What We’re Most Looking Forward To At Netflix Is A Joke Fest 2024

When it comes to comedy festivals, it’s going to be hard to beat this one. The first Netflix Is A Joke Festival took place in April 2022, and saw over 100 comedians from around the world coming out to the fest that took over Los Angeles.

This year, they’re finding new ways to go above and beyond. This year’s festival will feature over 200 comedians, and will feature twice as many venues throughout Los Angeles and beyond. If you’re a fan of comedy, this is the place you’ll want to be.

The festival kicks off tonight and runs through May 12th. Tickets can be found here. In honor of the festival, we figured we’d break down the shows that were most excited for. 

What happens when you get a bunch of headliners and put them on the same stage at an iconic theater? Netflix is about to find out tonight.

This show is unique, in as much as each of the four headliners could almost certainly sell out the 18,000 seat Hollywood Bowl on their own. Instead, they’re teaming up for a Justice League of comedy heavyweights that we definitely wouldn’t want to mess with. While Seinfeld and Gaffigan previously toured together, this is the first time all four have performed on one stage. It’s a hot enough ticket that they’re playing two nights back-to-back. If you’re looking to kick things off with a bang, this will be the show for you.

Big Mouth may be wrapping things up with their current season, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be going out in style. That’s precisely what’s going to happen this week at the Netflix is a Joke Festival.

Ahead of Big Mouth’s final season is a full-out celebration of everyone’s favorite puberty monsters. The juggernaut cartoon is putting on a live show this week, and it’s doing so at the historic Greek Theater. The show will feature a table reading featuring the star-studded cast that includes Nick Kroll, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney, Jessi Klein, Jason Mantzoukas, Fred Armisen, Maria Bamford, Richard Kind, Nathan Fillion, and special surprise guests. Plus there will be lots of comedy, music, stories, and more!

Seth Rogen is known for a variety of different things, but perhaps two of the most prominent ones are being funny and smoking weed. He’s decided to combine both of those trademarks for Seth Rogen Smokes the Bowl.

The bowl in question is, indeed, the Hollywood Bowl. He’ll be headlining the venue in conjunction of his Hilarity for Charity foundation, which is dedicated to raising Alzheimer’s awareness. He’s bringing some friends along with him, including Ronny Chieng, Ramy Youssef, Janelle James, and Lil Dicky. It wouldn’t be a pot-related night without the godfather of all things weed, Snoop Dogg. Plus some fireworks and more surprise guests. It’s bound to be a show for the books!

Anytime you get to see David Letterman is certainly a treat. This time, there isn’t too much that is known about what the legendary late-night host has in store, but whatever it is, it’s going to feature his trademark sensibilities.

Letterman - who last appeared at the festival in 2022 interviewing up and coming comedians - is now going to be sitting with comedy legends. Titled the Gods of Comedy, this show is going to serve as a deep dive into some very famous - and funny - minds, for what is being hailed as a “once in a lifetime conversation.” Letterman appearances in the wild are rare, and typically only happen at the Netflix festival or for his Netflix series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. So if you’ve ever wanted to watch a master at work, now is your chance!

Chris Rock is inarguably one of the biggest names in comedy. We saw his impact last year with his Netflix live-stream special, Selective Outrage. This time at the festival, he will be championing other people’s iconic works with a series of table reads.

For two nights at the Hollywood Palladium, Rock and some funny - and famous - friends will sit down and read two films. The first will be When Harry Met Sally, with the second being Boogie Nights. This is something Netflix first brought us in 2022 with Seth Rogen being the main attraction. We look forward to seeing what Chris Rock does with the films, and especially who he plans on bringing with him! 

Katt Williams has had a productive year so far. Earlier this year, he did an interview where he held nothing back, and basically talked about everything he felt was wrong with the industry. Nothing was safe, and it went viral pretty much instantly. This left us all wondering what he’s going to say next. We’re about to find out.

On May 4th, Katt Williams is going to do a new stand-up special for Netflix. This is his 12th special overall, which is quite a feat. But the twist is that it’s going to be live streamed all over the globe. Williams is only the second comedian to do this, behind Chris Rock last year. We’re excited to see what he has in store for us! 

Comedians & podcasters Bert Kresicher & Tom Segura, hosts of the popular 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast, set out on a mission at the beginning of this year to get in better shape and coined the hashtag #5KByMay to get their fans & famous comedian friends in shape. For a moment, there wasn’t a truly set in stone plan until a couple months later when we heard that the comedy podcast is teaming up with Netflix Is A Joke to host the first ever 2 Bears 5K at the Rose Bowl.

Among the many comedians we know to be involved are Shane Gillis, Michelle Wolf, Mark Normand, Stavros Halkias, Tim Dillon, & Louis CK (maybe). Whether you’re a seasoned runner, not athletic & would rather walk, or you just wanna have a couple beers & party with two of the biggest names in comedy after the race, there’s something for everyone here and this 5K is one not to be missed.

It’s been seven years since stand-up comedian turned Marvel superhero Kumail Nanjiani has been actively performing stand-up comedy. His career took a giant leap in 2017 penning what would be the Academy award nominated screenplay for the romantic comedy, The Big Sick. He’d then continue his lead in the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley, star in Marvel Studios’ The Eternals, the Hulu series Chippendales & just recently, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (a pretty impressive acting resume).

When the writer’s and actor’s strike happened last year, he used that time normally focused on his acting career to advance his chops as a stand-up on his Putting It Together tour. With this past year he’s been on the road touring again, we’re certainly excited to see what Kumail has to say for his next stand-up special.

One of the many amazing things about Netflix Is A Joke Fest is all the unique & one of a kind shows you most likely won’t be able to find touring out on the road. Taylor Tomlinson’s Introvert’s Matinee at the Hollywood Palladium is simply a perfect example of this. Those that have followed Taylor for a while now & have watched her amazing new Netflix special, Have It All, know how much of an introvert she is and couldn’t be more open about it. And if you’re an introvert: she’s put together a dream comedy show for you.

It’s at 3:30 PM in the afternoon, she’ll be bringing out all of her famous comedian friends, you don’t have to shout “whoo” if you don’t want to in her large crowd. And on this rare occasion when Taylor’s speaking to her introverted fans, trust her when she says “this show is worth it.”