Whitmer Thomas on his new HBO special and crafting darkwave comedy bangers

For his first one-hour comedy special, Whitmer Thomas made a pilgrimage to The Flora-Bama Lounge, the famed Gulf Shores beach bar where his late mother frequently played to droves of partiers with her twin sister in the band Syn Twister. His mom’s untimely death casts a somber shadow over The Golden One—which also grapples with heavy themes like an absentee father and a foiled childhood kidnapping—but Thomas channels all of his feelings through a charming hybrid of highly self-aware comedic storytelling and arch original songs that can only be described as “darkwave comedy bangers.” Like the best of the musical comedy genre, the songs of The Golden One stand on their own as simply great tracks. For example, the single “Partied To Death” is hilariously frank about Thomas’ own sobriety while also being a catchy goth-pop banger in its own right.