2017 has been a big year in the world of stand-up comedy. We’ve already seen specials from some of the biggest names in comedy like Jim Gaffigan, Bill Burr, Trevor Noah, Amy Schumer, Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K (courtesy of streaming giant Netflix) and we’re not even midway through the year. With several other stand-up specials slated for release and dozens currently in production we decided to sort through everything dropping in the month of May. That way, you won’t have to miss out on any of the laughs.
The jokes kick off on May 2 when Maria Bamford debuts her latest special Old Baby — filmed at The Novo in Los Angeles — on Netflix. May 6 will see the release of Chris Gethard’s Career Suicide on HBO (see trailer here), three days prior to Norm Macdonald’s premiere of Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery on Netflix.
Be sure not to miss Mark Normand’s first hour-long, Don’t Be Yourself (presented by the aforementioned Schumer), debuting May 12 on Comedy Central and certainly mark your calendars for Tracy Morgan’s Staying Alive (May 16) and Sarah Silverman’s A Speck of Dust (May 30), both streaming on Netflix.
Al Madrigal: Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy will drop on Showtime on May 5, followed by the Epix world premiere of Nick Offerman & Megan Mullally’s Summer of 69: No Apostrophe — recorded back in January at The Barclay in Irvine, CA amidst the couple’s critically-acclaimed tour — on May 19. Just a few days later on May 23, Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj will bring his first hour-long special Homecoming King to Netflix.
From the looks of it, Netflix, who also has stand-up specials in the works from Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin James and more, is laser-focused on producing the more seasoned comedians while HBO, who aired the latest from Jerrod Carmichael last month and recently announced plans to debut specials by Silicon Valley’s T.J. Miller and The Daily Show’s Michelle Wolf, continues to put its muscle behind nurturing newer talents.
See a complete listing for the month of May below.
Stand-up comedy specials premiering in May 2017
May 2 – Maria Bamford: Old Baby – Netflix
May 5 – Al Madrigal: Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy – Showtime
May 6 – Chris Gethard: Career Suicide – HBO
May 9 – Norm Macdonald: Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery – Netflix
May 12 – Mark Normand: Don’t Be Yourself – Comedy Central
May 16 – Tracy Morgan: Staying Alive – Netflix
May 19 – Nick Offerman & Megan Mullally: Summer of 69: No Apostrophe – Epix
May 23 – Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King – Netflix
May 30 – Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust – Netflix