Even ‘Kill Tony’ Fans Couldn’t Stomach the ‘Kill Tony’ Netflix Show
The first episode of Kill Tony on Netflix is in the books. Even the die-hards wouldn’t invite this one to the secret show.
When controversial comedian and disgraced Trump stumper Tony Hinchcliffe inked a massive four-special deal with Netflix late last year, the streamer likely thought that they struck gold in their rush to promote conservative-friendly comedy during this tumultuous political moment at the start of President Trump’s second term. Netflix Comedy commissioned three total episodes of Hinchcliffe’s podcast, live show and amateur comedy showcase Kill Tony alongside a new hour of stand-up from the Austin, Texas kingmaker, but, now that they’re 25 percent through the mega-deal, it might be time for the streamer to re-evaluate the audience they’re attempting to court.
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Judging from the Kill Tony following’s immediate reaction to both Hinchcliffe temporarily moving the free weekly show to a paid platform and the show’s sloppy and awkward Netflix debut performance, the streamer’s latest attempt to stake a claim in the Manosphere is off to about as bad a start as Ric Flair's residency.
To start, many Kill Tony fans who can’t be bothered to keep up with Netflix’s constantly increasing subscription fees and dwindling content library hated the fact that Hinchcliffe would hide a show that’s been free on YouTube for the last decade behind a paywall. The Kill Tony YouTube account’s inexplicably two-hour-long announcement video telling fans that this week’s show is a Netflix exclusive earned over 13,000 dislikes and counting in its first 17 hours online.
But for the fans who either already had a Netflix subscription or were willing to shell out to see their favorite podcast take the next step, yesterday’s presentation clearly wasn’t worth the $18 per month. “Huge kill Tony fan and I know we get shit episodes here n there but truly this one was probably the worst one to put on Netflix. Makin us look bad af. Congrats u kno but fawkkk #killtony,” one such fan lamented on Twitter following the release.
In the Kill Tony subreddit, fans have spent the last day slamming both Netflix and Kill Tony for perceived production issues, constant dead air and the awkwardness that was the silent celebrity panel who largely couldn’t be bothered to save the night. “When will tony finally admit to himself he can’t keep booking Rogan for these big ticket shows. The fans don’t like him as a guest and new viewers will be deterred,” one of the top posts of the last 24 hours reads.
But Joe Rogan wasn’t the only lightning rod for criticism, nor was he the quietest A-lister who sat onstage for two hours during the Kill Tony special without offering a single funny ad-lib. Another post in the subreddit simply reads, “Petition to Ban Tom Segura,” in which one Kill Tony fan argued, “Can we all agree that Tom is quite literally the worst KT panel guest of all time now? I seriously can’t comprehend why he’s brought on for their biggest events. Make it make sense. Dude probably said like 8 words the whole Netflix special. There’s so many comics out there more deserving and would have made for a better show.”
However, the consensus on Kill Tony’s Netflix debut was far from unanimous. Many fans pushed back against the negativity surrounding the special as they claimed that the show is always this up-and-down, and anyone whining about last night’s performance is missing the point of Kill Tony. So, while yesterday’s special certainly wasn’t any Kill Tony fan’s favorite episode, it’s still not as universally hated as Hinchcliffe's first time on Netflix.