Bill Burr is a top-tier stand-up, without a doubt. With each comedy special being better than the last (though there's an argument to be made that Paper Tiger is his masterwork), it's almost impossible to predict just how successful the guy can get. Toss in the hilarious reliability of his bi-weekly The Monday Morning Podcast and Burr fans who can't get enough are, quite fortunately, satiated more often than not.
Whether he's "Just checkin' in on ya" or going on an arena tour, Burr's voice is always a welcome one. Better yet, the funnyman is accruing an impressive filmography of movies and television shows from some of the best studios and streamers. It took a while on the stand-up circuit, but people seem to really get Bill Burr now, and thank goodness for that.
10 The Heat (2013)
Mean spirited and mostly unfunny, The Heat was somewhat of a whiff for director Paul Feig. But its failure is really only accentuated when compared to the two Feig films that bookend it: Bridesmaids and Spy.
Both of those films are comedy classics, even if only one of them is recognized as such (some things just require time). The Heat is far from, but it's not devoid of merit. For instance, Burr's limited but incredibly loud screentime as Mark Mullins, one of the numerous horrible blood relatives to Melissa McCarthy's character. Burr is totally in his element, and it made The Heat a nice introduction to his style for those not but so well-versed in the world of stand-up comedy.
9 Zombeavers (2014)
Zombeavers is meant to be taken about as seriously as the title would indicate. Like many other low-budget, ridiculous creature features of its type, it's not high art, but it's one of the few (like Sharknado) that knows exactly what it is and what its audience wants. And it gives it to them.
This means laughs and blood in equal measure. Zombeavers has laughs, and the biggest are supplied by the two-scene cameos from Burr and a heavily-disguised John Mayer. They're incredibly random players to include in a bargain bin comedic creature feature, and that randomness is in and of itself why they belong in it. Especially in the role of the very individuals who accidentally create the zombeavers.
8 The King of Staten Island (2020)
When it comes to Judd Apatow's The King of Staten Island, the sometimes off-putting Burr isn't who's most likely to push audiences away. Instead, it's either going to be Pete Davidson's whiny slacker mentality in the face of trauma as opposed to an altruistic path—A bit of an insult to people who, all due respect to Davidson and his grief, lost not one but two parents at a young age—or director Apatow's love for a runtime that's about an hour longer than his characters need.
This is especially true in the case of Funny People, but Staten Island sure ranks close. It's often insightful and Davidson proves he can lead a film but if the movie is good for anything it's showing just how much range Burr possesses when tackling the difficult role of a stepfather to a grieving young man.
7 Crashing (2018)
Pete Holmes has been on the stand-up circuit for a while, yet for the longest time his biggest claim to fame was as playing a take on Batman, "Badman," in a few College Humor videos. Judd Apatow changed that by producing HBO's Crashing, a semi-autobiographical series created and executive produced by Holmes.
The three season series follows the fictionalized Holmes as he attempts to yank himself up by his divorced bootstraps and succeed in his dream gig of being a stand-up comic. Like Holmes and many of the show's other famous faces (particularly the recurring Artie Lange and T.J. Miller), Burr plays a rendition of himself. It's not exact, but fans of Burr's style should get a kick out of it.
6 Immoral Compass (2021)
Immoral Compass failed to gain much of a following but, at ten episodes, it's not exactly as if it was given much of a chance. Furthermore, with it being a Quibi project, it didn't stand a chance at all. But it's pretty brilliant, more or less an excuse for Burr to act like the Crypt Keeper during his intros for HBO's Tales from the Crypt.
Each of the episodes features an analysis of a major human emotion, bookended by crass takes from Burr's mechanic character, Rick (who is totally just Burr being Burr, to the letter). And, given how crassly it does so, it's almost a good thing it was on the short-runtime streamer (which lasted about as long as one of its seven to ten-minute episodes). Yet, that's simultaneously the problem, or at least the problem that would have made something like Immoral Compass almost impossible to keep going for multiple seasons.
5 The Mandalorian (2019-2020)
Even though he's only been in two episodes, Burr's Imperial Army sharpshooter turned mercenary Migs Mayfeld feels like a major presence throughout Disney+'s The Mandalorian. What's odd is just how well Burr fits into the Star Wars universe, given his constant self-profession of loving sports far more than he could ever even consider the saga a legitimate form of entertainment.
But his world-weary, hardened aura is perfect for an ethically flip-flopping Star Wars character, and it's hard to imagine any other actor as Migs by this point. Let's just hope he comes back at a time when the narrative is stronger than it was in The Mandalorian Season 3.
4 Reservation Dogs (2021)
Reservation Dogs is wrapping up in 2023 with its third season, and while it's not in any way confirmed if Burr will be making a second appearance in the FX on Hulu show, it'd be a shame if he didn't. Why? Because his guest spot as Coach Garrett Bobson is his most thought-provoking and tender acting work to date.
And in a show as important as Reservation Dogs, how could it not be the best? The series follows four Indigenous teens as they struggle with the development process and the desire to both fight crime and commit it, all while dealing with the grief of losing a member of their Rez Dogs gang. Dogs is the first series to be written and directed exclusively by Indigenous artists, and Burr's participation is just one step further towards showing that Burr and his comedy, while abrasive and "not for everyone," are actually about inclusivity at heart.
3 F Is for Family (2015-2021)
Netflix's F is for Family brilliantly captured middle class struggle in the 1970s. The suburban landscape its characters inhabit feels entirely organic and imminently relatable. It also has a stacked cast, including Jurassic Park's Laura Dern and Live Free or Die Hard's Justin Long.
Anyone familiar with Burr's stand-up will see a lot of his personal details in the series, particularly when it comes to his dynamic with his father. This lends the sitcom a sort of artistic intimacy lacking from the majority of Burr's other projects, even if he, by his own admission, basically plays himself in everything. F is for Family is Burr being
2 Breaking Bad (2011-2013)
Thank goodness Burr ended up being cast in Breaking Bad. And the fact that it really all came down to his own interest in Vince Gilligan's masterpiece is an instance of wish fulfillment for Burr and his fans alike.
More words, even the strictly complementary ones, have been written about Breaking Bad than are in all the series' screenplays combined. As Saul Goodman's second-in-line henchman, Kuby is primarily seen by the side of Goodman's bodyguard, Huell Babineaux. The two make a fine pair, with Burr's Kuby even bringing some laughs to the intense proceedings. More words have been written about Breaking Bad's greatness than are in every one of its episodes' scripts combined. It's a perfect show. And that means Burr, too, is perfect in it.
1 Chappelle's Show (2004)
If there's a flagship series for Comedy Central that isn't South Park, it's Chappelle's Show, and the thing only ran for two seasons. That's how ahead of its time Chappelle's Show was and, honestly, in an increasingly PC culture, it's only gotten funnier for the risks it took.
There's a fair debate as to whether or not Dave has kept his insightfulness from the early aughts in his Netflix specials, but what's undeniable is the guts it took to put the Clayton Bigsby sketch in the first episode. It remains sad the series ended in such an iconically tumultuous manner, but at least there were the good (but harshly delivered) times. Not everything in Chappelle's Show has aged like fine wine, but the few segments Burr was featured in are still hysterical, e.g. Samuel L. Jackson's beer commercial ("No I can't stop yelling, cuz that's how I talk! Ya ain't never seen my movies?! Juice?! That was a good one! Deep Blue Sea?! They ate me! A f***in' shark ATE me!") and the Racial Draft.