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
The Chris Gethard Show is back on truTV
How did one lucky #ChrisGethardShow fan end up with a limo with @ChrisGethard's face on it? Relive our latest episode with @abbijacobson and catch the full thing on the @truTV app or On Demand! pic.twitter.com/tiSiz7YQWF
— Chris Gethard Show (@GethardShow) March 22, 2018
After a lengthy hiatus over the holidays, The Chris Gethard Show is back for (at least) another 10 episodes at its truTV home. Since premiering with a live show format in August, the hilariously random and improv-heavy talk show has allowed guests to destroy its own set, filled its audience with a plethora of first dates, and utterly abandoned the titular host in the studio for the rainy streets of New York. On Tuesday, Broad City‘s Abbi Jacobson helped Gethard and sidekick Shannon O’Neill give away cars to callers, including a limousine dubbed the “Geth-mobile.” New episodes air Tuesdays at 11 pm ET on truTV.
Season 2 of The Standups is now streaming on Netflix
Tuesday also featured the premiere of the second season of Netlfix’s The Standups, a series of collected half-hour specials from comedians of various stylings and backgrounds. Uproxx spoke with many of the second season’s stars about their involvement in the show and why they think the majority of their audience is more willing to binge stand-up on streaming platforms than plant themselves in front of the TV at a designated date and time. “That doesn’t really happen anymore,” said Rachel Feinstein. “It’s probably the way my parents, Karen and Howie do it. They’re not going to understand how to find this special.”
Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam: I’m Still Laughing premieres tonight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rX5MOSuOhw
Bill Bellamy takes center stage to host the eighth and final installment of Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam: I’m Still Laughing, which premieres tonight at 10 pm ET on Showtime. Filmed at The Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the new special features Bruce Bruce, Huggy Lowdown, Aida Rodriguez, and Brian “Da Wildcat” Smith for another night of stand-up comedy as curated by the basketball legend. Aside from airing on Showtime, the special will also stream through the channel’s app on Hulu and Amazon Prime, as well as on demand.
What’s New(s)
Netflix scores Seth Rogen’s Hilarity for Charity special, which boasts an impressive lineup
For the past six years, Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen’s “Hilarity for Charity” organization has hosted a comedy showcase to raise money for Alzheimer’s research. These shows were never broadcast, but that’s all about to change as this year’s event, which films Saturday, March 24th in Los Angeles, will be streamed by Netflix sometime in April. The lineup includes Tiffany Haddish, Sarah Silverman, Michelle Wolf, John Mulaney, Nick Kroll, Kumail Nanjiani, Michael Che, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeff Goldblum, James Corden, The Muppets, Post Malone, and Craig Robinson & The Nasty Delicious.
Natasha Leggero and Moshe Kasher’s The Honeymoon Stand-Up Special gets a release date
Very proud to announce…Streaming on @netflix April 17th @natashaleggero and I present a first of its kind three part comedy special…The Honeymoon Stand Up Special… @NetflixIsAJoke pic.twitter.com/AxezQt6VAS
— Moshe Kasher (@moshekasher) March 23, 2018
Natasha Leggero is currently doing fine work with co-star Riki Lindhome in Comedy Central’s Another Period. When she’s not traveling back in time for additional doses of hilarity, however, she tours the country with her comedian husband Moshe Kasher for their “Honeymoon Tour,” which is now a Netflix special set to stream on Tuesday, April 17th. In separate tweets posted on Thursday, Leggero and Kasher announced the premiere date for The Honeymoon Stand-Up Special, as well as the fact that it will consist of three parts.
Much of Monty Python’s catalog is coming to Netflix (but just in the U.K. for now)
Netflix recently managed to secure a significant number of the famed comedy troupe Monty Python’s greatest comedy films and television shows for its platform, albeit for subscribers in the United Kingdom only. Such classics as Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life, and the series Flying Circus will all be available to U.K. streamers on April 15th. Sadly none of these titles will be available to American subscribers on that date, though according to Monty Python’s official website, they will eventually show up “later in the year.”
What’s Later
Netflix is set to unload four hours of stand-up with James Acaster’s Repertoire
American comedy fans who 1) don’t follow the British stand-up scene too closely still might know of James Acaster if they 2) keep up with Conan. Either way, the young ginger comic originally from Kettering, Northamptonshire who bases himself in London is about to invade the United States thanks to Netflix, which is about to drop his four-part (yes, four-part) stand-up special, Repertoire on Tuesday, March 27th. The four separate hours consists of three individual parts (Recognise, Represent, and Reset) that culminate in a fourth (Recap).