Nate Bargatze kicked off TODAY's first Sunday Sitdown Live, providing plenty of hearty laughs and cheers at New York City's City Winery.
At the event Jan. 22, sponsored by City Winery, the comedian was able to connect with audience members in real time as he told personal stories to host Willie Geist.
With glasses of wine and Sunday Sitdown yellow mugs in hand, TODAY viewers from all over listened to Bargatze reflect on his journey as a comedian, his love for Vanderbilt football, falling for his wife, the impact of “clean comedy” and what’s next for his media company, Nateland Entertainment.
“It doesn’t feel like it’s happening to you,” Bargatze said of his success in comedy. “Even back there, I was like, ‘I don’t know what anybody would want to hear me say.’”
Bargatze explained that he’s been in the comedy industry for about 20 years.
“It’s a lot to take in. Maybe you take it in later at another time. Maybe you sit back and really think,” he said. “Right now you stay in it, and you be as good as you possibly can be.”
Willie reminded the audience of Bargatze’s massive shows and the comedian hosting “Saturday Night Live” twice in one year.
At one point in the show, Willie read Bargatze questions submitted from the audience.
Julie from Milton, Georgia, asked Bargatze when he realized he was funny.
Bargatze recalled telling jokes and explaining why they're funny to his parents from a young age. He also drew on a memory from his teenage years.
“In high school, I was at a party, and I was just ranting about some story, and it was getting a lot of laughs. So, that was sort of the first standup set that I did,” he said.
Alexander from New York City asked Bargatze to talk about the first time he “bombed” onstage as a comic.
“You bomb a lot,” Bargatze joked, before recounting one particularly bad set.
“It was sold out. Everybody’s doing great. I go up, and I bomb so hard — like, no laughs. Full seven minutes, just complete silence. I had a button-down shirt. I had it tucked in, and I blamed it on that,” he joked. “I never wore that shirt after that.”
To wrap the conversation, Bargatze told the audience that he envisions his media company, Nateland Entertainment, to be a safe space for families.
“I think entertainment, you see with Hollywood, it’s very much detached from what people want to see,” he said. “People are not making stuff for families to even go to.”
Bargatze said he hopes people know that the Nateland marking means the program is “safe to watch as a family.”
As he focuses on building up Nateland, Bargatze suggested he plans to soon stop touring as a comedian, which drew disappointment from the audience.
“The good news about Nate saying he’s not touring is that the Rolling Stones said that in 1978,” Willie reminded the crowd.
Part One of the first-ever Sunday Sitdown Live with Willie and Bargatze aired Feb. 2.
