Leanne Morgan on Owning Her Lane in Comedy & Her New Netflix Special ‘Unspeakable Things’

Leanne Morgan says that when she was three years old, she went on a family trip to Memphis. First stop was the local zoo “before they had glass over the monkeys and they threw their poop at us.” Next stop was Graceland, “where my mama Lucille swears that Elvis Presley‘s father, Vernon, came out on the driveway and said, ‘I’m so sorry you all, you can’t come in. Elvis and Priscilla are here riding horses.’”

“Mama climbed the gate and saw their heads bobbing, then she put me on her shoulders so that I could see,” Morgan says. “When she set me down, she says Vernon patted me on the head and said, ‘She’s a cute little trick.’ And mama says, “‘I just know that he anointed you and that this is happening for you because Vernon Presley patted your head.’”

As recounted by Morgan, the encounter with Elvis’ father is unfolds like a movie. Storytelling is the foundation of her comedy, and she has built a hugely successful career on it. According to Billboard Boxscore, she is the No. 4 highest grossing woman comedian of the 2020s so far, with $22.1 million in box-office receipts and 352,000 tickets sold over 152 shows. She published a New York Times bestselling book in 2024, What in the World?!: A Southern Woman’s Guide to Laughing at Life’s Unexpected Curveballs and Beautiful Blessings, and her Netflix sitcom. Leanne, which premiered this past summer, was renewed for a second season. And on Nov. 4, her latest, very funny comedy special, Unspeakable Things, premieres, also on Netflix.

A lot of comedians are storytellers, but what sets Morgan apart is her unique perspective as a 60-year-old church-raised mother and grandmother, who always saw herself in entertainment but wanted to raise a family first. To use a comedy term, she kills with kindness. She punctuates her conversation with “honey” and “darling,” and her comedy is clean, often self-deprecating and family-friendly, with a pinch of wickedness that emerges at unexpected moments. After telling the story about Vernon Presley, Morgan alludes to less wholesome things that went on at Graceland. “There’s no telling what went on on all that carpet,” she says, one eyebrow raised. “And there’s a lot of shag carpet.”

Like Nate Bargatze, Morgan’s style of comedy appeals to underserved audiences in the flyover states who aren’t interested in the blue stuff, and Morgan says she is grateful for them. “I’ve got the best fans in the world. They love me and believe in me and they want to see me do well. And they come out, they’ve got money. They want to be entertained, and I think they’ve been ignored.”

Unspeakable Things was shot in Morgan’s hometown of Murfreesboro, Tenn., and it’s a time-traveling collection of tales about her husband — who is always referred to as “Chuck Morgan” — her children, and her experiences filming You’re Cordially Invited with Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell in Atlanta, which included a visit to the city’s legendary basement strip club-cum-dive bar, The Clermont Lounge. It is one of the high points of the special — and below, Morgan talks to Billboard about her experiences there, the trajectory of her career, her take on the manosphere, and the magical properties of Mississippi pot roast and Trisha Yearwood’s Chicken Piccata recipe.

What is your process for coming up with new material?

Well, I do work it out in clubs and see what works, but before I start, I have in my head stories that I want to tell. Then I work them out on stage. So, now I’ll be working on a new hour. I’m finishing my tour this weekend in Boston and Philadelphia, so, all this year I’ve been putting stories in my phone. And when I’m with my kids and my husband, they’ll go, “Oh lord, you’ve got to tell when so-and-so did this.” My middle child said, “Mom, you’ve never talked about the outfit dad bought you when you were pregnant with me in the hospital” — which is in this special.

That story is hilarious.

And that’s all true. Chuck Morgan did that. I’m a storyteller, and I like to gather stories and talk about all these babies and these grandbabies, and my parents and all that. And then the occasional strip club that I was forced to go to. Promise me you’ll never go to the Clermont Lounge in Atlanta, honey. It’ll scare you to death.

I love that story. So, anybody can get up there and just dance?

I think those little women get on a list, but it’s not your normal stripper woman. There are women from all walks of life and all shapes and sizes — with prosthetic [limbs] and all shapes and sizes. I mean, I’d never been to a strip club, so when they took me to that I thought, what in the world?

I was on a movie with Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell, and the actor that played my little sister, Meredith Hagner, is Goldie Hawn’s daughter-in-law — and she says, “Every time Goldie comes to Atlanta, she has to go to the Clermont.” I thought, what? It’s entertainment, and it’s just nuts. Imagine a circus in a strip club.

Maybe in the next hour I do, I’ll talk about going to Magic Mike Live in Las Vegas. Somebody took me. Maybe it’s because I’m 60 and don’t have any hormones left, but I remember thinking, “I could be their mother” and “Does anybody need their clothes washed?” I felt like I needed to cook for these boys. I look at everything through the lens of a grandmother and a mother.

So, the stories you tell all happened? You’re not making up things for entertainment’s sake?

Yes. There was a time when I stretched things, There was a bit a long time ago — it’s not on a special — about when I found out I was pregnant with my third baby, and I went to Walmart and peed on a stick in front of my two little children. And Charlie, my oldest, who was only three, said, “Is it positive?” But for the most part now, the stories are real. My husband thinks I embellish some, but he doesn’t pay attention to me talking.

You also talk about religion in your set in a way that’s funny but also sounds genuine — not like you’re making it up for an act.

Well, thank you my darling. Everybody in the South was raised in church. And they’re good storytellers. But yeah, all of that is genuine.

What does Chuck Morgan do?

He’s worked for the same company for 30 something years. It’s a Berkshire Hathaway — Warren Buffett — company. It’s manufactured homes. They’re the largest homebuilder in the United States, and Chuck Morgan has done everything in the world for them. I call him a mobile home man. When we met at [the University of Tennessee] he had never stepped in a trailer as they call them. When he was 27, he bought a business that refurbished mobile homes and then went to work for the big company where he works now. I told him he cannot quit. They have wonderful health insurance, and I don’t want him on the road with me because he will eat mixed nuts and watch basketball, and I can’t take a comedy nap.

In the special, you talk about his reluctance to spend money. Looking at your Billboard Boxscore gross for the last five years, I’m thinking, “How can he be concerned about that?” Especially since you are both clearly successful at what you do.  

I know. He’s been a saver, and we’ve lived below our means, but he does not believe in spending money. When I talk about all that in my act, that is true. My daughter, who’s my makeup artist, travels with me, and we have shared a hotel room for 150 cities because we don’t want to spend too much money.

People say to me all the time, “How many people are on your team out there? Who’s driving you, and are you on private planes?” I go, “No. We’re in a Mitsubishi rental car. We fly commercial. I’ve got an opener. All I need is a bottle of water, a stool and some cough drops. I don’t have security. Somebody could come up and whip us. We don’t have anything, honey.” It’s just like I’m a road comic from 20 years ago.

What made you want to be a stand-up comedian? You were a housewife before embarking on this career.

From the time I was little bitty, I wanted to go to Hollywood, and I loved SNL. My mom would let me sit up and watch it. I loved Match Game, Paul Lynde, Hollywood Squares. I loved all comedy, stand-up, comedic actors, sitcoms — all that. And I thought, “That’s what I’m going to do.” But I wanted to marry and have babies.

It’s crazy when I look back on it. The whole time I was in the foothills of the Appalachia mountains with him in a mobile home business. I thought, “OK, this is going on now, but I’m going to Hollywood.” And I had three babies before I really could call myself a stand-up. When he went to work for that big company, he opted to go to South Texas. That’s when I did my first comedy club. My kids were then about three, five and seven. But I had been piddling in it back in Tennessee, and when I say that I was doing the Rotary. I would do the luncheon for the Rotary, and they would give me $50 and I’d drop a baby off at Moms Day Out. But I considered myself a stand-up, honey.

Did you ever do stand-up in college?

No. I think there was a comedy club around the University of Tennessee, and Steve Harvey was coming through all the time. But ding-dong me was just making out with boys and smoking cigarettes. Listening to Prince, Annie Lennox and blacking my eyes out. I wanted to be Madonna. In my mind, I thought, “I’m going to do something.”

You lost little time.

And I got to raise my children. I’ve got friends in comedy that would drive 300 miles to make $50 and have to sleep in their car. I was lucky. I had Chuck Morgan, who was a good provider. I skipped a lot of steps that other people had to go through. I did terrible gigs, but financially I could lean on him, so I had it easier than a lot of people.

In addition to your stand-up career, you’ve got a successful Netflix sitcom, Leanne, that was renewed for a second season. 

Yes, honey, and it came out at the same time as The Hunting Wives. All those women hunting boars in their panties — I had to be up against that. The first two or three episodes, I did not know what in the world I was doing. It was very daunting, but they put the best around me. My cast, Kristen Johnston, Celia Weston, Ryan Stiles, Tim Daly, Blake Clark. So, it was hard and I was scared — but when you get to about episode six, you’ll go, “OK, I think Leanne can do a sitcom.” I feel like I could really do it well. I feel like this could be a big thing for me.

Has a premiere date been set for season two?

I don’t know about the premiere, but we’ll start shooting again in the beginning of the year. I’ll move back out [to Los Angeles], and we’ll start again. The writing room I think starts at the end of this month and I’ll Zoom in and help.

That is true. I’ve got to ask, why aren’t you doing a Biz laundry detergent commercial? You give them quite a plug in Unspeakable Things.

Why aren’t I? And everything else a woman uses in a household. I swear, I think, “Why aren’t I the spokesperson for Honda vans?…” Maybe Chuck Morgan would quit and get off my back then. I do love Biz though. I don’t know if you’ve needed to get a stain out. Oh, it’s wonderful.

As a very successful woman who does clean comedy, what do you make of the guys who are categorized as the manosphere — the Joe Rogans, Andrew Schulzes and Theo Vons of comedy?

I don’t know those boys. I did meet Andrew Schulz at the Tom Brady roast. Honey. I got to go to Tom Brady’s roast, and I swear, I thought Gronk was flirting with me. I thought, “Lord, I’m a grandmother, is Gronk…?” But he wasn’t. He’s been hit too many times, and his eyes — I thought they were looking at me, but they weren’t. I met Shane Gillis. I never met Joe Rogan. I tell you who I think is so wonderful: Theo Von. The uniqueness of that Theo Von, honey, from Louisiana. I think he’s so funny. I’ve seen him live. and I laughed until I was weak. He talks about hamster bones. I can’t even.

But all those boys doing those podcasts. I don’t listen to them. I’m listening to pop culture, women talking about The Real Housewives and who slapped who in Salt Lake City — which is terrible. I should be listening to something informative. All those boys, they’re a big deal, I guess, and you know I love men. I was on Nate Bargatze’s podcast the other day. We did a charity event last night, and he was hilarious. He talked about going to marriage counseling with his wife, and McDonald’s. He can sit and talk about McDonald’s and blow your mind.

I think I’m in such a lane by myself, even [among] female comedians. I’m 60 years old and a grandma. All these girls doing comedy have got pretty legs and short skirts. I’m in a big girdle.

I celebrate all of them, because I love comedy. I am a huge fan of Dave Chappelle. I love Katt Williams. I guess I should have started a podcast. I did one years ago that talked about menopause. That’s what I talk about, menopause. Not politics. Don’t ask me about politics. I’ll start crying. I don’t like conflict.

Would you consider doing another podcast?

I would and I would love to do one with my daughters. I’ve got funny kids, and my baby is 28 years old. She does not want to be in stand-up, but if she comes out on stage people throw their purse in the air. She’s got something and people beg to see her in videos and all that. She likes money, so she might do a podcast with me if it meant money.

Is that the daughter that, in the special, you say is “fascinated by sin”? I love that line.

Yes, honey, that’s the baby. She said, “Please tell people I try not to commit it, but I am fascinated by it.”

Have you considered writing another book?

I’ve thrown around an idea for a cookbook, but I’m so busy right now I don’t know if I could pull that together. I like to cook. Honey, when I get off an airplane, I go to the grocery store and I start cooking for all these kids and their daddy and the grandbaby. I love that, and I love family, so I think I could do something like that. Then, later on, I do want to talk about all my sin in the ‘80s.

When I wrote that first book, I was starting to tell really twisted stuff, and my literary agent, who is a doll, goes, “Lea, let’s let this first book be an intro to Leanne Morgan.” He goes, “I’m sorry, but you’re not Joan Crawford yet.” So, someday I might tell all my twisted goings on, Frank.

This year, you starred in You’re Cordially Invited with Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell. Do you have more movies in the pipeline?

I hope so. I’m talking to people, Frank. I would love to. That was like summer camp. Can you imagine — Will Ferrell just walked around, wouldn’t say a word, and we would all bust out laughing. He was a doll. Jack McBreyer was in it, and has been on my sitcom. I’d like to have more guest stars from that movie, because we had a ball.

In your special, you talk about listening to Prince in college. What is some of your favorite music?

Honey, I’m still a big R&B girl. I’ve seen Earth, Wind & Fire a million times. I love to see live music, and I love to see people perform. It moves me and I feel like I’m an artist, too. But I like all music. I like country. I’ve gotten close to some country music stars because I’m in Nashville. Little Lainey Wilson — I played [against] her in Celebrity Family Feud.

I did, and we beat that little thing. I couldn’t believe it, but Chuck Morgan took it very seriously,

When you cook what’s your go-to dish?

I have been on a Mississippi pot roast tear. I want you to Google that recipe and make it. You will lose your mind. So flavorful. I come from meat people. You know, my little mom and daddy were meat processors, so we eat a lot of red meat.

And then I love a chicken piccata. When everybody is having a birthday they go, “Mom, will you make your chicken piccata?” And I got that recipe from little Trisha Yearwood, honey. Trisha Yearwood’s chicken piccata will blow your mind. Her first cookbook is one of the best cookbooks I’ve ever had. But this winter, I want you to fix a Mississippi pot roast.