Chris Rock to Make History With Netflix’s First Live Standup Special

Netflix will finally stream its first live special, and the streamer has chosen Chris Rock as its big star. The comedian will perform a live standup special to be streamed live globally in 2023. The move follows Disney+’s success with live-streaming an entire season of Dancing With the Stars each Monday night this fall.

This will be Rock’s second Netflix special, following Tambourine in 2018. Last year, Netflix released Total Blackout, an extended version of Tambourine. He also performed at the Netflix is a Joke festival earlier this year. Rock could also be seen in Adam Sandler’s Netflix movie The Week Of and contributed to Dirty Daddy: The Bob Saget Tribute.

“Chris Rock is one of the most iconic and important comedic voices of our generation,” Robbie Praw, Netflix VP of Stand-up and Comedy Formats, said in a statement to Deadline. “We’re thrilled the entire world will be able to experience a live Chris Rock comedy event and be a part of Netflix history. This will be an unforgettable moment and we’re so honored that Chris is carrying this torch.”

This will be Rock’s first standup special since the infamous moment at the 2022 Academy Awards when Will Smith slapped him for joking about Jada Pinkett Smith. However, Rock has been out on tour for the past few months, making brief references to the incident. In May, he told an audience at the Royal Albert Hall in London that he would not directly address the slap until a Netflix special.

“I’m OK, if anybody was wondering. I got most of my hearing back,” Rock said in London. “People expect me to talk about the bulls-, I’m not going to talk about it right now, I’ll get to it eventually, on Netflix.”

In May, Deadline reported Netflix was developing technology to allow live streaming on its platform. Netflix could use the technology for live reunion specials for its popular reality shows, like Selling Sunset and The Circle. It could also be used for competition shows, like the upcoming Dance 100.

However, Netflix would not be the first streamer with live reality shows. Disney+ beat the streamer to the punch with Dancing With the Stars Season 31. After ABC dropped the series, it moved to Disney+, where it has been streaming mostly without incident all season. The show can be watched live in all time zones, allowing viewers outside the Central and Eastern time zones the opportunity to vote for their favorite dancers.