Netflix has a wide array of stand-up comedy specials to choose from, and there are even a few comedy variety shows featuring several stand-ups performing shorter acts. From newer comedians getting their big breaks to seasoned veterans taking the stage once more, the best stand-up comedy on Netflix sees a diverse setup of comedians branching out to skewer a myriad of topics, and absolutely nothing is sacred. From deadpan to aggressive, Netflix has such a wide selection of stand-up specials that choosing what one would consider "the best" is a tough choice.

Netflix has a great number of female stand-up comedians, POC stand-ups, and LGBTQ+ stand-ups to represent all walks of life, and nearly everyone can find a comedian who speaks from a place of relatability. The best stand-up comedians on Netflix have no off-limit topics, and they bring hilarity to even the most mundane and grief-stricken situations. With a huge library fit to satiate every brand of humor, Netflix leads the pack regarding great stand-up specials and provides viewers with shows from comedy giants and underseen gems in equal measure.

35 Matt Rife: Lucid - A Crowd Work Special (2024)

Matt Rife Talks To The Fans

Matt Rife was one of the top up-and-coming stand-up comedians in the world, but he suddenly hit a stumbling block when some inappropriate comments surfaced from one of his crowd response shows. However, as he showed in his 2024 stand-up special, Lucid - A Crowd Work Special, Rife is often at his best when he is talking to his audience. He performed this act at The Comedy Zone in Charlotte, California, and this special was a chance to prove he was more than a social media fad.

In this special, Rife does what he is best at. He identifies eccentric people in the crowd and then brilliantly riffs off them and develops some great comedic moments that play out like a series of conversations. From a man in high-toed boots to a woman who sells sex tutorials, Matt finds great opportunities to make comedy out of real-life situations. Rife is still learning his gimmick, but he does a good job at bringing laughs while not making his audience feel they are the brunt of his jokes.

34 Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval (2024)

Ellen DeGeneres's Last Stand-Up Special

Released in 2024, Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval was d as DeGeneres's last public appearance as a comedian. After a long and successful career on daytime talk television, DeGeneres's career came crashing to an end after she retired from the talk show and allegations arose against her. DeGeneres has always denied these allegations, and she used this Netflix-exclusive comedy stand-up special to discuss that, among other topics in the comedic show.

The special took place at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in August 2024, and it opened with footage of her career in order and included a long section about the 2020 "bullying" accusations. This was an interesting tactic because that seems to be what DeGeneres wanted to bring to the table in her first special since 2018. Most of the jokes are about her life since the allegations and the ending of her show. While it seems mostly a venue for DeGeneres to complain, she still maintains her comic timing for a funny special.

33 Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Special (2024)

Rachel Bloom Finds Humor In Tragedy

Rachel Bloom did something difficult in 2024. She released a comedy stand-up special detailing her tragedies and setbacks following the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking at her life, her daughter was born with fluid in her lungs during the pandemic, and Bloom could only see her at brief times thanks to the lockdown, and then she lost her close friend and frequent collaborator Adam Schlesinger to COVID-19 complications. Bloom could either sink into depression or find a way to laugh about her life.

She chose the latter, and what resulted was Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Special. It all starts with Rachel in a vaudeville number that is interrupted by an audience member who happens to be Death incarnate. This leads Bloom to go into a set that includes music and songs that fans of My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend contained but with sincerity and honesty that comes when a person faces death and tragedy and comes out with only their humor to combat it.

32 Gabriel Iglesias: Legend Of Fluffy (2025)

Fluffy Takes Fans Back To The Start Of His Career In Comedy

Gabriel Iglesias released his last Netflix stand-up special in back-to-back packed sets at Dodger Stadium. Now, with Gabriel Iglesias: Legend of Fluffy, the funnyman created a set that takes fans back to his beginnings in comedy and the setbacks and obstacles he faced to get to this point in his career. Released in 2025, this was from one of his many sold-out 2024 shows, as he was one of the highest-grossing comedy touring acts of the year.

Fluffy has always prided himself on being a non-controversial comedian.

This specific Netflix stand-up special takes place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, which he says in the special was the first time anything like this was filmed there. Fluffy has always prided himself on being a non-controversial comedian, and he specifies here that he doesn't want to make anyone mad - he just wants people to laugh. It might seem surprising to that Iglesias has been doing this for 27 years, but his comic timing here shows he is a true veteran of the genre.

31 Bert Kreischer: Lucky (2025)

Bert Kreischer Talks New Physique & Family Life

Bert Kreischer is no stranger to Netflix, and in 2025, he released his sixth comedy special and his fourth in a row for Netflix (following Secret Time, Hey Big Boy, and Razzle Dazzle). This new special, Bret Kreischer: Lucky, has the comedian showing off his new physique, where he lost 45 pounds (which was a part of his act in previous specials), but doesn't let that stop him from making jokes mostly at his own expense, and many of them about his lack of success as a husband and dad.

He is also a comedian who loves to namedrop, and there is a big joke where he said he actually turned to Snoop Dogg to get some parenting tips in a hilarious monologue. The Lucky tour hit 140 cities, and he shot this specific show in his hometown of Tampa, Florida, so his local fans made it an eclectic atmosphere. If anyone has seen a Kreischer stand-up show or his performance in the movie The Machine, they will know what to expect in this new release.

30 Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was...

Jamie Foxx Finally Opens Up About His Health

Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was... was one of the most anticipated Netflix stand-up comedy specials of all time. That is because Foxx was hospitalized in 2023, and his health situation and concerns were kept private. It wasn't until Foxx started a stand-up tour that he began to talk about the situation. However, fans had to keep his stories a secret, and that kept things private until Netflix released this special in December 2024. Foxx finally got a chance to tell his story his way - in a stand-up comedy act.

Foxx had gone from his comedy and sketch acts to movie star status, with even Oscars recognizing his talent. Now, returning to the stage, he shows that he is still great at captivating an audience with his stand-up and delivering a heartfelt and very funny set that mixed just as many laughs with tears. He talks about his stroke, his recovery, and his return with emotion. Still, he doesn't let that weigh things down as he adds in plenty of jokes about religion and politics and offers up some great impersonations along the way.

29 Nate Bargatze: Tennessee Kid (2019)

Nate Bargatze Spoils The Sixth Sense

Nate Bargatze is quickly becoming one of the most popular comedians around, with his popularity only increasing with his hilarious George Washington SNL skits. While Netflix is dropping a new stand-up special by Bargatze in December 2024, one of the comedian’s best specials is available to watch and enjoy right now. Tennessee Kid marks Bargatze’s first hour-long special and he certainly makes the most of the opportunity.

The special highlights Bargatze as an entertaining and charming storyteller, with his easygoing humor makes for an easy-watching experience for audiences of all ages. He touches on early childhood memories, lessons about marriage, and the shock of the ending to The Sixth Sense. It helped to cement Bargatze as one of the best up-and-comers in the stand-up world who could get big laughs with clean material, which has become a rarity.

28 Adam Sandler: Love You (2024)

Adam Sandler Pays Tribute

Adam Sandler’s relationship with Netflix has produced some fun movies, but it is also nice to see that it has also given the comedian plenty of opportunities to return to the stage. Sandler’s latest special, Love You, is a more stripped-down show than the big stadium tour seen in 100% Fresh, but the intimate approach works as Sandler brings his penchant for dirty jokes, songs, and sweetness.

The special is directed by Sandler’s Uncut Gems collaborator Josh Safdie, bringing a sense of that movie’s intensity to the show as there are ongoing jokes about the small venue’s technical issues. Sandler seems to be having a great time bouncing between songs and going on silly asides. However, the highlight of the show is his closing number in which Sandler gives an earnest tribute to all the comedians and comedy movies that have inspired him.

27 Chris Rock: Selective Outrage (2023)

Chris Rock Talks About The Slap

It is safe to say that Chris Rock’s Selective Outrage was one of the most anticipated stand-up specials of all time. The special marked the first time Rock fully addressed the infamous Oscar moment in which Will Smith slapped him on stage. Waiting an entire year to speak about the issue, the excitement about the silence being broken was high as was the fact that this marked the first live stand-up special Netflix had ever pulled off.

Of course, Rock did not make the whole special about the Will Smith incident, as he takes time to discuss topics like raising teenagers and getting older. The live aspect introduces a thrilling quality, even showcasing Rock flubbing one of his punchlines. However, when he finally does launch into the Will Smith material at the end of the show, it made for a fiery response that proved the comedian knew how to fight back.

26 Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees (2024)

Jacqueline Novak Takes A Closer Look At A Certain Topic

Jacqueline Novak announced herself as one of the more recent comedians to watch with her acclaimed and daring new special Get On Your Knees. While most comedians use their specials to tell a wide variety of jokes that showcase their humorous views on an assortment of topics, Novak decides to focus on one specific thing which so happens to be the subject of women performing oral sex.

The amount of observations and commentary she gets from such a focused approach makes for one of the most unexpected and brilliant specials of 2024.

While the setup might sound like a poor excuse to tell raunchy jokes that get tired over time, Novak makes it a hilarious, engrossing, and surprisingly insightful deconstruction of this single act that actually opens her to talking about a lot of different things. The amount of observations and commentary she gets from such a focused approach makes for one of the most unexpected and brilliant specials of 2024. Novak was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special.