Dave Chappelle, Ali Wong, Hannah Gadsby, David Letterman Set to Headline Netflix’s First Comedy Festival

Steve Greene
·2 min read

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Following their proud tradition of dropping plenty of content all at once, Netflix announced on Monday morning that the service’s comedy wing Netflix Is A Joke will be launching its own festival, beginning next month in Los Angeles.

The weeklong event, dubbed Netflix Is A Joke Fest, will take place from April 27-May 3 across a number of different venues around the city, featuring not just some of the biggest names in comedy, but plenty of Netflix vets. Dave Chappelle, Ali Wong, Hannah Gadsby, David Letterman, Sebastian Maniscalco, Iliza Shlesinger, Mike Birbiglia, and Michelle Wolf will all appear as part of the lineup, which spans standup sets, Q&As, improv shows, podcast tapings, and sketch showcases.

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A number of these events will be recorded for audiences around the world to watch when they’re made available on the platform later this year. Those included a quartet of standup lineups at the Palladium hosted by Jamie Foxx, Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin, Amy Schumer, and Martin Lawrence. “Stand Out” will also honor a number of performers — including Margaret Cho, Rosie O’Donnell, and Gadsby — in a decades-spanning celebration of LGBTQ+ comedians. The closing night capper will be the creation of a new pantheon of comedy stars known as The Hall. Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jerry Seinfeld will be on hand to help honor the inaugural class, which will include Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers, George Carlin, and Robin Williams.

The stages for these Netflix Is A Joke Fest events range from venues known for their comedy (Largo, Dynasty Typewriter) to larger traditional concert venues like the Hollywood Bowl and the Wiltern. In addition to the bevy of English-language offerings over the course of the week, The Avalon will also host showcases of comics from Latin America and of India. The festival will also feature an interactive Q&A with the cast of “Schitt’s Creek” as the Pop TV show embarks on its final season.

Passes for individual events will available for pre-sale beginning Tuesday, March 3, with general public tickets going on sale beginning on Friday, March 6. The full lineup (including links to tickets for each event) can be found here.

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