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Just to get this out of the way: Anyone inclined to dislike Tony Hinchcliffe\u2019s new Netflix special Man of the People on principle is not going to change their mind based on its material. While the comedian has amassed a huge fan base owing to his popular quasi-open-mic podcast Kill Tony and work at comedy roasts, he\u2019s accumulated an equally large amount of haters because of controversial jokes he told at a Donald Trump rally in 2024<\/a> and The Roast of Kevin Hart<\/a> last month, and, predictably, this new hour is full of similar button-pushing provocations. There\u2019s a joke, for example, where he talks about strong-arming his Latina housekeeper into working harder by threatening to call ICE. But the special is not good or bad on the merits of its subject matter. Man of the People is bad because it\u2019s an unfocused, illogical mess.<\/p>\n To the extent that Man of the People has an organizing idea, it\u2019s that Hinchcliffe has the right to be an equal-opportunity offender because he is, as the special\u2019s title implies, a comedy version of the People\u2019s Champion. \u201cI\u2019m a people person,\u201d he announces at the top of the special. \u201cI study them all, all the different races and cultures.\u201d Structurally, he does a few things to try to reinforce this theme. He swaggers onto the stage through the crowd like a boxer, dramatically soaking in the audience\u2019s adulation. He performs in the round, so he\u2019s literally positioned at the center of the crowd. But mostly he dips in and out of crowdwork to create the impression that the audience\u2019s perspective matters and that they\u2019re all enthusiastic participants in this performance.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, this is not how his forays into the crowd play out. On four separate occasions, Hinchcliffe turns to an audience member of a particular demographic to reinforce a stereotype about them and the audience member\u2019s response introduces nuance that undermines his premise. The special repeatedly cuts to reaction shots of one particular front-row roastee who is quietly having a bad time because Hinchcliffe keeps picking on him. Many of his off-the-cuff roast jokes don\u2019t even make sense, like when he confirms a pair in the audience are father and son before asking them whether they met in prison. Even on a basic technical level, Hinchcliffe\u2019s crowdwork interactions fail to create the communal vibe he\u2019s after because the audience, despite playing such a prominent role in this special, are not mic\u2019d.<\/p>\n While Hinchcliffe\u2019s performance at The Roast of Kevin Hart proved that he doesn\u2019t need to have a crowd on his side to get laughs, his competence in that format doesn\u2019t translate to his abilities as a stand-up, where there\u2019s an expectation that material should tackle meatier ideas than whether someone is fat or ugly. Even as he retains the same smug, self-satisfied delivery, his jokes are too often rooted in the one-dimensionality of roast material, relying on overused stereotypes, false premises, sweaty wordplay, or reflexive shock value. Consider the special\u2019s opening joke, which plays off a running Kill Tony bit about Hinchcliffe being gay. \u201cI just got my first gun,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s like having a second dick. I know, because the first thing I did when I got it home is I put it in my mouth.\u201d Hinchcliffe proceeds to explain that this joke is a misdirect. It\u2019s not a \u201cgay joke,\u201d as Kill Tony fans might think, but a \u201csuicide joke.\u201d Except the double entendre doesn\u2019t track; no one commits suicide by putting a penis in their mouth. The lazy writing doesn\u2019t end there. In another bit about abortion, which is illegal in Texas where Hinchcliffe lives, he argues that it\u2019s not an oppressive hurdle because \u201cflying your girl to Colorado via Spirit Airlines is $35 right now.\u201d It\u2019ll be the only flight that you come back with less than you left with, he says: \u201cShe flies Spirit, then the baby flies spirit.\u201d The pun he\u2019s trying to make obvious, but the construction is clunky.\u00a0(Not to mention the fact that Spirit Airlines shut down in May<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Midway through the special, Hinchcliffe calls on a Chinese member of the audience to help him reinforce a hack joke he\u2019s just told about Asian people being bad drivers. He asks her what kind of car she drives (Honda Civic), what car she drove previously (inapplicable; this is her first), how long she\u2019s had the Civic (since 2017), and whether she\u2019s ever been in a car accident (no). Stunned that she\u2019s never totaled a car and doesn\u2019t fit into the box his bit revolves around, Hinchcliffe cuts his losses and admits defeat. \u201cYou just fucked up my joke,\u201d he tells her. Artistically speaking, there\u2019s no reason for this exchange to make the special\u2019s final edit; Hinchcliffe himself concedes it amounts to a \u201cwasted two and a half minutes.\u201d But in a special so poorly executed from top to bottom, it\u2019s far from the most notable misfire.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n