Fortune Feimster Talks New Netflix Comedy Special ‘Good Fortune’

Two years after releasing her debut comedy special Sweet & Salty on Netflix, stand-up comedian and actress Fortune Feimster is picking up where she left off with her next one, Good Fortune.

Filmed at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater and directed by Manny Rodriguez, Good Fortune expands on Feimster’s confessional brand of comedy and how she’s different than what meets the eye. The beloved LGBTQ sensation charms the audience by sharing uproarious stories from her life and reflecting on her own good fortune, which includes bumping into Jason Momoa, getting iced, and receiving a mind-blowing butt massage.

She also includes some big life events like falling in love with her wife and the extravagant proposal she planned that didn’t go as expected.

Executive produced by Feimster, Good Fortune is now available to stream on Netflix. She took some time to talk more about it, as well as her style of comedy and upcoming projects with OFM.

Congratulations on your new Netflix comedy special, Good Fortune!

Thank you very much, I appreciate it!

What can viewers expect?

You can expect a lot of storytelling. I really lean into that on this special. I try to take my time and tell stories of things that I’ve gone through more in my adult life and more recent times. It kind of starts with me not being exactly what you think I would be based on my appearance and sort of delving into that a bit, and then it really goes into my relationship with my now-wife, as far as adjusting to the roles that we both play in the relationship, getting engaged and the pressures of that, and then getting married, dealing with some big life things, and how we both handled it. I just think it’s a slice of life in a way that I hope is relatable to people, and obviously, I hope it makes them laugh.

For those who don’t know, how did you fall into the world of comedy, and has this always been your passion?

I’ve always loved comedy. I grew up watching SNL and reruns of The Carol Burnett Show, so it was always a part of my life. I just never thought it could be something that I did for a living. I remember going to an improv show in college and being blown away by it, but I didn’t have the money to take a class. I eventually moved to LA for reasons that had nothing to do with the comedy world, and I thought about that improv class I’d seen years before and decided to give it a try. Let’s do this.

I did it as a hobby and thought it would be a good way to make friends. Never in a million years did I think it would be anything more than that. Something to do on a Wednesday night, but I was lucky and had some really great teachers who really rooted me on and said, “You got something here. You’ve got to keep doing this.” That was happening a lot. A lot of people were like, “There’s something here. Don’t stop doing this,” and that really motivated me to keep going and figuring it out.

What drew you to a confessional brand of comedy?

I think you find that as you go. It’s not something that you set out to do. At first, you’re just trying to write a joke. Like, what do people want to hear? I have no idea, but I think I really found my voice the most with Sweet & Salty, my first Netflix special. I learned a lot by putting that set together and I learned a lot about how I wanted to tell stories. I leaned in to talk more about my life, and then that spilled over into this special. I tried to do that here as well, and I just found that sharing stories that are true and that you’ve been through ended up resonating a lot with people. I liked that.

 Is there anything in particular you always hope audiences take away from your sets?

I always want them to come to the show and have a good time, and I want them to leave feeling better than when they got there. I know there’s a lot going on in the world. Things are very stressful, and people have a lot on their plate, so I try to bring levity. I want to make you feel good; I want you to feel positive; I want to show people that you can go through things, and what’s the twist on it? What’s the good that came out of that? Just telling the stories that they can see themselves in. Like I went through that, I’m not alone. So, yeah, all the above

What advice can you offer to any aspiring comedian?

Honestly, there’s no magic formula to this. It is hard work. When I was coming up, I was doing 10 shows a week. You don’t get paid for very long time (laughs), so you have to be OK with that, but you have to do it because you want to do it and you really love it. You’re never guaranteed to make money at it; you’re never guaranteed to get hired for anything for it, and that has to be OK. You have to be like, “I love it regardless of the outcome.” And you have to write. I never knew that was such a big part of comedy, but writing is vital. So, both of those things, and you’ll hopefully get better because you’re doing something so often.

Do you have any other upcoming specials on Netflix or any tours in the works?

Yeah, we’ll be starting a new tour, which will probably begin in late January, and I just finished filming a big action series with Arnold Schwarzenegger for Netflix. That will be out sometime next year. Not sure when, but that’ll be something I’m very excited to share with people because it’s a whole other side of me that no one has ever seen before. I never even knew I could do that stuff.

So, I can’t wait for that one. And I also have the Netflix radio show on Sirius XM channel 93 with Tom Papa. We have a radio show Monday through Thursday where we talk about all things comedy.

Are you still doing your podcast, Sincerely Fortune?

We have been on a hiatus. We’re figuring all that out now, but it’s like, I’m running out of stories to tell people! I’ve been working too much. I haven’t been able to have any fun (laughs).

Stay up-to-date and connect with Feimster by following her on Instagram and TikTok @fortunefeimster, or visit her official website, fortunefeimster.com. Good Fortune is now available to stream on Netflix.

Photos courtesy of Netflix and Matt Misisco