Netflix Acquires Shane Gillis Scripted Series ‘Tires,’ Orders New Standup Special
It’s a good week to be Shane Gillis. Days after his first hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live,” Netflix has extended its partnership with the comedian.
The streaming giant has acquired Gillis’ “Tires,” the six-episode scripted comedy from the co-creator. Gillis also stars in the series and serves as its executive producer and writer. The series is set to be available on the streamer starting May 23.
The self-funded comedy follows Will (Steven Gerben), a nervous and unqualified heir to an auto repair chain, who is attempting to turn his father’s business around. But his good intentions are routinely thwarted by his cousin and employee, Shane (Gillis).
Gillis, Gerben and John McKeever serve as the series’ creators, writers and executive producers with McKeever also directing the comedy. Brandon James executive produces the series for Rough House with Brian Stern and Kenneth Slotnick EPing for AGI Entertainment Media & Management. Becky Astphan also executive produces.
Gillis’ previous television roles include two episodes in Pete Davidson’s Peacock comedy “Bupkis.”
Netflix is also moving forward with another standup special from Gillis. His 2023 special “Beautiful Dogs” spent two weeks on the Top 10 list for the United States and reached the Top 10 list in five countries altogether. Both “Tires” and “Beautiful Dogs” came from Gillis and McKeever’s production company, Dad Sick Productions.
That’s not the end of Gillis’ partnership with Netflix, either. The standup will also be performing two live shows at the 2024 comedy festival, Netflix Is a Joke. Set in Los Angeles, Gillis will be performing at the Greek Theater on May 4 and at the Kia Forum on May 8. Other artists set to perform at the event include Tom Segura, Ali Wong, Arsenio Hall, Bob the Drag Queen, Cedric the Entertainer, Chelsea Handler, Chris Rock, David Letterman, Hannah Gadsby, Jerry Seinfeld, John Mulaney, Jon Stewart, Jim Gaffigan, Sarah Silverman, Trevor Noah and Kevin Hart, just to name a few of the festival’s stacked lineup.
The comedian has developed a large and tight-knit circle of fans. As of September 2023, Gillis’ “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” ranked as the most popular podcast on Patreon with 71,000 paying listeners, according to The New York Times. But there’s another reason why those in comedy circles may know Gillis’ name.
After getting hired on “Saturday Night Live,” Gillis was fired from the gig days later when videos resurfaced of the comedian using slurs against Asian and LGBT+ people on a podcast. Gillis even referenced the incident during his opening monologue Saturday, saying, “I was fired from this show a while ago. But, you know, don’t look that up, please.”
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