Special Tapings Radar: The Funniest Comics Taping Comedy Specials This Month (October 2024)

L to R clockwise: David Spade, Ali Siddiq, Steph Tolev, Bassem Youssef, Steven Rogers, Shane Mauss, Zach Zimmerman, Matteo Lane, Irene Tu.

Today's October 1st and with a new month comes new comedy specials in the works. Among recent specials shot earlier this year & coming soon is Roy Wood Jr.'s upcoming Hulu special as well as Bert Kreischer & Gabriel Iglesias' newest hours both heading to Netflix.

And now, we have our latest lineup for October 2024's Special Tapings Radar. This is where we showcase & highlight all the funniest comedians who are getting ready to record their next stand-up comedy special & album this upcoming month (here's a refresher on specials to look out for coming up from September's radar).

Here are 9 of the funniest comics who you need to see and be in the room for their next comedy special taping if you can (and are still able to if the show hasn't sold out yet). Your chance to be in the room for a live comedy special is closer than you think. Here's everyone you need to pay attention to that's recording their next hour during the month of October (read until the end to see a bonus comic also reportedly taping a special this month)!

Bassem Youssef's jokes earned him worldwide recognition as “The Egyptian Jon Stewart,” but also got him arrested and interrogated, and ultimately prompted his escape to America just as the country was going through its very own identity crisis.

Youssef was the host of popular TV show Al Bernameg – the first political satire show in the Middle East. Originally a five-minute show on YouTube, Al Bernameg became the first online-to-TV conversion in the Middle East and the most-watched show across the region, with 30 million viewers every week and more than a million subscribers to its YouTube channel. In recognition of his success, Youssef was named among TIME magazine’s most influential list for 2013 under the “Pioneers” category, was awarded the International Press Freedom Award by the CPJ, and was chosen by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the global thinkers during the same year.

Youssef currently performs his one-man show, The Middle Beast around the globe. The first title in Bassem’s children’s book series, The Magical Reality of Nadia published on February 2, 2021 by Scholastic and is currently being developed as an animated series. Bassem can be seen in Mo (Netflix), Ramy (Hulu), Lioness (Paramount+) and Upload (Amazon). In October, 2023 Bassem’s interview with Piers Morgan saw worldwide acclaim and was shared and reposted on the internet all over the world – it is now the most viewed interview in the history of Piers Morgan Uncensored.

Youssef will be taping his next special October 4th at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. Tickets are available here!

Irene Tu is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian, actor and writer who honed her chops in San Francisco. Her first comedy album We're Done Now debuted at #1 on the iTunes comedy charts. Paste Magazine praised Irene’s “quick wit, relaxed stage presence, and hilariously off-the-wall observations” in this album that “ticks all the boxes of a winning introduction, and then some.” One of Netflix’s “Introducing” comics of 2022, her show in 2024 was named one of the funniest by the LA Times. She’s a regular at festivals and clubs around the country and has opened for comics like Taylor Tomlinson and Patton Oswalt. You may recognize Irene from After Midnight, Hulu, Comedy Central, Netflix is a Joke, or her viral stand up clips which have amassed over 30 million views on social media. She also appeared on Iliza Shlesinger's showcase comedy special Iliza's Locals last year released via 800 Pound Gorilla.

Tu is taping her next special on October 4th & 5th at Cobb's Comedy Club in San Francisco. Tickets for both shows are available here!

Ali Siddiq is a stand-up comedian and public speaker out of Houston, TX. Ali’s unique style of stand-up began behind the walls of incarceration, an incubator for interesting experiences and good stories. In 2022, Ali released two new hour specials… THE DOMINO EFFECT on YouTube and UNPROTECTED SETS on EPIX. To date, THE DOMINO EFFECT has over 12 million views, ranking it in the top 5 most watched comedy specials of 2022. In May 2023, Ali released THE DOMINO EFFECT part 2: LOSS, the sequel to his viral stand-up special, which already has over 4.6 million views. Just recently, Ali released two more specials in the series over the summer THE DOMINO EFFECT part 3: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL & THE DOMINO EFFECT part 4: PINS & NEEDLES will premiere on YouTube June 16, 2024.

People received their first taste of Ali Siddiq when he appeared on HBO's DEF COMEDY JAM and LIVE FROM GOTHAM, and in 2013 he was named Comedy Central's "#1 Comic to Watch". In 2014, Ali impressed comedy enthusiasts by displaying his ability to captivate an audience with his "Mexicans Got On Boots" tale, a descriptive storytelling, with over 14 million views, of a prison riot on THIS IS NOT HAPPENING, the first of three appearances. His stories continued with his HALF HOUR special, which premiered on Comedy Central in the Fall of 2016. Immediately following the premier of that special, Comedy Central offered Ali an hour-special where he performed for inmates live in a Texas jail, sending Ali back to where it all started. The hour special, ALI SIDDIQ: IT’S BIGGER THAN THESE BARS, premiered in February 2018 on Comedy Central and has over 2.5 million views on YouTube. In 2019, Ali was a top 5 finalist on NBC’s BRING THE FUNNY. He also appeared as a regular cast member on the reboot of PUNK’D for Quibi.

Siddiq is taping his next comedy special October 5th & 6th at The Majestic Theatre in Dallas. Limited tickets for both shows are available here!

RELATED: Check out Ali's comedy album, The Prison Manual, available on 800 Pound Gorilla!

Zach Zimmerman is a writer and comedian who was recently named a 2023 Vulture Comedian You Should and Will Know. Zach's writing has been published in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and The Washington Post; and Zach's first book Is It Hot in Here? (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth?) was named a Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2023. A regular at the Comedy Cellar, Zach has appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, After Midnight, and Zach's first comedy album "Clean Comedy" debuted on the Billboard Top 10.

Zimmerman will be taping his debut comedy special October 8th at The Bell House in Brooklyn. Tickets are available here!

Steph Tolev caught fire on the “BILL BURR PRESENTS: FRIENDS WHO KILL” Netflix Special. She’s opened for Burr on his most recent arena tour, has headlined across the country on her FILTH QUEEN Tour, and at home in LA, is a regular/favorite at The Comedy Store. A Canada native, Vulture recognized Steph as one of Toronto’s funniest exports in their annual COMEDIANS YOU SHOULD AND WILL KNOW. Steph can be seen in Bill Burr’s movie OLD DADS on Netflix as well as  DRUGSTORE JUNE. She’s been in Hulu’s THIS FOOL, Comedy Central’s CORPORATE, the Sarah Silverman produced PELASE UNDERSTAND ME, and has voiced characters on Max’s 10 YEAR OLD TOM.

Tolev is teaming up with All Things Comedy to tape her next special on October 10th at Paradise Rock Club in Boston. Tickets are available here!

David Spade has been a household & comedy favorite since breaking out as a cast member on Saturday Night Live in the '90s. He legend later built a thriving career as an actor starring in hit comedies like Joe Dirt, Tommy Boy, Benchwarmers, Grown Ups & more. Recently, spade can be seen hosting the new FOX game show, Snake Oil, the series which sees convincing entrepreneurs pitch unique products to contestants, who must determine which are real or a sham for a chance to win life-changing money.

Currently, Spade can be heard co-hosting his podcast Fly on the Wall, alongside fellow SNL alumni Dana Carvey. In each episode, they interview cast members, hosts, writers, and musical guests, as they share never-before told stories about their careers and how SNL's cultural history has impacted their lives beyond the show. And earlier this year, they launched their newest Fly on the Wall podcast spinoff Superfly & now, Spade is getting ready to tape his next stand-up special following 2022's Nothing Personal on Netflix.

Spade's next special will be taping on October 11th at the Paramount Theatre in Denver. Tickets are available here!

Steven Rogers is a Syracuse-raised comedian now based in NYC who's been making others laugh for most of his life. Performing in clubs and theaters all over the country, Steven has opened for comedians such as Brian Regan, Joe List, Tom Papa, Nate Bargatze and Taylor Tomlinson. Steven’s clever rapid fire material full of observations about his life and the world around him has lead him to appearing on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Late Show with James Corden and Dry Bar Comedy. His debut album/special “Before He Was Super” quickly hit #1 on iTunes and was named one of Paste’s Top 12 Best Comedy Albums of 2022 and one of Vanyaland’s Favorite Comedy Releases of 2022 and can be heard regularly on Sirius Radio. When not touring all over North America, Rogers is a regular at clubs throughout New York City.

Rogers is teaming with Nate Bargatze & his Nateland Entertainment banner to produce the new special, which is taping October 11th & 12th at the Comedy Fort in Fort Collins, Colorado. Tickets are available here!

Shane Mauss is an award-winning comedian, science podcaster, and mental health advocate who relentlessly integrates his life, interests, and imagination into creating shows that go far beyond traditional stand-up.

Known for his uncanny description of psychedelic experiences, Shane’s Comedy Central "Tales From The Trip" videos have millions of views and his last SOLD-OUT tour ("A Good Trip") inspired the documentary "Psychonautics: A Comic's Exploration of Psychedelics."

Stand-up credits include performances on Kimmel, Showtime, Netflix, multiple Comedy Central appearances and five appearances on Conan. Notable podcast appearances include: Duncan Trussell's Family Hour, WTF, Bertcast, Whiskey Ginger, and You Made it Weird.

Mauss will be taping his next special on October 20th at The Perplexiplex in Denver. Tickets are available here!

Matteo Lane is a New York-based comedian whose stand-up special can be seen on Netflix’s The Comedy Lineup. He has performed stand up on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Late Night With Seth Meyers, Comedy Central’s Adam Devine's House Party, This Week At The Comedy Cellar and The Comedy Jam, as well as HBO’s Crashing. Fluent in five languages and with a singing range of six octaves, Matteo lived in Italy as an oil painter and opera singer before starting his comedy career.

Lane's taping his next special on October 24th at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica. Tickets are available here!

Last month, Jamie Foxx & Netflix announced they're teaming up for a new comedy special that's reportedly being taped this week. So far, there are no details on when exactly it's happening (no venue or ticketing details have been announced), but we do know it's in the works and coming soon!

Click right here to get the latest comedy news delivered to your inbox!

Follow 800 Pound Gorilla News on Instagram, Twitter, & Threads.