The best stand-up comedy on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and BBC iPlayer
Fancy seeing some incredible stand-up comedy all from the comfort of your front room? Then don't worry, we've got all of our favourites currently streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and BBC iPlayer!
Date published: 31st Jan 2023
Sat on doom-scrolling on your phone at home? TikTok not providing its usual injection of palpable joy, exhibited through a chorus of swift exhalations via your nose? Your usual rotation of classic Sitcoms like The Office, Friends, and How I Met Your Mother not giving you that desired feeling of warmth and laughter? Well, it sounds like you need to make the plunge and watch one of the incredible arrays of side-splitting stand-up comedy specials, found on the very streaming sites you are so zombiefylingly scrolling through for a much-needed serotonin boost.
Now, whilst many people may see comedy as a live experience, in a room where to crowd can come together for a night of shared laughter; sometimes, that just isn't viable. Sometimes you just want a night in the comfies, in front of your telly, a bottle of wine and a few snacks, sat down for a night of comforting laughter.
If this is feeling like a bit of you right now, then you've got to get yourself in the right place. Just below we've got all of Skiddle's favourite stand-up comedy specials, streaming right now on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and BBC iPlayer. So scroll down, decide which takes your fancy, and get yourself prepped for a night of endless, cathartic laughter of the best kind.
Bo Burnham - Inside
Image: Bo Burnham on Facebook
Streaming Platform: Netflix
A brilliant display of musical comedy unlike anything you've seen before, Bo Burnham's Inside is a special that was written, shot, and performed by the sharp American comic amidst the lockdown. Featuring an amalgamation of songs and sketches about his day-to-day experiences of his new life indoors. It depicts Burnham's decomposing mental health, explores introspective themes of performativity and the relationship he now has with the Internet and the new audience's it has helped him reach, whilst also addressing topics such as climate change and social movements.
It's an exceptional array of claustrophobic comedy that is equally bleak, hilarious and hopeful and has quickly become one of the most iconic comedy specials of the modern era. We are sure many of you have already seen it, but if you haven't, you quite simply have to.
James Acaster: Repertoire
Image: This Is Kettering on Facebook
Streaming Platform: Netflix
If you haven't heard of James Acaster, then what rock have you been living under? From humble beginnings, the offbeat comic has garnered widespread love from fans alike through a series of panel show appearances, an appearance on the Great British Bake Off, and now his own show, Hypothetical.
This electric special of stupendous silliness is comprised of four live stand-up shows that exist in the same universe and follow the same running narrative, coming together to form this stand-up mini-series.
The first 'Recognise' is based around Acaster being an undercover cop who has infiltrated a gang dealing drugs to stand-up comedians and has done so by assuming the identity of a stand-up comedian named James Acaster (the hour continues with the absurdity you'd expect from that synopsis.) 'Represent' where we hear about James’ time doing jury service on a double murder case, on which he gets overly obsessed with his fellow jurors as opposed to the case at hand. 'Reset' where, after masterminding a clever scam to put the drug gang behind bars, James is about to enter the witness protection program. And finally, 'Recap', which covers James’ time in Witness Protection, where he lives in Loughborough as a lollipop man.
It's silly, hilarious, and worth every minute of your time.
Hannah Gadsby: Douglas
Image: Hannah Gadsby on Facebook
Streaming Platform: Netflix
An award-winning comedian out of Tasmania in Australia, Hannah Gadsby is one of the most exciting names in the international game at the minute, and on Douglas, her second Netflix special, Gadsby is in confident, electric form, producing some of her best-ever comedic work.
On the special, Gadsby has produced a slick, joke-dense show that will kick you in the gut as quickly as it makes it quiver in laughter. She gives her latest takes on popularity, identity, language, feminism and more. but, what makes this one stand out is that it is entirely her own view, she is no patroniser, nor are her opinions worrying. She has once again created a piece of comic art that delves into the aforementioned complexities with an assertive confidence that is mesmeric on stage, and meticulously builds around something rather mundane, an unusual dog park encounter.
It's truly wonderful and uproariously funny, great entertainment for nights of a much-needed mood boost.
Stewart Lee: Snowflake/Tornado
Image: Stewart Lee on Facebook
Streaming Platform: BBC iPlayer
Labelled many many on the right of politics as the “metropolitan liberal elite's” comic, but really just an excellent orator, with an intrinsic understanding of his artform, poking fun at all of its facets, whilst also making scintillating commentary on some of the complexities of modern-day political dividers such as political correctness, and cancel culture, all whilst maintaining his signature dead-pan delivery.
Said by many to be the finest comic the country has produced and by others the worst thing to happen to British comedy since Mrs Browns Boys (although the ones saying that will probably enjoy that programme won't they); Lee has amassed a hardcore, cultish fanbase, and this two-pronged special, Tornado/Snowflake will give them exactly what they want, and without a doubt seep into the funny bones of a new generation.
If you like your comedy to have a political tinge and be slightly more intellectual and nuanced than a lot of mainstream acts, then Lee is the man for you and his latest special will give you everything that his fans hold most dear in abundance.
Daniel Sloss: Live Shows
Image: Daniel Sloss on Facebook
Streaming Platform: Netflix
A rollercoaster ride of a special that features equal amounts of fast-paced scintillating observational work on the more taboo topics of the world, alongside more pensive, personal prose, Daniel Sloss's Live Shows series on Netflix is a damn near perfect ride of dark comedy that'll have your head falling off in laughter, instead of your legs like other rides meant to make your grin.
His musings are socially critical and revealed in an intelligent way. From sexual encounters gone wrong to his ex-wife's veganism to growing up with a younger sister with cerebral palsy, the jokes are told with painfully true honesty and conviction that might have you both reeling in laughter and sorrow. But that's where Sloss's comedy thrives and he loves to trudge around in the darker side of the art form, but with a tactness that can be hard to find within this facet of comedy.
He is one of the best modern British comics working today, and this special is the perfect spot to jump in, whether you've heard of him or not.
Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones
Image: Dave Chapelle on Facebook
Streaming Platform: Netflix
We all know who Dave Chapelle is. Arguably the most famous comic to ever do it, the man has achieved Hollywood stardom levels of fame over his many years as a comic, and his latest Netflix special will give you the perfect slice of just why that is.
Sticks and Stones is vintage Chapelle, it takes on subversive topics like gun culture, the opioid crisis, and the tidal wave of celebrity scandals. Its divisive, sometimes surpassing the moral line on which modern comedy teeters, but always coming back to land well-executed and thoroughly searing punchlines that'll have you laughing and then looking over to the rest of the room to make sure it was okay too.
It won't be for everyone, and that's okay, comedy is subjective and you'll find more than enough other stuff on this list to watch that'll be right up your street. but, if you are a lover of the American comic, you will adore this.
Katherine Ryan: Glitter Room
Image: Katherine Ryan on Facebook
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Another well-known name to the British, TV comedy-watching audience; Canadian native Katherine Ryan has dominated our screens for years, and her most recent Netflix special, Glitter Room, will leave no quandaries as to why that is.
Packed with her signature, personal takes on the structure of society with her signature sassy, mature wit. The show is fused with feminism and the continual commentary on the lived experiences of a single middle-aged woman is effortlessly relatable to those in a similar situation and still effortlessly funny for those who may not entirely relate.
The special itself is an intimate look at Ryan's efforts to raise a child while still figuring things out in her life and it's bursting with attitude. She champions the oft-looked-down-upon notions of a single-mother family unit that’s different from the supposed norm. She’s a single mum and delighted to be that way, flying an obtrusive flag in the face of the perceived view that women have to ‘attract’ a man to be fulfilled and successful.
It's hilarious, indicting, and relatable; if you liked her on the telly, you're going to love this.
Bill Burr: Live at Red Rocks
Image: Bill Burr on Facebook
Streaming Platform: Netflix
There are few more recognisable voices in comedy than the Bostonian croak of Bill Burrs. The Massachusets-born comedian has been at the top of the American game for a while now and has built his style of goading the liberal side of society with hilariously crafted bits that expose some of the more hypocritical sides of their beliefs; has gained his fans from all walks of life.
In his latest special, Live at Red Rocks, the comic sounds off on cancel culture, feminism, getting bad reviews from his wife, and his life-changing epiphany. The set scratches away at what we really think compared to what we know we’re supposed to think, and whilst there are some parts that don't land as well as he may have hoped (due to slightly appealing to the worse parts of his fanbase), as a whole, it is more than worth the watch due to its incredible originality and hilarity.
Fern Brady: Power & Chaos
Image: Comedy Estonia on Facebook
Streaming Platform: BBC iPlayer
The Scottish queen that is Fern Brady is often described as brutal, blunt, and forthright, and there are few better examples of this analysis than in her special Power & Chaos on Netflix. Whilst not as coherent as other comedic acts, the sheer hilarity of the amalgamation of dark and light within the set, from porn to animal videos, is a joy to consume.
The laughs come thick and fast and ferns dead-pan Scottish delivery makes them all the funnier, a thing she is a true master at. Themes include feminism, existential despair, and the array of things that make her see red. Brady points her rifle at topics as diverse as aforementioned, from the DUP to creepy men, particularly cat-callers.
She's scathing, painfully honest, and hilariously uncompromising. A comedic set of sensational proportions.
Zakir Khan: Kaksha Gyarvi
Image: Zakir Khan on Facebook
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
If you like your comedy tinged with nostalgia, then this special on Amazon Prime from Zakir Khan will satiate all your comedic tastebuds. Zakir takes his fans back to the times of school bags and friendships, drawing up experiences from being in an all-boys school to moving to a co-ed school, from bullying to friendship and basic survival instinct.
It's endlessly relatable and delves into the facets of the topic and how they have made him wiser and his life richer, whilst at the same time being undeniably hilarious indictments of us in our younger years. Zakir is indeed a unique act, and it's easy to see why. To say the least, this special is an intimate couple of hours about growing up and surviving through life, and one you should go and watch right away.
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