Bobbi Althoff is leaning fully into comedy—and this time, she’s doing it without a guest sitting across from her.
The podcast host and viral personality is set to perform at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival in May with a show titled Bobbi Althoff Tries Standup, marking her official entry into stand-up comedy.
For someone who built her brand on awkward silences and dry delivery, the move feels like a natural extension—even if she admits she’s walking into it with zero experience.
When Netflix approached her team about doing a live podcast, Althoff pivoted. Instead, she pitched stand-up. There was just one catch: she’d never done it before. “They asked me if I’d done stand-up before,” she said in an exclusive interview with Elle. “I was like, no, but I’m going to do it, so we’ll see.”
That willingness to jump in unprepared has defined much of Althoff’s career so far. She described her process bluntly: “I’m really unorganized and I just do things. I like to just throw myself into things that I’m unprepared for and not equipped to handle.”
Still, even she recognizes that stand-up is a different beast. After attending a few comedy shows, she admitted, “I’m not equipped for this whatsoever.” But that hasn’t stopped her from moving forward.
The shift to stand-up comes as Althoff continues refining her comedic voice. Her new podcast, Not This Again, leans back into the sharp, uncomfortable humor that initially set her interviews apart. “It’s going to be putting on more of a show,” she explained, adding that she’s returning to “dry and witty” humor and asking “super invasive questions” designed to make guests uncomfortable.
That same tone is expected to carry over into her stand-up. Althoff has built a following by embracing awkwardness, often playing a detached, almost hostile character in interviews. It’s a style that helped her land major guests early on—and go viral.
But translating that into a live performance comes with new pressure. Althoff has been candid about the anxiety surrounding the transition, admitting, “I know the stress I feel right now could very well go away.” At the same time, she’s hopeful the experience clicks the way podcasting eventually did.
“I hope I get up there and I’m like, this is really fun and I want to keep doing this,” she said.