Fired former SNL cast member Shane Gillis has launched a new Netflix comedy series — after the star shocked with jokes about Down syndrome and race during his return to the sketch show last week.
The comedian, 36, was removed from the show five years earlier after previous videos surfaced of him making racist and homophobic comments – but his star is now set to rise even further with a six-episode scripted series, Tires, set to premiere in May 2023. .
Gillis stars in the series and serves as writer, co-creator and executive producer, per Deadline.
The Tires storyline revolves around Will (Steven Gerben), the “nervous and unqualified heir to an auto repair chain who attempts to turn around his father’s business despite constant torture at the hands of his cousin and now employee, Shane (Gillis).”
Chris O’Connor, Kilah Fox and Stavros Halkias will also star with guest appearances from Andrew Schulz.
Fired former SNL cast member Shane Gillis has launched a new Netflix comedy series — after the star shocked last week with jokes about Down syndrome and race during his return to the sketch show
Netflix has also ordered a new stand-up special from Gillis following the global success of his 2023 show, Beautiful Dogs.
This comes after Gillis returned as SNL host with a shockingly risqué monologue that made fun of Down syndrome, race and gays.
The prankster – who became a huge online star after being ousted in 2019 over racist and homophobic comments – stunned the audience by suggesting he was ‘sick’ with Down syndrome and using the word r*tarded.
Gillis then went into a long story about how his niece has Down Syndrome, while making fun of himself for looking like he had it himself.
‘I don’t know if you look at me, but I do have relatives with Down syndrome. It almost got me! I dodged it, but it got me!’
Then he said, “My niece has Down syndrome and… I thought that would get more laughs. I thought we were supposed to have fun here!’
In 2019, several clips emerged of the star repeatedly making racist and homophobic comments – including in an episode of Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast.
Before continuing, Gillis spoke briefly about his dismissal, opening with a chastened, “Yes, I’m here.”
The comedian, 36, was removed from the show five years earlier after previous videos surfaced of him making racist and homophobic comments – but his star is now set to rise even further with a six-episode scripted series, Tires, set to premiere in May 2023.
Netflix has also ordered a new stand-up special from Gillis following the global success of his 2023 show, Beautiful Dogs
Gillis is pictured with Donald Trump – although he insists he is a Joe Biden supporter
“Most of you probably have no idea who I am,” he said. “I got fired from this show a while ago, but… please don’t look that up if you don’t know who I am. Please don’t Google that. It’s fine, don’t even worry about it.’
He then joked about how he’s like “a high school football coach/ninth grade sex ed teacher” before calling out his father, who was in the audience, saying he’s a “volunteer high school girls basketball coach school’.
Gillis – who released a Netflix special last year and co-host of a podcast with over 100,000 subscribers on Patreon – often struggled with the reaction of the New York crowd
“Look, I don’t have any material that can be on TV,” he said. ‘I’m trying my best. Plus this place is extremely well lit, I can tell everyone is not enjoying it.”
However, the comedian – who recently teamed up with Bud Light as a spokesperson – continued to push material about young men and their relationships with their mothers that touched on homosexuality.
“My mother asked me, ‘When did we stop being best friends?’ And she’s right, we used to be best friends. Do you remember loving your mother as a little boy? Remember when you were gay?
He continued, “Do you remember when you were just a gay boy? Every boy is just his mother’s best gay friend, there is no difference whatsoever.’
Gillis then joked about how he gossiped with his mother while listening to “her music,” mimicking the opening of Shania Twain’s “Man, I feel Like a Woman.”
The kicker of the joke was Gillis admitting that he was no longer his mother’s best friend when he started masturbating as a teenager.
