Last month, when Chris Rock stopped in London on his stand-up tour, he addressed the thing from earlier this year that you all probably know about but tried oh so hard to forget. “People expect me to talk about the bullsh*t, I’m not going to talk about it right now,” he said, adding “I’ll get to it eventually, on Netflix.” As it turns out, he was not just spewing things for the heck of it, he really is running to Netflix to be the first comedian to be live-streamed on the app.
Even though Netflix won’t be trying out any weekly release schedules (yet) they are dipping their toes into the big wide world of live streaming. The streamer announced that early next year, Rock will be the first comedian to perform live on Netflix. This will be his second stand-up special on the site, behind his 2018 special and 2021 extended cut (all, famously, before The Big Thing).
Chris Rock is about to make history as the first artist to perform LIVE on Netflix!
The legendary comedian, writer, director, and actor’s newest comedy special will premiere live — globally — in early 2023 on Netflix! pic.twitter.com/U8ozz2BLV1
— Netflix (@netflix) November 10, 2022
As we know from the dangerous world of HBO, live content can be a big challenge for streamers, especially when there are a lot of viewers tuning in, as they probably will be once the general public gets word that they can once again debate The Event. Hopefully, Netflix will have figured that out by then because we truly cannot afford another live television confrontation. The celebrities just won’t make it through that again.
In a statement, Robbie Praw, Netflix VP of Stand-up and Comedy Formats said, “Chris Rock is one of the most iconic and important comedic voices of our generation. We’re thrilled the entire world will be able to experience a live Chris Rock comedy event and be a part of Netflix history. This will be an unforgettable moment and we’re so honored that Chris is carrying this torch.” Maybe mentioning Chris Rock and a weapon in the same sentence is a bad thought! This man has been traumatized! He won’t let us forget it!