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Not quite a leap year, and yet in many ways, 2019 felt like the longest year ever in comedy, leaping into a Dickensian abyss where it’s somehow simultaneously the absolute best and worst time to ply one’s trade as a stand-up comedian. And that’s just from talking to any professional comedian or reading his/her social media timeline!
The year began with two comedians beloved by their community leaving us too soon (Brody Stevens and Kevin Barnett) and putting a harsh spotlight on how well comedians take care of themselves and each other. September we all watched the meteoric rise and fall of Shane Gillis, hired and fired by Saturday Night Live over a long weekend, brought back to Earth by his own words and Twitter campaigns. By year’s end, many other comedians (mostly men) worried about “cancel culture” coming for them — despite plenty of evidence to the contrary: Aziz Ansari celebrated a new Netflix special filmed in front of adoring fans; Louis C.K. found more fans willing to pay to see what comedic comeback tricks he had up his sleeves than protestors willing to picket outside the clubs; and we even witnessed a woman in comedy who’d survived rape only to find herself booked on a show with Harvey Weinstein sitting with VIP treatment right in front of her.
Yep, 2019 had it all. Including more comedy specials than ever before. Perhaps because we made it ridiculously easy for anyone to have one.
By my count, we saw some 66 new hours of stand-up via traditional distribution, including Netflix, HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, and new original specials this year on CNN and Amazon Prime. That’s actually a slight dip from 2018. At the same time, however, Amazon’s self-releasing mechanisms allow any would-be performer to upload video, and more than 100 new specials showed up on Amazon (whether free with Prime, or available for rental/purchase) this year, with almost a third of them coming from outside North America (though still predominately English-speaking titles from the UK, Australia, Canada and India). It’s also a fair argument to make that a majority of these Amazon not-Originals specials attempted distribution deals before going the self-release route. So no, you’re not going to find any of them on most anyone’s Best Of 2019 lists. That said, Nick Griffin’s Cheer Up (free on Prime now, via Comedy Dynamics) deserves honorable mentions. There are another nine or so specials comedians uploaded for free to YouTube this year. Andrew Schulz’s The Crowd Work Special attracted more than a million viewers for his, while Nick DiPaolo’s A Breath of Fresh Air is closing in on that milestone. All told, and with the year still three weeks from 2020, you can find some 181 new comedy specials online to watch, but when could you find the time to watch them?
I watched all of the traditional ones and reviewed them this year for Decider, and plenty of the other specials, too. I watched too many specials that found comedians treating their hour as the State of the Comedy Union. I also watched lots of funny hours. Too many to rank just 10, of course. So some super funny comedians —including Amy Schumer, Nikki Glaser and Michelle Wolf— missed the cut. Ron Funches and his wrestling legends, and Whitney Cummings with her sex robot: I duly note you both. Julio Torres and Jenny Slate made their specials truly special, and for that, I applaud you. Jim Gaffigan brought Amazon Prime Originals finally into the comedy space. Dave Chappelle remains on another planet from the rest of us, cosmically gifted and yet frustratingly less grounded this year. Iliza Shlesinger and Daniel Sloss, meanwhile, made us rethink everything we know about weddings and toxic masculinity.
They’re all worth your time, but not the best joke-for-joke comedy specials of 2019. These were.
'Sebastian Maniscalco: Stay Hungry'
RELEASED BY: Netflix
Our modern-day king of the act out, perhaps no comedian enjoyed a bigger 2019. Maniscalco might bookend the year with fun cameos in Oscar-winning movies (Green Book and The Irishman), and in between, hosted the MTV Video Music Awards. And he earned millions touring arenas as a stand-up. Why is he in such demand? You only have to watch him bounce around onstage, mugging for us, arching his eyebrows and contorting his limbs to embody the guy next to him at the gym. He gives us his all, and we are here for it.
'Nate Bargatze: The Tennessee Kid'
RELEASED BY: Netflix
Bargatze is a son of the South, but not stereotypically so. He loves to describe himself as dumb, but by second-guessing himself, his self-awareness serves up nothing but comedic jewels. As I wrote back in March, “The paranoia of wondering if he’s always in the wrong makes him comedically right, no matter whether he’s in the right in any personal interaction.” A real delight.
'Wanda Sykes: Not Normal'
RELEASED BY: Netflix
Long known for her social commentary skills, Sykes is finding new gears in her mid-50s. Part of it that comes thanks to her family life, with a happy spouse and 10-year-old twins providing new complications. Part of it here in Not Normal, the part that’s not about Trump, comes through her increasing comfortability with her onstage physicality. You’ll enjoy watching Sykes flail about as an inflatable tube man, a mall cop on a Segway, or even just jiggling her stomach.
'Anthony Jeselnik: Fire in the Maternity Ward'
RELEASED BY: Netflix
Thoughts and Prayers remains my favorite Jeselnik special, but it’s nevertheless refreshing to see the comedian lean into his onstage character of, as I described back in April, “the evil genius and trained assassin of punchlines.” Especially when too many other comedians have become all-too-defensive amid cries of cancel culture or political correctness run amok. Jeselnik proves those comedians are scared, lazy, or both. And he’s willing to drop his trademark one-liners for a 15-minute story at the end that proves once more he’s a comedy hero we need and deserve.
Read my full review of Anthony Jeselnik: Fire in the Maternity Ward.
Watch Anthony Jeselnik: Fire in the Maternity Ward on Netflix
'Colin Quinn: Red State Blue State'
RELEASED BY: CNN
Say what you will about how the Cable News Network covers politics (I’m not a fan of all the hot-air talking heads), you have to give them credit for turning Memorial Day over to Colin Quinn, who has evolved into one of our elder statesmen of American comedy and history, thanks to his recent string of comedy specials. This special finds him conducting his own town hall of sorts, and what is a comedy special but a town hall minus the pesky audience questions and moderating TV anchor? Even better than his discussion about our political divide is his commentary on our society’s running commentary online. He wryly notes what it’s done to comedy: “Yeah, it’s been really fun watching comedy become woke…That’s actually why I got into comedy: So I could march in lockstep with society’s contemporary conventions.”
'Bill Burr: Paper Tiger'
RELEASED BY: Netflix
After a lackluster 2017 outing, and despite a highly misleading trailer for this hour, the Bill Burr comedy fans know and love is back, and even maturing? Burr continues to thread the needle like no other, puzzling us with his initial premises at times before winning us over once more. Now that he’s a father, he may finally be ready or at least willing to grapple with his anger issues, lest he pass those onto his daughter. And he finds a way to see #MeToo through his own eyes and experiences, which is a refreshing change of pace from a male comedian in 2019.
'Roy Wood, Jr.: No One Loves You'
RELEASED BY: Comedy Central
Wood, best known as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, should be even better known as one of our best stand-ups working today. I put him atop my 2017 list, and could very well argue this hour higher, as well. Why? Wood takes topical premises and gets at the socio-economic core of them better than just about anyone. He proves that again in this hour, taking the kneeling of Colin Kaepernick immediately into a deep dive on why we could use a better national anthem, while also defending the troops better and funnier than anyone who has protested Kaepernick. Wood does similar wonders for McDonald’s, Black Panther, R. Kelly and mass shootings. Comedy Central treats Wood well. But he deserves his own show.
'Ramy Youssef: Feelings'
RELEASED BY: HBO
Youssef had a big year, indeed. He just received a Golden Globe nomination for playing a fictionalized version of himself in his Hulu series, Ramy. His HBO special, similarly, was just nominated for the Critic’s Choice Awards. For good reason. His stand-up hour follows some of the threads he explores in his TV series, but with the ability to play more with stories such as carrying a walkie-talkie on 9/11 while growing up Muslim in New Jersey. His choice to film in Chicago is bold, especially considering his strong takes on Windy City locals such as Jussie Smollett, R. Kelly or Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. That Youssef’s jokes are more piercing and funnier on these subjects than a comic legend like Dave Chappelle is a testament to Youssef’s burgeoning talent, and his place on this list.
'Mike Birbiglia: The New One'
RELEASED BY: Netflix
Mike Birbiglia has found the bridge that finally brings the one-person-show community and the stand-up community together. It’s intensely personal storytelling, chock full of jokes. Who knew? We all knew. Just as Birbiglia eventually comes to terms with what billions of others have before him, that having a child makes you a better human, even if it ruins everything you loved about your life beforehand. And I say this as someone woh doesn’t yet have a kid. This show is brutally honest, poignant, and above all funny.
'Gary Gulman: The Great Depresh'
RELEASED BY: HBO
In a year in which mental health and sad clowns came front and center thanks to Joker, who better than an actual comedian from that movie to have the best, first and last words on the subject? Part concert film, part documentary, the latter is gripping as Gulman takes us through the most crippling period of his depression, while also fueling it with jokes along the way. So many jokes. Nobody packed more insanely memorable and hit-the-nail-on-the-Generation-X-head observations into describing how anyone of a certain age might be lost, if not downright depressed themselves. From his takedown of the phrase “boys will be boys,” to how the pressure in elementary school water fountains was designed for bullying, to a lack of male role models anywhere on the masculinity spectrum between Clint Eastwood and Richard Simmons. He also offers a defense of millennials, as well as a defense of anti-depressants, that would win any debate, mock or otherwise. Gulman offered daily comedy tips on Twitter every day through 2019. He picked a perfect year for it. Because he’s the tops right now.
Read my full review of Gary Gulman: The Great Depresh.
Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic’s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news. He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.
