It’s never too early to start procrastinating. YouTube works well enough in short bursts, but the videos are too short to hold keep you distracted for long. And jumping back into whatever TV show you’re in the midst of binging is all well and fine until you get sucked in and end up staying up all night to finish up the season. The solution? Hour-long stand-up specials. Laughter really is the best medicine—and thanks to Netflix, the doctor is in.
Check out the top 10 Netflix stand-ups to stream the next time you need a good distraction.
1. Live (At the Time), Demetri Martin
Nobody delivers a one-liner like Demetri Martin. If you think puns and simple setups are second to the complex story-driven style of most modern comics, Demetri Martin will change your mind. He takes his audience from chuckles to laughter-through-tears in no time flat. Once he pulls out his guitar, it’s all over for the audience. For comedy in its purest form, delivered in a perfect deadpan, Live (At the Time) can’t be beat.
2. I’m Gonna Die Alone, Jen Kirkman
One of the most underrated female comics out there, Jen Kirkman kills from start to finish. She takes a savage aim at marriage, dating and parenthood among other hot topics, never stopping to apologize. Her dripping sarcasm and caustic wit lead to perfect punchlines your mother would shake her head at. She may be a 40-year-old divorcee, but she has no issue holding her own against all of the young up-and-comers of comedy. For the perfect girls’ night in, Jen Kirkman really brings it.
3. Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle puts on a two-part collection of a comedy great’s epic, long-awaited comeback. Dave Chappelle has come a long way since his famed days on Chappelle’s Show, the series that made him famous and defined sketch comedy for over a decade to come. In these specials, he at once stays true to his comedy roots and presents a new, more polished version of his trademark act. For a clean, hilarious doubleheader from the master himself, the Grammy Award-winning Dave Chappelle is an easy choice.
4. Baby Cobra, Ali Wong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzk-bj5bRNs
Ali Wong became an instant comedy darling after the release of this amazing special in which she performs eight months pregnant to an adoring crowd. If you thought pregnancy made women soft, think again—Ali Wong is foul-mouthed and fearless from the get-go. She tears apart preconceptions about pregnancy, working women and Asian men, choosing to re-appropriate stereotypes rather than outright dismissing them. Her confidence on stage is unparalleled. It’s no question why she’s quickly become of comedy’s first ladies.
5. The Comeback Kid, John Mulaney
One of John Mulaney’s three Netflix specials and debatably his strongest, The Comeback Kid showcases John Mulaney in top form. His penchant for telling longer stories does nothing to counteract his momentum; rather, the laughter only builds as the stories go on. For John Mulaney building a good set is only a matter of reaching into his life and pulling out the weirdest parts. Nobody is safe from his commentary–not his wife, not the real estate agent, not even Bill Clinton. John Mulaney is ready and waiting to make you—and anybody else that happens upon his standup—laugh.
6. Make Happy, Bo Burnham
If you’ve never seen Bo Burnham, you’re missing out on a very unique comedic experience. Is it even stand-up, really? Maybe not. Bo Burnham blends music with traditional stand-up to create a show unlike any other. His satirical genius and ability to incorporate serious undertones into his comedy make him a stand-out from most of the other comics on this list in terms of both form and theme. Now dabbling as a director with his (excellent) film Eighth Grade, Bo Burnham is certainly a name to know, and this special is the perfect way to begin your research.
7. Nanette, Hannah Gadsby
Hannah Gadsby made a splash when Nanette dropped on Netflix earlier this year. In it, she proclaims that she’s done with stand-up after this special–and that’s not even the most surprising part. Deftly building narratives that proceed according to our comedic expectations and then destroying them with devastating consequence, Nanette is a special so unconventional some critics challenged whether or not it constituted stand-up at all. In it, Hannah Gadsby deconstructs the danger of simplifying life’s complex moments into punchlines, and reveals the heartbreaking truth about what is lost from the story in that process.
8. Tamborine, Chris Rock
A gorgeously directed special (direction courtesy of Bo Burnham, as it happens) from another comedy great, Chris Rock’s Tamborine delights through and through. It’s a testament to Chris Rock’s skill to tell jokes about American politics that don’t make us groan at this point. Trump is an easy target, and jokes about him by lesser comedians fall on deaf, tired ears. Not so with Tamborine. Every tired topic, from Trump to police brutality to parenthood seems fresh and original from Chris Rock’s perspective.
9. Michael Che Matters
Michael Che delivers a crowd-pleasing set with every bit of his trademark “Weekend Update” humor, proving he can hold his own off the SNL set in Michael Che Matters. Performing on a beautiful stage in a sweatshirt and jeans, Michael Che wields the mic with the confidence and cool of someone who knows he’s on top. His sarcastic, unhurried commentary grants him a sort of control over the stage as if he’s in no rush to elicit the laughs he knows you’re going to give him. Che touches on an array of topics like “Donald Trump, white girls, Hitler [and] Jesus” without hesitation or remorse.
10. The Comedy Lineup
For the non-committal types out there, you can get spectacular comedy in bite-size 15-minute chunks via Netflix’s The Comedy Lineup. Every comic on this show brings something unique and hilarious to the table, so it’s worth watching the whole season. But if you only have the time for a couple, some of the highlights include Taylor Tomlinson (my personal favorite), Michelle Buteau and Sabrina Jalees. For a quick hit of ultra-concentrated laughs, The Comedy Lineup truly delivers on the millennial need for easily digestible content.
