Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota Review

Most comedians tape their specials in New York, Los Angeles or a big arena somewhere in between. Michael Che went to Minneapolis. He booked First Avenue, the famous music club, played four shows over two nights in late August and turned the best of them into Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota, which hit Netflix on October 13, 2026. It's his third special for the streamer, and the first he directed himself.

The title raised eyebrows before anyone saw a minute of it. Here's what the 59-minute hour actually contains, why he chose this city and what critics thought.

A comic who likes the cold

Che's reasons for picking Minnesota are refreshingly simple. "I love that it's cold. I love everything about it," he told MPR News. He also called it "such a dope spot to do shows," adding that local crowds tend to take everything well.

He's been coming back for a while. His first trip, according to MPR, was a 2022 college show at Winona State University, after which he spent time in Minneapolis working on new material. The August tapings, on the 28th and 29th, gave him a room he already knew.

About that title

Minnesota has been in the national headlines a lot, and "shot" is a loaded word there. MPR noted that local viewers might expect the special to address the police killings of Daunte Wright and Philando Castile, or the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed by federal agents earlier in 2026.

Che doesn't name any of them, and he says that was on purpose. "I didn't want to invoke those names in a joking way," he told AllHipHop. The title, he explained to MPR, is "kind of hinting at the subject matter" and is meant to feel inclusive, since that kind of violence "could happen to any of us." The special, he said, is about "the frustration of what's happening," not about those individuals.

"I am paying attention and I do know where I am," he added. Viewers will have different reactions to that choice. Some will respect the restraint. Others may feel the title sets up a conversation the hour never quite has.

The material

He starts with politics. MPR and Ready Steady Cut both report that the opening covers the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and President Trump. Ready Steady Cut thought this stretch had "the biting quality" the rest of the set sometimes misses.

After that, the hour roams. He gets into Pete Buttigieg and the Epstein list, then Pride and the Diddy case. There's a long story about his friend "Gay Kevin," another about a stranger buying him drinks at a bar and a divorce joke that Ready Steady Cut singled out as "a brilliant little joke."

Minnesota gets about a minute, according to MPR. He says the state is pushing back against people trying to take rights away. He also tells a joke about owning three daycares, calling it a "no-show job," which MPR links to an alleged childcare fraud scandal in the Twin Cities. Che called that line "a wink at the people in the crowd."

And because he's still Colin Jost's co-anchor, there are jabs at Jost's marriage to Scarlett Johansson, according to LateNighter. Fans of their on-air roasts will know the routine.

Cool to a fault?

Che's delivery is famously calm. He rarely raises his voice, he barely moves and he talks to the crowd like they're old friends at the end of a long night. That's a big reason his Weekend Update jokes hit as hard as they do.

Over a full hour, though, critics found it a mixed blessing. Ready Steady Cut compared the vibe to "a late-night, slightly drunken conversation" and liked how he slips in "serious political points" while "doing so unseriously." The same review warned that his "lackadaisical, almost uninterested delivery threatens to let the best bits" pass unnoticed, and that the relaxed tone "makes it all blur together."

The staging leans into that intimacy. Instead of a big theater stage, he works in a smaller, in-the-round setup at First Avenue, with the audience gathered close.

The review so far

Critics broadly agree on the shape of the hour: a strong opening, a looser middle and a soft finish. Ready Steady Cut thought the bar story "goes on much too long for how tame the outcome is," found the Diddy jokes overused and said the closing bit about God as an absent father had "little commitment to that joke."

Still, nobody is arguing that Che isn't funny. The best moments, particularly the political opener and that divorce line, show why he's one of the sharpest joke writers working today.

Che's career right now

The special follows Michael Che Matters in 2016 and Michael Che: Shame the Devil in 2021. He directed this one and executive produced it with Matthew Vaughan.

It also lands while he's in his record 13th season at the Weekend Update desk alongside Jost, now on SNL's 52nd season. On TV, he gets a few seconds per joke. Here, he gets an hour to take the same instincts much further.

Who should watch?

Fans of Weekend Update will feel right at home. It's the same dry, sly voice, minus the network censors.

Viewers who like loud, physical, high-energy stand-up may find it too quiet. And because so much of it is political, it will land differently depending on where you stand.

Expect strong language and adult topics throughout. This is not a family special.

I'll admit the decision not to name the victims is the part I keep coming back to. It shows a kind of care that's easy to miss in an hour full of jokes, even if it leaves the title doing heavy lifting.

So pour something warm, Minnesota style, and give it a watch. I would just suggest staying alert. With Che, the best lines tend to slip by quietly.