We’re already half way through January and we’re back at our desks and hard at work because guess what? The comedy biz doesn’t sleep! If this month is any indication, you’re in for a year of back-to-back announcements for new specials, tours, tapings, movies, TV shows and even book launches. But in case you’re going to get started on an Excel sheet to keep track of everything that the comedians are getting up to, we’ll stop you right there. Here’s a quick roundup of everything that’s been announced (so far) this year. We’ll keep making updates so keep checking in!
Upcoming Specials
KEVIN JAMES – IRREGARDLESS (23 January)
Kevin James has quite the acting portfolio, having performances in hit comedies including Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Grownups. However, before he became a regular in front of the camera and a part of Adam Sandler’s rat pack, James was known for his standup comedy. Even though his last Netflix special titled Never Don’t Give Up received lukewarm reviews, there was a time when he was featured on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians. So we’re hoping James brings some of that magic to the stage this time with his new special Irregardless.
Irregardless premieres on 23 January on Amazon Prime Video.
JACK WHITEHALL – SETTLE DOWN (30 January)
When we think of Jack Whitehall we think of that posh, devil-may-cry attitude of his that complements his wit so well. Anyone who has watched his Netflix show Travels With My Father will know exactly what we’re talking about. But Settle Down promises to be a far more sobering account of his life. Whitehall is all set to candidly talk about meeting and marrying the love of his life, the challenges of fatherhood and even his drinking habit.
Settle Down premieres on 30 January on Netflix.
TAYLOR TOMLINSON – HAVE IT ALL (13 February)
Taylor Tomlinson has hit the ground running to kickstart her 2024. The comedian has landed a gig as the host of the new CBS gameshow show called After Midnight. A reboot of the old Comedy Central show midnight, Tomlinson’s show will air right after The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. And in addition to that Tomlinson will be dropping her third hour-long special on Netflix, titled Have It All. The comedian will speak about finding your dream job and the ideal partner, all the while asking whether one can really have it all.
Have It All premieres on 13 February on Netflix.
JENNY SLATE – SEASONED PROFESSIONAL (23 February)
Another special scheduled for late February is actor-comedian Jenny Slate’s Seasoned Professional. Best known for her performances on hit TV shows including Simpsons, Despicable Me 3, Bob’s Burgers, Parks & Recreation, Big Mouth and Adventure Time, and as Debbie the Dog Mom in Everything, Everywhere All At Once (for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture), Slate’s special promises to be an exciting watch, with her unpacking how being brave for love is worth it. Does it mean pushing out a baby, stalking your therapist, or trusting your partner not to destroy you? You’re about to find out.
Seasoned Professional premieres on 23 February on Prime Video.
Tours
Karunesh Talwar – Adrak Ka Swaad
Karunesh Talwar is going on tour with his latest show Adrak Ka Swaad one last time before releasing the material on YouTube in April. Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Vadodara and Mumbai will get a final opportunity to watch Talwar live in action as he waxes poetic about all the universally loved things that he personally despises. He’s all set to tape the special at NCPA, Mumbai on 24 March.
You can get your tickets here!
Abhishek Upmanyu – Toxic
After the incredible success of his special Jealous of Sabziwala, Abhishek Upmanyu is diving right back in with a tour of his brand new hour titled Toxic. The comedian is back on the road with a packed calendar that has dates marked all the way from April 2024 till February 2025. The tickets are going quick so don’t waste any time and pick yours up right here!
Sumukhi Suresh – Hoemonal
Sumukhi Suresh is travelling to the EU with her brand new show Hoemonal. After successfully touring with it in India and performing to sold out 1,000 seater venues, Suresh is taking the show to seven cities abroad—Dublin, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Munich, Amsterdam, Zurich. She’s also going to make a quick stop in Birmingham. Get your tickets here!
Sahil Shah – Broken
Indian standup comedy’s punniest human being, Sahil Shah, announced his latest hour Broken in early December. The comedian is set to jet across the country, with 12 cities on the books so far and many more to follow. The show is about “being 33, Gen Exhausted and considering pretirement. It’s all about living life in a mentally exhausting state,” Shah said in an Instagram post.
Shreya Priyam Roy – Premium Roy
Comicstaan alumnus Shreya Priyam Roy is hitting the road with her solo show Premium Roy. After the success of her debut YouTube video Gold Digger, the comedian is looking forward to treating the country to some premium laughs (see what we did there?) Get your tickets here!
Rajasekhar Mamidanna – Thoughts And Feelings
Comedian Rajasekhar Mamidanna is a big advocate for mental health, well-being and therapy. In his latest show titled Thoughts And Feelings he will talk about his experience of going to therapy and how it shaped his life. Tour dates are yet to be announced so hang tight!
Praveen Kumar – Family Man Returns
Bengaluru-based comedian Praveen Kumar is ready to dish out the laughs from 20 January to 6 April in India, Canada and Europe with his new hour Family Man Returns. His new hour focuses on the struggles and domestic dilemmas faced by the common man on the daily. From narrowing down on the perfect school for your child to dealing with the challenges of moving cities, Praveen’s new hour is equal parts funny and relatable. Grab your tickets here!
Samay Raina – Unfiltered
Supreme Leader Samay Raina is on the final leg of his Unfiltered tour. We at DeadAnt caught the show live last year and gave it two enthusiastic thumbs ups. Raina pushes the boundaries as he tries to mine laughs from some dark premises in this hour. The comedian manages to expertly play jumprope with the line that should not be crossed. He will be on tour from 21 January to 24 February. Get your tickets here.
Daniel Fernandes – Heyoka
Daniel Fernandes closed out 2023 with a record-breaking marathon eight-hour performance called Iron Man. After a much-deserved break, the comedian is back with some exciting news! He’ll be performing his brand new show Heyoka at The Melbourne Comedy Festival from 28 March to 7 April. A limited ten-show run, this one is not to be missed if you’re Down Under! Ticket here.
Olga Koch – Prawn Cocktail
London’s iconic Soho Theatre is bringing British-Russian standup comedian, writer and actress Olga Koch to Mumbai and Bengaluru this month with her show Prawn Cocktail. This will be Koch’s second time performing in India, the first one being in April last year when she combined four of her acclaimed shows into one, exclusively for Indian audiences. This will be her fifth special and she’s sure that “he girlinas are gonna wanna see this”. Get your tickets here.
Other Stuff ‘Cause Doing Comedy Isn’t Enough
Kanan Gill – Acts of God
Last year in July Kanan Gill revealed that he had finished writing his debut novel Acts of God two years ago. The book with “weight and purpose and soul and punctuation” was picked up by Harper Collins and is set to release on 18 January. You can preorder your copies here.
Vir Das To Star In An Action Movie
Vir Das has no chill. Right after winning an International Emmy Award for his Netflix special Landing, Das has been all across the world with his Mind Fool tour. But that’s not all. It recently came to light that the critically-acclaimed comedian will be venturing into the action space with a new film. The untitled project, which is set to go into production in mid-2024 will see Das in the lead role.
Everything That’s Already Up
KANAN GILL – IS THIS IT? (4 January)
We think Kanan Gill’s New Year’s resolution is giving back to his fans. The comedian released his two-hour comedy special titled Is This It? on YouTube in the first week of the year. A hilarious and existential rollercoaster that was loved by everyone at the DeadAnt office, the special was first released behind a paywall on Paytm Insider for 3 days followed by a bonus week.
Is This It? premiered on 4 January on YouTube.
PETE DAVIDSON – TURBO FONZARELLI (9 January)
Since the release of his first Netflix special Alive From New York in 2020, Pete Davidson has mostly been busy proving his mettle as an actor on TV shows and movies including The King of Staten Island, Bodies Bodies Bodies and Bupkis. Davidson finally made a comeback to the comedy stage this month with his Netflix special Turbo Fonzarelli! The comedian—who also hosted Saturday Night Live‘s first show after the Writer’s Guild of America strike ended—touches upon everything from entering his 30s and shedding bad habits to the slightly more uncomfortable topic of his mom’s love life.
Turbo Fonzarelli premiered on 9 January on Netflix.
Abish Mathew, Kunal Rao, Shashwat Maheshwari, Urooj Ashfaq – Domain8
Comedians Abish Mathew, Kunal Rao, Shashwat Maheshwari and Urooj Ashfaq star as voice actors in Domain8, a new animated mini-series that’s now available on YouTube. Written, directed and co-produced (along with his company Myoho Films) by Karan Asnani, the director behind a number of Indian standup specials and web-series, Domain8 chronicles the tussle between Proxy Torrentino (voiced by Abhishek Nair)—a tyrant who has held back access to the internet from the residents of the fictional town of Cryptopur—and Codec Encoder (voiced by Urooj Ashfaq), a teenager determined to rebel against Torrentino’s oppressive ways.
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