Netflix is a Joke Comedy Specials Announced, Get Premiere Dates (TV News Roundup)

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorIn today’s podcast news roundup, Marc Maron goes into business with Acast; iHeartMedia orders slate of podcasts from Bloomberg Media; Financial Times and Pushkin Industries probe the porn biz; Sony Music goes into “Binge” mode; American Girl Doll launches podcast network; and more.Top podcaster Marc Maron inked a three-year deal with indie podcast platform Acast for his podcast “WTF With Marc Maron.” The podcast will now be hosted, monetized and distributed via Acast, and Maron’s show will also be making use of the platform’s paid memberships offering, Acast+. Maron’s podcast has approximately 55 million listens per year, primarily in North America. Maron launched “WTF” in 2009, and since then has become a mainstay in the podcasting world.

Multiple liberal media outlets are having a hard time dealing with taboo-breaking comedian Ricky Gervais' new Netflix comedy special because of its jokes about transgender people. Gervais’ new special, titled "SuperNature," debuted on the streaming platform Tuesday and has already received multiple scathing reviews for containing several outrageous jokes about trans people and the activists who aggressively insist that the public respect their pronouns.  Hollywood magazine Variety, and British outlets Metro and The Independent clutched their collective pearls over the special.  Variety's opening salvo skewered it for trying to "score points off of a marginalized group of people." The Hollywood outlet slammed the special as a "collision between two malign forces," namely Gervais and Netflix.

Netflix employees should leave the company if they take issue with its programming, the streaming giant has said in an internal memo obtained ahead of its publication this week.Within the platform’s ‘Artistic Expression’ section of its corporate culture memo, which was due to be shared publicly on Thursday (May 19) although was obtained in advance by Variety, employees are advised that they should leave the company if they’re offended by the streamer’s “content breadth”.The anti-censorship drive comes months after Netflix aired Dave Chappelle’s controversial stand-up special The Closer, which prompted LGBTQ+ employees and supporters to walk out in protest over his transphobic and homophobic jokes.At the time Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended Chappelle, saying: “We don’t allow Netflix titles that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line.”Now, the ‘Artistic Expression’ of Netflix’s updated memo states: “Not everyone will like — or agree with — everything on our service.“While every title is different, we approach them based on the same set of principles: we support the artistic expression of the creators we choose to work with; we program for a diversity of audiences and tastes; and we let viewers decide what’s appropriate for them, versus having Netflix censor specific artists or voices.”The section concludes that employees’ “personal values” about what they consider “harmful” will not be taken into consideration.It continued: “As employees we support the principle that Netflix offers a diversity of stories, even if we find some titles counter to our own personal values. Depending on your role, you may need to work on titles you perceive to be harmful.

A Rhode Island dog whose inspiring story of going from shelter dog to lifesaving police K-9 which became the subject of a recent Netflix movie has been euthanized.

Netflix has a message for all of its employees who may not agree with the content it is making…

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is going live for the first time.

Netflix has confirmed Dave Chappelle’s Hollywood Bowl set will not air on the streaming platform.The notorious show, in which the comedian was attacked on stage at this year’s Netflix Is A Joke festival, was not filmed for a special.The streaming giant clarified to The Hollywood Reporter that the omission was not due to the assault, rather that Chappelle had his own cameras and Netflix had no plans to air the footage.Netflix sifted through sets performed by 336 comedians at the festival across 288 shows and 35 venues over the last two weeks in Los Angeles.Forthcoming specials to be released on the streaming platform include Bill Burr Presents: Friends Who Kill, Pete Davidson Presents: The Best Friends and Amy Schumer’s Parental Advisory.Following the Dave Chappelle incident at the Netflix Is A Joke festival, the comedian regained his composure and joked that “it was a trans man” who attacked him in reference to the backlash last year over his stand-up special The Closer, where he described himself as “team TERF” as he spoke on the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling.

Dave Chappelle made headlines last week when he was attacked on stage during his show at the Hollywood Bowl, but it doesn’t seem like we’re going to see the professional footage anytime soon.

Robbie Praw, VP of Stand-up and Comedy Formats at Netflix, announced on Monday that the streamer will be showcasing highlights from the 11-day “Netflix Is a Joke: The Festival” stand-up comedy event held in Los Angeles, including Pete Davidson riffing on Kanye West’s bizarre social media onslaught, Amy Schumer telling a joke she wasn’t allowed to do at the Oscars, and David Letterman commenting on the recent attack on Dave Chappelle.The month-long comedy rollout begins with “The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up,” on May 19, which has John Mulaney paying tribute to Robin Williams, Dave Chappelle on Richard Pryor, Chelsea Handler on Joan Rivers and Jon Stewart to George Carlin. The remaining programs are as follows:Also coming up is a Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias special filmed in front of Netflix’s largest-ever audience at a sold-out Dodger Stadium.“These shows represent some of the best work we’ve done at Netflix, with the best comedic talent on the planet. We’re so grateful to everyone who performed, helping to create the biggest comedy festival in U.S.

Netflix has announced a June 10 premiere date for A Tribute To Bob Saget, a celebration of the comedian and actor’s life in comedy with his friends and family. The date was unveiled as part of the Netflix Is A Joke festival.

The Upshaws are back in June for an eight-episode second season on Netflix, as audiences take yet another visit with a working-class African American family in Indiana struggling to make it work and make it right without the blueprints to do it.

David Letterman made a rare stand-up comedy appearance on Friday, May 6, performing at the Fonda Theatre as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival.

Pete Davidson has joked about Kanye West pulling a ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ – watch footage from his Netflix Is A Joke Festival set below.Davidson appeared at the festival last Friday (April 29) to premiere his new show, Pete Davidson And Best Friends, which was filmed for release on Netflix later in the year. To a sold-out crowd at Los Angeles’ Fonda Theatre, he opened the set by poking fun at the claims that West tried to spread rumours about Davidson – who is currently dating West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian – having AIDS.“I had an AIDS scare this year,” he said before telling the audience that he got himself tested for the condition since West is a “genius”.

Damn! Pete Davidson really could not resist getting in some jabs at Kanye West!

UPDATED, 7:40 AM: Netflix today released a four-minute video clip of Pete Davidson joking about Kanye West during his appearance last week at the Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival at The Fonda Theatre. You can watch it above.

Zack Sharf Netflix has issued a statement after Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage while performing a comedy set during the streaming giant’s Netflix Is a Joke festival in Los Angeles. The performance was taking place at the Hollywood Bowl.

After Dave Chappelle was knocked to the ground during his Netflix Is a Joke festival set, his attacker has since been identified and arrested.

Dave Chappelle has been attacked by a man during a Netflix stand-up show at the Hollywood Bowl.Footage has surfaced online from last night’s show (May 3) which appears to show a man charging and tackling the comedian.The man was then said to have been dragged away by security, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Following the incident at the Netflix Is A Joke festival, Chappelle regained his composure and joked that “it was a trans man” in reference to the backlash last year over his stand-up special The Closer, where he described himself as “team TERF” as he spoke on the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling.Dave Chappelle just got attacked on stage pic.twitter.com/E4gAfmkPgQ— Hoodville (@Hoodville_) May 4, 2022Here is a video of the aftermath.