Forget about being cool, Whitmer Thomas just wants to make his friends laugh

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Set us as preferred Whitmer Thomas takes a sip from his cold brew as he answers whether or not he feels like a “cool guy.” His wavy hair sits under his hat.Reflected sunglasses cover his eyes while a second pair hangs from the collar of his plain white T-shirt.“On paper, people have said, you know, you’re a guy in an indie rock band who does stand-up and has floppy hair, you’re technically a cool guy,” Thomas said.

“But I don’t.That’s me being performative, like, trying desperately to buy the right clothes.”He’s not worried about being cool.

The only characteristic he really cares about is loyalty, especially when it comes to his guys, his buds, his “Terminal Crew of Dudes,” the title and subject of his latest HBO Max comedy special, out Friday.“[Their friendship] means a lot, you know?” Thomas said.“It’s my entire identity.

My friends and the stories that we tell together.… I almost feel, like, in debt to my friends.”Throughout the show, his chosen family is on stage with him, punctuating his stories with songs that give each anecdote an emotional button.

Their presence gives “The Terminal Crew of Dudes” an intimacy that feels less like a comedy special and more like friends jamming and trying to make each other laugh.That kind of chemistry isn’t possible without his best friend, Clay Tatum, who co-directed the special and plays guitar throughout the show.“It was emotional and sweet to have them there, knowing that they knew those stories,” the comedian said.“A lot of the stuff I’ll sometimes talk about, people think is sad or something, but to them, it’s not.

It’s funny, you know? They were there for the aftermath.”Sometimes the Terminal Crew laugh at certain details the audience wouldn’t pick up on — laughs that were only meant for his friends.Sometimes his friends would even dare him to tell a joke about buffalo wings, the kind of dares that...