Clean is hard

The most difficult path to laughs can also be the most profitable.

Apr 28, 2025

Clean vs. blue

There’s a notion that cursing, talking about sex, and roasting folks is the challenging way to go. But with comedy, you could really argue that being completely clean is the most difficult path to laughs.

And if you can crack the code, big things await. Did ya know Sirius is desperate for clean comedy since there’s not enough out there? Plus, going clean opens you to up to way more gig possibilities, corporates, etc.

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Wrote before about why working blue works here:

That’s why clean comics like Brian Regan and Jim Gaffigan get so much respect from their peers. We know how hard it is to get laughs while staying family-friendly. It’s not that these guys are squeaky clean squares; rather, they’re masters of their craft making a conscious choice to perform comedy at its most challenging level.

Good One Podcast: Brian Regan Talks Stand-up Comedy

Mike Binder agrees: "Clean is hard."

There’s this misconception that “clean comedy” means “easy” or “light” — but let me tell you, it takes real talent to make a room full of adults laugh without leaning on shock, sex, or swearing. That’s the kind of comedy that sticks. That’s the kind you can bring your kids and your grandma to — and they’ll both walk out quoting it.

So do you have to curse? Can you skip talking about sex? Invert those traditional notions and consider how much the really ballsy/edgy thing to do, at least in some ways, is NOT curse. It’s easy to fall back on dirty talk as a way to keep the crowd juiced (they laugh for the same reason a third grader laughs at the word “b00bs”). But maybe you can aim higher? (And yes, I’m talking to myself here.)

FYI you can watch Mark Normand try to write a clean joke in a month in this new minidoc "Page to Stage" from director Matt Salacuse. I make a couple of cameos along the way too.

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