Artist Juston McKinney

Is the world ready for the “next generation” of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour? That’s the dubious honor handed down to cop-turned-comedian Juston McKinney, though thankfully it’s less a predilection for fart jokes and other overt pandering to the heartland than McKinney’s family-friendly style that places him in the “salt-of-the-earth” school of comedy. McKinney (a former recipient of the “Listerine Clean Mouth Award” for his ability to get laughs without working blue) mines cozily familiar topics like crappy Christmas gifts and annoying parking tickets for laughs, although it’s material culled from his years on the beat—including accidentally teaching kids about drugs and gangs while working for D.A.R.E.—that keep him out of the middle of the road.

Updated 12/14/2009