Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Jonas Brothers Family Roast’ On Netflix, Are You A Sucker For Them?

Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas have made hit records, starred in Disney Channel shows and movies, gone off for solo projects, and now are back together again. So what better way to settle a sibling rivalry than a roast, right? Right?!? I mean, I’m asking you at this point, because I just watched their Netflix special and am still wondering…

JONAS BROTHERS FAMILY ROAST: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Your roast host, Kenan Thompson, debriefs you if you’re not already up on your Jonas Brothers fun facts.

Kevin, Joe and Nick grew up in New Jersey and began recording music together in 2005, when they were aged 13 to 18. They starred in the Disney Channel movie, Camp Rock, and its sequel. By 2008, they’d broken big enough to earn a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. After a hiatus to pursue solo projects in 2010-2011, they attempted a comeback in 2012 only to break up in 2013. They eventually did reunite in 2019 with their fifth album, which produced their #1 hit song, “Sucker.” In the meantime, they’d all gotten married: Kevin to Danielle Deleasa in 2009; Nick to actress Priyanka Chopra in 2018; and Joe to actress Sophie Turner in 2019.

The three wives all sit together onstage to get their chances to rib their husbands/bros-in-law.

Also making appearances to toast and roast the brothers Jonas? Pete Davidson, Lilly Singh, John Legend, Blake Shelton and Jack Whitehall. Niall Horan also appears in a sketch, while Gabriel Iglesias does the same, over the end credits.

What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: It’s not your father’s Comedy Central Roast, nor even your grandfather’s Friars Club or Dean Martin roast.

Memorable Jokes: Thompson’s introductory monologue also highlights the frequent targets for ridicule during the course of the hour: Nick’s need to go solo, Joe’s other band (DNCE, “Cake By The Ocean”), and Kevin’s lesser stardom, which made his solo status sadder? As Kenan quipped, after pointing out this old Lonely Kevin meme that Joe helped propagate, “Every Destiny’s Child needs its Michelle Williams.”

Pete Davidson and his star power also bring a burst of energy to the proceedings, most effectively in the beginning, when he presents himself as a fan in the audience.

John Legend wrote and performs a song for them at the piano, where he playfully reminds them they’re “Not Quite The Beatles.”

Of everyone who performed, Lilly Singh, who went first, made it feel most like an actual roast, with jabs at all three of the brothers, and the best one at the streaming giant, reminding us all: “So yeah, I’m thrilled to finally be on a Netflix comedy special celebrating three white guys from New Jersey!”

Our Take: Presumably with help from a writing staff that included Brian Moses (host of the long-running Roast Battle at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood), all of the wives come off well, too.

But there’s something altogether too tame about the proceedings.

Perhaps it’s because of the targets themselves. What is there to make fun of them, really? The comedians and other performers hit the few key points, but after a while, there’s nowhere else to go. Especially since the other performers aren’t staying onstage on a dais, and unlike most roasts, they don’t make jokes at anyone else but the brothers.

Unless you count jokes made at youngest brother, Frankie’s, expense. Which, oof. He wasn’t even there. Nor was their mom. Their father, however, beamed and couldn’t seem happier to have been included.

Padding out the hour-plus resulted in some questionable choices. Most of the sketches felt like killing time, even if you could tell the brothers enjoyed filming them. Why they included Dr. Phil and his son, though, is beyond all comprehension. No comedy special has benefitted from a dose of Dr. Phil.

If you’re a JoBro fan, then OK, fine, I can see you enjoying this, too. Not sure how this will make you a fan if you weren’t already.

Our Call: STREAM IT if you already love the Jonas Brothers. SKIP IT otherwise. John Legend’s song reminds us they’re not quite the Beatles, and there’s a new Beatles docuseries out on Disney+ in a few hours, anyhow.

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.

Watch Jonas Brothers Family Roast on Netflix