When Heather McMahan recently debuted her first Netflix comedy special, the fan reaction was as though their best girlfriend had achieved a major win.
鈥淭he coolest thing about this job is a lot of people have been on this journey with me from the beginning," said McMahan recently over Zoom. 鈥淭hey found me on social media years ago and they鈥檝e been rooting for me. It kind of feels like I鈥檝e been in this giant life sorority and everyone鈥檚 like, 鈥楽he did it.'鈥�
McMahan moved from Los Angeles back home to Atlanta when her father died from pancreatic cancer in 2015. As a distraction from grief, McMahan would create characters and post short bits on social media and built a following. There was boozy Brenda Carlyle, Mississippi's (self-proclaimed) No. 1 real estate agent and 鈥淗ollywood assistant to the stars鈥� Margie McDaniels.
鈥淚 just said, 鈥業 want to make stuff that makes me laugh鈥� so I started doing a ton of characters on Instagram, and that鈥檚 what really took off,鈥� said McMahan.
Amassing a fan base has helped McMahan stay busy. She just taped a second stand-up special premiering next year and , including shows in Australia. McMahan also hosts a weekly podcast called 鈥� ," has a development deal for a TV show, plus plans to write a book.
McMahan talked to The Associated Press about her career, living situation and how to handle other people's grief.
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AP: You and your husband, Jeff, live with your mother, Robin. Do you ever feel like you have to explain that to people?
MCMAHAN: Every day of my life. I was talking to somebody the other day, and they were like, 鈥淪o, like, when are you moving out?鈥� And I said, 鈥淲hat do you mean?鈥� They鈥檙e like, 鈥淚 thought this was just like a (comedy) bit" or 鈥淚 thought you were just doing this through COVID.鈥� I said, "No, no, no. My mother lives with us. We live with her. We鈥檙e doing this life thing together." It鈥檚 a very hard concept for people to understand, but if you look at any other culture, the grandparents live with the family. The parents are there. You have multi-generations of people under one roof. I guess it鈥檚 just weird for Americans.
AP: Your comedy special addresses your dad's sudden death from pancreatic cancer. Did that loss teach you anything about how to react to someone in that situation? So often people don't know what to do or say.
MCMAHAN: Most of the time when you're grieving, you want people to validate how you feel. Start with, "This sucks. I鈥檓 so sorry. What do you need?" Also, six months down the road, check in with those people. You鈥檙e always surrounded by people as soon as something happens but what happens when it gets quiet and nobody鈥檚 calling? That鈥檚 when I was like, "Oh, wow, this is when it really hits.鈥�
AP: You're constantly touring, posting on social media, and you have a podcast. How do you have so much fresh content?
MCMAHAN: I鈥檓 such a well of stories and jokes, but it鈥檚 really hard. I鈥檓 just living life and writing it down. I鈥檓 keeping very, very thorough notes.
AP: Do you feel female comics are held to a different standard than men?
MCMAHAN: It's funny. This guy was like, 鈥淢an, you really go in on married life and your husband.鈥� Guys have been doing this forever. It's just because I鈥檓 a woman, it seems a little jarring. Ali Wong talked about her family. Amy Schumer talks about her family. All these other fabulous people talk about their families, but when the girls do it, people have something to say about it. How long have men been talking about how crazy their wives are and how their kids are driving them nuts?
Alicia Rancilio, The Associated Press
