How Absurdist Humor Won 2025
Absurdist humor has always tickled my brain in a way that made it hurt but also crave more. There is something about humor that dances a little too far out on the edge that fascinates me and makes me wonder how did my algorithm get me here? What is wrong with me? From late-night sketch shows to the occasional cult classic, I’ve always been a fan of absurdist humor, but 2025 brought with it a new level of acceptable weird that moved comedy from the margins to the center of culture, helping us to collectively process a world that feels increasingly surreal.
Two HBO shows in particular marked the shift for me: Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal and Tim Robinson’s The Chair Company. One turns human insecurity into a sprawling psychological labyrinth of staged rehearsals and prep for everyday situations, while the other explodes simple day-to-day awkward moments into corporate warfare and conspiracy theories. Together, they captured what it feels like to live right now: anxious, confused, overstimulated, and somehow laughing through it.
Absurdism certainly isn’t new, but it is something that evolves with the times based on the current environment. In the 1950s and 60s, Theatre of the Absurd explored the meaninglessness of human existence through illogical situations (think Camus and Beckett). In the 1970s, we had Monty Python to expose the silliness of existing institutions, and in the 1980s, we had Andy Kaufman who made the audience the punchline and blurred the line between bit and reality. 2000s–2010s fringe comedy was dominated by Tim & Eric and Adult Swim, where lo-fi chaos became not only an aesthetic, but a way for millennials to hone their self-expression.
Then comes 2025 where Fielder and Robinson pay homage to these comedians and many more. Their way is more intimate, more anxious, and more reflective to the current environment: a culture that no longer trusts the rules of reality. We are in a time where reality has become too strange for traditional satire. Political news reads like parody. Social anxiety has become a shared language and symptom of recovering from a global pandemic. We watch other spiral and think honestly…same. Modern workplaces are held together by fragile egos simmering with rage. Absurdism lets us laugh at the systems we can’t escape.
Beneath the surface, absurdism serves a real psychological purpose. It normalizes and validates our daily experiences that often feel chaotic and arbitrary. I’m thankful to te comedians who keep absurdism alive, giving us a reminder that You’re not alone…you’re just living in 2025.
These shows also have great social purpose, exposing in The Rehearsal just how broken communication between pilot and co-pilot is, and how our fragile lives depend on unspoken rules between them that we take for granted each and every day.
More than anything, comedy brings with it a sense of community. An opportunity to say holy shit did you see the last episode? When people quote absurd sketches and send along Tim Robinson memes, it’s a way to connect.
If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that absurdist humor is here to stay. It lets us know the world does not make sense, and that’s okay. We’re all in it together.