By Nick A. Zaino III Globe correspondent, Updated November 22, 2024
To comedian Jim Gaffigan, the world is a confounding place. There are too many big questions. How does a microwave work? How does the stock market work? Why can’t I use the same password twice? Everything feels just a little bit beyond him. That’s the perspective he presents on “The Skinny,” his 11th one-hour stand-up special, which kicks off Hulu’s new “Hularious” slate of comedy specials on Nov. 22.
Gaffigan has been working clubs and theaters for more than 30 years. He has slung jokes in front of audiences around the world and played to political figures and the pope. As uncomfortable as he may seem with the outside world, he is incredibly comfortable on his patch of stage, which in this case is the Wilbur right here in Boston, where he also taped his fourth special, “Obsessed,” in 2014. He’s a familiar and welcome presence. When he releases a new special, it’s like getting to spend an hour with an amiable and sane friend. Longtime fans can take comfort in Gaffigan’s affability and joke-writing abilities in “The Skinny,” and possibly appreciate a more naturalistic approach.
The subjects are familiar, too — food, family, religion, and whatever odd agitation the world is coughing up at the moment. Gaffigan imagines people grumbling about how artificial intelligence is going to take over the world. “I hope so,” he says. “I’m exhausted. I feel like my intelligence has taken me as far as I’m going to get.” He says he gets writer’s block trying to come up with passwords that qualify with all the necessary letters, numbers, and symbols. And he’s given up even pretending he understands news on the stock market, even though, as he notes, he majored in finance in college.