'We need our triumphs': Queer comics take center stage in new Netflix doc 'Superb'

Paige Hurwitz knows funny. The longtime director and producer has spent her two-decade career in Hollywood working on some of the biggest and boldest comedy productions and stand up sets from comics like Wanda Sykes, Tiffany Haddish and Michelle Buteau. But over the years, she noticed a story unfolding before her eyes—a story she wasn't sure the average person knew about.

“While comedians don't set out to be activists or cultural leaders—their goal is just to make people laugh—queer comedians happen to change the culture along the way,” says Hurwitz. Rolling rock. “It's important not only to tell the personal narratives that comedians share, but also to put them in historical context.”

Her response? The new documentary Exceptional: A revolution in comedy, which follows a series of LGBTQ+ comics through a historic night of comedy at the Hollywood Bowl and a step-by-step history of how queer comedy has evolved over the past 100 years. Combining interviews with performances, personal encounters between comedians and archival footage, the documentary dives deep into important queer figures in the world of comedy and how their individual careers pushed the LGBTQ+ movement forward. It also features performances by Eddie Izzard, Joel Kim Booster, Mae Martin, Billy Eichner, Wanda Sykes and Bob the Drag Queen.

Rolling rock caught up with Hurwitz to discuss the heavy lifting of mapping the history of queer comedy and why she thinks this film is so important in comedy's current cultural moment.

How did you decide you wanted to create a live show and did you shoot specifically to be part of this documentary?
I've wanted to make a documentary for a long time about the history of queer stand up and its impact on culture. I thought it was an important story to tell, because queer comedians have been so important in the path to queer liberation. I published it in 2019 and when I pitched it to Netflix, I wanted it to be dynamic. So I thought, “You know what? It would be great to do a standup show” and [bring] bring together as many trailblazers and emerging voices as possible and put them all on the same stage and let that serve as a kind of this really dynamic backbone of the film. And he just took his own life.

What did you decide to make sure you met on screen?
We need our holidays. We need our triumphs. And ultimately the film is a lesson in persistence and resilience. It's time to celebrate all these incredible queer comedians who, no matter what was thrown at them, just kept going. And I think we need those stories.

With so much queer history often relegated to the sidelines, what was the most interesting or shocking thing you learned while making the film?
There are so many things I love, but it's hearing stories you don't know, especially about people you think you've heard everything about. I really wanted to tell stories that would be new to the audience. I think we tend to see things through the lens of 2024 and it's important to remember what came before, WHERE before, how this story was written. When we were researching and finding all this great stuff that Lily [Tomlin] had done in the seventies, especially the Star Spangled Night for Rights concert, was remarkable. We managed to get hold of one of only two copies of this concert in existence today.

So for you, as someone who has lived and breathed this programming in all these different iterations, what is so special to you about the documentary in particular, and why do you think it's so important that it comes out now?
I think it's important right now because it's such a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit, and especially in the queer community and with queer comedians. At times it has seemed almost Sisyphean — as we take one step forward it feels like we are taking 10 steps back — but we are finally making progress. For example, anti-trans rhetoric, we've seen it before. It's a pain and it's really embarrassing to keep doing it, but we've gotten through it every time, whether it's the Lavender Scare or Anita Bryant or homophobia during the AIDS crisis. I think it's important for us to remember so that our stories don't just go down in trauma. So we can celebrate our triumphs too.

What do you hope for? Exceptional will it live on in culture for years to come?
If I could make something happen, I hope we have this much progress in the next 10 years [Outstanding] it will look weird. No, of course, time marches on. So I hope it can be a great resource for people who will in the future. And also, there are myriad ways to tell the same story. So someone might come out with a documentary next year saying, “You know what, I want to put it this way.” And that's good too. I think the more of our stories we tell, the better.