Stand-up special
A stand-up special is a film and television genre featuring a live performance by a stand-up comedian that has been recorded for later broadcast or exhibition.[1] In the United States, stand-up series and specials were aired on cable TV channels like HBO in the 1970s,[2] and Showtime, VH1 and Comedy Central in the 1980s and 1990s. They have become increasingly popular and cost-effective content for streaming services like Hulu and Netflix.[3][4]
Standup specials may "interweave additional filmic material such as sketches (Sarah Silverman's Jesus is Magic), interviews (Gary Gulman's The Great Depresh) or surrealistic cut-aways (Chelsea Peretti's One of the Greats)."[5] Stand-up specials can feature multiple comedians.[5] Subject matter within even one comedian's specials may range from political commentary (John Mulaney's "there's a horse loose in the hospital" bit) to self-conscious confessional (John Mulaney's "and this is the story I'm willing to tell you..." recounting of his drug addictions and stint in recovery).[6][7]
By contrast, "documentaries about comedians and comedy (Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy) don't become specials by virtue of their presentation of actual stand-up set."[5]
In ideal scenarios for the comedian, bits from the set can go viral on social media and elevate the comedian to a new level of public recognition, such as was the case with Sindhu Vee's segment from the BBC's Live at the Apollo series.[8] As a rule, live-show comedy-club stand-up is not a particularly lucrative or reliable income stream for the traveling bards.[9]
See also
- Concert film
- Marty Callner
- Eddie Murphy Raw – 1987 stand-up special directed by Robert Townsend
- Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
- Stand-Up Spotlight
- Netflix Is a Joke Festival
- Edinburgh Comedy Awards
References
- ↑ "Classifying Stand-Up Specials with Netflix's Algorithmic Genres". In Media Res. mediacommons.org. 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ Fox, Jesse David (2022-05-23). "The Special Special". Vulture. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ Husband, Andrew. "Stand-Up Comedy Has Become Its Own Genre". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ Jurgensen, John (2016-05-05). "The New Comedy Economy: Stand-Up Specials Proliferate on Streaming Services". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- 1 2 3 Boardman, Frank (2021-12-30). "What Is a Stand Up Special?". Aesthetic Investigations. 5 (1): 51–63. doi:10.58519/aesthinv.v5i1.11774. ISSN 2352-2704.
- ↑ Sledge, Philip (2023-04-26). "5 Must-Watch John Mulaney Comedy Specials (And How To Watch Them)". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ Specter, Emma (2023-04-26). "With His Latest Stand-Up Special, John Mulaney Tries On a Whole New Genre". Vogue. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ "Sindhu Vee: "All I Want To Do Is Make People Laugh"". The Handbook. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ Kroeger, Jake (2023-06-07). "Commentary: How do comedians in L.A. make a living?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
Further reading
- Boardman, Frank (Winter 2020). "Evaluating Stand-Up Specials". The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 78 (1): 57–64. doi:10.1111/jaac.12711. ISSN 0021-8529. JSTOR 48584725.
- Champion, Jared N.; Kunze, Peter C., eds. (2021). Taking a Stand: Contemporary US Stand-Up Comedians as Public Intellectuals. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. doi:10.2307/j.ctv249sfsn. ISBN 978-1-4968-3553-6. LCCN 2021036662.
- Gillota, David (April 2020). "Beyond Liveness: Experimentation in the Stand-Up Special". Studies in American Humor. 6 (1): 44–61. doi:10.5325/studamerhumor.6.1.0044. ISSN 0095-280X.