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 Now
Jack Whitehall: At Large (Netflix)
If you’re at all familiar with British television’s fascination with having comedians host travel shows, then Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father is tailormade for you. If not, both it and the young comedian’s new Netflix special, At Large may interest you anyway. Whitehall’s latest special combines the stand-up viewers are used to seeing with a variety of sketches and other spectacles, some involving-pyrotechnics. At one point, the comedian dons a Jolly Green Giant-like suit for some reason. At Large is currently streaming.
Roy Wood Jr.’s Radio And Television Correspondents’ Association Dinner Address (C-SPAN/YouTube)
At last year’s Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association Dinner, The Daily Show‘s Hasan Minhaj used his comedy as a bridge into an otherwise unpleasant topic of discussion: gun control. This year, his fellow correspondent, Roy Wood Jr. instead talked about something even more dire: “For those of you who don’t know me, I am Anthony Anderson from ABC’s black-ish.” All jokes aside (and there were many), Wood Jr. actually took the opportunity to discuss one of the many damaging legacies of Donald Trump’s campaign and presidency, “fake news.” Not that it exists, per se, but that Americans are “running out of trust.”
What’s New(s)
Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady Gets A Premiere Date (HBO)
Six months after HBO announced The Daily Show‘s Michelle Wolf would be getting her own stand-up special, they announced its new title, Nice Lady, and a December 2nd premiere date. Directed by Chappelle’s Show Neal Brennan and filmed at the Skirball Center in New York City last August, it will showcase Wolf’s “surprising thoughts on feminism, the environment and how nature is sexist, the mystery surrounding public bathrooms, why Hillary Clinton could not be a ‘nice lady,’ how it’s easier to conceive a baby than to make a croissant and more of life’s everyday absurdities.” Nice Lady airs at 9 PM ET/PT on Saturday, December 2nd.
Ricky Gervais: Humanity Gets A Home (Netflix)
Between a one-hour special for his acclaimed series Derek, the less-than-acclaimed comedy Special Correspondents, and the David Brent movie Life on the Road, Ricky Gervais has a pretty strong relationship with Netflix. Hence why, during a conversation with comics Jim Norton and Sam Roberts and Sirius XM on Wednesday, the British comedian revealed he had sold his new special, Humanity, to the streaming giant for an undisclosed sum. “I want to call myself a stand-up now,” he said. “Nothing’s more important to me… There’s nothing like it.”
Big Mouth Gets Renewed (Netflix)
To the surprise of no one, Netflix announced its new puberty-themed animation series, Big Mouth will return for a second season. Along with Kroll Show‘s Nick Kroll, who co-created the show with his childhood friend, Andrew Goldberg, stars alongside fellow Oh Hello comedian John Mulaney — not to mention Jessi Klein, Jason Mantzoukas, Fred Armisen, Jordan Peele, Maya Rudolph, Jenny Slate and a host of other stand-ups and comedy performers. It’s almost like the second coming of the old Comedy Central series Shorties Watchin’ Shorties, which put comedy routines to animation featuring foul-mouthed babies, but worse better.
Jeff Ross Roasts the Border: Live from Brownsville, Texas Gets A Premiere Date (Comedy Central)
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As the New York Friars Club Roastmaster General, it should come as no surprise that Jeff Ross has overseen 12 Comedy Central roasts. While these were primarily focused on celebrities like Bob Saget, Martha Stewart, and Justin Bieber, however, Ross’s most recent targets have been larger concepts. In 2015, he roasted criminals in the Brazos County Jail in Texas to highlight issues with mass incarceration. Next month, Ross will head back down to Texas to the city of Brownsville, along the state’s border with Mexico, to “roast” the border for a new one-hour “docu-comedy.” It premieres Thursday, November 16th at 10 PM ET/PT.
What’s Later
Judah Friedlander: America Is The Greatest Country In The United States (Netflix)
While most audiences know Judah Friedlander as 30 Rock‘s incredibly lazy Frank Rossitano, the self-proclaimed “World Champion” is primarily a stand-up comedian with nearly three decades’ worth of experience behind the mic. On Tuesday, October 31st, Netflix subscribers will get to see just how experienced Friedlander is when the platform drops his new special America Is The Greatest Country In The United States. Compared to the majority of Netflix’s comedy specials, Friedlander’s is more of a guerrilla-style operation featuring handheld cameras, smaller venues, and no extra flourishes.
Kevin Hart Presents: Hart of the City Season 2 (Comedy Central)
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The second season of Kevin Hart’s travel-show-cum-comedy showcase, Kevin Hart Presents: Hart of the City, will premiere Friday, November 3rd at 11 PM ET/PT on Comedy Central. Featuring “an all-new itinerary of cities and local talent,” the show this season again “follows Hart and costars Joey Wells and Harry Ratchford on a quest to spotlight up-and-coming comics in cities that aren’t normally featured on TV. Each episode features stand-up sets from fresh faces, conversations between Hart and the comedians, and interstitial segments with Hart, Wells and Ratchford.”
