A match made in entertainment heaven, this year was a breakout year for comedians and Netflix. Audiences and stand-ups alike are benefiting from the sudden surge of standup surplus. But everyone is asking – how is this the first major year that capitalized on featured specials?
This year, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Katt Williams and DeRay Davis were a few of many to cash in with the media mogul. Also, breakout stars like King Bach have found career-defining success. The majority of Netflix’s low-budget film opportunities have transformed into overnight viral hits.
Standup specials weren’t always #1 on the streaming services’ radar. For a while, Comedy Central owned standup. In 2006, less than 4 specials so much as touched Netflix’s competitor, HBO. It wasn’t until 2012 that Netflix even became a contender.
This year, it comes down to a battle of bucks. Allegedly, HBO is looking to walk away from standup until prices for specials decline. This year, only 1% of the services combined ‘Go’ and ‘Now’ usage attributes to standup-comedy. Netflix has capitalized on this opportunity, now housing the industry’s biggest breakout specials, carrying a 63% standup special watch-rate.
What do you think about this year’s standup specials – Is Netflix Comedy here to stay?
Check out the list below for some of our favorite standup specials of 2017-18:
- Katt Williams: Great America (Jan 16 2018)
- DeRay Davis: How To Act Black (Nov 14 2017)
- Trevor Noah: Afraid of The Dark (Feb 21 2017)
- Chris Rock: Tamborine (Feb 14 2018)
- Dave Chappelle: The Age of Spin & Deep In The Heart of Texas (March 21 2017)
- Dave Chappelle: Equanimity & The Bird Revelation (Dec 31 2017)
- Marlon Wayans: Woke-ish (Feb 27 2018)
Want to see more of Katt Williams? Check out his 11:11 RNS World Tour, coming to a city near you!
