Toward the end of his 2023 HBO comedy special From Bleak to Dark, Marc Maron tells the audience a high-wire joke he’s been working on since his partner, the director Lynn Shelton, died in 2020 from a rare blood disease.

It starts with Maron on the way to the hospital to say goodbye to Shelton after a doctor arranges for the comedian to see her body. When Maron gets there, he takes his time saying goodbye. As he’s walking out of the ICU, he stops to consider a thought: “Selfie?” he asks himself. “No,” he finally decides. Most of the audience laughs immediately, but a few gasp before succumbing to their chuckles. It’s the kind of blunt and slightly scandalous humor Maron has built his career on, but it’s also textured with something rare for the comedian: a tender emotional awareness.

There are scenes of Maron workshopping this joke in Are We Good?...