S7 EP4: Stewart Lee on "Netflix comedians”, disastrous gigs, and Elon Musk

The Louis Theroux Podcast

Spotify Studios

Comedy, Arts, Society & Culture

4.1 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2026

⏱️ 97 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Louis speaks to comedian, writer and 41st best stand-up ever, Stewart Lee. Stewart tells Louis about taking aim at “Netflix comedians” in his new show, Stewart Lee vs. The Man-Wulf, what went wrong at a disastrous gig at the Royal Albert Hall, and what Elon Musk doesn't understand about comedy. Warnings: Very strong language and adult themes. Links/Attachments: Live Show: Stewart Lee vs. The Man-Wulf, Stewart Lee (2024 – 2026) ⁠https://www.stewartlee.co.uk/live-dates/ Easy Rider (1969) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064276/ Song: ‘Jiggle Jiggle’, Louis Theroux with Duke & Jones, (2022) https://open.spotify.com/track/1I4lCSP69P74nU3a6Su5L2 TV Show Episode: ‘Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends’, S3 EP6 “Rap” (2000) - BBC https://tv.apple.com/gb/episode/rap/umc.cmc.7a0aczr1rzkn7k9lhxgks08d1?showId=umc.cmc.1fujlj3xkbu70iu0kh0fmwgd0 TV Show: ‘Blue Peter’ (1958 – present) - CBBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b006md2v/blue-peter National Security Strategy of The United States of America (November 2025) https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf Live Show: Stewart Lee on Brexit, (2017) https://www.stewartlee.co.uk/content-provider/satirical-standup-dissects-brexit-and-the-selfie-generation-as-only-he-can-with-mocking-exasperation/ Thelonious Monk’s Advice: https://www.openculture.com/2017/12/thelonious-monks-25-tips-for-musicians-1960.html Stewart Lee, Basic Lee: Live at the Lowry (2022) https://www.nowtv.com/ie/online/stewart-lee-basic-lee-live-at-the-lowry/A5EK6949itCVNKaChrDXN TV Show Episode: Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, S4 EP5 ‘Migrants’ (2016) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5218362/ Song: ‘Comin’ Over Here’, Asian Dub Foundation ft. Stewart Lee (2020) https://open.spotify.com/track/4fZdsSko9ScgWoVN6oKUF7 Stewart’s Joke about James Corden: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_zjRzgj88HA Live Show: A Night of Comedy, Teenage Cancer Trust (2026) https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events/2026/a-night-of-comedy TV Show: ‘Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle’ (2009-2016) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1227802/ Book: How I Escaped My Certain Fate, Stewart Lee (2011) https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571254811-how-i-escaped-my-certain-fate/?srsltid=AfmBOor4Z6u2BWF9rR8s7qKz2unYdxREkzS7an0f3Le9r6Yoh0UOqbV4 Jerry Springer: The Opera (2005) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441324/ The Wizard of Oz (1939) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/ TV Special: ‘Dara Ó Briain: So Where Are We? (2023) - BBC https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31070622/ Elon Musk’s Speech in Trafalgar Square https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSETb5QRLW0 Elon Musk’s Tolkien Bit on The Joe Rogan Podcast https://metro.co.uk/2025/11/04/elon-musk-branded-dangerous-saying-people-small-town-england-like-hobbits-24609795/ Lord of the Rings Trilogy https://www.warnerbros.co.uk/movies/lord-rings-trilogy TV Show: ‘Star Trek’ (1966-1969) - NBC https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060028/ TV Show: ‘Star Trek: Next Generation’ (1987-1994) - CBS https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455/ Live Show: ‘90s Comedian’ (2006) https://www.stewartlee.co.uk/merch_download/90s-comedian/ TV Show: ‘Seinfeld’ (1989-1998) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098904/ King Rocker (2020) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10451082/ TV Special: ‘Stewart Lee: Snowflake’ (2022) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22030334/ TV Special: ‘Stewart Lee: Tornado’ (2022) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22030350/ Album: Back Door, Back Door (1975) https://open.spotify.com/album/5j1apHg2nmljcLH2UIKPLq Credits: Producer: Millie Chu Assistant Producer: Mark Maughan Production Manager: Francesca Bassett Music: Miguel D’Oliveira Audio Mixer: Tom Guest Video Mixer: Scott Edwards Shownotes compiled by Elly Young Executive Producer: Arron Fellows A Mindhouse Studios Production for Spotify www.mindhouse.co.uk Open a Moneybox Cash ISA at https://moneybox.onelink.me/Cqlx/y3xncge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello there, welcome to the Louis Theroux podcast.
0:13.0	My guest today is comedian, director, writer and 41st best stand-up ever, Stuart Lee.
0:25.8	Stuart is one of the most influential and admired stand-up comedians working today,
0:30.7	known for his meticulously constructed routines which rely on repetition, repetition, repetition.
0:42.2	That's my joke. An amusing and ironic sense of superiority to his audience and a kind of wry and laid-back delivery. The music of his inflections is one of
0:49.6	his most appealing assets as a comedian. A lot of the most famous routines he does are on YouTube.
0:57.5	I've seen him live several times. He's very comfortable on stage. He's sometimes compared
1:02.6	with Ricky Jervais. He came to fame before Ricky and he writes openly in his book about
1:09.2	the ways in which he feels maybe he influenced Ricky or that
1:12.8	Ricky overlaps with what he does. Nevertheless, his voice is wholly his own. Stuart came on the
1:19.4	podcast to discuss his current stand-up show, Stuart Lee versus the man-wolf, which involves him
1:24.0	in the middle. This is a spoiler, not really. He dresses up as a kind of
1:28.2	a werewolf in order to take on the persona of what he describes as a Netflix comedian,
1:35.0	someone who is emphatically non-woke, who deals with edgy comedy. So the whole set is an
1:44.0	exploration of the politics of comedy and where a liberal, self-confessed,
1:49.5	kind of politically correct comedian like Stuart sits in all of that. Stuart made his start in comedy
1:55.3	as one half of the duo, Leon Herring, alongside Richard Herring. Notably, he was part of the creative group that
2:02.2	birthed Alan Partridge. So some LTP cinematic universe synergy. We kind of need Richard Herring
2:13.2	to come on and Armando Ionucci and Patrick Marba and then we'll have completed the set. That's like the
2:20.2	Avengers Assemble of the Partridge Verse. Does the Partridge Verse exist in the same world as the Theruverse?
2:28.3	No. How could it? He lives in the Partridge verse. He's fictional. I'm real. What does the Theroux verse overlap with?
2:36.7	The Ronson verse?
	...

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