During the second annual “Netflix Is a Joke” festival – the largest comedy festival in North America – 400 shows took place across 35 venues in Los Angeles, including the Hollywood Bowl, the Comedy Store, the Hollywood Improv and Largo. Several Jewish comedians were there to offer up jokes, entertain audiences and lighten the mood.
The festival, which ran from May 1-12, kicked off with Jerry Seinfeld headlining The Hollywood Bowl with Sebastian Maniscalco, Jim Gaffigan and Nate Bargatze. During his set, Seinfeld – who closed out the show – talked about turning 70, the impulse to use cell phones instead of experiencing life, his new Netflix movie “Unfrosted” and being married to his wife Jessica for over two decades.
“When my wife tells me what we’re doing, it doesn’t matter if I knew about it or not,” he said. “Why would I have a conversation with my wife about what I thought was happening? Who would benefit from that? No one that I can think of. It would make as much sense as explaining to the dog what has been planned for the rest of his day. The dog doesn’t care or need to know. Dogs and husbands both understand: Just be ready to go out.”
On May 9, Phil Rosenthal, star of “Somebody Feed Phil” and executive producer of “Everybody Loves Raymond” took to the stage at the United Theater with Pete Holmes. The two discussed Rosenthal’s travels eating different foods around the world, and Rosenthal reminisced about his late parents, Max and Helen, Holocaust survivors who frequently appeared on their son’s show.
When Rosenthal was asked what his last meal would be, he said, “a tuna fish sandwich” because that’s what his mom would make him when he was a kid. He also told Holmes that his father’s favorite thing in the world was fluffy eggs. Rosenthal’s wife, actress Monica Horan, along with his daughter Lily and son Ben were in the audience. He made sure to promote the new book he co-authored with Lily, “Just Try It!” which encourages children to try new foods.
Other Jewish acts at “Netflix Is a Joke” included Todd Glass performing his show “The Event of a Lifetime” at the Upright Citizens Brigade; “The Comedy Baraar,” featuring Or Mash, Dan Ahdoot, Tehran and Menachem Silverstein at the Comedy Store; Jeff Ross at G.R.O.A.T. The Greatest Roast Of All Time: Tom Brady; standup and TV writer Morgan Murphy, who opened for Colin Quinn at Largo; Rachel Bloom at The Montalbán Theatre; and Howie Mandel with Arsenio Hall at The Comedy Store.
The first “Netflix Is a Joke” festival took place in 2022 and sold 260,000 tickets. For the past 10 years, the streaming service has been producing stand-up shows, with more than 350 currently available on the platform. According to their latest stats, comedy tours saw an increase of 127% in 2022 vs. 2019.
“This is a special time for comedy, both for Netflix and the genre at large,” Robbie Praw, Netflix VP of Stand-up and Comedy Formats, said. “We have the privilege of working with comedians who are selling out arenas, winning awards and building fandoms in the millions. In the 10 years that we’ve been doing stand-up we’ve seen the art form reach levels we didn’t think possible. This festival aims to capture this moment by bringing together the world’s best comedians for an unforgettable 11 days.”
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