Bo Burnham: Inside

Bo Burnham: Inside
A filming setup and a ceiling fan are located within a small room. In small black letters, the words "A Netflix Original Special" can be seen above the medium-sized name "Bo Burnham", which itself is above a larger, all capitalized, title: "Inside".
Promotional release poster
Directed byBo Burnham
Written byBo Burnham
Produced byJosh Senior
StarringBo Burnham
CinematographyBo Burnham
Edited byBo Burnham
Music byBo Burnham
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • May 30, 2021 (2021-05-30)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Bo Burnham: Inside is a 2021 musical special written, directed, filmed, edited, and performed by American comedian Bo Burnham.[1] Created alone by Burnham in the guest house of his Los Angeles home during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was released on Netflix on May 30, 2021. Featuring a variety of songs and sketches about his day-to-day life indoors, it depicts Burnham's deteriorating mental health, explores themes of performativity and his relationship to the internet and the audience it helped him reach, and addresses topics such as climate change and social movements. Other segments discuss online activities such as FaceTiming one's mother, posting on Instagram, sexting, and livestreaming video games.

Inside follows Burnham's previous stand-up comedy special Make Happy (2016), which led him to quit performing as he began to experience panic attacks onstage during that special's tour. An album of songs from the special, Inside (The Songs), was released digitally on June 10, 2021. On the first anniversary of the special's release, Burnham uploaded The Inside Outtakes, an hour-long YouTube video of outtakes, unused songs, behind-the-scenes footage, and alternate takes from the special. A deluxe album including these outtakes, Inside (Deluxe), was released on June 3, 2022.

The special was widely praised, particularly for its music, direction, cinematography, editing, and presentation of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Critics found that the special incorporates a variety of art forms including music, stand-up comedy bits, and meta-commentary, describing it as some combination of comedy, drama, documentary, and theater. For Inside, Burnham received a Peabody Award, Emmy Awards for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Music Direction, and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media for "All Eyes on Me".

  1. ^ Brody, Richard (June 9, 2021). "Bo Burnham and the Possibilities of the Cinematic Selfie". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  2. ^ "Bo Burnham: Inside (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 23, 2021.