Original Comedy Content: Netflix doesn’t hit it out of the park every time it does an original show, but we’re here for I Think You Should Leave, Big Mouth and Murderville. We’re still trying to make up our minds about You People.
Stand-Up Specials: Expect fireworks next month when Chris Rock does the first-ever live stand-up show on streaming. Just last year alone, Netflix brought the noise from Gabriel Iglesias, Bill Burr, Ali Wong, Hasan Minhaj, Taylor Tomlinson, Patton Oswalt, Trevor Noah, Fortune Feimster, Nick Kroll, David Spade, Chelsea Handler, Ronny Chieng, Ricky Gervais, and we’re not even halfway through the list.
Classic Comedy: You can still catch old episodes of Netflix originals like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Master of None and BoJack Horseman. Throw in a rotating roster of nostalgia darlings like Arrested Development, New Girl, Community, and of course, Seinfeld.
The winner and still champion, based on not only current offerings but its decades-long history of killer original content. While HBO was the first pay-TV service to offer uncut movies, you can argue it built its reputation — and many of America’s comedy clubs — on the back of its commitment to comedy.
Original Comedy Content: No other service comes close to the quality of comedy shows currently in production, an all-star line-up that includes Curb Your Enthusiasm, White Lotus, Barry, The Sex Lives of College Girls and Hacks. If you want to call Succession a comedy, you won’t get an argument from us.
Stand-Up Specials: HBO Max can’t compete with Netflix these days in terms of brand-new stand-up specials, but it’s still punching away. There was no better stand-up showcase in 2022 than Jerrod Carmichael’s Rothaniel, and a scroll through HBO Max’s comic offerings is like a history course covering the last 50 years of American comedy. Unassailable (despite the inexplicable number of Bill Maher specials).
Classic Comedy: HBO Max’s library is overstuffed with other networks’ sitcoms and classic Warner Bros. comedy movies. But why bother when you can rewatch HBO originals Mr. Show, The Larry Sanders Show, Veep, Insecure, Sex and the City, Girls, Silicon Valley and Flight of the Conchords? Mic drop.