Louis C.K. To Headline 2 Stand-Up Specials For Netflix
Netflix continues to build a collection of comedy specials featuring the biggest names in stand-up. On the heels of big deals for new specials with Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Jerry Seinfeld, Netflix has signed Louis C.K. for two new stand-up specials. The first, titled 2017, was filmed in Washington D.C., and will premiere April 4, everywhere Netflix is available.
“Louis has been one of the most innovative comedy voices in this new era of stand-up,” said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer at Netflix. “He has also been a thought leader in the business of comedy.”
Netflix has carved out its own standup marked by raising dramatically the fee it was willing to pay for a special with the Chris Rock $40-million two-special pact last year that put the town on notice and set sky-high expectations among name comedians. The steep increase in asking prices has left Netflix as virtually the only destination for established, A-list comic talent, as other networks are focusing on young, up-and-coming comedians.
Louis C.K. and Netflix hinted at a potential future collaboration back in August, when his most recent stand-up special, the 2015 Live at the Comedy Store, quietly launched on Netflix. Like his 2011 special, Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theater, Live at the Comedy Store was produced independently by Louis C.K. and distributed directly to consumers through his website for $5. A few months after its original release online, Live From the Comedy Store premiered on FX. The pickup by Netflix came more than a year later.
One of the most respected stand-up comedians working today, six-time Emmy winner Louis C.K. also has done specials for HBO, Showtime and Epix.
In January 2015, he became the first comedian to sell out Madison Square Garden three times for the same tour. The third show was recorded and released as a digital audio download on his website, which went on to take home a 2016 Grammy for Best Comedy Album. The following year, as part of an international tour that culminated in this latest special, Louis C.K. broke his own record by selling out Madison Square Garden five times over, as well as arenas all over the country.
Louis C.K. also has ramped up production via his company Pig Newton. Independently, the company produced drama Horace and Pete, which Louis C.K. wrote directed and starred in. The show, which debuted in January 2016 and was directly distributed through his website, was recently acquired by Hulu for streaming. Via his overall deal at FX Prods., Pig Newton produces the upcoming animated series The Cops for TBS, which he co-created and voices, FX comedy series Baskets and Better Things and Amazon’s One Mississippi. And he, of course, is the executive producer, writer, director, editor and star of FX’s acclaimed comedy series Louie, which is on an indefinite hiatus after five seasons.
Louis C.K. is repped by APA and 3 Arts.
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