Hygge is a Danish word that describes the Scandinavian concept of contentment and well-being that comes from enjoying life’s simple pleasures. Hygge is also the word to characterize the comedy of Nate Bargatze, who continues to deliver the cozy comic vibes in his latest Netflix special, Your Friend Nate Bargatze.
If you’re wondering, “Is that a good thing?” you’re asking the right questions. The answer is both yes and no. It’s mostly yes, as Bargatze is now firmly established as his generation’s answer to Bob Newhart, the deadpan everyman who gets laughs simply by laying life’s absurdities on the table. Bargatze’s comic persona as the Pretty Dumb Guy Befuddled By Life (somehow communicated in exceedingly clever ways) is a foolproof vehicle for transforming the mundane into comedy gold, and his recent success has brought an even more relaxed confidence to his storytelling.
Like in his breakout SNL sketch, Washington’s Dream, Bargatze’s new special is mostly a description of the stupidity that’s always there in front of us. When working as a water meter reader in Wilson County, Tennessee in 2001, he was asked to help defend the town’s water supply after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Who needs punchlines when you can just explain the situation? Of course Osama bin Laden would choose rural Tennessee as his next target. Of course Bargatze, armed with a lantern, would be qualified to fend off the Taliban once they arrived. Of course bin Laden would know exactly how to open the water tank to carry out his poisonous plans. The bit kills.
The flip side of “Is hygge comedy a good thing?” is that Bargatze’s jokes aren’t likely to stay with you for very long. People with whom I watched the special commented that it was hilarious, but they’d forgotten most of what Bargatze had talked about almost as soon as it was finished. This isn’t Jerrod Carmichael or Hannah Gadsby trying to shake up the world. It’s not Ronny Chieng or Nikki Glaser or John Mulaney making us laugh while revealing something essential about themselves. Instead, Bargatze jokes about doing the laundry, getting another dog or returning a shirt that doesn’t fit.
Relatable stuff. Comfortable stuff. That’s the key to Bargatze’s stadium-sized appeal in 2024, a comedian oblivious to the controversy and chaos out there in the real world. His comedy lives in a sitcom suburb, where picking up the kids after school or ordering the right amount of pizza can fill a half-hour’s worth of plot. Bargatze isn’t the kind of comedian who does crowd work in search of viral conflict — you’d probably have to explain Instagram Reels to him before he’d use it to create a day’s worth of buzz.
Bargatze doesn’t break new ground, mainly because he has no intention to. That’s why his audience will be sticking with him for the next 30 years or so — he’s “Your Friend Nate Bargatze,” the neighbor you can count on to gather your mail while you’re out of town. Provocateurs flame out, but Bargatze looks like he’ll be getting hygge with it for the long haul.
