With life not having yet completely returned to normal, we could all use a good laugh. Fortunately, Netflix offers a virtually unlimited library of stand up acts from both upcoming comedians like London Hughes to the late legend Richard Prior. With so many to choose from, you are sure to find a comedian with a style that is right for you. Here are 10 stand up specials that get our seal of approval.
Jim Gaffigan: Cinco
There’s nothing groundbreaking about Gaffigan as a comedian or his material. But sometimes we aren’t looking for something different. He endears himself to audiences with his observations about parenting, his pride in being a couch potato, and his favorite junk foods. The veteran comic with 30 years of performing under his belt is the stand up equivalent of a nice, warm plate of homemade mac & cheese.
Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter Life Crisis
If you’ve already celebrated your 25th birthday, you most likely recall it as a traumatic experience. Tomlinson can certainly relate! The product of Orange County, California discusses the choices she’s made in her young life, bad dates she’s been on, and compares her path in life versus that of her peers, making references to a friend who already has a 7-year-old child but totally shouldn’t. There’s also plenty of self-deprecating humor as well.
Anthony Jeselnik: Thoughts and Prayers
If you’re looking for warm, fuzzy wholesome humor, that’s not what you’ll get from Jeselnik’s stand up. However, if you’re a fan of observational comedy that is full of sharp and sarcastic punchlines, you’re in for a treat. Thoughts and Prayers made its Netflix premiere in 2015 around the time Jeselnik’s Comedy Central show The Jeselnik Offensive was canceled, so he had a whole lot of dark things going on in his mind when putting together this special.
Tig Notaro: Happy To Be Here
Notaro made a name for herself in the early 2010s when she incorporated her breast cancer diagnosis and all of the pain and uncertainty that came with it into her stand up act. With Happy to Be Here, which was released in 2018, she is able to focus on the joys of life now that she has beaten the disease. Whether it’s talking about raising two toddlers or her endearing observations about her cat’s silly antics, she is as relatable as ever in this Netflix special.
