Courtesy of Dan Donovan/Explore St. Louis
The city proclaimed April 28 "Nikki Glaser Day" in honor of the comedian's new show.
The St. Louis area just keeps popping up on the small screen — first, The Bachelor featured Eureka native Clayton Echard, then O'Fallon resident Pam Hupp's murderous exploits were shown on NBC's The Thing About Pam. Now, comedian and native St. Louisan Nikki Glaser’s show Welcome Home Nikki Glaser? premiered last night, May 1, at 9 p.m. on the E! network. The show follows Glaser’s return home to St. Louis and her career as a comedian.
Welcome Home Nikki Glaser? puts St. Louis center stage. As the resident pop culture consumer here at the RFT, I humbly present highlights from the first two episodes.
To open, there’s a montage of Glaser's performances and various St. Louis spots — the Arch, various city streets, etc. — and I find myself saying “It’s really weird to see St. Louis on TV” more than once throughout the episode. Glaser then kicks off the premiere with a shopping trip in a Goodwill with her mom, Julie, and it’s glorious.
Julie Glaser is a superstar. An absolute epitome of St. Louis mothers, she says hello to Alan, a Goodwill employee, as Glaser asks how often she goes there to know the employee’s name.
We also meet Glaser’s dad, EJ, and he’s got the same star power Julie does. As Glaser tries to take some stuff from their house for her apartment, he jokes that she should leave some stuff behind for the Nikki Glaser museum. Be careful what you wish for, dad — the city already proclaimed April 28 “Nikki Glaser Day,” so we’re just one step shy of a full-blown museum.
Then, Glaser’s sort-of-but-not-really boyfriend, Chris Convy, another native St. Louisan who moved away and came back, is introduced. They’re working on their relationship issues and go on a date at Steinberg Skating Rink. Again, it’s just really bizarre to see St. Louis on display like this. One last introduction is to roommate Andrew Collin, comedian and former dog walker.
The second episode centers on Glaser's performance at The Factory in Chesterfield. There is also a moment when Glaser is shopping that she asks the infamous “Where did you go to high school?” question to the cashier, and I think I almost die that no one outside of Missouri will understand the significance of this moment.
The cashier isn’t from St. Louis, but her husband went to Kirkwood High School, and it almost happens as a dreamlike sequence for any native St. Louisan: Glaser says she went there, the cashier tells her her husband’s name, and Glaser knows his cousin. In fact, he was her first kiss, and he gave her mono.
It was probably the most St. Louis thing to ever happen on TV, just short of needing a t-rav or a pizza from Imo's.
Later, Glaser takes the stage at The Factory, where her second-grade teacher is watching. Glaser's mom ends up “swatted,” which, per Glaser is when someone falsely calls the police to a famous person's address.
There’s also a date between Glaser and Convy, shot at Frida’s, but with b-roll of beautiful shots of the Grove neighborhood. The episode ends at a self-defense class with Glaser and the star of the show — I mean her mom, Julie, — discussing the downfalls of fame.
The comedian also serves up some hilarious moments, both raunchy and not. You'd have to watch to get the full effect. Her parents steal the show more often than not. It's refreshing to see our city's beauty on full display, and Nikki Glaser has you entertained for the full 30 minutes.
It’s only a matter of time before, thanks to Nikki Glaser and The Bachelor’s Clayton Echard, we get a Real Housewives of St. Louis. Here’s hoping Julie Glaser stars.
Welcome Home Nikki Glaser? is on every Sunday at 9 p.m. on E! network.
