Bill Burr Gets in Touch with His Emotions in His New Hulu Special

At first, it appears we’re going to get a new Bill Burr in Drop Dead Years, a kinder, gentler comedian to lead us through the dark times. In Burr’s new Hulu special that drops today, he delivers an earnest confession before he even takes the stage, a voice-over soliloquy born of years in therapy: “I thought I did stand-up because I loved comedy. Then what I really figured out is, no, that’s not why I did it,” he explains, leaning against an old brick building in some urban dreamscape. “I did stand-up because that was the easiest way to walk into a room full of a bunch of people that I didn’t know and make everybody like me.” 

Whoa — that’s deep, Bill. And he’s just getting started as he makes his way from the shadows to the stage. “The way I’ve moved through the world has always been — where’s the place I have the least chance of being hurt?”  

Starting Drop Dead Years with these self-revelations implies Burr has come a long way from profanity-fueled dick jokes. He leans into his pain as he tells the story of a friend who recently dropped dead from, well, being a guy of a certain age. That death and subsequent funeral shook Burr, who’s no fan of open caskets. 

The slap of mortality made Burr reconsider how short his life is, and how little time left he has with his wife. The realizations led to honest-to-God changes, such as how he communicates with his beloved. (Spoiler alert: He stopped being such an a-hole when she asks him to go to the farmer’s market.) Older, wiser Burr acknowledges that he suffers from depression — not the kill-myself kind but the regular variety. He’s even learned how to communicate those feelings. “I’m sad,” he tells his wife at one point. He doesn’t have the emotional vocabulary to expound on that revelation, but hey, it’s a start.

I’ve never seen Burr be this self-aware or open in his stand-up, and you get the sense that the comedian doesn’t want us to think he’s gone soft. Because just when we start to warm to Sensitive Bill, he switches course so we understand he hasn’t sanded off all the rough edges.

A guy could get whiplash trying to figure out Burr in Drop Dead Years. “I fucking hate liberals,” he spits. Call Fox News — they’re going to want a clip of… Wait, hold on a second. “And don’t get excited because I hate conservatives too because you’re fucking racist.”

Here’s Burr saying that older people need to be mentoring younger people, not trying to fuck them. Progressive! Here’s Burr going full gay panic at the idea of a male masseuse touching him. Come on, man.

Here’s Burr decrying our lack of empathy for people whose ideologies don’t align with our own. A minute later, he’s throwing out the obligatory trans joke. (Sidebar, Your Honor — can we excuse 2025 comedians from believing it’s compulsory to say something about trans people in their specials? Nearly every comic does it and not because they have anything new to add to the conversation. Burr sure doesn’t — he makes a joke about going to the hipster area of Seatlle and finding himself “the only guy not transitioning.” Can we just stop? It’s wearying.) 

Burr’s Jeckyll and Hyde takes — I’m a cool guy! I’m an insensitive dick! — means there’s something for everyone in Drop Dead Years. Fans of earlier Burr will laugh like crazy when he calls women who wear “Namaste” sweatshirts the C-word. Others will appreciate his insights into aging and the importance of dealing with suppressed anger and sorrow. You’re probably going to hate it. Or love it. Or most likely, both.