Brett Goldstein to premiere HBO stand-up comedy (and puppets!) special

Brett Goldstein may be behind two of Apple TV+’s biggest shows, but he really wants to talk about puppets.

The comedian — whose breakout role as foul-mouthed football player with a heart of gold Roy Kent on “Ted Lasso” earned him two Emmys and who co-created the series “Shrinking” — has been packing his schedule with film projects and TV show appearances since “Ted Lasso” premiered in 2020. But once he had a spare moment, Goldstein went back to his stand-up roots with his new HBO special “The Second Best Night of Your Life” that premieres Saturday.

The actor and writer’s first filmed special is the culmination of two years of touring across the U.S. and UK. Goldstein dives into the culture shock of being plunged into the American comedy scene, visiting the White House, his love of musicals, and why his experience on “Sesame Street” changed his life forever. In an interview with the L.A. Times, the comedian explains how “The Second Best Night of Your Life” came to be a puppet-filled ode to the splendor of American stand-up specials.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

“I think stand-up keeps your brain sharp in a way that nothing else does because you have so much pressure when you’re standing under the lights in front of a crowd,” Goldstein said.

(The Tyler Twins / For The Times)

Is this your first major stand-up show since your Edinburgh Fringe show “What Is Love Baby Don’t Hurt Me” in 2018?

I’ve been doing a version of this show building off of bits in that [2018 Fringe] show. I built this show mostly at Largo in L.A. and then at ABC in London. Then I toured it for 14 months around America. And then at some point someone said “You have to film this and stop doing it,” and I said “OK.”

When did you decide you wanted to develop a new stand-up show?

I always wanted to tour and I was very lucky that I was doing “Ted Lasso” so regularly and that was taking up pretty much all of my year. So when that finished I started doing other things and I had more time. But then I had “Shrinking” and everything else. So I was mostly touring during weekends. Thursday, Friday, Saturday I tour and then come back to the writers room.

Does performing and writing stand-up scratch a different creative itch than performing and writing on “Ted Lasso” or “Shrinking”?

I think stand-up keeps your brain sharp in a way that nothing else does because you have so much pressure when you’re standing under the lights in front of a crowd. You have to come up with something in a way that [you don’t] when you’re in a writers room.

But what I really love about it is there’s no committee. I don’t have to discuss it with anyone. It’s amazing making TV and film, but it’s a huge thing that involves 200 people and you have to communicate everything to everyone and you have to compromise and deal with execs. And when you do stand-up it’s like, “Here’s this, I thought of it this afternoon and I’m saying it tonight.”

It’s also a different mode. There’s a different switch in my brain for stand-up and stand-up is probably the more naughty or ugly parts of yourself that have you like, “Is this OK? Am I insane to think this?”

Brett Goldstein

(The Tyler Twins / For The Times)

In the special you talk about watching local comedy shows here in L.A. How did you decide to start developing the show at the Largo specifically?

Flanagan at Largo — who owns Largo — he’s the reason I love L.A. and he sort of took me in, I think of him like Fagin in “Oliver.” I was this lost boy in L.A. and I didn’t know the comedy scene well. He was so generous and so lovely he just started offering for me to do a whole night and [the special] came from that.

You also mention learning confidence from American stand-ups. Is there anything American stand-ups can learn from British comedy?

It’s not what the stand-ups could learn, it’s what the clubs could learn.  In American clubs it’s relentless. There’s 300 acts, it goes on for hours, and there’s table service and people getting up. It’s insane to me because there’s this constant distraction going on all the time.

Listen, I’m lucky to be invited to all these clubs and I love and respect them. I just don’t understand why there’s no breaks. Give the audience a break.

In the opening there’s a reference to “Severance.” Is that contractually obligated when you work on several Apple TV+ shows?

Yeah, and we had to do a oner to reference “The Studio.” I did pitch the whole special as a oner and the director said that would be really boring. I also wanted to shoot on film, which we did for the beginning and the ending. I love film and I wanted anything to make it special. And I don’t really like the look when things are incredibly clean and flat. I wanted it to look a bit more filmic.

“ [After] doing ‘Sesame Street,’ I really mean that everything else is a bonus,” Goldstein said. “I already did far more than I ever thought I would do.”

(The Tyler Twins / For The Times)

Your special opens with you pontificating on how much you love the pageantry of American stand-up specials. But how did you decide that you wanted puppets to play such a crucial role in the framing of “The Second Best Night of Your Life”?

It was always my plan. I love puppets and it seemed funny to me that my crew were 10% puppets and that wasn’t mentioned. Brian Henson himself came and did Buddy G the puppet so if you have the opportunity to work with Brian Henson doing puppets, f— do it.

We met because I loved the Muppets and think that “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is possibly the greatest film ever made. I went in for a general meeting with them and Brian was so nice and let me ask a million questions. They said, “We’d love to work with you sometime.” And I said, “I’d do anything, where do I sign?” This was just before I did “Sesame Street.”

Do you have a specific “I made it” moment as a comedian or do you think that’s still ahead of you?

 [After] doing “Sesame Street,” I really mean that everything else is a bonus. I already did far more than I ever thought I would do. I’m very lucky and grateful. It amazes me that people came to see this show. I love touring and I would love to do more of it, but if no one ever comes again, I had a good run.

And is that where the title of the special, “The Second Best Night of Your Life,” comes from?

When I did “Sesame Street,” it was the best day of my life. And so every day since is pointless. I wanted to say, come to the show and have it be the second best night. You’ve still got things to look forward to.

 Would you ever want to become a full-time children’s entertainer to work with puppets?

When I have finished doing all the things I want to do film and TV-wise I would like to spend my final years as a full-time cast member on “Sesame Street.” I would like that to be where I end.