There are multihyphenate entertainers, and then there’s Mae Martin, who seems to add hyphens every year.
Martin, who uses they/them pronouns, is on a 37-city North American comedy tour called “The Possum” that is scheduled for performances in New York on March 26.
Last September, Martin’s Netflix thriller “Wayward,” which they created and starred in, debuted at No. 1 on the streamer’s U.S. rankings and stayed in the top 10 for weeks. The series, which came a few years after their tragicomedy “Feel Good,” helped secure Martin a deal with Netflix to develop more shows as well as a stand-up special of “The Possum.”
Martin, 38, also released an indie-rock album, “I’m a TV,” in 2025, in addition to hosting the comedy podcast “Handsome” alongside Tig Notaro and Fortune Feimster. Their first collection of visual art, “Animal Paintings Volume 1 ” (they swear by gouache paints), sold out within hours on Etsy, with the $60,000 or so in proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders.
Despite all these projects, Martin’s origin story is as a stand-up comedian, which they started doing at age 13.
Compared with “SAP,” their 2023 Netflix special, “The Possum” is “more raw and really reflects where I’m at now in this current climate and the kind of frenetic anxiety that I think we’re all feeling,” they said in a video call from their Southern California home.
Martin also talked about the thrill of the open road (they just got their first driver’s license) and pulled a tarot card from their favorite deck to reflect the mood of our chat (we got the butterfly, indicating a period of transition). These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Having a Car
It’s not an understatement to say it’s changed my whole personality. Now I wake up with a pep in my step, excited to get in my car, play my tunes, primal scream. I love the weird little controlled environment, and I like the autonomy and not being such a passenger princess all the time.
Foosball Table
It’s in my backyard, and it’s really bad for my productivity. I have my friend Matt, who I’ve known for 18 years — he lives in my back house with his wife — we’re addicted. We play for hours a day. I have calluses on my hands that I claim are from weight lifting, but they’re from foosball.
Animal Tarot Deck
Kim Krans has a few decks that are great, but I really like this one: The Wild Unknown Pocket Animal Spirit Deck. I’ve been doing this thing where I pull out a card at the top of the show to see what energy the show is going to have. And I pull one in the morning to see what kind of day I should have and then I make it happen.
Oreos
They’ve done it, they’ve cracked it, the best taste that there has been or will be. I think so much about the person that perfected that recipe. I’ve always have multiple family-size boxes in my house and usually some in my backpack. And don’t be seduced by the other flavors — gotta go classic.
Best Friend Text Thread With Gaby and Nicole
I’ve been best friends with them since I was 13. We were in a sketch comedy troupe together. They’ve been so formative of my sense of humor.
Canon Rebel SLR Film Camera With CineStill 400 Film
When I moved to L.A., I got into film photography. I really love the process of getting them developed and waiting for that. Every night, the sunset is completely different to the one before, and I’ve got a good view from my house, so I feel like I’m underprepared if I don’t have a camera on me.
Notebook and Pen
We grew up without phones, and so I always used to have a notebook because you’re waiting to meet your friend and they’re late and you’re bored. I still try to keep that habit up. I write down most dreams and then a lot of [expletive] song lyrics and embarrassing poems. My journal style hasn’t really evolved since puberty. It’s still pretty emo.
Gibson Guitar
The first guitar that I ever had was a Gibson acoustic that my parents got me, but at the moment I’m really into this: a hollow body electric Gibson. I was kind of worried when I put out an album that commodifying it would make it not fun. But it’s stayed fun.
White-Noise Machine
At the moment, me and all my friends pretty much can’t sleep unless it feels like we’re on a Boeing 737. Maybe because I’m premature and it mimics the womb of my mother, I don’t know. I said white noise, but mainly because I am too embarrassed to say that I listen to deep brown noise.
Nice Jeans
It’s a lifelong quest to find the perfect pair. At the moment I’m really into these jeans from Frame, but you can’t go wrong with vintage Levi’s. I was one of the last people to hold onto skinny jeans, and now I look back and I’m appalled.
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