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Comedy fans in 2024 have thousands of stand-up specials available at their fingertips.
One way to interpret this is that the market has reached a saturation point.
The other way is that it reflects an insatiable audience appetite.
The ultimate goal, she says, is to make specials that feel like cultural events.
We want to be the place that is giving comedians their flowers, she says.
Theres more competition than ever right now when it comes to stand-up specials.
Comedians only have a finite number of specials that they make in their lifetime.
We see how hard theyre working.
Weve made sure that our specials are going to be as easy as possible to find on the platform.
Weve also built out a library of licensed content to be able to support these as well.
When it comes to commerciality, were looking for comedians who are broadly appealing.
We want our audience to be quoting their jokes with their family and friends.
Another subcategory of quality is the look and feel of these specials.
Another person were in business with is Atsuko Okatsuka, whose special we just shot last week.
We really want to keep these comedians in the family.
This company has so many resources for comedians, and we want to be able to tap into that.
You said youre not looking for comedians to be edgy or stir the pot.
But youre also working with Bill Burr, who isnt known to steer away from controversial subject matter.
What is the companys approach to content moderation in that regard?Its really about servicing our audience.
Its making sure that theres something for everyone.
Jim Gaffigan is family friendly; Im watching that special with my family during Thanksgiving.
Thats something that we wanted to be able to do: bring people together.
Chris Distefano, on the other side, is a young dad.
His special is produced by Jimmy Kimmel, and theyve had a long-standing relationship for a while.
I wanted to drill down further on universality.
Stand-up tends to find its way into culture-war debates a lot.
But none of these people are doing that in their hour.
Where does Hulu stand in that debate?
Again, its collaborative.
I imagine these specials arent ready to be filmed yet.
Youre saying youve seen their material already?Yeah, I have, and theyre really great.
We are very much ahead in terms of the way were programming.
Were shooting specials when the comedians are ready to shoot the specials.
We are also very encouraging of having comedians work with the producers theyre most comfortable with.
Jessica Kirsons special was produced by Bill Burr, andtheyhave a long-standing relationship.
I wouldnt want to have this conversation off the record.
The answer doesnt help me, specifically.Stand-up is a huge priority for the Walt Disney Company.
It doesnt matter how much were spending on certain things.
So just know that theres a larger investment in this.
We know that Netflix iswilling to pay up to $20 millionfor certain big-name comedians.
Youve announced deals to license specials from companies like 800 Pound Gorilla and Comedy Dynamics.
When we created the license strategy, it also came from a very curated approach.
It definitely came down to iconic specials, likeEddie Murphy: Raw.
What are the specials that people are consistently watching because they are their favorites?
That was one bucket that we attacked.
The second bucket is, like you talked about, 800 Pound Gorilla.
They are fresh specials from your favorite comedians.
Its really keeping in mind what our viewers are looking for.
Another brand I know youre familiar with isDont Tell Comedy.
Especially for up-and-comers, thats really the place where a comedian can break.
But the idea is to consistently spread awareness of who they are and their material.
Ticket sales are really important as a comedian.
Have you encountered that at all while youve been building this out?Yes.
I think that some comedians are definitely looking to be able to have their special on a different platform.
Again, it goes to: What does a comedian want at the end of the day?
Our offering is different from YouTube, and can expand to different types of audiences, as mentioned.
If theyd rather have their special in a different place, we totally understand.
Were still going to watch them as stand-up fans.
Netflix has a history of launching star comedians, from Ali Wong toTaylor Tomlinson.
Looking at the lineup of comedians youve announced specials with, these are people with existing audiences already.
Does Hulu aspire to break new acts as well?Absolutely.
That is the goal: to be able to break stars within the Walt Disney Company.
We have a mix of different types of comedians.
We have a lot of peoples favorite ones, and we have a lot of up-and-comers as well.
Were never going to jam a comedian into doing something they dont want.
But I think were down to play around with the format when the time is right.
Stand-up is brand new to the platform.
There really isnt a singular metric in terms of how were doing this.
