3 stand-up comedy specials to watch (and one to miss) streaming on Netflix

You want to laugh, have some fun, and watch a bit of Netflix, right? And there is nothing worse than going to a stand-up show and not laughing. You feel bad for you and you feel bad for the wannabe comedian.

Luckily, most of the specials that follow will make you literally laugh out loud. In fact, three of them are worth multiple viewings. That is the other part of great stand-ups. You remember some of the greatness they delivered, but not all of it. You almost want to immediately go back and review.

Every comedian that follows is funny, but one simply has a bad special. Maybe he has run out of material. Or maybe he is in a rut. The others are absolutely perfect.

Three Netflix stand-up comedy specials to watch (and one to avoid)

Must-watch - Your Friend, Nate Bargatze

Is this Bargatze's best special? No. That likely goes to his 2021 special, The Greatest Average American. Or maybe 2023's Hello World. OK, to be fair, nearly every Bargatze special is fantastic. He avoids politics and religion for the most part, but he doesn't do it because he does not want to be controversial. That is simply not his style.

Instead, Bragatze delivers dead-pan gems that would make Bob Newhart proud. Put the comedian back in 1955 and he would be just as funny. Fortunately, as of Christmas Eve in 2024, we have new material from one of the best stand-ups working.

Must-watch - Ronny Chieng: Love To Hate It

If you only know Chieng from the work he does on the Daily Show, you are missing out. He is super smart and quick, and will approach subjects in a unique and uniquely funny way. He also is a veteran stand-up (one of his best set ups is his pretending to talk to a child as the child wants to grow up to be a comedian) who knows when to speed up and when to slow.

Chieng, like Bargatze, doesn't get overly controversial - unlike Dave Chappelle, Chieng does not intentionally stir up anger (though Chappelle does it in a near-genius approach) - but one will not have to guess much where his politics lie. He teases just enough to get a reaction before dropping a great punchline.

Must-avoid - Tom Papa: Home Free

Papa is not a bad comedian. He does get a bit irritating in that he often repeats lines. That is not an accident. It's part of his schtick. The issue is that over the years he seems to have become a bit more jaded and slightly angry. He doesn't yell or anything. He is not Sam Kinison. But the unassuming Papa seems slightly more dangerous when he is talking about things that annoy him.

The problem is much of his last stand-up simply feels like a build-up to a joke that never lands. He is speaking to us, but not making us laugh. The disconnection is palpable.

Must-watch - Anthony Jeselnik: Bones and All

One will either get what Jeselnik does early in his special or they will not. He is not going to apologize either way. He also does not mind making people upset, but he is self-aware enough to know when to pull back.

When he does, he opens the audience to knowing fully well what is to follow while the crowd has to wait. His delivery is different from Bill Burr's but the sentimentality is the same. Jeselnik also never really laughs at his own jokes. One might wonder if he is joking at all.

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