The Newsletter
A weekly dispatch on stand-up comedy specials — what's new, what's worth watching, and what's coming next.
Nate Bargatze Fills the Intuit Dome
The industry has taken the most intimate art form and placed it inside an airplane hangar to see what happens to the punchlines.
Jeff Arcuri Broke the Standup Comedy Ladder
A club comic bypassed the entire gatekeeping apparatus to sell out theaters, proving the traditional standup ladder is officially dead.
Ari Shaffir Raided the Comedy Central Tomb
Comedians used to complain about network executives, but now they make enough podcast money to fund the formats themselves.
Kevin Hart Bought Six Billboards
Watching a man who employs hundreds of people complain about his lower back requires a specific kind of suspension of disbelief.
Netflix Finally Forgives Louis C.K.
The comedy industry has spent the better part of a decade pretending to have a unified moral compass, but in reality, it just has a waiting room.
Nate Bargatze Is Bigger Than Coldplay
The void left by the death of the mid-tier arena rock band has been filled by a guy from Tennessee who refuses to curse.
Mark Normand Wants to Be Oppressed
A look at Mark Normand's podcast drama with Netflix, Nate Bargatze doing Garth Brooks numbers in arenas, and Kountry Wayne's billion Facebook views.
Mark Normand Remains Relentless
Mark Normand drops a relentless new hour on Netflix, Derrick Stroup proves clean comedy is booming, and the On Cinema universe goes back on the road.
The Nostalgia Singularity
Derrick Stroup and Kountry Wayne battle for the '90s, Joey Avery questions defense spending, and John Mulaney gets a shiny academic medal in Dublin.
Renting Jokes and the Bridgerton Algorithm
Dave Attell's special leaves Netflix, Taylor Tomlinson drops a dense new hour, Ali Wong heads back on the road, and the algorithm pushes period romance.
Religious Trauma as a Setup, Ali Wong's Winter Plans, and the Return of Greg Davies
Taylor Tomlinson deconstructs her faith on Netflix, Ali Wong adds European and San Francisco dates to her 2026 tour, and Greg Davies returns to standup.
Sommore Reigns, Chris Fleming Crab-Walks, and Tom Segura Swears He's Not Lying
Sommore drops a new Netflix special, Chris Fleming brings his crab walk to HBO, and Taylor Tomlinson takes her religious trauma back to church.