EXCLUSIVE: After building a major career in sitcoms, with starring roles on shows like Bob Hearts Abishola And Mike and MollyBilly Gardell is returning to his stand-up comedy roots with his first-ever theater tour – and his first tour of any kind in nearly a decade.
Kicking off in Eau Claire, WI on January 30, 2026, the tour will see Gardell drawing on his personal life experience with brand new material, as is his tendency. In a recent chat with the comic, he’ll discuss his recent 173-pound weight loss — “because I have to recognize the non-elephant in the room” — as well as his relationship with his father, whom he calls his hero. He also becomes both an empty nester and someone who finds himself at “a sweet spot” in his marriage, 25 years later, using the latter topic as a way to talk about “the illusion of what people think love is today, and what they tell our children they love today, and how our relationships should be.”
Inspired by his relationship with his twenty-something son, Gardell also examines younger generations with a more sympathetic eye than others. “I think it’s easy to pick on this generation and bash them,” he says, referring to people in their 20s and 30s, “when this is the generation that needs a little wisdom from the older generation more than anyone else.”
Naturally, he says, “These kids are going through the same things we are going through. [all] cross: Who will I be? Where will I live? Will anyone love me? And then add to that social media and the state of the world. I think they need an adult to talk to.
Although Gardell ended up having a long career in Hollywood, with a focus on television, he took the long road to get there, stopping at every small-town living room, military base and comedy club along the way. Describing his career as “27 years of overnight success,” he first did stand-up at an open mic night in 1987, then spent about nine years on the road before moving to California in 1996 and finding success as an actor.
Gardell broke out with two hit sitcoms on CBS from creator, executive producer and writer Chuck Lorre: Mike and Mollyopposite Melissa McCarthy, which lasted six seasons, and most recently, Bob Hearts Abisholawhich lasted five. Although he has devoted much of his activity to acting since 2010, Gardell retired from acting and stand-up comedy in 2020 to spend three years regaining his health. After becoming “so fat it hurt to exercise,” he knew he needed a drastic change. And after joining Ozempic, undergoing weight loss surgery and completely transforming his lifestyle, he got to where he wanted to be.
“I’m not on any medications. I’m healthier than ever. I can do things with my wife and kids that I couldn’t have done before,” Gardell shares. “I caught the unicorn that every heavy person dreams of: I flew on a middle seat. The other big problem was buying something off the shelf; that had never happened to me in my entire life. So it’s those little victories you think about that keep the wind in your sails.”
After going through his transformation period, Gardell thought he might be done with stand-up for good. “But you know, man, I don’t think you’ll ever be done with this,” he said. “Once that itch catches up with you, once a stand-up, always a stand-up.”
After taking an extra break from social media while getting healthy, Gardell realized he needed to get back on track if he wanted to completely rebuild his comedy career. “And I really found joy in it,” he says. “And I found out that I still had something to say, which was really great.”
So, after moving on to other endeavors for many years, Gardell is very happy to return to the stage – for the love of the game, above all else.
“Where I’ve gotten to in my career, I really feel like making people laugh is a service. Because I’ve checked a lot of boxes,” he says. “Once you’re lucky enough to have some success, you start to love your art form again. And in my art form, I want people to forget about their problems for an hour, connect with each other, remember that we’re all weird humans trying to bump into this blue ball, and we need to give each other space. Those are the things I really like to talk about.”
Gardell’s Tickets The Less is More Tour pre-sale on October 23 at 10 a.m. local time. The comic is represented by UTA, Levity Entertainment Group and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller. Check out their list of dates below.
Fri. Jan 30 — Eau Claire WI — Pablo Center
Sat. January 31 — Burnsville, MN — AMES Center
Fri. Feb. 13 — Sioux Falls, SD — Orpheum Theater Center
Sat. February 14 — Rapid City, SD — Rapid City PAC
Fri. March 13 – Ottumwa, IA – Bridge View Center
Sat. March 14 — Iowa City, IA — Englert Theater
Fri. March 27 – Cranston, RI – Park Theater
Sat. March 28 – Nashua, NH – Nashua Center for the Arts
Free. April 10 – San Luis Obispo, California – Fremont Theater
Sat. April 11 – Napa, California – Uptown Theater
Fri. April 24 — Eugene, OR — Supret
Sat. April 25 — Tacoma, WA — Rialto Theater
Fri. May 1 — Peekskill, New York — Paramount Hudson Valley Theater
Sat. May 2 – York, Pennsylvania – Capitol Theater
