Tom Segura’s Netflix show ‘Bad Thoughts’ thrives on unhinged, ‘really messed up’ dark comedy
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Bad thoughts — we’ve all had them. But the kind of twisted thoughts that are circling the mind of comedian, podcaster and writer Tom Segura are definitely not for the squeamish. Infamous for his dark comedic style, Segura’s new project, a series of short cinematic tales, co-written, co-produced, co-directed, and starring him, also enters the darkest of sides. Still skeptical? On May 13, “Bad Thoughts,” a six-episode series, crashes onto Netflix like a fever dream. It’s so unhinged that your brain might file a restraining order.
Transforming “bad thoughts” from someone’s head to “Bad Thoughts” on Netflix took years, but it all paid off when Segura, and his creative partners, finally went full throttle on creating some wildly messed up movie magic. “I thought it would be fun to stream one episode of something scripted and produced on YMH Studios. Just to see if there was an appetite for that. That was the idea,” Segura says.
“We shot that one episode in April of 2021, and it was so expensive to do, and post took a really long time, so it was almost 2022 when we were like, here it is,” continues Segura. “Our agents looked at it and they were like, ‘You have to shop this. We know you can do something with this.’ I was in the middle of my tour at that point, so it wasn’t until 2024 when I was like, OK, we have to get on this.”
Although streaming on YMH Studios was the original intent, the comedian, who has five specials on Netflix, figured shopping it around couldn’t hurt. “I was going to take it to HBO, Amazon and all the places. I just was like, ‘I have a relationship with Netflix, so I’ll show it to them first to see if they’re interested,’” he says.
After viewing it, Netflix didn’t hesitate to green-light the series. “It’s six episodes, but we got to use two of the stories that were in the original presentation,” Segura says. “Two of the three are in the actual series, and you can tell because I weigh 40 pounds more in them.”
Kirk Fox, a stand-up and actor, is a master of hilarity who regularly lights up arenas as a touring comic alongside Segura. Fox didn’t skip a beat at saying yes to working with Segura’s intensely wild script for his scenes in “Bad Thoughts.”
“We all have bad thoughts, but Tom has found a way to make them as funny as they are scary. And he directs the way he exists. Seamless. Economy of words. He knows what he’d like to see in a scene and makes it clear to all,” Fox says.
Emerging from his early retirement is Rob Iler, the actor primarily known for his role on “The Sopranos” as A.J. Soprano, or as the co-host to Jamie-Lynn Sigler on the “Not Today Pal” podcast, which streams on YMH Studios. On this podcast, you can hear Iler discuss never wanting to act again, but ultimately, he couldn’t resist getting in on “Bad Thoughts.”
“Tom and Christina [Pazsitzky] have always been extremely supportive, so when Tom asked if I would do him a favor, and it was outside of the Hollywood world, it made me feel like it would just be friends making a fun show. That drew me in,” says Iler. “Seeing Tom have the balls to spend this much money and believe in himself, and then trusting me with part of that, it seemed like a bad choice on his end, but I was down for the ride.”
Tom may have chosen the members of the “Bad Thoughts” cast, but that didn’t stop him from being completely floored by their performances. “Everyone was so good. Did you know Rob Iler’s last acting gig was ‘The Sopranos,’ and then this? And it’s completely by choice. The guy gets called and offered roles still, and when people see him in this, they’re gonna be like, oh, yeah, this guy’s an incredible actor.”
Several recognizable TV and film actors, including Shea Whigham and Dan Stevens, brought even more major-level acting chops to the series, Segura says. “It was also really fun to watch Shea on the monitor do all these little things, and to have these facial expressions, and then you realize you’re with an experienced cinematic actor,” Segura continues. “We were all just mesmerized by it. We didn’t like to repeat too many of the actors, but Dan Stevens came in and was so good that we had him for another role, and Kirk Fox is just unbelievable too. You’re just like, oh my God, he’s so damn good.”
No spoilers from us but not addressing the unforgettable opening scene would be a disservice because it demanded some, shall we say, vulnerability. “It’s my ass—. It’s not great, I know it’s not, but I just had to deal with it,” says Segura. “It’s funny because when my ass was first exposed, I was very self-conscious and covering up. After 30 minutes I was just like, just look at it. I don’t care anymore! When you see the later episodes, it’s the other side. You get full frontal.”
At its core, Segura’s trademark mix of humor and darkness is what truly ties together this wild collection of short films. “Some get really messed up, but there are all different styles to these stories,” Segura says. “I feel like I went to film school and got to make 15 short films with all of these different genres and different characters. And I got to apply what I love, a fun twist.”
“My favorite quality in Tom is his openness to suggestions,” Fox says. “He may not use it, but he will certainly give it a thought. That’s what makes Tom a great comedian too, he’s always listening because you never know where you’ll find a great tag for a joke or a great line in a scene. Tom was built for this, and the world is about to experience it.”
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