Netflix: Comedians of the World

[Timothy]

Bit early for this topic maybe, but next week Netflix releases Comedians of The World. Not sure if it's mostly new talent or the people they consider to be up and coming, but was curious to see if you've seen any of the list and who you recommend before and after the release. Together we can create a ''must watch / avoid list''.

Here's the full list of talent participating in Comedians of the World:

United States

Neal Brennan
Chris D'Elia
Nicole Byer
Nick Swardson

Australia and New Zealand
Joel Creasey
Urzila Carlson
Nazeem Hussain
Cal Wilson

Quebec
Louis-José Houde
François Bellefeuille
Katherine Levac
Adib Alkhalidey

Canada
Ivan Decker
DeAnne Smith
K. Trevor Wilson
Dave Merheje

South Africa
Loyiso Gola
Loyiso Madinga
Tumi Morake
Riaad Moosa

United Kingdom
Nish Kumar
Joel Dommett
Mae Martin
Ellie Taylor

France
Shirley Souagnon
Jason Brokerss
Tania Dutel
Donel Jack'sman

The Middle East
Moayad Alnefaie
Adi Khalefa
Rawsan Hallak
Ibraheem Alkhairallah

Mexico
Franco Escamilla
Hugo El Cojo Feliz
Gaby Llanas

Brazil
Afonso Padilha
Thiago Ventura
Mhel Marrer

Netherlands
Soundos El Ahmadi
Martijn Koning
Rayen Panday

Germany
Enissa Amani
Ilka Bessin
Kaya Yanar

India
Aditi Mittal
Atul Khatri
Amit Tandon

I'll start things off with Martijn Koning. Quite funny comic from Holland who might be worth a watch.

[arpster]

If the UK contingent is anything to go by this will be fucking dreadful..

[olliebean]

Mae Martin is Canadian, isn't she?

[Small Man Big Horse]

Mae Martin is Canadian, isn't she?

She is. I don't know, bloody Canadians, coming over here and stealing our stand up slots, it's an outrage. Especially as it should have been Tony Law.

[marquis_de_sad]

For India they apparently took the first three from a list organised alphabetically by first name.

                                                                                                                                                                       _{I know it's not really alphabetical.}

[Scrapey Fish]

Joel Dommett is better than his CV would suggest. But yeah, he's no Tony Law

[samadriel]

Australia and New Zealand
Joel Creasey
Urzila Carlson
Nazeem Hussain
Cal Wilson

Urzila and Joel are good, unfortunately I haven't heard of Nazeem Hussain, and Cal was pretty damn funny a decade ago on Get This; I haven't encountered her stuff since then, but hey, surely she's only improved?

[the science eel]

Germany
Enissa Amani
Ilka Bessin
Kaya Yanar

and from Egypt we've got:

Ernst Schoeneberg
Wolfgang Schmidt
Kathe Kollwitz


fuck's sake

[olliebean]

Joel Dommett is better than his CV would suggest.

Not on the evidence of this.

[Timothy]

Interesting!

As a Dutchman I'm quite curious to hear your opinion about the Dutch comics in the special and how different or the same your opinion is compared to the opinion of most people in Holland.

[olliebean]

Three of the four comics in the US section of this are absolutely fucking dreadful. Why is it that so many US comics just come across as really fucking horrible people?

[rasta-spouse]

I imagine the rest of the world are watching this and thinking, "well, UK comics are pretty ghastly aren't they?". They could've gone for a better selection.

Has anyone watched Netflix's The Characters or Neflix's The Degenerates? Wondering if it's any cop or just more time filler designed to flood the market.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I liked Mae Martin's half hour and some of Neal Brennan's set, but struggled with Ellie Taylor and thought Nick Swardson was pretty dreadful, and I'm not sure I'll bother with the rest.

Re: The Characters - That had a couple of decent episodes, and Doctor Brown (the US version) wrote and starred in one which I liked a great deal so I'd recommend checking out that at least.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

We watched all the UK (including inexplicable Canadian) ones last night. I thought they were all on the right side of okay. Ellie Taylor's set struck a chord, since a close friend is also currently up the duff.

I'd written off Nish Kumar as one of those standups that cover a lack of material by being overly enthusiastic, but he got me to laugh here. He lost me a bit when he started going on about Prince, though.

[Small Man Big Horse]

We watched all the UK (including inexplicable Canadian) ones last night. I thought they were all on the right side of okay. Ellie Taylor's set struck a chord, since a close friend is also currently up the duff.

I thought she was probably a fairly decent comedian but as I struggle with the concept of people bringing life in to this horrendous world I struggled with some of her set. That's just me being a bit mental though.

Chortle have now reviewed all of the sets in English - https://www.chortle.co.uk/features/2019/01/13/42063/every_netflix_comedians_of_the_world_special_ranked

22. Chris D'Elia (USA): Just the sort of lazy, reductive, blokish stand-up that caused the last comedy boom to turn to bust. Full review.

21. Nick Swardson (USA): 'Bro' comic picks low-hanging fruit about farting, shitting  and smoking dope. Full review.

20. Cal Wilson (New Zealand): An effervescent comic whose fizz turns to froth when it comes to lightweight material, especially in the first half of the special. Full review

19. Atul Khatri (India): Avuncular stand-up from a good-humoured, but ultimately a little bland, comic. Full review.

18. K Trevor Wilson (Canada): A whole half-hour about shit? Absolutely. There's some good work here, but the obsession is drawn out too much.  Full review.

17. Dave Merheje (Canada): A supernova of energy who paints a vivid picture of his immigrant family life, but is light on LOLs. Full review

16. Urzila Carlson (Australia, but South African): A thoroughly solid act, very strong in performance but unmemorable in her generic material. Full review

15. Nicole Byer (USA): A filthy force of nature pushing through  a mixed bag of sex stories and body-positivity through sheer power of personality. Full review.

14. Loyiso Madinga (South Africa): Amusing and playful take on stereotypes, but some routines outstay their welcome. Full review.

13. Riaad Moosa (South Africa): A ultra-likeable performance powerhouse, but prone to falling into hack material. Full review.

12. Ellie Taylor (UK): Relatable and amusing tales of pregnancy and relationships, but delivered in a slightly stagey way. Full review.

11. Tumi Morake (South Africa): An infectious laugh and some engaging and fascinating personal stories... once she gets round to them. Full review.

10. Nazeem Hussain (Australia): Playful with the politics of being a Muslim and evocative about his immigrant upbringing, Hussain pulls a few punches but is an engaging and smart comic. Full review.

9. Aditi Mittal (India): A fierce, no-nonsense strike back against sexism that's packed with attitude.  Full review.

8. Nish Kumar (UK): Pin-sharp Kumar has got good reason to exude a superior attitude, but he appreciates how intense, even smug, he can come across - as he outlines in this full-on special .Full review.

7. Neal Brennan (USA): Astute social commentator always ready with a smart twist on the world, delivered perfectly. Full review.

6. Loyiso Gola (South Africa): Intelligent and wide-ranging comedy teasing white privilege. Full review.

5. Joel Creasey (Australia): Camp comedy as it should be done. The special's all about him, him, him but he's frank and funny and with an infectious energy. Full review.

4. Deanne Smith (Canada): An outsider opening a door to her world accessible - and funny - with her self-aware, and well-constructed stories. Full review.

3. Ivan Decker (Canada): Classy stand-up with an sharp eye for an off-kilter angle, delivered with likeability and slickness. Full review.

2. Joel Dommett (UK): A charismatic, physical performer with plenty of first-hand self-deprecating stories that turn out to subtly address the pent-up emotions of masculinity in a routine that wears its careful construction lightly.Full review

1. Mae Martin (UK but Canadian): While most of these specials are half-hour sets, Martin's comes from her acclaimed confessional Edinburgh show, telling a personal story of addiction while being full of wit. Full review.

If they leak online I might give Deanne Smith, Loyiso Gola and Ivan Decker a shot but I doubt I'll bother with the rest.

[up_the_hampipe]

Netflix are flooding the market with stand-up, this collection is especially overkill. Just confirming that there are so many stand-ups around right now, some great, some good, many bland, many bad, none unique.

I watched Neal Brennan's set because I like him a lot. I'm surprised he even agreed to this, seems it was mainly for rising acts.

[Timothy]

Interesting!

As a Dutchman I'm quite curious to hear your opinion about the Dutch comics in the special and how different or the same your opinion is compared to the opinion of most people in Holland.

Anyone seen any of these?

[olliebean]

Netflix are flooding the market with stand-up, this collection is especially overkill. Just confirming that there are so many stand-ups around right now, some great, some good, many bland, many bad, none unique.

I got about halfway through the English language ones before giving up because I felt like there was a lot of repetition in the subject matter, and even in some of the basic jokes. I might go back and watch the higher ranked ones in that Chortle list that I haven't already seen, though.

I definitely agree with their ranking of Chris d'Elia. Neal Brennan was the only one of the US batch that I thought had much of anything worthwhile, tbh - I went on to watch his "3 Mics" special afterwards, which I also enjoyed. Was he the only one who'd already had a Netflix special prior to this series?

[up_the_hampipe]

Chris D'Elia has more than one Netflix special, I think. He's very popular.

[olliebean]

Chris D'Elia has more than one Netflix special, I think. He's very popular.

Bloody hell.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Remember when he caused a run on goose fat for roast potatoes?

[Small Man Big Horse]

Anyone seen any of these?

I'd like to see them but they've not been uploaded anywhere unfortunately, but if I ever get Netflix again I'll definitely watch some.

[colacentral]

Agree with above re: Chris D'Elia, terrible comedian yet hugely popular. One of life's great mysteries.

[up_the_hampipe]

Agree with above re: Chris D'Elia, terrible comedian yet hugely popular. One of life's great mysteries.

I think he got really popular from podcasts, mainly his own. His winging it style works much better in that setting, and he's a lot more toned down. On stage, he gets all hyperactive, bendy and goofy, trying to be Dane Cook and Jim Carrey combined. It's awkward and strange. But he is naturally funny on those other things, so he's built a following from that.

I liked his reaction to R Kelly's "confessional" ballad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQfgd_eJBg4