a little bit of a joint,” he quips with a laugh. “Like you should be a little high.”

Caleb Hearon: Model Comedian premieres on HBO and HBO Max Sept. 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. It was filmed in front of a sold-out crowd at Constellation in Chicago and executive produced by Hearon, in addition to Dave Kneebone, Tovah Silbermann, Olivia Doud and Janel Kranking. Watch the trailer below.