“I stopped doing stand-up in 1992,” says Judd Apatow in the opening moments of his new Netflix teaser trailer. The Knocked Up and 40-Year-Old Virgin creator spends the remainder of the 70-second clip seeking advice from a myriad of comedians, including Chris Gethard, Amy Schumer and Mike Birbiglia, on whether or not he should follow through on his plans to film the new special.
As the title of his latest special, Judd Apatow: The Return, suggests… the multi-talented man of comedy did indeed complete his new stand-up special. The resulting new hour-long marks Apatow’s return to stand-up after a whopping twenty-five year hiatus.
The Return was taped back on July 28 & 29 at this year’s Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. Apatow later announced his forthcoming special while guesting on Conan. Watch that clip here.
This isn’t the first time Apatow has performed stand-up onscreen. The writer, director & producer appeared in an HBO special back in the 90s and performed a short but hilarious set in 2015 on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The Return, however, does mark Apatow’s hour-long special debut, which should add an extra level of excitement for fans.
Apatow’s new hour-long was directed by Marcus Raboy, who also recently directed special’s for Ryan Hamilton, Mark Normand and Apatow’s Crashing collaborator Pete Holmes.
Catch The Return, streaming exclusively on Netflix on Dec. 12.