Deniz Göktaş And The 600 AD Debut
Deniz Göktaş uploaded his new special to YouTube on June 24. It is called “Ölü Deniz.” It received six million views in five days.
This is usually the part of the story where a comedian gets an agent and a theater tour. Göktaş got a criminal investigation.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating him under Article 216 of the Penal Code. The charge is insulting religious values. The offending material is a tight bit about the Quran. Göktaş observes that while the first three holy books were good, the fourth had a weak translation. He notes it was an ambitious debut for the 600s.
It is a perfectly constructed joke. It treats divine revelation like a franchise reboot.
Pro-government media outlets were not amused. The investigation was opened. Göktaş is currently out of the country. He released a statement explaining that he had already planned a vacation and left the country with exactly three t-shirts and three pairs of boxers. He promised to return on the first flight if required.
There is something inherently funny about a comedian attempting to de-escalate a federal religious investigation by itemizing his packed underwear. It is the exact opposite of a slick PR response. It is just a guy trying to enjoy a vacation while his YouTube analytics and his legal exposure both go parabolic. The special itself featured a massive sculpture of his own head on stage. It turns out the visual metaphor of personal risk was entirely justified.
Netflix Quietly Buys The Dip
On June 30, Netflix released “Louis C.K.: Ridiculous”. The special was filmed at the Beacon Theater in New York last November.
This marks the end of an exile.
For years, C.K. pioneered the direct-to-consumer model. He sold specials on his own website. He won a Grammy. He toured arenas. He built an entirely self-sustaining ecosystem after the industry banished him.
Now he is back on the homepage.
The distribution choice is fascinating. The comedian who proved you do not need the corporate machine has returned to the corporate machine. The corporate machine, in turn, has decided that the PR risk is fully priced in. Netflix is fundamentally a data company. They do not make moral decisions. They make math decisions. The math said that the subscriber engagement would outweigh the outrage.
The trailer features a joke about a bee getting shot in New York City. It is standard, late-career C.K. material. The real performance is the business transaction itself. Netflix let him direct and produce it. They just bought the finished product. The great independent experiment of the last decade ended exactly how all independent experiments end.
Everyone cashes the check.
The Roastmaster Gets Roasted
Tony Hinchcliffe released a Netflix special on June 9 called “Man of the People“. It is currently being dismantled on the internet.
Hinchcliffe built his brand on aggression. His live show, “Kill Tony,” is an institution based entirely on judging other comedians. When you position yourself as the supreme arbiter of standup quality, you raise the bar for your own material.
The material did not clear the bar.
Reddit threads dedicated to Netflix comedy are usually a wasteland of mild opinions. The response to “Man of the People” is a masterclass in structural feedback. Viewers are complaining that the special feels like a political rant masquerading as philosophical comedy, completely devoid of punchlines. One commenter noted that bombing on an open mic is expected, but bombing on a globally distributed Netflix special is legendary.
This is the central risk of the modern podcast-comedian pipeline. You can fill arenas by being a charismatic host. You can build a massive audience by hanging out on microphones with your friends. But a scripted hour of television is a different medium. It requires actual jokes.
Hinchcliffe is not going to lose his career over a bad hour. He has an empire to fall back on. But there is a distinct irony in watching a professional critic receive notes from the public. They are using his own format against him. It is a roast, just without the podium.
This Week’s New Releases
- Edy Modica: I’m Just Like You (And It Sucks) — Jun 26, Veeps