A corner of entertainment often overlooked in year-end retrospectives is the performance of stand-up comedy specials and the power they hold to launch up-and-coming talent into stardom. In the present media landscape, Netflix holds the crown by a long shot for featuring the most comedy specials, having released 38 this year alone. (Second place is Prime Video with seven.) Netflix has always been a powerful hub for stand-up comedy and has contributed, in part, to the rise of multiple familiar funny faces. The consumption data provided by Luminate’s Streaming Viewership (m) yields valuable insight into the top performers of this media sector and is an invaluable tool to find the next breakout comedy star.
Luminate’s Streaming Viewership (m) gives us some insight on who the top performers were in this corner of the streaming giant. The Roast of Tom Brady was the clear, blowout winner for the platform this year. Since its live airing on May 5, the special has amassed nearly 3 billion minutes watched. (For perspective, other top-performing comedians on the platform don’t even come close to half a billion.) The stand-up comic with the next-highest viewership was Kevin Hart in Kevin Hart: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. A notable distinction this year can be made for provocateur Matt Rife, who — in under three months — has been able to amass 285 million minutes watched, putting his special in the Top 5 highest-performing.
But what do all of the talents listed above have in common? Well, with the exception of Matt Rife, all of these comedians have a Luminate Screenscore over 60. This means that they often have comprehensive acting slates and a pre-established fanbase who is almost certain to tune in. But what does Luminate’s performance data tell us when we narrow our analysis to comics with small or absent Screenscores? Bolstered by the annual “Netflix is a Joke” festival and with comedians like John Mulaney and Ali Wong receiving a major boost in on-screen roles following their respective tie-in specials, Netflix has earned a reputation as a launching pad for aspiring comedians. Take Jo Koy for example. While he was a familiar face in stand-up comedy through the late 2010s, his 2022 Netflix special Live From The Los Angeles Forum launched him to a new level of visibility. Since the special, Koy has received high billing in multiple animated films and hosted the 2024 Golden Globes. Below is a ranking of the top stand-up comedy performers for 2024 with Luminate Screenscores below 60:
As you see, Taylor Tomlinson and Dusty Slay outperformed comedic legends like Adam Sandler, Pete Davidson and Ali Wong. (Both relative newcomers, Tomlinson hosts the new late-night talk show After Midnight, while Slay’s only TV credits include two Netflix specials.) Other notable high-performers include Steve Trevino and Brian Simpson, both of whom wrangled over 100 million minutes watched. The high viewership of these specials indicates that these talents also deserve the attention and watchful eyes of studio executives on their hunt for affordable talent to fill their future comedy slates.
