It’s not every day that history gets made through stand-up comedy, but Michelle Buteau added one more crack to the glass ceiling when A Buteau-ful Mind — which dropped December 31 on Netflix — made her the first woman to film a comedy special at Radio City Music Hall.

"It’s so crazy that we're living in a time where we're still making history," she says. "It’s like, how come this hasn't been done? But no female comedian had filmed a comedy special at Radio City. And when I heard that, I just got a feeling. I was like, 'I have to do it.' I think for a lot of us — not only artists, but anyone — we all have to listen to our intuition."

 In her second hourlong special, Buteau jokes about going viral on social media, edible-enhanced date nights with her husband, the trials and tribulations of parenting their 5-year-old twins and, in a more poignant moment, the dangerous consequences of other comics' transphobic material. "I wanna make millions and millions of dollars for making people feel safe, seen, secure, heard and entertained," she tells her Radio City crowd.

On top of her stand-up work, Buteau has hosted seven seasons of The Circle and two seasons of Barbecue Showdown; she also has 15 years of comedic film and television credits under her belt, including the 2024 film Babes (alongside Broad City alum Ilana Glazer) and three seasons of the BET+ series First Wives Club.

Now, a second season of her Netflix series Survival of the Thickest is on the horizon, premiering in March. Buteau co-created, executive-produces and stars in the series, which is inspired by her same-named memoir. She describes the show's second season as "sort of like a new year's resolution where you're like, 'I gotta upgrade. I gotta upgrade my life.' Everything has to be bigger, better, blacker, sexier — all the things. So [my character] Mavis is putting Mavis first."

The first season of Survival of the Thickest was chock-full of female talent, in front of and behind the camera, and we can expect more of that in season two: "When I got the opportunity to finally do my own show, I wanted the cast to be a reflection of my world — like, my real ass New York, and that is female-forward. That is fat, is Black, is brown, is queer, is other, is questioning. That's what my world is. And I wanted that to also reflect in the crew."

Buteau says 70% of the show’s heads of department are female, as are all the camera operators. "We also had a beautiful Black hair and makeup trailer," she says, "because there's nothing like feeling safe and secure and taken care of when you walk in a trailer and see someone who looks like you or has had a shared experience like you."

Here, Michelle Buteau shares some of the shows that helped define her.

The shows that first caught my interest: The Jeffersons, Dallas, Days of Our Lives

I just remember George (Sherman Hemsley) and Weezy’s (Isabel Sanford) comedic timing, and that she had gold chains and an A-line skirt. I just loved this dynamic couple that was new to the Upper East Side, and as I make my way through fun four- and sometimes five-star places, I'm like, "Look at me getting a piece of the pie, just like George Jefferson in a three-piece suit."

My mom has vivid memories of me dancing and shaking my booty to Dallas on a Friday night, which I loved. I was like, "JR, what's he up to?" Because they were all very rich siblings in Texas, and I was an only child who made my own cereal in the morning from 5 years old. So, I was like, "What Is this? What’s it like having brothers and sisters? You guys are just always fighting over the land?" And, "Oh my god, who's Bobby bringing home?"

My babysitter — a beautiful, older Jamaican woman named Miss Ruby — she loved herself some Days of Our Lives. And while she was supposed to be helping me with my homework, we had to know what Victor Kiriakis was up to, honey. He is running amok, and Marlena wasn’t having it. Do you know how hard it is to be a 6-year-old with nappy hair, trying to get it all feathered like Marlena? It was not fair. 

The shows that were formative for me as a teen: Living Single, Beverly Hills 90210

One just felt very familiar: Oh, I have single aunties, and they definitely have guy friends that were "just friends." Wink, wink. And then, I think we all had a dream to be Brenda (Shannen Doherty) and just show up to a cool school and get the cool guy with bangs.

The show that is must-watch weekly viewing for me: 90 Day Fiancé

First of all, I don't know how much "learning" we're doing with TLC, The Learning Channel. There's a lot of suspect things going on. Like Dr. Pimple Popper: This should just be a 1-800 number. The commercials are yuck — this guy had a goiter on his head, and he had a little top hat on it. And I was like, bro … now I can never unsee it.

Anyway, 90 Day Fiancé is fascinating to me because I have friends, I know people, I know family members who have legitimately gone on a vacation, felt like they have found "the one," fell in love — sure — and didn’t know anything about this person but just brought them over and took care of them.

And that is also how my husband [Dutch photographer Gijs van der Most] and I met. It was supposed to be a one-night stand. We did long distance for two years. When he finally proposed, we had to go through the process of showing documents, and it was so crazy.

That's why I'm fascinated [with the show]. And I understand those conversations, because when you are from different places, everything is heightened. When it's long distance, everything is heightened. But also, it's a hot mess, which I kind of appreciate, because it's nice looking at somebody else's mess and not yours.

The show that most influences my personal style: Sex and the City

It's so hard not to say Sex and the City, because there were four dynamic, very different, powerful women all at the top of the call sheet, dressed to the nines, running about town. But it's like Sex and the City meets Janelle Monae and Solange and Tracee Ellis Ross. Like, if they were the women in Sex and the City, that's the style.

The show I can watch over and over: The Golden Girls

I mean, come on. Not only is it well-written, it's the perfect storm of comedy. All those women were just at the tippy top of their game. They're not pushing the jokes, and they've created this space, this world. I'm like, whatever you're trying to sell me, I'm buying it. Do you know what I mean? I'm like, yes, chef.

The show I love that may surprise people: Game of Thrones

People think there's a specific type of nerd that is into Game of Thrones: the person that goes to a Renaissance fair in a costume that smells like 1972. It’s the person that learns the Dothraki language and goes on a Reddit meet cute or something. Like, do they still live with their mom? Do they fly to Ireland to see the castle?

I'm not that girlie. I’m not that bitch. But I did really appreciate the cinematography and the stories. I mean, the storylines were insane. How do they do it? How do they keep up? And it was also at a time when HBO had “must-see TV” on a Sunday night, so you're watching it with everybody else. I mean, I feel the same way about The Sopranos, too, but that was a little too close to home, because I’m from Jersey. It’s a little too accurate.

The show I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t seen: The Wire

I mean, I have too many, but I've never seen The Wire. My god, all my friends swear by it. When people tell me something is amazing, I don't watch it. I'm like, "Calm your tits. I'll get to it when it's on a plane and I've had my third malbec." So, when I tried to get to The Wire, it was too much of a slow burn for me, though I did appreciate everybody's young face.

But, side note, Hassan Johnson, who is in The Wire, also has a cameo in season two of Survival of the Thickest, and everybody was gagging. I was like, "I’m such a fan." And I am such a fan, but I can't tell him I've never seen it, so I'm like, "I love all that you do."

Oh, and I've never seen The Simpsons. Oopsie poopsie.