Welcome to Comedy Now, a weekly column cataloging what comedy fans should know about what’s available in the streaming world. Whether it’s a brand new special, an old classic, or the oddball show that defies categorization, we’ll list as many as we can for your enjoyment right here. Who knows? We may even throw in a few non-streamable bits on occasion, like tour announcements from our favorite comics. You can check out the previous column here.
What’s Live
The Harvey Relief Benefit: Comedy Helps with Ron White, Iliza Shlesinger and Chris D’Elia (Show)
The Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas — where Dave Chappelle filmed one of two comedy specials he released on Netflix this year — will host The Harvey Relief Benefit: Comedy Helps on Tuesday, September 5th at 8pm local time. According to a press release, Texas-born comedians Ron White and Iliza Shlesing will join Chris D’Elia for the special benefit show for the American Red Cross — specifically the people of Houston and the surrounding region who were affected by Hurricane (then Tropical Storm) Harvey. Tickets are available for purchase here, and range in price from $75 to $1,000.
Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher: Back To Back (Tour)
While comedians Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher try to find a new home for their Seeso series Take My Wife, the married couple is embarking on a new tour this fall. Dubbed the Back To Back Tour, the official website currently lists 19 shows scheduled for dates in September and October, though Esposito and Butcher tell Uproxx fans should expect more show locations and dates in the near future. “I’m terrified,” Butcher jokes, while Esposito adds they are “constantly upping the stress, just to see what a relationship can ultimately withstand.”
What’s New
Jerry Before Seinfeld (Netflix)
Though Netflix acquired two new stand-up specials and the Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee series from Jerry Seinfeld in January, little to nothing new had been said about the deal until last week. That’s when the streaming platform released the first teasers and images from Jerry Before Seinfeld, the comedian’s initial outing with Netflix, which is slated to premiere Tuesday, September 19th. Right on cue, Seinfeld popped up at Dave Chappelle’s Radio City Music Hall residency a few days later to charm the rapturous crowd with his greatest hits and new material. Seinfeld, it seems, is back.
Patton Oswalt: Annihilation (Netflix)
Emmy Award-winning stand-up comic Patton Oswalt, whose previous Netflix special, Talking For Clapping garnered him the esteeming trophy, will return with Annihilation on Tuesday, October 17th. According to the streaming giant, Oswalt’s latest hour will be a “deeply personal and powerful stand-up special” that “dives into the last year of [his] life, following the passing of his wife, and how he worked through the pain and grief by finding humor.” His wife, true crime writer Michelle McNamara, passed away in April 2016.
Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents… (Comedy Central)
On Friday, September 15th, Comedy Central’s long-running The Half Hour program will return, albeit with a new name. Titled Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents…, the cable network’s flagship series for showcasing comics from around the country will begin with a 12:30am ET/PT premiere of back-to-back episodes. This year’s selection includes new half-hour sets by Adam Cayton-Holland, Anthony DeVito, Jo Firestone, Solomon Georgio, Casey James Salengo, Sam Jay, Josh Johnson, Joel Kim Booster, Chris Redd, Yamaneika Saunders, Julio Torres, Shane Torres, and Jenny Zigrino.
Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father (Netflix)
British comedian Jack Whitehall isn’t too well known in the United States, but the former child actor has a huge following in Europe and abroad. Hence why Netflix picked up his comedic documentary series Travels with My Father, in which Whitehall “embarks on the trip of a lifetime with his father, Michael.” According to the official release, “The two set off on a journey across South East Asia to partake in a series of adventures, mishaps and escapades with two very different perspectives.” Judging by the second trailer released today, that’s precisely what will happen on September 22nd.
Jeff Dunham: Relative Disaster (Netflix)
If ventriloquism happens to be your thing, then comedian Jeff Dunham’s latest special, Relative Disaster may appease your viewing desires when it streams Tuesday, September 12th. Filmed at the Bord Gais Energy Theater in Dublin, Dunham takes his cast of puppets and their respective comedy bits to his family’s ancestral homeland for what Netflix bills as “a gleeful skewering of family and politics.” And yes, just in case you were wondering both the not-so-politically correct “Achmed the Dead Terrorist” will be among Dunham’s “rude and slightly demented posse of dummies.”
