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James Austin Johnson is going from Studio 8H to the stand-up stage.
The “Saturday Night Live” star, who is best known for portraying Donald Trump on the sketch comedy series, will release his debut comedy special “He’ll
Yeah” on Aug. 31.
The hour will debut exclusively on Gorilla Comedy+, the recently launched streamer from 800 Pound Gorilla, before it heads to YouTube on Sept. 22 at 5 p.m. PT.
“He’ll Yeah” sees the comedian performing in a variety of venues, from The Den Theatre in Chicago to Cobb’s Comedy Club in San Francisco to Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville. The trailer for the special sets up some pretty lofty stakes: “James Austin Johnson has one year — no wait one hour — to change comedy forever, or he will be chemically castrated,” read the title cards.
Johnson joined “SNL” in 2021 for Season 47. A regular Trump impersonator, he is often the star of the cold open, screaming, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!” Johnson’s other impressions on the NBC show include Joe Biden, Mitch McConnell and Bob Dylan, which Johnson parlayed into a small role in the Timothée Chalamet-led Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.” Johnson’s other screen credits include “Ghosts,” “Barry” and “Better Call Saul.”
Johnson’s comedy often covers two of his passions: video games and music. A Dylan fanatic, he has recently released covers of his songs including “The Man in Me” and “She Belongs to Me.”
“He’ll Yeah” is produced by Johnson and Bryan B. Stray, with co-producers Daniel Page and Kris Evered. It’s written by Johnson and directed by Stray.
Watch the trailer for “He’ll Yeah” below.
