The Best Netflix Standup Specials Of All Time, Ranked

It's not an exaggeration to say that Netflix has changed stand-up comedy forever. When Robbie Praw joined the company as VP of stand-up and comedy formats in 2016, Netflix turned its attention to stand-up and began offering big bucks to comedians. "Netflix was certainly an inflection point when the specials started becoming a thing," Dave Rath, who reps comedian Adam Ray, told Variety. "By Netflix paying some literally millions of dollars for their specials, they basically created an imbalance in the marketplace, because before that Comedy Central, HBO, and a few other places were doing the long-form specials, but they weren't paying that kind of money."

A wealth of stand-up comedy shows have come to Netflix in the years since Praw came aboard; according to the streaming giant, over 200 comedians have launched specials on the platform, with some coming back for multiple follow-ups (Iliza Shlesinger, Jim Jefferies, and Vir Das hold the joint record of five specials). Not all of them have been well-received, but some have been so good that they scooped Primetime Emmy awards. But which ones stand above the rest as the greatest comedy specials Netflix has to offer? We've ranked what we believe to be the top Netflix stand-up shows from worst to best.

Many stand-ups (including several on this list) have moved to a more serious performance format, giving their show a connecting thread or story that wraps up the set in a way that feels cathartic. Sometimes, though, you just want a stand-up special that's going to make you laugh without also forcing you to consider existential issues, and "Big Guy" from Rachel Feinstein fits the bill. Feinstein spends most of the special cracking jokes about her husband, a Brooklyn firefighter, and the colorful characters she's met through him.

She refers to herself as a "fire wife" and a "badge banger" as she lists the many partner-of-a-firefighter monikers she's come up with since marrying her husband not long into her special, and it is one of many jokes she calls back to throughout the special. Feinstein really knows how to land a punchline, but her impressions are what make "Big Guy" really special. She manages to capture the deep, dopey tone of her husband and the shrill, elderly pronouncements of her mother. Best of all is her impression of a naïve, religious woman that helps her land many of her most effective jokes.

Camisado is a near-extinct military term used to describe a surprise attack at night. By calling his Netflix special "Comedy Camisado," Hannibal Buress (who you may know from his role in "Spider-Man: Homecoming") promised viewers that he was going to deliver a show full of jokes that sneak up on them and makes them laugh unexpectedly, and he delivered on that big time. Buress always manages to project an air of playful apathy, as if everything coming out of his mouth is improvisation, no matter how many times he's tweaked or rehearsed a bit.

There's not really another comedian like Buress, and that's a big part of what makes his stand-up special so, well, special. It has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics raving about everything from Buress' delivery to the everyday subject matter of his jokes. Time magazine wrote: "You'll laugh if: You cry-laugh at free-flowing wisecracks that elevate low-stakes slights to high-stakes drama. Buress goes long on everything from customer service injustices to the ridiculousness of deviled eggs."

Anthony Jeselnik's sets are made up primarily of short jokes, most of which have a fairly traditional structure with a set-up and a punchline. While this might seem rote, Jeselnik's approach is actually fairly innovative. His joke structure is simple but the content is provocative, with a focus on being as creatively horrific as possible (hence the title of this special).

Jeselnik isn't just another stand-up punching down, he's a comedian that explores the darkest depths of humanity and brings shameful thoughts to life in a way that makes people laugh. He turns the worst things he can think of into something absurd and clever, all while somehow making himself the butt of the joke. "Just as you're about to rise up in fury, you realize that with sneakily self-immolating deftness, all of Jeselnik's most devastating hits land squarely on himself," Vulture said in its review.

One of the first things Jacqueline Novak admits to in her stand-up special "Get on Your Knees" is that she was a poet before she started working in comedy; she gave it up because she "grew tired of being in a constant state of enchantment." That said, her poetic sensibilities come through in her special, which is all about oral sex from Novak's perspective as a woman who is attracted to men.

Novak manages to take up an entire hour just fulfilling this brief, and her insight per minute ratio is so high that you could watch this special three times and still catch new jokes on the third viewing. Plus, her enthusiasm is contagious. "'Get on Your Knees' draws its vitality from Novak's performance — she strides, skips, and spins across the stage, carrying the microphone cord across her shoulder with a palpable energy in her delivery," The Age said in its review, while Ready Steady Cut called Novak's inventive special "the first great piece of art of 2024."

"Sweet and Juicy" is the kind of special that could be relatable to just about anyone who might be watching. Sheng Wang has a comfortable, peaceful stage presence that allows him to perform intelligent, well-written comedy without seeming arrogant. He's self-deprecating, but with a gentleness that is rare in comedy. Even though he talks a lot about all of the ways that he struggles with daily life, he never seems like he's trying to turn himself into the punchline; rather, it is the whimsical absurdity of living in this world as a human being that is Wang's perpetual punchline.

Wang gives his perspective on many of life's oddities and strange joys, like skipping ("It's a shame we deny ourselves such a quick and easy way to be joyful"), meeting an insurance deductible ("I'm playing with house money now,"), and sleeping in the same room as a loud snorer ("You have to explain to somebody, who was just completely unconscious, that actually, they've been an a*****e for three hours"). He's the kind of stand-up comedian who embraces his authenticity, making him likable on top of being hilarious.

Wanda Sykes is an iconic figure and a comedic trailblazer. As a gay woman of color who isn't afraid to speak out when it comes to equality, she often gets political. That's very much the case with her 2019 Netflix special "Not Normal," in which she takes aim at the Trumps. "As Sykes gets worked up about a subject, she can be ferocious," The New York Times said in its review of the show, also noting that "it's her specials that make her an elite performer."

Sykes has been working as a writer and performer since the 1990s, so she's very experienced at this point. She's in her 60s now, and the ups and downs of getting older have become great material for new jokes. In fact, the theme of aging is at the heart of "Not Normal," as Forbes pointed out in its review. "Other notable (and notably younger) names, like Ali Wong and Amy Schumer, have also begun to tackle this topic in their most recent specials. But there's something remarkably rarer, and rawer, about the way Sykes talks about aging in 'Not Normal.'"

In May 2021, the United States surpassed 33 million COVID-19 cases. The pandemic was still in full swing, which is why a new Netflix special from Bo Burnham was so welcome. Burnham, who made a name for himself in the late 2000s with YouTube videos of himself playing original comedy tunes, released his first show in five years — after his special "Make Happy" in 2016, Burnham announced that he would stop performing onstage for a while due to a series of stage fright-related panic attacks.

The special that Burnham made himself while in lockdown, which he called "Inside," is arguably the best work of his career. It was filmed in the guest house of his Los Angeles property over the course of a year, and it's a real tour de force. The talented comedian delivers hilarious tunes reminiscent of his YouTube hits, songs like "FaceTime with My Mom (Tonight)" and "Sexting," as well as darker, more serious works like "Welcome to the Internet" and "That Funny Feeling." For his efforts, Burnham got more Emmy nominations than any other individual in 2021. We wouldn't be surprised if "Inside" ends up being studied in history classes when future generations look back on the pandemic.

Artists and creatives who have marginalized aspects of their identities are often expected to serve as honorable representatives of their communities. Joel Kim Booster uses his Netflix stand-up special "Psychosexual" to address the sort of people who are expecting him to be a role model to young LGBTQIA+ and Asian people. He of course takes aim at the people who cling to biases against those communities, but he doesn't want to become a spokesperson, he just wants to make people laugh.

Luckily, Booster is brilliant at making audiences crack up, and "Psychosexual" — which is sharply written and even more sharply delivered — is proof of that. Its frequent focus on the most explicit details of Booster's sex life could easily be taxing were Booster not so original in his comedy. He finds many new ways to explore old ideas, even impressing the veteran critic Richard Roeper. "Thanks to his likable presence, the edgy material never feels mean-spirited or condescending," Roeper said in his review of the special for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Even though Ali Wong is on her way to becoming better known for acting than stand-up comedy, she still has four popular stand-up specials on Netflix, and all of them serve as good examples of her signature style. 2016's "Baby Cobra," her first, is still the best one she's put out to date. Watching this special, you would be forgiven for thinking that she didn't write her material beforehand: Her delivery is that natural and authentic. 

Wong covers plenty of ground in "Baby Cobra," delivering an energetic performance for someone carrying a child — she was seven months pregnant when she filmed the special. "The meat of her act is bold and provocative — covering sex and race and marriage — and, considering just how pregnant she is, it also singles her out as an especially gifted physical comedian," The Guardian said in its review, while The Ringer praised "Baby Cobra" for having "one of the most skillful closers in recent memory."

"Saturday Night Live" writer-turned-stand-up comedian John Mulaney has several specials on Netflix, and they are all, quite frankly, absolutely superb. "Baby J" is Mulaney's most recent special, and, for us, it's his best yet. He's someone whose material only seems to improve as he gets older, and "Baby J" combines Mulaney's now well-honed comedic chops with the unflinching, often uncomfortable honesty found in his earlier work.

What you might not know about Mulaney is that he workshopped and toured "Baby J" following a stint in rehab, so this special leans on darker premises and a more cynical presentation of himself. He reveals that he was the subject of "a star-studded intervention" in the show, one that included fellow comedians Seth Meyers, Nick Kroll, and Fred Armisen. "No one will let me go to the bathroom to freshen up, and the funniest people in the world are staring at me, refusing to do jokes," Mulaney reveals in the show. "It was maddening! Fred Armisen was serious. Do you know how off-putting that is?"

Tig Notaro is one of the most brilliant comedic minds working in show business today. She may not have the most recognizable face or name, but for those fans who have come to recognize and follow her, she's an essential stand-up comedian. Notaro has a way of never quite saying what anyone thinks she'll say. "I know you came for punchlines, but I've been doing stand-up for 20 years and in order to make you happy I have to make me happy first," she says in "Happy to Be Here," her Netflix special. "So I have to tell you a really long, boring story that ends with, 'It was a really hard time.'"

It's almost impossible to predict the punchline (or non-punchline) of any given joke, and she often doesn't bother to explain the reasoning behind something that feels counterintuitive to her goal of making people (and herself) laugh. Notaro ends "Happy to Be Here" with an incredible, fifteen-minute bit where she teases the audience into believing, then not believing, then believing (and so on and so forth) that her favorite band, folk rock duo Indigo Girls, is waiting backstage to perform. Up to the last second, it's impossible to tell if Notaro is being honest; luckily, for the purposes of her filmed special, she actually did manage to book Indigo Girls.

Trevor Noah's stand-up, the work that earned him fame in his home country of South Africa and later a position as a correspondent on "The Daily Show," is clearly his brightest medium, despite his other successes. Noah, who kept his exit from "The Daily Show" a secret, has put out many stand-up specials over the years, but "Afraid of the Dark" stands above the rest as his best offering. Noah fills this Netflix show to the brim with brilliant gags and his incredibly impressive accent work is the cherry on the cake.

Noah performs dozens of accents here — from American and British dialects to Indian, Aussie, Russian, and even Scottish — and he delivers philosophy with his signature, light-handed attitude. Highlights of "Afraid of the Dark" include a reenactment of what Noah imagines the first conversation between a British soldier and an Indian citizen might have looked like and a particularly well-crafted bit wherein Nelson Mandela shows Barack Obama how to speak with gravitas.

Storytelling comics are rare in stand-up. These are the people who weave a clear, common thread throughout their performance that is so precise it almost feels like watching a one-person show rather than a stand-up act. Seth Meyers and Hasan Minhaj are good examples of storytelling comics, but the best in the business is Mike Birbiglia. While he is not as much of a household name as Minhaj or Meyers, he is a particularly gifted stand-up comedian, and he's at his very best in his Netflix special "The New One."

This set follows Birbiglia's journey toward parenthood; one that he took with great reluctance and ultimately only to make his wife happy. His story is engaging from the first moment. He masterfully touches on everything from the reasons he never wanted kids ("I'm not exactly handing off A-plus genes here," he jokes at one stage) to the frustrations of struggling with fatherhood while watching his wife slide effortlessly into motherhood. We won't spoil the ending of "The New One," but we can tell you that Birbiglia is always kind enough to his audience to finish on a note of hope.

Early in her stand-up special "Look at You," Taylor Tomlinson describes the material she's about to deliver as a fire sale. "Everything goes," she says, explaining her approach to building a set during COVID-19. Tomlinson gets honest in "Look at You," and for someone as guarded as her, it's a monumental achievement. She discusses how growing up in a deeply religious household and community traumatized her, and the ways in which her childhood and family experiences did not prepare her to deal with the complicated mental health challenges she would face as an adult.

Tomlinson, who has delivered three Netflix stand-up specials and is the host of her own late-night comedy show on CBS, is a master of metaphor. She always finds a way to make sure that everyone in her audience can understand what she's saying, whether she's comparing antidepressants to arm floaties, or likening her father's brisk remarriage following the death of her mother to Indiana Jones trying to quickly trade an idol for a bag of dirt ("I think he was hoping to switch them out fast enough that we wouldn't notice"). "Look at You" is a truly flawless special, which is why it tops our list. It's one of several hilarious stand-up comedy specials you may not have seen that are streaming right now.