The best hours reached for transcendence through gravity and sheer goofiness, often at the same time.
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Theres a variety of comedy specialthat belongs in its own particular class:the Update Special.
10.Sasheer Zamata,The First Woman
10.
Theres a bit ofFun fact!
YouTube, 56 minutes
9.John Early,Now More Than Ever
9.
Its an ode to millennial exhaustion while being a screed of exhaustion with millennial culture.
Cynicism never felt so fun.
Max, 65 minutes
8.Mike Birbiglia,The Old Man and the Pool
8.
Netflix, 77 minutes
7.Zainab Johnson,Hijabs Off
7.
Hijabs Off, Johnsons first hour-long special, is a combination of two familiar comedy-special types.
Johnson does this part ofHijabs Offwith ease and self-possession.
She jokes about her name, which becomes an insight into her family.
Amazon Prime, 68 minutes
6.Maria Bamford,Local Act
6.
Apple TV+, 58 minutes
5.Gary Gulman,Born on 3rd Base
5.
Jay has a certain amount of charisma thats just irreducible, but the material here never coasts on personality.
Max, 60 minutes
3.Joe Pera,Slow & Steady
3.
Pera has a reputation for gentleness, and theres certainly a warmth and sense of compassion to his humor.
YouTube, 57 minutes
2.Beth Stelling,If You Didnt Want Me Then
2.
Stelling outlines the contours of that joke with a finely honed emotional antenna.
It is inarguably dumb, it is surreal, it is sad, it is endearing.
The entire special comes from the same pitch-perfect blend of feelings, tender and wry at the same time.
Netflix, 59 minutes
1.Marc Maron,From Bleak to Dark
1.
Its a refreshing combination of delicate and obscene.
In the case ofFleming, that world is particularly bizarre and delightful.
But the special is a demonstration ofMoNiquesability to turn that lens on herself.
But Martins main interest is in describing the way each of us presents ourselves to one another.
They are not really-more-of-a-one-man-show specials.
Thats not the point.
His cruise-ship material conjures a nightmarish, hedonistic carnival.
His story about a van goes places no one couldve predicted.
Another comedian might make that sound cruel or judgmental, but Bargatze is sincere about it.
Its a theme that ripples underHello Worlds entire hour.
Its a joke Bargatzes making about himself, but its also a statement for the audience.
Thats who we all are.
Amazon Prime, 60 minutes
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