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This might be Steph Tolev’s debut Netflix stand-up special, but you’ve actually gotten to see her before a few times recently on the streaming platform. If the third time’s the charm, then does that make her fourth
STEPH TOLEV: FILTH QUEEN: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The Gist: Previously on Netflix…
You can see her playing Barb in the second season of Tires, the sitcom starring Shane Gillis.
Bill Burr appears in the opening sketch for Tolev’s special, jokingly putting the pressure on her. But this isn’t the first time Burr has given her a boost. He also cast her in his Netflix movie, Old Dads. She performed on the 2022 showcase, Bill Burr: Friends Who Kill, filmed during the 2022 Netflix is a Joke Festival in Los Angeles. And Burr also cast her in The Ringers, the Comedy Central showcase series he put together featuring up-and-comers in 2020.
You also may recognize her from appearances on the CBS comedy panel show, After Midnight, as well as guest-starring roles on episodes of Hacks and This Fool. All of which should let you know that she’s in demand when other comedians are making shows.
A Toronto native born to Bulgarian immigrants, Tolev had a Juno-nominated comedy album in 2020 and has made herself at home in Los Angeles for the past decade.
What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: Haven’t heard this much graphic description of female genitalia since, oh, Marlon Wayans last year providing too much information about his late mother. But in terms of tone and style, Tolev strikes a similarly aggressive fun chord as Jessica Kirson, another comedian championed by Burr.
Memorable Jokes: She establishes her “filth queen” cred almost immediately by revealing how wearing a romper isn’t as much fun when you suffer from IBS. Her idea of changing gears out of emergency bathroom visits is to dish in great detail the hairiness and overall appearance of her nipples.
“I give off big areola energy. I get it!”
If that’s not self-deprecating enough, Tolev will fill you in on some embarrassing eating episodes, and even worse encounters with men she met on dating apps.
All of this talk allows her to pivot into crowd work where audience members become more comfortable revealing whether they fart in front of their romantic partners, and what techniques they use to take photos of their privates. And makes Tolev squeal in delight noticing how one woman on a reality TV show decided to bail in fear of having to go to the bathroom in mixed company. Compared to most women, then, Tolev seemingly has no shame. She’ll describe herself trying out a sex swing with a guy after she’d just helped him assemble it out of the box, telling us: “I just looked like a glazed honey ham. Just hanging in a deli store window.”
She’ll admit that she loves a joke about dipping her breasts in a tub to wash off pudding much more than any audience has. Perhaps if she acted it out more cartoonishly, they’d get it?
But the good news is she has a boyfriend, and he’s compatible with her both sexually and mullet-wise.
Our Take: I know I mentioned Marlon Wayans and Jessica Kirson earlier, but Tolev’s frank talk about sex also puts her in similar comedy circles as Nikki Glaser. Of course, Glaser gives off Golden Globes hosting energy, whereas Tolev gives off WNBA coaching energy. That’s not to say one energy is better than the other. I’m not sure of too many other comedians who could pull off an opening sequence like Tolev does in her special, tumbling through Boston and even in a third-base-line section of Fenway Park. It’s just as impressively amusing to watch her transform into a life-sized rag doll after she’s hoisted above the audience after her final bow.
Both her romper joke and her dipping her body parts into the water also speak to how her comedy branding and stage presence have evolved in the past five years. Take this clip of her from Burr’s series, The Ringers, and you’ll notice the attitude and point of view was there all along. It just doesn’t come across quite as sharp when she’s dressed in business casual with long hair, compared to now, in a black romper and sporting a dark mullet.
Burr rarely misses as a stand-up comedian, and his instincts as executive producer are on point here, too.
Our Call: STREAM IT. If the title Filth Queen didn’t scare you off immediately, then you should enjoy the hour that awaits you here.
Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat. He also podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.
English (US)