Netflix expands stand-up comedy specials to give emerging stars and global talent a chance to shine
After 25 years of HBO dominance, Netflix has become the major arena for aspiring comedians in just two years. It is planning a TV series next year featuring 47 comedians from 13 regions, including Africa and the Middle East
The night before he was to tape his first Netflix comedy special, Jak Knight, whose gigs not long ago included “coffee shops and the back of a dude’s house”, was pacing his hotel room and polishing jokes when the enormity struck him: “I have 15 minutes to show the entire world my personality.”
Knight travelled to Atlanta, in the American state of Georgia, in February with other emerging comics – diverse in race, gender and humour – to tape stand-up comedy specials in Netflix’s latest expansion into the genre.
He hopes his short set in The Comedy Lineup, which debuted this month, will ignite his career much like late-night TV shows, HBO specials and concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York propelled stars like Richard Pryor, Jerry Seinfeld and Amy Schumer.
“This Netflix thing is like the new [Johnny] Carson show. Everybody gets to see you,” says Knight, whose 15-minute set riffed on birth control and generational divides. “This is where everybody is looked at, where all the eyes are going to be. This is where I get to do shows in Singapore and London. This is a big, big deal.”
Netflix is transforming stand-up comedy and making it integral to its future. The company, which is expected to spend US$12 billion this year overall on original content, has streamed scores of stand-up comedy specials, including shows by comedians who speak Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and German.
