Netflix has acquired the independently produced sitcom “Tires” from stand-up comedian Shane Gillis, who stars and serves as an exec producer. The six-episode scripted comedy, which was self-financed, will premiere on May 23.
As part of the deal with Gillis, Netflix will also produce a new stand-up special with the comedian — his second for the streamer, following last fall’s “Beautiful Dogs.” The news comes in the wake of Gillis’ “Saturday Night Live” hosting gig this past weekend.
Gillis is also a writer and the co-creator of “Tires,” which stars Steven Gerben as Will, “the nervous and unqualified heir to an auto repair chain.” Will attempts to turn his father’s business around “despite constant torture from his cousin and now employee, Shane (Shane Gillis).”
Gillis’ frequent collaborator John McKeever is the director on “Tires,” which comes from Gillis’ and McKeever’s production company, Dad Sick Productions. Gerben and McKeever are also creators, writers and EPs on “Tires,” along side Gillis.
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Besides Gerben and Gillis, “Tires” also stars Chris O’Connor, Kilah Fox and Stavros Halkias, with guest appearances by Andrew Schulz. Other EPs on the comedy include Brandon James for Rough House; Brian Stern and Kenneth Slotnick for AGI Entertainment Media & Management; and Becky Astphan.
Gillis and McKeever also self-produced their previous series, the sketch comedy “Gilly and Keeves” (which was uploaded to YouTube), which then led to “Gilly & Keeves: The Special,” on its dedicated website GillyandKeeves.tv in a partnership with Booklight Entertainment and Outback Presents. Gillis’ sitcom experience additionally includes appearances in two episodes of Peacock’s Pete Davidson comedy “Bupkis,” as “Gilly.”
The decision by Netflix to pick up Gillis’ new series comes after his most recent Netflix special, “Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs,” was a hit for the streamer last fall. The special, which was directed by McKeever (the “Keeves” of “Gilly and Keeves”), landed in Netflix’s top 10 rankers for several weeks. That repped Gillis’ second stand-up special, following the 2021 YouTube release “Shane Gillis: Live in Austin.”
Gillis, of course, is now well known for his unusual experience with “SNL.” Originally hired to join the cast in 2019, Gillis was then fired when racist, homophobic and misogynistic remarks he had made were resurfaced. Nonetheless, Gillis was tapped to host the Feb. 24 episode of “SNL,” where he very briefly acknowledged his firing in his opening monologue.
“I’m here,” he said in his “SNL” monologue. “Most of you probably have no idea who I am. I was actually — I was fired from this show a while ago. But, you know, don’t look that up, please. If you don’t know who I am, please don’t Google that. It’s fine. Don’t even worry about it.”
Gillis has been a comic on the rise in recent years, haing been named an “Up-Next” comedian at Comedy Central’s 2019 Clusterfest in San Francisco and a “New Face” at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He also co-hosts the podcast “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” and is a regular guest on several others.
As for McKeever, besides “Gilly & Keeves” and “Beautiful Dogs,” his credits include writing for MTV, Tru TV, NBC, and Comedy Central. He was a regular on Tru TV’s “Almost Genius” and was seen on Comedy Central’s “Adam Devine’s House Party” and HBO’s “High Maintenance.”
Next up, Gillis will perform two live shows at the 2024 Netflix is a Joke Fest in Los Angeles, at the Greek Theater (May 4) and the Kia Forum (May 8).
