Chris Hardwick’s New Comedy Special The Middle Ages Sets Premiere Date

EXCLUSIVE: Comedian Chris Hardwick has announced that The Middle Ages — his third stand-up special and first in a decade — will premiere on Gorilla Comedy+ on October 5. It’ll then be unveiled on 800 Pound Gorilla’s YouTube channel at 7 p.m. CT. on October 20.

In The Middle Ages, Hardwick takes on middle age, marriage, fatherhood and a rapidly changing world. Now in his 50s, he finds comedy in the indignities of aging, from growing pill collections and questionable digestive choices to prostate exams and realizing Gen Z are “time millionaires.”

Check out a trailer above.

“The foundation of this set came from my 2019/2020 tour with the intent to shoot the special in 2021, but the pandemic had other plans!” Hardwick told Deadline. “In January of 2022 we had a baby and I paused work stuff for what ultimately became a three-year hiatus. BUT in that time, I learned piano, became a parent and got even MORE middle-aged than I was before, so in a weird way the delay actually kind of helped the set, and I’m super excited it’s finally happening! HUGE thanks to 800 Pound Gorilla, who not only have built a fantastic comedy community but who’ve also been an absolute dream to work with.”

Hardwick has worked in every sect of comedy, from the stand-up stage, to acting and writing in television and film, to voiceover work and hosting various podcasts and talk shows such as @midnight and Talking Dead. His previous hour specials, 2012’s Mandroid and 2016’s Funcomfortable, aired on Comedy Central. This summer, he returned to podcasting with I Think You’re Overthinking It, a weekly chat show with AMC+ that marks the latest incarnation of his former longtime pod The Nerdist Podcast. He also exec produces and hosts NBC’s The Wall, which this year was nominated for a Critics Choice Real TV Award for Best Game Show. He is repped by UTA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.

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