New York City native Des Bishop has followed an unusual path to success in comedy.His journey has taken him from Queens to Ireland to China, but after moving back home to the U.S., the comedian said definitively that touring the States brought his game to a new level.Bishop moved to Ireland when he was 14 and didn't move back to the U.S.
until his mid-40s, during the COVID-19 pandemic.After performing stand-up in multiple languages, styles and media, Bishop returned to Manhattan's esteemed Comedy Cellar for his newly released Hulu special, "Bridge and Tunnel," which is set to go live on YouTube for free on July 10. This marks his seventh stand-up comedy special, but only his second in America — and according to him, there is a difference.JEFF FOXWORTHY PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN ON COMEDY'S CREATIVE PROCESS FOR WHAT COULD BE HIS LAST SPECIALComedian Des Bishop sat down with Fox News Digital to discuss his new stand-up special, "Bridge and Tunnel," streaming now on Hulu and releasing for free on YouTube on July 10.
(Julia Bonavita / Fox News)"For a boast, yes, I've had a lot of specials because I've had this entire career in Ireland that Americans don't really know about.Which is weird because I'm a New Yorker, but I lived in Ireland for a lot of my life.
So that's why it's all a bit confusing," Bishop told Fox News Digital."I would say the percentage of Americans that saw any of my previous specials before my last two would be in the zero-point-zero-something percent, like, a very low amount," he said."And if they had, a lot of those jokes would have just gone over their heads because they're very Irish."Performing for American audiences forced Bishop to tighten up his act and move beyond the longer, more narrative style he developed in Ireland, he said."Gigging in America, touring around the United States, just made me a way better comedian," he said.While Ireland honed his storytelling chops, American clubs taught him pace and punch."I had developed great story...