Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Jimmy Carr: His Dark Material’ On Netflix, Witty Wordplay About Terrible Topics

They say the third time’s the charm. But what to make of Jimmy Carr, whose third Netflix comedy special features even more of His Dark Material that aims to offend while making you laugh, which comes out on Christmas morning?

JIMMY CARR: HIS DARK MATERIAL: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Jimmy Carr is famous in Britain not only for his abilities as stand-up comic who can roast anyone at anytime, but also for his hosting skills on the telly, presiding over game shows and panel series alike.
Americans have gotten to come to know Carr over the past five years thanks to his association with Netflix. He hosted a panel series in 2018 for the streaming giant, The Fix, and has put out two stand-up hours already with the big N, Funny Business (2016) and The Best of Ultimate Gold Greatest Hits (2019). His Dark Material isn’t necessarily any darker than the premises and punchlines from his previous two specials, although at least the title does serve as a warning for anyone who might be unfamiliar with any of his prior work.
And even if that’s you, he’ll still provide a disclaimer in the opening minute: “Before we start, a quick trigger warning: Tonight’s show contains jokes about terrible things.”

What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: Carr’s focus on telling offensive jokes purely for the sake of joking is reminiscent of Anthony Jeselnik’s persona, while Carr’s crowd work will remind you of the late Don Rickles.

Memorable Jokes: The trailer takes from some of Carr’s opening jokes on the ongoing pandemic, where he slyly plays with the audience’s expectations. Example: “Do you think we overreacted to COVID-19?” After some roar back with a resounding ‘YES,’ he adds: “Yeah, a lot of the survivors think so.”

Vegans. Vaginas. Sperm samples. ER oddities. Pedophilia. Alzheimer’s. Parkinson’s. Schizophrenia. Rape. Abortion. The Holocaust. Nothing’s off limits for Carr.
He even boasts after almost 47 minutes of one-liners and punchlines that push the envelope: “I’ve written some potentially career-ending jokes.” Not that he’s actually worried about that. In fact, he relishes the challenge, saying: “Here’s the good news. I’m going down swinging!”
Our Take: My review of Jimmy Carr’s 2016 Netflix special referred to him in the headline as a cheeky bastard. Daft prick also suffices. But that’s his point.
He thrives on building and releasing the tension between himself and his audience, and furthers it through his crowd work, mocking a young man named Charlie throughout the hour, and going out of his way to offend anyone specifically who might seem offended by a joke.
And yet. He’s also quick to make himself the butt of a joke. Whether his punchlines suggest he’s the pervert or worse, or whether he’s sincere in accepting the barbs tossed his way during his regular “heckler amnesty” portion of the hour. In this set, someone shouts out a question about his new hairline. Carr doesn’t miss a beat, revealing he redistributed hair to reinforce the front atop his forehead. “I’ve gone from having LEGO hair to having Playmobil man hair.”
He also makes fun of his own distinct laugh, describing it at one point as “like a learning-disabled goose having a panic attack.”
The fundamental difference between a comedian such as Carr, compared to say, Dave Chappelle or Ricky Gervais, is that you never wonder about Carr’s sincerity. He’s not trying to troll you or confuse you about his intentions. He may enjoy writing jokes about offensive subjects. “But these are just jokes. They’re not the terrible things.” He even tells a story toward the end about a charitable gig he has performed at for multiple years through Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival, performing for patients dying from cancer, and how exploring the darkest subject matter can free them and us from the most tragic of emotions.
“I feel sorry for the people that get offended. I feel sorry for the people that can’t laugh at dark s–t. Because when their life is terrible, they’ve just got to f—ing white-knuckle it.”
So when he asks: “Can I end my career in eight words?” You know he’s going to say the eight words at question, but also that he’ll live to joke again.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Perhaps not suitable for family Christmas viewing, but perfect for when you need to get the room talking and thinking about anything else.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic’s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news. He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.

Watch Jimmy Carr: His Dark Material on Netflix