Given a choice to watch a movie, TV series, or a stand-up special, I will choose stand-up every single time. It’s a tired cliche that laughter is good for your health, but it couldn’t be truer – laughter is good for my health, mind, body, and soul. Little makes me laugh as much as a great stand-up special. When Cameron and I were first dating, I thought he was absolutely hilarious (and I still think he is hilarious, btw). I had little exposure to stand-up at that point, and as he began to introduce me to his favorite comics I realized I recognized a few jokes; I’ll never let him live it down.
Stand-up is entertainment in it’s truest form, and I’m so impressed by the comics who put themselves out there because I think there’s likely not much more difficult than trying to make people laugh. While we love all the Comedy Central 20 minute skits (on Hulu), Netflix has been releasing longer, exclusive specials for the past few years and we have three favorites that have come out recently if you’d like to check them out for yourself.
- Jim Gaffigan Cinco: In typical Jim Gaffigan fashion, this is one you can watch with the kids – no language, no dirty jokes, and ab-so-lut-ly hilarious. “Do I like this show, honey?” Just watch, you’ll get it, and you won’t regret it.
- Neal Brennan 3 Mics: This special used a unique format that I’d never seen in comedy with three separate microphones and backdrops, each for a particular type of comedy. The first mic is for traditional stand-up, the next is for emotional stories, and the third for one liner jokes; Brennan moves between the microphones as he tells each type of joke. The stand-up and one liner jokes were side-splittingly funny, but the emotional mic broke up the flow a bit – I think it would have been better as an ad-lib with the audience mic but the special as a whole is definitely worth the watch. (Not raunchy but he does swear, FYI).
- Aziz Ansari Live at Madison Square Garden: This special is older than the previous two but no less funny. If you’ve watched Parks and Rec or Master of None, you already know Aziz’s brand of humor; the audience participation in this one is legendary.
P.S. If stand-up isn’t your cup of tea, check out Designated Survivor or This Is Us. Both new shows this season, they’ve come out of the gate as major successes. I’ve loved the suspense of Designated Survivor, and This Is Us, well, Cameron came in from working out in the garage one evening this week to find me folding laundry, watching This Is Us, and bawling. It’s a heartstring jerker in the very best way.
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