Deadpan Comic Netflix Make America Great Again

How did the top stand-upwards comedians all cease up on Netflix? When the streamer started premiering original stand-up specials last decade, it entered a globe with a pretty articulate structure. Comedy Central might've had the most original stand-up every year, but HBO was nevertheless the biggest game in boondocks, the opportunity every comedian hoped for. Netflix quickly upended that past cranking production up to a new special a week, opening the floodgates of comedy to a home audition hungry for new content. Netflix hasn't stayed put with but a weekly hourlong, though—it's experimented with formats and release schedules, letting younger comics brand a national debut with fifteen-minute specials, and allowing some comedians to drop multiple career-spanning specials at the same fourth dimension. Netflix quickly conquered one-act non just because of the sheer volume of content, but because of a sharp disquisitional eye that helped turn comedians like Ali Wong and Hannah Gadsby into breakout stars. At that place's an overwhelming corporeality of stand-upwardly comedy on Netflix, and much of it is very good; here'due south the all-time of the all-time stand up one-act specials on Netflix.

I quick note, though: perhaps the best original Netflix stand up-up special isn't fifty-fifty on Netflix. Dave Chappelle'southward powerful viii:46—an impromptu response to the murder of George Floyd produced in back up of the Equal Justice Initiative—is exclusively on YouTube, and is an absolute must watch. I've left information technology off this list since it'southward not really streaming on Netflix itself, but it would come in at number three below if information technology was on Netflix.

Alright! Let'south get to it.

one. Richard Pryor: Alive in Concert

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Richard Pryor'south Live in Concert is the ur-stand-up moving-picture show. It wasn't the first stand up-upwards routine to be released every bit a long-form video, but it was the first to exist released in theaters, and equally the greatest single work of the greatest stand-up comedian in history, information technology's probably the all-time stand-up special of all time. Pryor'due south extremely dark material—he pulls from his impoverished upbringing in a brothel, his addictions and heart attack, and the unending racial turmoil in America—shouldn't be funny, but his ability to plough this hurting into unforgettable comedy is a kind of real-life alchemy. Despite all the things in this world that express Pryor's freedom, from drugs to race to health, he comes off every bit the freest and nearly clear-eyed observer of what information technology means to be man and alive during these 78 minutes.—Garrett Martin

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ii. Bo Burnham: Inside

Scout on Netflix

Bo Burnham'due south expertly edited suite of empty-headed songs and sketches about the pandemic, depression, and the vapid and bumming land of today's most certainly doomed culture is the comedy hit of the season, capturing the late pandemic zeitgeist in a mode that clearly resonates with a large audience. Burnham constructs a façade of profundity to point out how thoroughly unprofound pretty much every attribute of life is today, a technique all-time crystallized in the song "That Funny Feeling". He punctuates certain songs and moments with prolonged shots of himself staring sadly into the distance, and underscores the isolation of the pandemic and the passage of time through his increasingly haggard appearance and depressed countenance. Burnham knows how to give the special an artificial weight, the sense that he's saying something big and timely and evocative, while revealing how easy information technology is to apply the language of picture to brand something seem wiser or more than of import than it actually is. Inside and Burnham, like all of usa, are trapped by the terminal superficiality of mod life, and although that means this one-act special is ultimately a sad, draining bummer of a show, that makes it more than cocky-aware than a lot of one-act. And hey, information technology's funny, too, which has gotta count for something.—Garrett Martin

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3. Eddie Spud: Raw

Lookout man on Netflix

Raw is not quite at the level of Delirious, Tater'due south commencement stand-upwardly film, only information technology's still a brilliant, blistering snapshot of one of the all-time best during the most radioactive menstruum of his nuclear popularity. Information technology'south also deeply problematic by today's standards, and should've been by the standards of 1987; although it'southward not as virulently homophobic every bit Febrile, it's nevertheless full of outdated material guaranteed to offend many. However, Tater at his peak might be the most purely charismatic comedian of all time, and his confidence on the stage this night is unparalleled. His well-known evisceration of Bill Cosby, which has become but more relevant over the decades, tin can be found hither, and is a must-watch for any comedy fans. If yous haven't seen Raw, tread advisedly; yous'll discover it either hilarious or horrible.—Garrett Martin

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4. Hannah Gadsby: Nanette

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Nanette grows past the confines of a comedy special and into something completely dissimilar—a riveting screed confronting misogyny in all forms that utterly abandons its reliance on jokes. Information technology is, despite being extremely funny, the anti-comedy special. That's non a label I'yard putting on it—Gadsby announces her intentions for the special very clearly. Information technology'due south a work of art that—equally someone who both loves comedy and ofttimes feels conflicted about its place in our cultural landscape—I've been waiting for for a long time without even realizing it.

It is an extremely angry hour, an extremely cathartic one and an extremely necessary 1. An art form cannot thrive if it refuses to look itself in the face and question its own necessity. If it does, it might sally on the other side stronger and more than vital.—Graham Techler

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five. John Mulaney: Child Gorgeous at Radio City

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John Mulaney: Child Gorgeous at Radio City is of a piece with his last two specials. As earlier he doesn't tell jokes, per se; he weaves long, elaborate stories out of his daily life, both now and every bit a kid, focusing on how absurd the mundane tin can exist. That might brand him sound like some kind of Seinfeldian observational comic, but he avoids the clichés of that genre. It's not the observation that makes Mulaney funny, or the recognition we might have for whatever he's talking about. It's the level of particular that he goes into, like when he talks virtually elementary schoolhouse assemblies. He doesn't just bring up that familiar setting and tell a few broad jokes nearly kids, teachers and school. He goes deep into one specific assembly he had to attend every yr, describing in detail the Chicago police officer who specialized in kid homicide and would give annual presentations on how to avert or escape "stranger danger." Mulaney creates a whole tableau out of this assembly, from the outlandish appearance of Officer J.J. Bittenbinder, to the cop's increasingly ridiculous scenarios, with the comedy growing with every new detail. There's no conventional setup or punchline, and little reliance on the universality of his topic; it's but a story ostensibly pulled from Mulaney's life and told in a fantastic mode.—Garrett Martin

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6. Chris Rock: Tamborine

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Tamborine proves that Rock's comedy is just as smart and sharp every bit it's always been. He immediately starts off past talking near cops shooting black kids, wasting no fourth dimension to swoop right into one of the nearly depressing problems undermining our country. He effortlessly cuts through the feeble "bad apples" defense regularly carted out past police departments when this happens, and calls for a "world with real equality"—one where as many white kids are shot by police force each month as blackness kids. From here he segues into gun control, then into an extended fleck about how one of his chief goals as a parent is to prepare his kids for the white human being and as well making sure they get bullied enough. As he puts it, the main reason Trump is president today is because nosotros no longer know how to handle bullies. Rock hits on one hot button issue after another, regularly flirting with jokes that some might be offended by, but with a perspective that's so thoughtful, original, and, in its own wicked way, respectful that it would be hard to argue that he ever crosses a line, even if you believe there are lines that shouldn't be crossed.—Garrett Martin

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big>7. Natalie Palamides: Nate: A One Homo Show

Lookout man on Netflix

Nate: A 1 Man Show is a daring farce well-nigh consent and machismo that's often hilarious and e'er provocative. Don't expect anything like a traditional stand-up evidence, which is one of its strengths. Natalie Palamides is far more outrageous and boundary-pushing than those jurassic stand up-up bozos who act like racism, sexism and homophobia are somehow still shocking after beingness the standard for most of human history, and she raises serious questions near existent issues along the mode. It's not as tense, transgressive, or hilarious as seeing it live, simply it's even so 1 of the nearly unforgettable things you'll watch on Netflix.—Garrett Martin

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eight. Tig Notaro: Happy to Be Here

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Notaro, one of the true masters of deadpan, seems most comfortable with her life on her latest special. Certain, she's still cocky-effacing, to an extent, and notwithstanding approaches her celebrity and success with a bemused altitude, but she positively beams when she talks virtually her marriage and her two immature twin sons. After all the grief that she mined for her career-making stand-up specials and sitcom, Notaro has more than earned the confidence and joy she shows in Happy to Be Here. Also fans of the Indigo Girls absolutely need to watch this special.—Garrett Martin

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9. Maria Bamford: Quondam Baby

Sentry on Netflix

Similar her demeanor, Bamford's material ranges from the intimate to the grandiose. An early joke, delivered to her husband and their pugs, pokes at the apologetic linguistic communication people use to describe their relationships. "Um, well nosotros merely met, and we genuinely liked each other, and, you know, there'southward ups and downs, but nosotros similar each other, then nosotros stay together," she intones, in character, her tone painfully earnest. Then her face turns common cold and stony; she's dorsum to herself: "Oh, I'1000 sorry—if you're bored with your miracle!" Her hubby chuckles, patting the canis familiaris. Y'all tin tell he's heard this joke before but it'due south not a pity laugh. The dazzler of their domestic setting is that it's imbued with context, from the painting of their dog to the little bride-and-groom figurines resting atop the burrow. This feels like any old solar day for them, just hanging out and goofing around.—Seth Simons

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x. James Acaster: Repertoire

Spotter on Netflix

Acaster has the casual confidence and slightly buzzed, motormouth tendencies of articulate influences Dylan Moran and Stewart Lee, which extends to a certain loose-fitting, corduroy-heavy wardrobe—straight out of a less aggro era of British culling comedy. Recognise, the first of four hours in Repertoire, rolls along as many specials from that era did, and it'southward a wonderful, tipsy, bubbly ride with no clear moment-to-moment class merely a remarkably cohesive worldview past the time he wraps information technology upwards. It'south pretty astonishing how formally bodacious it eventually reveals itself to be, given that Acaster seems constantly bored past our expectations of where nosotros recollect the show might go.—Graham Techler

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eleven. Rory Scovel: Rory Scovel Tries Stand up-Upwardly for the First Time

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This is the run a risk Rory Scovel takes with his absurdist arroyo to stand-upwards: our official review wasn't especially kind to his Netflix special, fifty-fifty though our comedy editor (uh, me) constitute it to be one of the smartest and nigh refreshing specials in years. Scovel balances conceptual metacommentary on the conventions of stand-up with fully-formed political material as biting every bit any other comic working today in an 60 minutes that sends up the very idea of stand up-up even while showing how powerful it can be.—Garrett Martin

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12. Patton Oswalt: Anything

Spotter on Netflix

In defiance of the pain and anguish he is conspicuously all the same feeling, and as a mode of catharsis, he makes the discussion of his wife'south expiry the centerpiece of this hour. To scout him wrestle boldly with the emotions of that experience and the aftermath of it, while still finding those pockets of joy and foreign humor, is affirming and cute. Only it's not piece of cake by any stretch. That'south evident when director Bobcat Goldthwait pushes the camera in to focus on Oswalt'southward face as he talks about the worst day of his life, which wasn't the death of his wife, but having to break the news to their immature daughter, Alice. We hang on his every word, following him equally he takes his dauntless daughter back to schoolhouse the next Mon. Then he pulls the ripcord, remembering getting peppered with questions past Alice'south classmates and learning a little also much most their home lives. The laughter that follows is and then rich and relieving, like that first gulp of h2o after an hour on the treadmill.—Robert Ham

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13. Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion

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Galifianakis is one of the most unique comedians of our time and this tour documentary shows him at the acme of his stand-up career. The Majestic Onion was the perfect place for this to be filmed. It'southward a modest, intimate room and information technology gives Zach the freedom to be loose with his fabric. But what makes this motion picture stand out are the scenes spliced in between the stand-upwardly. Watching Zach travel, make his friend effort on dresses and interact with a redneck is only as fun as watching him perform. Three curt years earlier The Hangover films made him a household name this fascinating documentary shows a comedian on the rise. —Chris Donahue

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fourteen. Hannibal Buress: Comedy Camisado

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Hannibal Buress is the platonic platonic of your extremely stoned friend. In Comedy Camisado, he rides the fame bump of outing a famous rapist to treat you to the searing specificity of his anger, be it towards the adult female who wouldn't permit him check into a ii and half star hotel without proper ID, or how 32 is a pointless historic period. He's non dropping culture changing bombshells this time, simply he's still the guy you wanna smoke a bowl with.—Gita Jackson

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15. Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King

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Homecoming King has a lot to unpack and asks more of its audience than the average special. It isn't afraid to enter dark territory where even a full minute goes past without a single joke. The reason this works is that first and foremost, Minhaj is an all-around great storyteller. The performance could have had nix jokes and still would be a compelling work. Luckily, he'southward a smart comedian who knows how to utilise his material wisely, even if that means property back to let the important points striking home.—Christian Becker

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16. Michelle Wolf: Joke Show

Sentinel on Netflix

In her new Netflix special, Joke Show, Wolf jumps into her set immediately—no introductions, no opening goofs to ease united states in, just straight into an otter rape bit. It'southward almost every bit jarring as it sounds, but in Wolf'due south seasoned hands, her almost abrasive jokes are also the funniest. Role of why this works is her quick connexion with the audition. She'due south not necessarily going to agree our hands, just she's ready with a flashlight to guide united states of america through the dark places she'due south taking us, and it'south e'er worth the journey (no matter how vaguely uncomfortable).—Clare Martin

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17. Jim Gaffigan: Across The Stake

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Yes, Jim Gaffigan'south breakthrough special features the Hot Pockets routine. There's then much more than here, though. If you lot're wondering why Gaffigan is respected by basically all corners of the comedy earth—able to play in the biggest venues and to the nigh mainstream audiences, while withal maintaining credibility with the alt-comedy scene—Beyond the Pale should answer your questions. He'southward a master craftsman who's smart and sharp enough to bring his ain unique viewpoint to universal topics.—Garrett Martin

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18. Reggie Watts: Spatial

Sentry on Netflix

For my money, the near sublime pleasure in stand-upwards is less ofttimes in the punchline than the path to it. In so many routines it is besides possible, I think, to predict a joke'due south third act in its eye, and sometimes even the get-go. But when you cannot, when yous are suspended for the entire journeying in a state of orgasmic unknowing, and so you might retrieve the listen-quaking possibilities that drew you to comedy in the outset place. Reggie Watts is as virtuosic equally it gets, a form-bending raconteur unsatisfied to tread also long in any single territory. In Spatial, his 2d Netflix special, he dances betwixt joke-telling, storytelling, song, dance and an improvised play, featuring guest-stars Kate Berlant and Rory Scovel. The hour is infused with a level of emotion rare in stand up-up, and which brought me most to tears in his closing number. This one actually is remarkable.—Seth Simons

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19. Lucas Bros.: On Drugs

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The political comedy in On Drugs is done both incredibly casually and with discernible commitment. If sometimes it seems hard to tell whether the Lucas Bros. are making it wait effortless or simply not trying, we never really get the sense that they themselves are too cool for this. Every bit far equally comedy duos go, they seem to take taken a few cues from some other prepare of twin comedians that eschewed a straight-man/funny-human being dynamic, and non merely because both the Lucas and Sklar Bros. reportedly attended constabulary school. Kenny and Keith will occasionally check in with each other on a given topic, agreeing to "fume on information technology." Their hive minded brotherhood is routinely delightful, whether they're pausing a joke to wipe sweat off each other's noses, or tag teaming a letter to republicans on gun control.—Graham Techler

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20. Wanda Sykes: Not Normal

Lookout on Netflix

Wanda Sykes has never been i to dance effectually a betoken, and lands many straight hits throughout Non Normal, her new special for Netflix. The title refers to the state of the nation under Trump's presidency—"It's not normal that I know that I'm smarter than the president," she says—and material about Trump dominates the first department of the hour. Trump's presidency hasn't aged him, she argues, but it'south aged the states. The tough affair nearly comedians addressing Trump is that it however feels that this must be addressed at some point in lodge for the special to be valid. The perfunctory-ness of this trend and the common approach information technology generates does ofttimes affect the performances. 1 of the successes of this special is that information technology largely avoids this, and though some jokes at Trump's expense tin can still feel like the kind of surface-level late nighttime barbs that feel ineffective afterwards a few years of being inundated with them, Sykes generates her criticisms from an extremely sharp place, and it shows.—Graham Techler

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21. Jen Kirkman: I'm Gonna Die Solitary (And I Feel Fine)

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What makes this hour of cloth so refreshing is that everything Kirkman discusses is the sort of subject that women are unfortunately supposed to be aback well-nigh in our civilisation. She'due south supposed to be yet reeling from her divorce and sad that she's a childless single woman, living on her ain at age 40 who will get discovered dead in her bathtub with her face eaten off by a cat. Instead, Kirkman is calorie-free on her feet, happy about her electric current situation and ready for the adventures that the 2nd half of her life volition bring.—Robert Ham

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22. Hari Kondabolu: Warn Your Relatives

Picket on Netflix

Anointed vox-of-their-generation comedians can sometimes stumble when initially thrust into the cultural spotlight—as Hard Kondabolu has been with the fallout from The Problem with Apu. Not this fourth dimension. Warn Your Relatives, his get-go Netflix special, is a searingly confident statement from an extremely, proudly political comedian who injects his rapid material with a strong current of justified acrimony. "My stand-up isn't for everybody," he says, to laugher at such a ballsy statement from an outwardly nerdy persona. "It's okay, it'due south okay. That'due south why it's expert."—Graham Techler

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23. Nate Bargatze: The Tennessee Child

Picket on Netflix

The Tennessee Child is a special filled with quiet, shifty confrontations with potency, all of which go out Bargatze displaying the nervous confusion of a smart kid who knows what the developed in the room is saying doesn't make sense, but also doesn't know if information technology'southward worth it to correct them. When Bargatze is told a clerical fault with JetBlue would crave his birth certificate to solve, he'southward but left to frown and say "I thought I was the proof of my birth." It's this disbelieving attitude that makes Bargatze an extremely amusing presence, especially since he doesn't put the kind of spin on the ball that would turn the approach sour or smarmy. Even in a bit where he tries to reassure us that nosotros shouldn't demand to worry virtually climate alter given the state of every other planet in the solar system, he appreciates the value of sincerity. "It's unbelievable," he says of the other planets. "They're nowhere right now."—Graham Techler

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24. Ali Wong: Babe Cobra

Sentry on Netflix

Baby Cobra is more than than the production of a carefully honed craft. Information technology is an unusual portrait of transition: from young adulthood to adulthood, single life to wedlock, matrimony into maternity. It is likewise the first network special to feature a deeply significant comedian, which is not a gimmick but a very practical undertaking. Wong refuses to slow down for the simple reason that slowing down, peculiarly for a woman and mother in Hollywood, is the first stride in a long fade to obscurity.—Seth Simons

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25. Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning time

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On her first-always Netflix comedy special three in the Forenoon, Jay continues to strop her reputation as a hilarious truth-teller, but this time regarding the world around her rather than herself. three in the Morning leaves you walking abroad with more questions than answers, which is exactly what Jay is trying to practise. Subject thing aside, careful directing choices, like a heavy use of close-ups and on-the-beat cuts, make this special feel more lively than nearly Netflix comedy specials. Jay isn't afraid to brand a special that'south funny yet challenging, proving herself one of the nigh intriguing voices in comedy today.—Clare Martin

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26. Mike Birbiglia: The New 1

Lookout man on Netflix

Mike Birbiglia employs callbacks regularly in The New 1, his ane-human play about becoming a father, but with a significance that these references usually lack in bottom performances. Yep, occasionally they're only for laughs, but in the prove'south most meaningful moments, Birbiglia harkens back to earlier jokes to demonstrate how he's grown from a human being all but certain he doesn't want to be a begetter, to a dad that embraces his new, utterly inverse life. He tracks this progression in tandem with his love for his couch, represented onstage by a stool. It's a funny, appropriate modernistic metaphor; the burrow symbolizes the state of his life and, coincidentally, is where he spends much of his time. Soon information technology is commandeered past his daughter Oona, who loves sleeping on it, and likewise his matrimony and daily routine aren't as they used to exist. The bear witness is well-crafted in every dimension. The title itself can refer to his new couch, his newest family unit member (Oona quite literally means "ane") and his new life.—Clare Martin

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27. Nicole Byer: BBW: Large Cute Weirdo

Spotter on Netflix

With multiple successful podcasts, roles on Brooklyn Nine-9, The Unicorn, and the reboot of Rugrats, and a slew of other voice and live credits to her proper name, it is high fourth dimension the world gets to experience an hour of Nicole Byer'southward stand up-up. In her new special she touches on the political without being overcome by it; she'south poignantly observational and occasionally prescriptive without e'er being lecturous. Byer discusses the emotional toll of life in the pandemic and popular response to COVID-inspired recommendations and regulations, chiefly through anecdotes about her own feel. Her performance is highlighted by incredible vocalisation work, including utilizing yelling and screaming in an effective style that reminds one just a flake of the Sam Kinisons of the globe, though information technology's always an accent and never a crutch.

She as well expresses a combination of exuberance and world-weariness that comes across as incredibly authentic. Byer reminds her audition of things perhaps forgotten, similar uncertainty about the Post Office around the 2020 election, or Rachel Dolezal. She tells a truly incredible story nearly the harrowing nature of the U.S. medical organization—from cost to racial discrimination in the prescription of medication—and keeps it funny the whole time.—Kevin Pull a fast one on, Jr.

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28. Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis

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Quarter-Life Crunch is a hilarious and easy lookout man cheers to Taylor Tomlinson's self-assured cadency. Her physical comedy is slight, but effective: the occasional flourish here and in that location to punctuate a bit, just nothing e'er too over-the-top. Storytelling-wise, she is a natural and feels more akin to comedians from decades by rather than her peers. Tomlinson manages to ally her self-deprecation and cocky-confidence well, never coming off as too pathetic or besides self. She sticks to relatable, tried-and-true topics—online dating, fucked-up childhoods—merely keeps the material fresh nonetheless. You lot could call her the Goldilocks of comedy, the mode that she ensures that everything, from the set up to the punchline, is just correct. Many a millennial comedian tries to deconstruct the traditional one-act formula; Tomlinson decides to work within that frame, simply make it entirely her own with gut-busting goofs.—Clare Martin

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29. Eric Andre: Legalize Everything

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The aforementioned wild ethos of The Eric Andre Show informs Andre'due south first-e'er stand up-up special, Legalize Everything, which includes an awfully timely opening segment with Andre as an unruly New Orleans cop and anecdotes near the various drugs he's taken. Legalize Everything anticipates what 2020 has become: a time to question authority and the racist systems nosotros've been conditioned to have, and also to be on a lot of drugs.—Clare Martin

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30. Marc Maron: Thinky Pain

Sentinel on Netflix

Is Marc Maron finally likable? Maron's ever been an incredible comedian and, in recent years, a talented and insightful interviewer on his podcast WTF. But those skills always came nether a rage-filled veneer as Maron's on-stage persona lashed out at the world around him, the women he dated and the goings on in his head. It was hilarious just a piddling off-putting. The Marc Maron in Thinky Pain is gentler, bringing a humility to his heady, introspective comedy that's a welcome modify. Starting with an anecdote about comedy fable Pecker Hicks and continuing onto Maron'south fears of being an erstwhile dad or his midlife crisis, Thinky Pain all the same showcases all the best parts of Maron's comedic voice, it's merely speaking a little softer. —Casey Malone

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31. Jenny Slate: Stage Fright

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Who is Jenny Slate? Her outset-always (and long overdue) one-act special Stage Fright seeks to reply this question—not for Slate herself, who is steeped in cocky-awareness, simply for the audience. She's not Marcel the Shell, though her viral video character draws on the same self-deprecation and whimsy that make her so appealing. She's non Mona-Lisa Saperstein from Parks and Recreation either, but the same frenzied energy powers her stand-upwardly. Slate is reintroducing herself on her own terms, separating her identity from that of the Saturday Night Live one seasoner or 1 of her numerous kooky voiceover parts, and instead emerging as a vulnerable, goofy, cocky-sabotaging, effervescent comedian.

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32. Fred Armisen: Standup for Drummers

Spotter on Netflix

The title isn't simply a gag. Armisen, who was a professional drummer for indie rock bands before segueing into comedy, devotes a solid chunk of this hour to jokes that will mostly be appreciated by drummers or anybody who's ever been in a band with 1. He riffs on awkward soundcheck banter between drummers and sound men, near the common nuisances of touring with a drum kit, and well-nigh how bad non-drumming members of a band are at keeping time. This has to exist the but stand-up special to start with a drum solo, include jokes most paradiddles, and feature cameos from Sheila Due east., Blondie's Clem Burk, Green Day's Tre Cool, Warpaint's Stella Mozgawa and legendary session drummers Thomas Lang and Vinnie Colaiuta. Early Armisen talks well-nigh the pride of being a drummer, and how it means "you're merely amend than everybody." That pride suffuses the entire special, undercut only slightly with a touch of tongue-in-cheek cocky-mockery.—Garrett Martin

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33. Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh

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100% Fresh is incorrectly named. Not because it isn't good, just because it suggests a tone of ironic bitterness that isn't represented in the special. Directed past Sandler's frequent collaborator Steven Brill (with some sequences filmed past Paul Thomas Anderson), 100% Fresh contains one small dig at Rotten Tomatoes (an aggregate website that collects reviews from outside sources), merely is otherwise shaggy, earnest and inventive. Sandler grins and mutters his manner through it all, but he seems to be having fun, and information technology unlocks much of his quondam charm in an instant. Sandler's giggling rubs off on you. The off-kilter songs are dorsum, with lyrics like "I guess that calls for a death pillow over your face." At that place are duds every once in a while. Merely and then Sandler does a song about Chris Farley. It's funny, sweet and sad. And when he sings "I wish you were still with me, and nosotros were getting on a plane to go shoot Grown Ups 3," it's spooky, only also humiliating. Because somehow we never thought to call back about how a guy who lost someone so young similar that might want to spend his adult life making as many movies with his closest friends equally possible.—Graham Techler

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34. Leslie Jones: Fourth dimension Car

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Leslie Jones' physical bits are Time Machine's greatest standouts. This achievement is made all the more than impressive past the fact that she has a articulatio genus brace visible over her jeans. She'due south an indomitable force of nature as much as she is a comedian. Later mulling over her five decades of life, Jones ends her special with the truism that we must alive in the moment rather than become preoccupied with the by or future. In the easily of a bottom comedian, this "moral of the story" moment would feel trite and unearned. However, after an hr of Jones preaching to 20-yr-olds about the importance of glitter and cocaine, it instead is imparted with all of the wisdom and adept humor she possesses. This is surely a special that'south worth being nowadays for.—Clare Martin

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35. London Hughes: To Catch a D*ck

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Hughes' storytelling style slaps a fresh coat of paint on familiar avenues, as she takes united states back all the way to her grandmother'due south relationship history to explain the origins of her own dick-catching adventures. She guides united states of america on a journey from past to present, inviting us in on the revelations she'southward had along the way. The overall narrative she weaves may not be the most tightly constructed, but information technology gives us a clear idea of Hughes the person as well every bit the performer. Her bits are made all the better by the singing and dancing she integrates enthusiastically into the set, making one-liners into playful chants. Past the fourth dimension the special ends, she collapses onto the stage, and information technology's well deserved. She put her all into it.

The existent draw hither, though, is Hughes herself. Charisma doesn't fifty-fifty begin to depict how magnetic and electrifying her presence is. The opening skit before the special starts shows her basking in One thousand thousand Stalter-similar overconfidence, and she regularly brings that same energy throughout the special as she declares herself "Comedy Beyonce" and "The Female Richard Pryor." She's 1 of those rare people who seems to have been born with a mic in hand.—Clare Martin

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36. Bill Burr: Newspaper Tiger

Spotter on Netflix

Bill Burr is proof that the right listen and a conscientious pen can make anything funny. If the terrible things he says make you turn off your ears, you're going to miss out on a shockingly nuanced and, dare I say, sensitive expect into i of comedy's greatest minds. In many ways, it's reflective of a trouble in our culture, where someone says something terrible and that one moment defines them as if people aren't every bit a collection of terrible and sensitive moments. This back and forth between terrible and genuine ideas makes Paper Tiger a truly scenic special, capable of punching you lot in the gut earlier patting you lot on the dorsum with a big smile. These jokes require tension and release, and to accomplish that there's an unspoken agreement yous'll give him the benefit of the doubt.—John-Michael Bond

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Source: https://www.pastemagazine.com/comedy/netflix/the-30-best-stand-up-comedy-specials-on-netflix-20/

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