John Early has set his first HBO special with “Now More Than Ever,” a stand-up comedy hour in the style of a “gritty ’70s rockumentary.”
Airing on HBO and available to stream on HBO Max on June 17, the special will feature “stand-up and explosive song covers from Britney to Neil Young, intercut with Spinal Tap-esque backstage sketches.”
Among his other credits including “Would It Kill You to Laugh?” and “Search Party,” Early is known for whipping out his famous Britney Spears impression on late night television. Perhaps he’ll reprise his rendition of “Lucky” or Spears’ lesser-known Christmas song “My Only Wish (This Year)” in the special.
“I am so excited to finally come out to the world as the lead singer of my band John Early and The Lemon Squares,” Early said in a statement. “I had the time of my life singing some of my favorite songs and sweating my brains out at the taping, and I can’t wait for more people to finally see this sacred show I’ve been doing some version of over the past 10 years in New York. I could not feel any cooler to have the support of alt comedy legends Abso Lutely Productions and for this to be airing on the crown jewel that is HBO.”
Nina Rosenstein, executive voice president of HBO Programming, added, “John has an unmistakable comedic voice, and this special showcases his immense talents in stand-up, sketch and music. We’re so happy to see his vision come to life, and we think viewers will be as in love with it as we are.”
Early starred in the cult comedy series “Search Party” for five seasons as Elliott Goss, and acted in Season 1 of Apple TV+’s murder mystery series “The Afterparty.” With his comedy partner Kate Berlant he co-created the A24 sketch special “Would It Kill You to Laugh?” and the critically acclaimed web series “555.” You might also recognize him as the victim of credit card roulette in “I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson.” His film credits include “Neighbors 2,” “Beatriz at Dinner,” “The Disaster Artist” and “Other People,” and he has guest starred in “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp,” “Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later,” “Broad City,” “High Maintenance,” “30 Rock,” “At Home with Amy Sedaris,” “Portlandia” and “Los Espookys.”
Shot at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, N.Y., “Now More Than Ever” is written and performed by Early, who executive produces with Dave Kneebone, Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim and Janel Kranking for Abso Lutely Productions. Emily Allan and Leah Hennessey are co-directors.
Watch the trailer below.
