Taylor Tomlinson insisted she was in the middle of an unusual show.

"I've never talked to the crowd this long," she said Thursday night while coaxing ghost stories out of audience members at the Orpheum Theatre. "I feel like I work at Cold Stone and I'm giving you an extra scoop of ice cream."

But those who catch her three remaining shows in downtown Minneapolis this weekend are guaranteed to get almost as much interaction. The 31-year-old comic just can't help it. Her warmth and genuine curiosity about others is why she landed the hosting gig for CBS's "After Midnight," which recently got renewed for a second season, and had one of the most successful comedy tours of 2023.

Tomlinson, who grew up in California, admitted that she's often mistaken for a Midwesterner.

"That's kindness," said Tomlinson, who has spent under-the-radar time in the Twin Cities the past couple years visiting her good friend and fellow comic, Kelsey Cook.

Tomlinson's generosity started by bringing along the talented Sophie Buddle, a regular at the Mall of America's House of Comedy who currently writes Tomlinson's monologues for the late-night series. Buddle's soft, almost ditzy voice serves as the perfect launching pad for smart, sneaky jokes about everything from politics to porn.

After Tomlinson's set, the two comedians sat on a pew and answered texts that fans were encouraged to send as they filed into the theater. The comics seemed particularly amused that the person who moderates the Reddit discussion about "After Midnight" was in the balcony — and wasn't shy about telling them the show doesn't get many comments.

That twist on the conventional Q&A session took the performance past the two-hour mark, a generous running time for a red-hot talent who also has to worry about the pressure that comes with following Stephen Colbert on a nightly basis.

Tomlinson's TV duties might be keeping her from breaking much new ground. Like she does in her last three Netflix specials, she still dedicates a lot of her act to looking back at her rigidly religious childhood and Christian hypocrisy. There were some clever new takes — including one that compared the story of Job to "How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days" — but long-time fans have seen a version of this act before.

The evening got more interesting when she discussed her recent announcement that she is queer, prompting some anecdotes about dating women for the first time.

As always, Tomlinson teetered on the edge of several serious subjects, then backed off with a quick dance move or a pop-culture reference. "Bridgerton," "Gilmore Girls" and Jack Sparrow all came up during Thursday's show.

At the end of her regular set, she wondered if some of the new material might be too racy for her next Netflix special — or if she might be in danger of being canceled. If that happened, she joked that she would pivot right back to performing in churches where she would denounce her devilish period.

There's little chance of that scenario. And it's just as unlikely that she won't continue to be chatty with fans during the rest of her Minneapolis run.