Comedian T.J. Miller comes back to his beloved Spokane, where he last improvised and filmed a half-hour special

Comedian and actor T.J. Miller loves Spokane.

Like, really, really loves Spokane.

So much so that we spent about a third of our time together talking about how excited he is to come back to town.

So much so that the last time he was here, Miller filmed “The Spokane Special,” a completely improvised half-hour set. The special is available to watch on Miller’s YouTube page.

“I have not done a special like that anywhere else,” he said. “You would think, ‘Oh, Philadelphia must be pretty interesting.’ I go, ‘Honestly, not as interesting as Spokane.’ “

Miller returns to his beloved Spokane to perform at the Spokane Comedy Club on Friday and Saturday.

A Denver native, Miller wonders if there’s just something different about audiences from states like Colorado and Washington, who are more amiable because they have so much access to the outdoors.

Or maybe it’s because of all the hidden gems. During a recent tour stop in the Midwest, Miller asked what was special about the town and was given a suggestion to try a local delicacy.

“What else?” he asked, but they couldn’t give him much more than that.

In Spokane, he’s always being told about new things he should check out.

“It’s a small-town mentality, but it’s actually a big city,” he said. “I really, really love to be in the company of people who love their city.”

Miller doesn’t talk politics in his act, choosing instead to make fun of himself. He doesn’t just rib on surface-level subject matter though; he spends time researching each town, which is why improvising something like “The Spokane Special” came so naturally.

In the special, Miller teases audiences about our love of Carhartt and a man he spoke with who was worryingly overenthusiastic about Spokane and its proximity to Coeur d’Alene. He referenced a past city slogan, “Creative by Nature,” and joked about how the city is like a functioning alcoholic with restaurant names like 24 Taps Burgers and Brews or Soulful Soups and Spirits that make it abundantly clear they serve alcohol.

“Do you understand how that looks insane to anyone who doesn’t live here?” he asks the crowd. “You don’t seem to. You’re totally OK with it.”

Miller said there’s an authenticity to his act. Audiences aren’t going to come to one of his shows and get the sense that he’s just working out material for a special.

He mentions a conversation with comedian and actor Amy Schumer. She asked him if he was working on a special, and he responded “I think one’s coming together, but that’s not my directive, because I like improvising.” He asked her the same question, and she said “No, I’m just trying to love the time that I’m spending with the audience.”

“I thought that was wonderful,” Miller said. “You’re never going to see me and go, ‘Well, I guess I’ll see all of this online. Everybody’s going to leave and go, ‘Wow, that was just for us.’ “

Though it was shared online, the “one night only” mentality is clear in Miller’s special “Dear Jonah.” What began as a standard special taping at Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville turned into a collection of pre-written material and moments of improvisation as Miller chatted with a fan named Jonah throughout the show.

Miller didn’t know on stage that he had captured something really special, but after he went backstage, he, his wife Kate and the director, Arnold Aldridge, all said, “I think that’s the special.”

The best thing, Miller said, is that when he returned to Nashville about a year and a half ago, he brought Jonah onstage and asked him how he liked the special.

“It was OK,” Jonah replied. “I like tonight better.”

“Why?” Miller asked.

“Because it was tonight,” Jonah said.

Miller wants each night of his current “Crowd Sorcerer” tour to feel like that. He’s sharing written material but also sourcing jokes from the crowd.

“My whole focus is I’m trying to keep it light, more now than ever,” he said. “Then, more importantly, I’m trying to have the audience walk away every single show going, ‘Well, no one’s ever going to see that. That was very, very unique.”

Along with standup, Miller has acted in TV shows and films like “Silicon Valley,” “Deadpool,” “Search Party” and “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” and voice acted in “Big Hero 6,” the “How to Train Your Dragon” films, “Gravity Falls” and “The Emoji Movie.”

He also has his own line of peanut butter, T.P.B.&J, and hot sauce, T.J.’s Choice.

“I just like looking at all of this going, ‘Isn’t this ridiculous? Shouldn’t we be having a great time because of it?’ ” he said. “That’s my mission.”

Before we end our interview, the conversation turns back to Spokane. In “The Spokane Special,” Miller joked that the red flannel, jeans and black puffy vest he was wearing were his Spokane outfit, appropriate for both a light hike or a wedding in which he was the groom.

When asked about his outfit for summer in Spokane, Miller shares a comment by CJ Sullivan, a comedian friend of his.

“He always says, ‘Well, are we going to land at the airport first or go to Carhartt?’ ” Miller said. “We’ll pick up some gear.”