Tires Has Been Labeled 'Pre-Woke' Comedy, and It's Dominating the Netflix Charts (2024)

Landing at the top of Netflix's trending charts, Tires, a sitcom about a fledgling auto-repair shop, may surprise those unfamiliar with the show's history, particularly the fandom/dislike surrounding stand-up comedian Shane Gillis. Yet, for many, Tires has a deeper significance beyond just being a new comedy series on the popular streaming platform, offering a reprise of 'pre-woke' comedy.

To understand why people herald the show as 'anti-woke,' it is important to look at how Shane Gillis's career has led many to champion his projects and why there is a lot of fanfare behind Tires for what it stands for, sometimes over the actual content itself. This is the build-up to the Netflix success, Tires, and why many have championed it as the 'pre-woke' comedy people have been asking for.

The Contentious Career of Shane Gillis

Tires creator Shane Gillis has had one of the more intriguing career trajectories of many modern comedians. Infamously, Shane Gillis was removed as an upcoming cast member of Saturday Night Live when commentary from his podcast "Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast" became widely shared, where he made comments that could be interpreted as racist and hom*ophobic. For Gillis fans, these were taken to purposely out the comedian and were bereft of the nuance of being an extension of his comedic style and not reflective of his actual beliefs. Regardless, Gillis was fired from Saturday Night Live in September 2019, just days after being announced as a new cast member for the show's 45th season.

The fallout from his firing can be seen in countless podcasts with fellow comedians and on social media. The initial announcement brought up the rehashed cries of "cancel culture" versus "accountability culture" and the ongoing discussion around freedom of speech in the comedy space. Navigating months of online discourse would be fruitless, especially with many set on their perceptions of events. Still, the outcome undeniably worked in favor of Shane Gillis, even though he expressed a lot of stress and unhappiness with that period in his life (which he talked in detail about in an interview with fellow stand-up Theo-Von).

Again, touching on social discourse framing an event, Gillis saw greater success as a comedian than he arguably would have had if he had landed the job with SNL. For many comedy fans, his firing only brought greater interest to his work, especially to those firmly on the side of allowing complete freedom of speech in the stand-up sphere and adamantly against 'cancel culture.'

In 2021, Gillis released his first stand-up special, "Shane Gillis Live in Austin," on YouTube, which currently has over 27 million views as of 2024, on his popular Gilley and Keeves YouTube Channel, which has over 800k subscribers. His follow-up Netflix special, Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs, broke Netflix's top 10 charts. He also continues to be an in-demand podcast personality. Moreover, he continues to host "Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast," where the original comments were taken from the crusade to remove him from SNL.

Shane Gillis will inevitably still bring a certain degree of controversy to any of his projects, as the internet does not forget when it perceives someone making a social taboo, and the woke/cancel/accountability argument will likely go on ad infinitum. However, leading into his most recent project for Netflix, Tires, Gillis's public perception insures that there will be an audience flocking to it under the 'anit-woke' banner, either because of how they were introduced to the comedian or seeking content free of perceived censorship/interference.

Tires Is the 'Pre-Woke' Comedy That Fans Have Been Craving

While slightly disingenuous to showcase Tires as the quintessential pre-woke comedy, Netflix working with many other controversial stand-ups, like Bill Burr with both his F is For Family animated series and his directorial debut Old Dads, Shane Gillis's series, does scratch that itch for unfiltered comedy. Notably, the pilot "Tires, etc." was originally released the same year that Gillis had been 'canceled' from SNL for his comments, with the video since being taken down in anticipation of the show. The pilot performed well then, but the idea of getting adapted when Gillis was under scrutiny, let alone on the biggest streaming platform, seemed like a pipe dream for fans.

For those who have found Shane Gillis during the SNL backlash, seeing his content from the same year as the controversial firing heralds the type of 'pre-woke' comedy that continues to be present but not always welcome on all platforms. The show is unapologetic about its language and feels earnest in its portrayal of 'shoptalk' among friends and co-workers in an environment where inappropriate humor is commonplace. Regardless of how some viewers may feel about that approach, it touches on nostalgia for some who liked the less-refrained comedy of previous eras. Adding other comedians with similar views on stand-up, Steve Gerben, Andrew Schulz, Stavros Halkias, Kilah Fox, Chris O'Connor, etc., also speaks to a return to popular acceptance of 'pre-woke' comedy for many live comedy and podcast fans.

Despite Gillis's contentious career path to the top, Tires leaves many fans feeling vindicated for his continued popularity, particularly with the declining viewership of SNL (numbers via The Post), which brushed him aside only to bring him back to host on February 24, 2024. While it is unlikely that Gillis and crew would go as far as to define Tires as pre-woke, particularly with the project long in the making and Gillis never really claiming he was canceled as it helped excel his career instead of ruin it, the show's popularity has certainly appealed to certain people invested in the 'cancel culture' narrative. Still, many fans know it is not as much a case of 'anti-woke' and more tastes, with the modest takes on social media often drowned out by the more sensational statements on both sides of the Gillis divide.

Is Tires Really 'Pre-Woke' Comedy, and Where Can You Watch It?

Tires (2024)

Comedy

2.5/5

Release Date

May 23, 2024

Cast

Steve Gerben , Shane Gillis , Chris O'Connor , Kilah Fox , Stavros Halkias

Main Genre

Comedy

Read Our Review

Depending on how you define woke, the label of 'pre-woke' will either have your eyes rolling or have you champing at the bit for a throwback to more bawdy and crass comedy. Those who don't put much merit into the culture war around the term and are just looking for a bit of comical escapism should certainly give the series a shot and decide for themselves. Regardless, Gillis is a talent that is only likely to become more popular with his continued success with the streaming giant; you can watch Tires on Netflix.