{"id":614,"date":"2026-05-14T11:22:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nickzainofreelance.com\/?p=614"},"modified":"2026-09-27T00:29:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T00:29:38","slug":"chris-fleming-used-to-scheming-in-the-shadows-is-adjusting-to-wild-success-in-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickzainofreelance.com\/?p=614","title":{"rendered":"Chris Fleming, used to \u2018scheming in the shadows,\u2019 is adjusting to wild success in the spotlight (full article)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nick A. Zaino III Globe correspondent,Updated May 14, 2026, 11:22 a.m.<\/p>\n

\"Chis<\/figure>\n

Chis Fleming in his comedy special “Chris Fleming: Live at the Palace.”Greg Endries<\/p>\n

Chris Fleming barely has time to think right now. He is talking from Los Angeles by cell on his way to appear on a podcast with Chloe Troast. Once he hangs up, he\u2019ll dive right into the podcast interview. It has been this way for Fleming since he released his breakthrough HBO special, \u201cLive at the Palace,\u201d in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not much time for reflection, which is maybe good,\u201d he says. \u201cBut, yeah, it\u2019s crazy. I\u2019m used to just scheming in the shadows. And now I have a packed calendar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPalace\u201d was immediately hailed as brilliant, revelatory. Marc Maron gushed over it on Instagram, going so far as to say Fleming was saving stand-up comedy. He has been everywhere in the media, on TV with \u201cLate Night With Seth Meyers,\u201d \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!,\u201d and \u201cThe Drew Barrymore Show,\u201d and a variety of podcasts, including \u201cConan O\u2019Brien Needs a Friend\u201d and \u201cMike Birbiglia\u2019s Working It Out.\u201d He\u2019s on a tour that takes him to The Wilbur for a series of sold-out shows July 10-12. His schedule has been as relentless as Fleming is onstage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere comes a point where you\u2019re kind of like, OK, I\u2019m going to be a cult figure, and the dream starts to fall off, like barnacles,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd then next thing you know, they\u2019re happening. And it\u2019s very surprising and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fleming\u2019s comic toolkit was stuffed full from the beginning, when he was honing his absurd and intense act in the Comedy Studio and the long-departed Mottley\u2019s Comedy Club around 2010.<\/p>\n

It was in that era that Fleming, a theater major at Skidmore who missed his dance minor by one credit, had an \u201caha!\u201d moment doing a physical bit imitating a bird\u2019s mating ritual. He started using his body as well as his words, separating himself from observational comedy. The routine still inspires him. \u201cWhen I\u2019m doing a physical bit, sometimes in a theater,\u201d he says, \u201cI will revert back to certain moves from that bird. And it always plays. It always gets me out of a jam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chris
Chris FlemingLuke Fontana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On \u201cPalace,\u201d Fleming has perfected the balance between words and movement. The way he shakes his hips and stares down the camera in a bit about the responsibilities of leading a conga line complete the joke every bit as much as his riff on the trend of having a \u201cmustachioed fiance\u201d who thinks he\u2019s the life of the party. \u201cEveryone\u2019s fun until they\u2019re thrust into a leadership position,\u201d he says in the bit.<\/p>\n

Fleming felt that synchronicity reaching a peak on the tour leading up to the special recording. \u201cThe summer that I was touring this, things were clicking in a way of just almost maximizing my expression,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was feeling like I was hitting a different type of flow. And it was so, so satisfying. Even before the release of the special, it was so fun just knowing that I had that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even after he recorded \u201cPalace\u201d in October 2025, and knew he had something, Fleming didn\u2019t anticipate the abundant praise of his peers when it was released. \u201cI was so surprised by all of the people coming out of the woodwork,\u201d he says. \u201cI have a loyal fan base, and my plan is always just to kind of feed them and to keep us going. I really didn\u2019t know that we were going to be getting outside of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Margaret Cho<\/a> was such a fan of Fleming\u2019s first viral sensation, \u201cGayle<\/a>,\u201d a series of short videos about an uber-aggressive housewife from the fictional Northbread, Massachusetts (based on Fleming\u2019s real hometown of Stow), that she tracked him down to participate. She wound up playing Yo-Yo Ma in an episode in 2013. She started bringing Fleming out to open shows to get him in front of her audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody has to see this person,\u201d she remembers thinking at the time, speaking by Zoom. \u201cI just love his kaleidoscopic view of the world. And, you know, he just has so many things to say. And when I laugh, I\u2019m like, scream laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cho was happy to see that Fleming not only rounded into peak form, but learned how to capture it on film. \u201cThere\u2019s just so much powerful imagery that he brings forth, that he shows in his body,\u201d she says. \u201cThe way his latest special was photographed was really important, because you had so many cameras, much more than regular comedians. You have to have lots of different perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even his outfits got an upgrade. \u201cI have Tony Sartino, who worked with Prince from 2000 to 2013 on his stuff,\u201d says Fleming. \u201cHe is designing my stage attire. I\u2019m in one of his outfits right now. It\u2019s really gorgeous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fleming says hedoesn\u2019t feel like an overnight success. He already had a loyal audience after \u201cGayle\u201d blew up. He sold out the Regent Theatre in 2016, one of his first big theater gigs, and stuck around for an hour afterwards taking photos with every fan in a line that wrapped around the seats.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I had an amazing career before this,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s enough to be carried by an audience who see you and are curious about what you want to do next, and allow you to do what you want to do next.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Fleming isn\u2019t used to is random people trying to check in on his emotional state. \u201cEveryone thinks they can be the person to take you aside and be like, \u2018But how are you doing, really?\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it\u2019s like, you think I\u2019m gonna tell you at this bar show how I\u2019m doing? Also, I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m from Massachusetts. You would have to do a blood test to know how I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lot of comedians connect with an audience by being confessional or vulnerable onstage. That\u2019s not where Fleming gets his inspiration. \u201cI don\u2019t have that desire to give people the illusion of knowing my life, because the little bit that I\u2019ve experienced of that feels very strange,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

What Fleming is very open about is his gratitude. He is thankful to Cho and Gary Gulman<\/a> for giving him opening slots, to Rick Jenkins at the Comedy Studio for letting him develop something that might not have worked at other Boston clubs, and to Conan O\u2019Brien<\/a> for being a friend and peer and helping produce the special. \u201cIt\u2019s like having a little bit of home out here in LA,\u201d he says of Conan. \u201cBeing able to look into his eyes is like seeing every woman on my dad\u2019s side. There\u2019s a beautiful familiarity with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he sees how someone like O\u2019Brien prepares for a show, and the results it gets him, he takes it to heart. \u201cYou see the presence that it requires to put on a long show in front of a crowd,\u201d says Fleming. \u201cYou see this with the people that have long careers. This is a serious endeavor for the greats. And I think that\u2019s a really powerful lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fleming isn\u2019t sure what\u2019s coming next. He will be in two upcoming episodes of the comedy horror show \u201cWidow\u2019s Bay,\u201d and notes he had to do some stunt training for one of those. He\u2019s also in Judd Apatow\u2019s \u201cComeback King,\u201d expected for release in 2027. And if he doesn\u2019t have time to reflect and plot his next move just yet, he\u2019s comfortable with that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really enjoying the busy-ness and I love not knowing what\u2019s next for me,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel really, really content with the release of the special and that being out in the world. And I love the idea that people could watch it on planes.\u201d<\/p>\n

CHRIS FLEMING<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the Wilbur, 246 Tremont St., Boston. July 10 at 7:30 p.m. (sold out) and 10 p.m. (still tickets available), July 11-12 at 7 p.m. (sold out), thewilbur.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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