Netflix is ​​a joke fest, Netflix was often the joke

Over the course of Netflix Is a Joke Fest 2024, I attended eight individual shows and also saw 11 different sets in the Outside Joke space. There were plenty of things I missed, but I felt like I experienced a good cross-section of the festival's offerings, from big-name artists at venues like the Hollywood Bowl and Dolby Theater to a podcast taping in Largo and a 100-seat theater. black box in East Los Angeles

Not all of these shows were a huge success: one was derailed by a last-minute cast change and a person with Tourette syndrome shouted inappropriate remarks throughout the performance. One opener I saw got openly combative with the crowd before bringing in the main lineup. And some comics took the stage with material that still needed more development (even John Mulaney acknowledged that he needed to move some parts of his set for future performances).

However, what I learned most from taking all of this in was a new understanding of what Netflix means to the comedy ecosystem these days and the complicated relationship all levels of comedians have with big companies like this.

For some of these shows, it was business as usual. Said that, How was this done?Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas and June Diane Raphael's podcast, which specializes in making fun of bad movies, told the audience during a show that they were asked to feature movies currently streaming on Netflix, and they said no.

To be clear, it seemed like it was more of a request than a demand, and the trio gleefully trashed the 2024 “comedy.” beautiful wedding. But the hosts also proceeded to “threaten” audience members with expulsion if they mentioned the existence of rival streamer Hulu, before coming up with an idea to counterprogram, a festival titled “Hulu Is Hilarious.”

It was impossible to escape the Netflix brand at the center of the Outside Joke festival, which for $25 (or the prior purchase of a ticket to any other Netflix Is a Joke Fest show) offered full days of live comedy, along with some attractions from the Netflix brand and some Damn tasty food stalls. (The Impossible Meat bao became something of an obsession.)