No list of the greatest stand-up comedy specials of all-time is complete without Chris Rock’s Bigger & Blacker. His four other HBO specials — Big Ass Jokes, Bring the Pain, Never Scared, and Kill the Messenger — are pretty good, too. There’s a decent chance you’ve memorized at least one bit from each, whether it’s Bigger & Blacker‘s “No Sex” or “Job vs. Career” from Kill the Messenger, which came out eight years ago. Rock hasn’t filmed a comedy special since, but now he’s got 40 million reasons to return to the area.
After an eight-year absence, the multiple Emmy-winning comedian has signed a massive pact with Netflix for two stand-up specials.
Sources say Rock has secured a whopping $40 million for the specials, which sets a new high mark for a stand-up. The $20 million per special is believed to be more than such A-list comedians as Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld and Amy Schumer have commanded. (Via)
“Chris Rock is a beloved actor and director, and his remarkable stand-up makes him comic royalty,” Netflix CCO (and the man you have to blame for that lost weekend you spent watching House of Cards season three) Ted Sarandos said in a statement. “There is no one like him, and Netflix offers the global platform and creative freedom that will serve as a perfect home for someone with his incredible talent.” Rock’s first special will tape sometime in 2017, with the second show TBD. This isn’t the first time Netflix has dipped into stand-up comedy — Chelsea Peretti’s One of the Greats, Patton Oswalt’s Talking for Clapping, and John Mulaney’s The Comeback Kid all premiered there — but it’s the streaming service’s biggest coup yet. Expect Hulu to counter with Dave Chappelle any day now.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
