Watch a cartoon Tig Notaro do stand-up in a trailer for new animated HBO special "Drawn"

The comedian returns to the stage as you've never seen her before in this sneak peek

Published July 1, 2021 7:37PM (EDT)

Tig Notaro: Drawn (HBO)
Tig Notaro: Drawn (HBO)

Fresh from evading zombies in her action-movie debut in "Army of the Dead," Tig Notaro is coming back to the screen by returning to her comedic roots — while taking on an entirely different form altogether. 

On Thursday, HBO released a new trailer for "Tig Notaro: Drawn," the comedian's new stand-up comedy special that, as the title suggests, will be fully animated. Vignettes in the special range from Notaro herself dressed in a patterned cardigan holding a mic on stage in front of cartoon faces to the stories she tells that vividly fill in what our own minds would've drawn themselves. 

"I've had my stand up animated over the years and different little pieces. It's been really fun to see jokes and stories animated, and so I thought it would be cool to have a special," Notaro said in an earlier interview with Salon. "I love animation and I'm neck-deep in the middle of animation in my day-to-day just because I have two four-year-olds that watch animation all the time." 

Notaro starkly contrasts these visuals with deeper content — like how she collapsed on stage at the end of her show due to internal bleeding. "Drawn" aims to give its audience the best of both worlds by animating such anecdotes and personal stories but also keeping the live aspect of what makes stand-up comedy so inviting — as the cartoon version of Notaro interacts with audience members and even the theater's resident spider.

The special will also play around with various animation styles, such as the hand-drawn one seen in the trailer to CGI renderings, taking full advantage of the flexibility of Six Point Harness animation studio, which produced the Oscar-winning "Hair Love" and the Netflix foodie kids show "Waffles & Mochi."

This latest special from Notaro will be her third — following the 2015 release of "Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted" which garnered Notaro an Emmy nomination and "Tig Notaro: Happy To Be Here" in 2019. While fully written by Notaro, "Drawn" is also made in collaboration with fellow comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who executive produces, among others.

"Stand-up can be a very solitary art form, so combining it with a collaborative years-long creative effort was such a joyful experience," said Notaro in a statement.

"Tig Notaro: Drawn" premieres on Saturday, July 24 at 10 p.m. on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO MaxWatch the trailer below:


By Julia Pedrozo Santiago



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