In His Latest Netflix Special ‘Uncle Stav’ Has a New Title of Respect

If there’s anything Stavros Halkias excels at, it’s saying wild shit. And all throughout his new Netflix special, Uncle Stav, our man stays on brand. Whether it’s explaining the ins and outs of being a fat dude, living an extremely unhealthy life, and, of course, talking about plenty of sex, the special is exactly what you can expect from one of comedy’s fastest-moving freight trains. (I wanted to use rising star, but that seems off-brand for a guy rocking a 3X tracksuit, you know?)

Something interesting is happening politically with Halkias, too. He exists inside the same podcast/comedy ecosystem populated by brotatos who spend six hours bemoaning wokeness and cancel culture and whether seed oils are turning everyone gay, yet his politics remain stubbornly working-class left. He can champion universal healthcare, shit on billionaires, defend Luigi Mangione and torch Trump without suddenly turning the room into a dicey TED Talk. The political stuff works because Stavros never stops being Stavros — it’s delivered between dick jokes by a guy who looks like he should be explaining why the Ravens blew a fourth-quarter lead. Joe Rogan, Stavvy is not, and we’re better for it — plus, his comedy is better, too.

Released September 8, the hour-long set was filmed at The Lyric in his hometown of Baltimore and directed by Matt Johnson who directed Nirvanna the band the show the movie as well as the recent Anthony Bourdain biopic about one transformational summer in that tv chef’s life. The premise for Stav’s show also comes from a rite of passage, with Halkias actually becoming an uncle — a position to be looked up to.

Halkias positions himself as the deeply imperfect “dirtbag role model,” dispensing questionable wisdom while riffing on aging, his body, America’s healthcare system and the hazards of supposedly “living your best life.” It’s basically the familiar Halkias formula — filthy, crowd-friendly comedy mixed with surprisingly pointed social commentary — only from a guy who’s gotten older, more famous and marginally less responsible and possible even more morally reprehensible.

Halkias is finding a lot of new avenues to be the guy everyone wishes they could hang with: he’s acting in Shane Gillis’ series Tires, appeared in Bugonia alongside Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone, and even found himself in Matt Johnson’s Tony. Even his podcast Stavvy’s World is doing pretty damn well, too, all because, once again, it’s Stavros being Stavros.

Give Uncle Stav an hour of your time. It’s worth it. Get a little political commentary about the rich, followed immediately by a joke about sleeping with somebody’s wife. A little something for everyone. A smorgasbord of scumbaggery, if you will.