The holidays aren’t always full of “comfort and joy” as Christmas carols would have you believe. For a lot of us, they’re rough. Long-buried tensions with family members surface, we overspend on gifts (many of them for ourselves), we receive crappy Secret Santa presents, and we end up going to work feeling hungover and fat most days. Thank goodness for comedy specials, which are dropping in abundance this month on several streaming services. The comedic relief helps us cope with the winter blues and holiday stressors. Here are eight new comedy specials that’ll have you laughing through the new year. We’ll get through this together with a few good jokes.
Cover Photo: HBO
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Comedy Specials Dec 2019
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'Dan Soder: Son of a Gary'
In his first hour-long comedy special now streaming on HBO, Billions cast member Dan Soder makes fun of growing up as the only child of a single mom, his dead alcoholic dad, and weed-sniffing security dogs at the airport.
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'Lil Rel Howery: Live in Crenshaw'
In his debut HBO comedy special filmed in a high school gymnasium, Insecure and Get Out star Lil Rey Howery uses his expletive-laden brand of comedy to dissect black culture, including children’s birthday party mishaps, phone calls with dope fiends, and feigning like he doesn’t have money.
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'Michelle Wolf: Joke Show'
The controversial comedian known for her scathing comedy set at the 2018 White House Correspondents' Dinner brings her defiant humor to Netflix on Dec. 10. Wolf tackles rapist otters, outrage culture, and Instagram in this laugh-out-loud special.
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'Ronny Chieng: Asian Comedian Destroys America!'
The Daily Show correspondent and Crazy Rich Asians actor makes his Netflix comedy special debut on Dec. 17. The Malaysian-born comedian will offer up a hilarious examination of American culture, likely including riffs on Asian stereotypes, like those that say Asians are good at math, bad at driving, and have small dicks.
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'Tiffany Haddish: Black Mitzvah'
Black Jewish comedian Tiffany Haddish brings her raunchy comedy to Netflix in this special that coincides with her 40th birthday. Expect jaw-dropping jokes about booze-loving parasites, lazy strippers, and plastic straws, all told in her trademark acerbic style.
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'Eddie Griffin: E-Niggma'
Now streaming on Showtime, this rapid-fire comedy special hits on Griffin’s multiple marriages (he’s on his fourth), his shit-talking relatives, and why white people are more likely than black people to get eaten by sharks.
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'John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch'
In this variety show dropping on Christmas Eve, John Mulaney joins a cast of kids ages 8 to 13 with whom he’ll sing original songs by Sesame Street composer Eli Bolin and perform comedy sketches he wrote with Saturday Night Live alum Marika Sawyer. Celebrity guests like Richard Kind, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Andre De Shields will also stop by.
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'Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up'
Following a car accident in which he suffered back injuries, Kevin Hart announced this six-part docuseries that debuts on Netflix on Dec. 27. The series follows the indefatigable comedian over the past year and a half. “It’s as real, as raw, as transparent as you can be,” he told YouTube subscribers last month. It’ll touch on career and marital struggles and, we assume, will also be funny as hell.
