1 month ago
This evening, Netflix unfurls nan 3rd version of Netflix Is a Joke Fest, its sprawling, citywide drama showcase that successful conscionable 4 years has go 1 of nan buzziest gatherings of comedians successful nan world.
While this year’s version has been condensed from 11 days to a much focused, seven-day run, nan standard remains formidable, pinch much than 500 comics and 475+ shows group astatine venues each crossed Los Angeles, arsenic portion of this ceremony of drama successful its galore forms.
From nan position of Tracey Pakosta and Robbie Praw, who oversee Netflix’s efforts successful comedy, nan displacement is astir recalibrating from a level of standard that felt “unnecessary.” This year, nan show leans into maturation areas successful drama for illustration unrecorded podcasting, while emphasizing cross-pollination betwixt stand-up, movie and television, and more.
A week retired from nan festival, Pakosta and Praw told Deadline astir nan “summer camp” vibe they’re going for this year, programming strategy, nan spot of Netflix successful today’s drama ecosystem, and more.
DEADLINE: How are you emotion arsenic we caput into this year’s festival?
ROBBIE PRAW: Feeling good. We’re excited. We do these things each 2 years, truthful erstwhile we get this close, we benignant of can’t judge it. We’re really pumped.
TRACEY PAKOSTA: Yeah. And there’s truthful overmuch bully worldly that it feels for illustration past you commencement thinking, what americium I going to see? What americium I going to miss? There’s truthful overmuch worldly astir nan metropolis that it’s difficult to put it each together, but very exciting.
DEADLINE: How agelong person you been moving connected nan 2026 show astatine this point?
PRAW: I deliberation we started to deliberation astir it correct distant aft nan past one. Obviously, you activity connected it very insanely. It’s a twelvemonth of dedicated work, but I deliberation we were brainstorming a fewer months aft nan past one. I tin beryllium much specific: I had a baby, and I retrieve erstwhile I came backmost from paternity leave, we started to talk astir it. So I would opportunity a twelvemonth and a half.
DEADLINE: What are immoderate learnings from putting together nan first 2 festivals that person informed your activity connected nan third? What did you emotion from past editions, and what did you want to change? You person now notably scaled backmost from 11 days to 7…
PRAW: I deliberation that was nan evident point for us. You’re getting this immense organization of talent to travel in, to each beryllium successful L.A. — and not only comedians, but group who activity pinch comedians. People from astir nan world who activity successful nan drama business. Having it for that 2 weeks conscionable seemed unnecessary, truthful that was astir apt nan biggest pivot, was turning it into a week.
PAKOSTA: I besides deliberation that what becomes evident is nan bigger drama ecosystem that we person present astatine Netflix. So being capable to beryllium inclusive of each of that, whether it beryllium nan scripted shows, a batch of nan features… Our talent does galore different things present and flexes different muscles. So really do we champion return pridefulness successful that and springiness our talent nan opportunity to get involved?
PRAW: That’s a bully point. Merging very celebrated podcasts pinch immoderate of our biggest shows, I deliberation is simply a existent nosy improvement this clip around. I deliberation we person much euphony and athletes successful nan show because that’s thing that conscionable organically happened past time, and we’re excited to do that. But yeah.
DEADLINE: Would you telephone unrecorded podcasts a breakout inclination for twelvemonth three?
PRAW: Yeah, there’s meaningfully more. We’ve ever had podcasts. I deliberation nan existent nosy point is connecting thing for illustration Giggly Squad pinch a show for illustration Running Point, aliases connecting Bill Simmons pinch a show for illustration Tires, and Trixie and Katia [from nan podcast The Bald and nan Beautiful] pinch Dan Levy representing Big Mistakes. I deliberation that’s thing that we’re really excited about, seeing really that unfolds this summer.
DEADLINE: What person you figured retired successful nan past 4 years, successful position of summons sales, and really to champion building a show wherever you person truthful galore large names, and truthful overmuch going connected each astatine once?
PRAW: I deliberation arsenic personification who’s worked successful nan show world for a agelong time, summons income activity a small spot differently. What we’re seeing from our user guidelines correct now is group waking up, seeing things each astir municipality saying that nan festival’s coming, and starting to prime nan show shows that they want to spell to, which is simply a small different than nan emblematic behaviour erstwhile you person a touring comedian coming to town, really conscionable speaking to their fans. I deliberation a joyousness astir immoderate festival, not conscionable ours, is group experimenting. People picking nan point that they cognize they emotion nan most, and past giving a changeable to thing possibly that they heard is cool, that they conscionable want to effort out, to return advantage of this being successful their hometown.
DEADLINE: What is nan company’s reasoning astir nan show successful a financial sense? Is it important to make a batch of money disconnected nan festival, aliases are you much concerned pinch driving group backmost to Netflix?
PRAW: We person this crazy drama ecosystem, and we’re very fortunate that we’re capable to propulsion it each together and show disconnected our wares, if you will. One of nan astonishing things astir stand-up connected Netflix is if you look astatine nan magnitude of group who successful immoderate fixed 4th conscionable watch a stand-up special, it’s a tremendous number. But it’s really a postulation of parts. And past erstwhile you dovetail — adhd nan Running Points, nan Tires and each of that — it’s conscionable an utmost audience. So to beryllium frank, this is much astir celebrating a), what we person connected Netflix, but besides broadening that to nan bigger drama community. That’s really our privilege here. It’s little astir nan business of it; it’s much astir celebrating nan drama world…
PAKOSTA: And seeing each nan comedians get to travel together to observe each other, whether it beryllium popping up successful their shows, but besides audiences that whitethorn watch Leanne Morgan’s typical and not admit that she really has a bid here. And nan aforesaid goes for Shane and Tires, aliases Nick Kroll has a caller show coming out, aliases Michelle Buteau. I do deliberation that nan expertise to springiness visibility to nan talent that we person astatine Netflix and let them to observe 1 different is 1 of nan things that makes nan festival, nan festival.
PRAW: I’ll conscionable add, possibly I’m getting emo going into adjacent week, but I conscionable find it’s a existent crazy privilege to beryllium successful nan position present to bring this organization together. It’s benignant of for illustration a summertime camp. It’s conscionable really nosy to watch what happens to nan drama organization erstwhile they each travel together, and again, it goes backmost to why we made it 1 week. Everyone’s present — that ne'er happens, particularly successful L.A. Everyone’s ever connected nan road, and it’s conscionable very cool to person everyone successful 1 place. And correct now, being down nan scenes and watching everybody, trying to jump connected everybody’s shows, and that type of worldly is truthful cool to see.
DEADLINE: Are location plans for different large get-together pinch Ted Sarandos and each nan comics?
PRAW: Yeah, we’re going to get everybody together and person a large drama party. We’re excited astir that.
DEADLINE: You alluded earlier to promotion of nan festival. Has nan attack to trading this twelvemonth been accordant pinch what you’d done successful nan past, arsenic acold arsenic advertisement spend?
PRAW: I deliberation what we’ve seen is that there’s truthful overmuch power going correct into nan extremity of nan festival. So I deliberation we were very conscious of really trying to seizure attraction this week, past week, and during nan show itself, on pinch a beautiful important run erstwhile we started to spell connected sale, and that is proving to beryllium a awesome strategy that we’re happy about.
DEADLINE: How did you onshore connected Kevin Hart arsenic your roast subject?
PAKOSTA: I mean, look, Kevin is personification that intelligibly we emotion astatine Netflix. He has been portion of nan Netflix family for a agelong time, and it conscionable felt correct and nosy and different to person Kevin beryllium roasted this twelvemonth astatine nan festival.
PRAW: At a definite constituent erstwhile we were reasoning astir it, we’re conscionable like, okay, well, we person this drama festival, each azygous comedian is doing it. And listen, of people we’ve had different ideas and different conversations complete nan past year. But erstwhile it came to it, erstwhile we yet had to make nan last decision, we were like, which comedian tin we ask? Kevin was nan first personification connected our database connected that beforehand and we’re fortunate that he said yes, and past conscionable pairing that pinch Shane Gillis… We’re starting to look astatine immoderate of nan scripts, and it’s magic. And nan group doing nan roast is besides going to beryllium phenomenal. It’s going to beryllium a really typical day.
DEADLINE: At this year’s festival, Hart besides has tapings of his drama title bid Funny AF, which will aerial unrecorded connected Netflix. The show seems to embody an opportunity for talent incubation — to thief up-and-coming comics build toward thing — which seems much difficult to travel by these days, astatine Netflix and elsewhere…
PRAW: It’s truthful exciting. As personification who came from nan Just for Last Festival, that’s benignant of nan world that I lived in. Watching this show activity and these comedians having an opportunity, you’re right, it’s very difficult successful nan scenery for that to happen. And rather frankly, backmost to your first mobility of why Kevin Hart, it’s because he’s singular successful that way. He came to america and he’s like, “I want to do a show that gives comedians this opportunity.” And moreover arsenic you spot nan measurement that we attack nan roast, it’s very stand-up guardant arsenic well. It’s conscionable thing that he really believes in. Secondly to that, we person different showcase astatine nan show astatine nan Comedy Store connected Monday that is going to beryllium 1 of nan things I’m nan astir excited astir that’s going to characteristic immoderate young comedians, too. That’s nan astir nosy we person successful our jobs, erstwhile a comedian that folks don’t cognize gets nan opportunity connected our platform, and past gets to do awesome scripted shows and different things. So it’s truthful breathtaking to spot that it’s resonating pinch folks.
PAKOSTA: I work together pinch you erstwhile you opportunity that nan find portion has been missing, giving nan assemblage nan opportunity to observe personification and get ace passionate astir them and watch that turn complete time. When I watched Kevin connected that show, you could consciousness his passion for it and really overmuch he loves it, and I do deliberation it’s contagious, moreover for group that whitethorn not deliberation they for illustration watching that type of show. I deliberation 1 of nan galore reasons it useful is because of him.
PRAW: That show would not person worked arsenic good if it was nan type of show that we were processing that it’s like, who could we get to big it? It was very overmuch thing he felt was missing, and he crushed it.
DEADLINE: Why person we seen a caller dwindling of projects for illustration Verified Stand-Up which served arsenic a showcase for young stand-ups?
PRAW: The honorable reply is it’s reliable to get nan viewership. When we did The Standups, nan first play of it — this is I deliberation 8 aliases 9 years ago, our first type of a multi-comic show — nan numbers were massive. And if you look astatine who was connected it, it was Nate Bargatze, Nikki Glaser, Fortune Feimster, Deon Cole. But we rather frankly stopped seeing awesome numbers for that. We want opportunities for illustration that to beryllium really winning for stand-ups, and if they’re not, we’re going to activity connected different ways of uncovering nan opportunities. We’ve ended up doing much of these freshman specials from group for illustration Derrick Stroup, and that’s really we’re getting it done now — little successful nan multi-comic way.
DEADLINE: You announced Dave Chappelle’s information successful nan show astatine a beautiful precocious shape — why hold until nan past minute?
PRAW: Well, we’ve evidently known for a while that Dave was going to beryllium doing this event, but I deliberation we were conscionable figuring retired what precisely nan show was. We’ve locked connected thing very breathtaking and we wanted nan show to beryllium fresh for erstwhile we yet announced it. And I deliberation it’s going to beryllium evidently 1 of nan large standout hits of nan festival.
DEADLINE: What has been nan hardest determination you’ve had to make successful putting together this 3rd festival?
PRAW: For me, it’s whether aliases not I would personally do nan 5K title [hosted by comedians Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer]…I’m going to do it. [Laughs] I don’t know. I’m very grateful because this institution is very supportive of america giving stand-ups this awesome level passim nan week, truthful I don’t cognize that there’s been a peculiar decision. I’m looking to spot if there’s thing that I’ve complained about, but I don’t know. I don’t consciousness that measurement astir it.
PAKOSTA: I do deliberation it goes beyond conscionable nan imaginative side. I deliberation arsenic a collective, arsenic a company, each of nan teams person to activity and pass truthful good pinch 1 different that we tin talk done erstwhile thing tricky aliases difficult comes up. But astatine nan extremity of nan day, I deliberation we’re each aft nan aforesaid thing. So location hasn’t been thing circumstantial that’s led to, “I wish we would’ve.” I deliberation we effort to conscionable beryllium like, “How tin we get there?”
DEADLINE: What is your position connected nan domiciled Netflix plays successful today’s drama ecosystem? What is nan value of drama to nan company?
PAKOSTA: Comedy plays a important portion successful our business, and we each judge successful nan talent that’s present and look astatine it successful a overmuch bigger way. I do deliberation these unthinkable specials person led to astonishing scripted series, and location are much successful nan works. I deliberation we position what we do from a spot of passion, and that intends being successful business pinch nan champion talent that’s retired there, and we’re fortunate capable to get to do that successful a very large measurement that resonates astir nan world.
PRAW: The show is simply a awesome illustration of a manifestation of that because you person group who, possibly they did a Netflix typical 4 years ago. Maybe their past typical was connected YouTube aliases Hulu aliases Amazon aliases HBO. But astatine nan festival, these things are still playing connected Netflix. So I deliberation it feels awesome that moreover erstwhile folks do projects location else, to a batch of those artists, this still ever feels for illustration a portion of their home, which is simply a beautiful cool thing.
DEADLINE: Do you person immoderate predictions for nan drama marketplace successful nan adjacent 3 to 5 years?
PRAW: I deliberation it’s going to proceed to beryllium really strong. We’ve seen nan artists that are emerging — it’s beautiful exciting. We utilized to talk a batch years agone about, is this a boom? [About] drama successful position of this trend. And now, I deliberation it’s conscionable a portion of nan culture.
I deliberation things ebb and flow. I deliberation drama movies are going to travel backmost successful a large way.
PAKOSTA: People want to laughter and link and bask 1 another, and that’s why I deliberation comedy’s going to proceed to thrive. There is simply a consciousness of organization amongst nan talent that resonates successful a bigger measurement because I deliberation laughter is nan 1 point that we each work together tin link us. That comes successful each different forms of storytelling and talent and each of that, but I deliberation it’s going to stay large and proceed to thrive.
