There are times where you just want to laugh, where you just want to just relax and watch something that you know will be funny. This is a common occurence in most people, but many have no idea what to watch in these moments. Now enter in “stand-up comedy”. Stand-up is probably exactly what you think it is; a person standing up in front of a crowd and telling jokes, but to explain it this way is almost offensive to the comedy form. Although stand up comedy is a person standing in front of a crowd making people laugh, it is much more of an art form than just that. For example, a person standing in front of a crowd making lousy puns is much different that a stand up comedian making people laugh. A proper stand-up comedian digs in to everyday occurrences and lulls in life and pulls humor from them, creating relatable content that connects with the viewers while also being extremely funny. Now, if I’ve gotten you interested in stand-up comedy here are 5 amazing stand up comedians that can be found on netflix.
1. Louis CK
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve probably heard the name “Louis CK” before. Even if you’ve never been a fan of stand up comedy, Louis CK has made appearances in shows like ‘Parks and Recreation’ and even has is own show on netflix called ‘LOUIE’. He’s been on a number of late night talk shows, and is considered one of the most funniest and relatable comedians of our time. He has two comedy shows on Netflix titled “Louis CK: Live at the Beacon Theater” and “Louis CK: Chewed Up”, both which delve in to his style of self-depricating humor and non-stop unpolitical correctness.
2. Kevin Hart
Kevin Hart is another name that transcends his career as a stand up comedian. Along with touring he is also an actor and producer who has also appeared on many different late night talk shows dozens of times over, and is the best friend to Ice Cube of N.W.A whom he has appeared on screen with in his movies ‘Ride Along’ and ‘Ride Along 2’. Kevin Hart takes the same sort of self depricating and relatable humor seen in many of today’s comedians and saturates it in his own self confidence, telling hilarious stories about occurences that happen in his day to day life. He has three stand up films currently on Netflix titled “Laugh at my Pain”, “Seriously Funny”, and “I’m a Grown Little Man”.
3. Bo Burnham
Bo Burnham is one of the more rookie comedians to appear on the scene, with only two stand up comedy films released by the young age of 25. Bo began his career by making comedy videos on YouTube at the age of 16 and from there received an MTV show called “Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous”. Currently Bo Burnham currently has a large social media presence on the platform ‘Vine’ where he makes short comedy videos. Along with comedy he is also a poet and has released his poem book titled “Egghead”. Differing from most stand up comedians, Bo has abandoned the traditional form of stand up comedy and instead expresses his comedy through music and poetry, while adopting a flamboyant on stage persona with amazing stage production value. His only stand up film titled ‘what.” on Netflix is a stroke of comedic genius.
4. John Mulaney
John Mulaney probably has the most comedy experience of all the comedians listed, appearing on comedy shows like ‘I love the 30s’, Comedy Central, Saturday Night Live, and his own comedy show called ‘Mulaney’ that aired 2014-2015. He makes himself relatable to the audience by making himself come across as ‘just your average guy’, giving off the feel that there isn’t really anything special about him or his life, but from this he pulls hilarious stories that are extremely relatable to the audience and at times extremely embarassing. Mulaney knows how to play on discomfort, and stays true to the traditional stand up comedy format. Mulaney has two stand up films on Netflix called “New in Town” and “The Comeback Kid”.
5. Aziz Ansari
Currently one of the more popular comedians, Aziz Ansari started off his comedy career on the show ‘Parks and Recreation’. He currently has a netflix original series called ‘Master of None’ and has garnered a lot of attention through his stand up comedy and acting career. Much like Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari saturates his comedy sketches in confidence and fits in perfectly with the modern american humor code while also remaining as a relatable figure as he pulls humor out of his daily life, and out of everyday thoughts that he has. Aziz has successfully sold out Madison Square Garden and has three stand up comedy films on Netflix, titled “Dangerously Delicious”, “Buried Alive”, and “Live at Madison Square Garden”.