Canadian comedian Steph Tolev made people sit up and take notice with the release of stand-up legend Bill Burr’s latest Netflix release, Friends Who Kill . It’s a special that showcases multiple promising up-and-coming comedians on the scene. Tolev arrives halfway through with material that is so good it — respectfully — renders the rest forgettable.

What followed was a few more years of non-stop writing and performing, podcasting, and cameos in movies and television shows. Now Tolev arrives, fully formed, in her full-length, debut stand-up special Filth Queen , available to stream now on Netflix .

That Shelf’s Alex Southey was lucky enough to speak with Tolev about her burgeoning career, music that slaps, and her plans for the future. Read the chat below.

Alex Southey: Do you have a favourite stand-up club in Canada?

Steph Tolev: YES, The Comedy Bar in Toronto. I love both the downtown and the East York locations. Gary Rideout opened the downtown club years ago and gave an amazing space for more independent artists, sketch and improv troupes and alt comedians to thrive ! He would let Ladystache, my sketch duo with my bestie Allison Hogg, put on a monthly show called “Ladystache Gone Wild”, where we would put up wacky new sketches and videos. It was some of the most fun I ever had on stage.

AS: Your stand-up walk-on song is Death From Above 1979’s ” Going Steady “. You’ve mentioned often that you’re a fan of the Canadian band, so it makes sense you chose one of their songs, but why “Going Steady”, and what do you think a walk-on song does for a comedian? What about the music that plays following the end of a set?

ST: I think the walk-on music gets the comedian pumped up! It’s like a last-second hit of adrenaline right before I perform for an hour — like my version of smelling salts! Recently I have been bringing my own playlist to venues for them to play before and after a show to get them in a more fun mood. Most clubs play the same songs all the time, and some put on random shit — I was in Portland, Maine and they were playing smooth jazz and the crowd was so quiet so I got them to change it ’80s hair metal. Everyone perked up! I think music really helps the mood at a comedy show — especially before.

AS: In comedy, we hear a lot about “scenes” and their respective histories; LA, New York, Boston, and more recently Austin, all have (generally speaking) well-known “vibes”. They all produce varied, original comedians, but, for example, it’s a stereotype that Boston comics are perhaps on the abrasive, in-your-face side, which reflects the city’s overall reputation. If there is one, what is Toronto’s comedy vibe, or personality? Do any Canadian cities possess a specific comedic personality?

ST: I didn’t really know that was the Boston vibe, lol, but I guess that makes sense. To me Toronto’s vibe has always felt super original, I think we do a good version of blending alternative comedians in with the club comics so our shows feel so much more diverse and fun. That’s why I love the Comedy Bar so much — ’cause in one night you can see a whole range of comedians; from goofy, to silly, to deadpan, to clubby — it makes all the shows so much more entertaining.

AS: Speaking of Boston, that’s where you shot your fantastic debut stand-up special Filth Queen , which is available now on Netflix. Why Boston?

ST: I did shows all across the States and Canada over the last few years, really honing this hour, and Boston was the first place to give me a full standing ovation and laugh at every single word I said — the second I walked off when I did the show a year ago I said, “this is where I am filming my special”. The energy was insane ! I wanted to film in Canada so badly — Calgary was on my list as a close second, and Tacoma, Washington was third, but I needed a city that would yell out and bring crazy rock and roll energy to the taping, and Boston did that exactly!

AS: Bookending Filth Queen  are two off-stage skits, for lack of a better word. The first sees you pushing physical comedy to the edge as you stumble for minutes on end, only to be caught in a fishnet by your boyfriend on the Boston shore. The second sees you catch your boyfriend cheating on you with a doll version of you , complimenting you on such a great set.

Some comics get right to the jokes. Others really make a meal of these skits. How much thought did you put into how you wanted to contextualize your special? Did you consider only having the stand-up set? Did you consider completely different skits?

ST: I knew I wanted to do the long fall the second I got the special — I come from a sketch comedy background and needed everyone to see that! I also have wanted a dummy of myself for 20 years now, so the second I got this opportunity I ran real far with it. My favorite GIF is the one of Kermit being thrown off a roof — and any scene with a dummy flying in it has made me laugh harder than anything else. So I needed the special to start the goofiest way I knew how — also couldn’t get right into the filth — had to ease everyone in.

AS: Obviously you’re making incredible headway in standup and podcasting, but you’ve been popping up more and more in small acting roles ( Tires , Old Dads ). Do you want to eventually do the Robin Williams thing and use stand-up as a springboard into more substantial acting roles, or are you happy to have stand-up as your main medium, and you’ll just agree to certain small roles here or there, depending on how they suit you? What inspires me to ask is, I am in the middle of watching and reviewing Meg Stalter’s new Netflix series Too Much , and it seems like if you wanted to go a similar route, you very much could.

ST: Well, to be honest all I ever wanted to do was act! That’s why I moved to LA over New York City. My goal has always been to be an Arrested Development Gob or Tobias-type. I want to be a weirdo on a hilarious sitcom, or in a movie. Obviously I love stand up, but the road is taking its toll, I miss my dog, flying these days is a full nightmare, and I’ve been doing this for 23 years already. I am really hoping this special will be seen by the right people, and I can spend some more time on set, and do the road maybe once or twice a month rather than every weekend.

All this being said please see me live . I’m gonna be on tour September to December pretty much non-stop!

AS: Netflix put out your special. Obviously going with Netflix makes sense for a multitude of reasons, chief among them their reach and the fact that you were already in one of their previous stand-up releases, but I wondered if you considered going a different route. A growing number of comedians, from up and comers to major acts, are putting their specials up on Youtube for free (or “tips”). Presumably it gives them a little more freedom, and cuts out the middleman. Did you consider YouTube? Did you consider putting it up on your website? Punch-Up Live ?

ST: I did not consider YouTube, and I will tell you why.

I get trolled online an amount that is beyond disgusting — and mostly for my appearance. Men hate my big nose and let me know every single day. So I was not about to put my hard work on a platform where all the comments would be about my face and body and not about my jokes, which is so sad. I would love for [ Filth Queen ] to be on a platform where anybody could watch it, but the reality is… on [those platforms], they just call me ugly. I just want people to focus on the comedy. Wish it wasn’t like this, but here we are!

AS: Is it time to settle, and enjoy what you’ve put out, or have you immediately started writing what may, down the road, become your follow-up special?

ST: (Laughs) Settle??? NO, there is no down time. I have been editing and posting even more clips since the special came out; done more podcast appearences than I ever have in my life — and still am. The work never ends, with all the stuff that’s out there. I have to get more people to watch this special so Netflix will give me another one!

Tell your friends, keep it on for your dog, or heck watch it again. It all helps.

AS: Could you see yourself moving back to Canada?

ST:Maybe years down the road, yes. I would love to live in BC; some place nice where I can stare at mountains all day long.

AS: Have you got a favourite Canadian TV show or movie?