Ronny Chieng’s new Netflix Speakeasy special isn't as interesting as the way it looks

Vulture

"Let’s get this out of the way: Speakeasy looks gorgeous," says Nicholas Quah of Chieng's new special, which takes place in the Chinese Tuxedo restaurant in New York City's Chinatown. "It’s a bummer, then, that Chieng’s actual material never comes close to being as interesting as Speakeasy looks," says Quah. "At best, it’s a passable special that makes decent use of Chieng’s special perspective on U.S. politics. At worst, it’s an hour from a privileged outsider who draws on the tropes of Asian America without knowing very much about what to do with their meaning." 

ALSO:

• Ronny Chieng’s exquisite joke construction and delivery make Speakeasy a hilarious, engaging watch
• Chieng on the pressure of filming a new special: "Bill Burr once told me that when you’re taping a special, you’re just trying to capture the best version of it," he says. "When he told me that, it kind of took the pressure off me. It’s never going to be the same as watching it live. But that’s kind of every comic’s biggest fear—that a show does really well live but when you put it on tape it doesn’t translate. That’s where the pressure comes from."