Netflix Is a Joke Fest Ticketing Analysis - Part 2; New Specials From Leslie Liao & Heather Shaw

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View on web New reader? Subscribe SUBSCRIBE. IT'S FREE. Hello, Matt Grobar here, and welcome back to Comedy Means Business. Coming to you after four days at CinemaCon in Las Vegas — excited to see that there are tons of promising films coming up. But man, what a brutal event to cover. Congrats to Vittorio Angelone, one of Deadline's Stand-Ups to Keep an Eye on in 2026, who has inked with 3 Arts. Also, to Adam Degi, who had our Special of the Month for March in Empty the Clips . (No time for a full write-up here, but Degi is a great joke writer reps should be looking at, as I don't see any listed for him. Honorable mention goes to Mario Adrion, whose hour  My Struggle is also excellent.) Today in the newsletter, I take a look at the latest numbers in ticket sales for Netflix Is a Joke which are.... not great. I also have news on the debut specials of Leslie Liao and Heather Shaw. ICYMI, last week on my companion Comedy Means Business podcast, I spoke with Pete Holmes about coming up through a version of show biz that no longer exists and reclaiming the magic of the industry in a new era. Check that out here. Now, let's take a look at Netflix Is a Joke... NETFLIX IS A JOKE FEST CHECK-IN ASSESSING SALES AS WE EDGE CLOSER TO THIRD FEST Courtesy As a passionate fan of stand-up, who generally respects what Netflix has done in the comedy space in recent years, I hoped I’d have a better update on ticket sales for the upcoming third installment of Netflix Is a Joke Fest, which is set to take over Los Angeles from May 4-10. Particularly after my April 6 newsletter, where I highlighted around 30 sell-outs. But a glance at platforms like Ticketmaster speaks to the concerns of the comedy insider I spoke with for that issue — that this year’s fest will be “a story of the haves and the have-nots.” “There’s still a significant number of tickets to be sold, in some venues more so than others,” our source told said at the time. “There's a lot of competition in the marketplace, a lot of shows, people fighting over the same dollar in a tough economy. I don't think gas prices are helping people to be able to afford tickets, and people are pulling back a little bit.” A couple weeks out from the festival, one positive is validation of Netflix’s investment in podcast The Pete Davidson Show: After getting to low ticket warning with his show featuring John Mulaney, Davidson has booked another at the Wiltern to feature Nikki Glaser. That aside, though, I’m not seeing many more sell-outs on the schedule than I did when we last checked in. Strangely, some of the biggest marquee names in comedy are those with the most tickets left to sell. As of now, Shane Gillis, Louis C.K., and John Mulaney are far from selling out their shows set for The Hollywood Bowl. Katt Williams has a good way to go at Intuit Dome, as does Nate Bargatze with two shows at the venue, and his May 9 show in particular. Seinfeld’s sales aren’t great for a show featuring Leanne Morgan, slated for The Greek on May 5, and Jim Gaffigan hasn’t yet approached selling out the Dolby. The numbers are puzzling when you consider all the records comics like Bargatze and Morgan are achieving around the world — and as Gillis approaches his huge homecoming show at Lincoln Financial Field. And it’s striking to assess them in relation to the ticket sales of younger, buzzy comics like Gianmarco Soresi and Jeff Arcuri, who have sold out multiple shows, albeit at much smaller venues. Not to mention podcasts like Comedy on the Fly and The Bald & the Beautiful, which are also working in this context — again, at a lower level. Let’s hope we see a bit more progress on some of these shows, from some of the world’s greatest stand-ups, before May comes. THE DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE - #1 LESLIE LIAO SETS DEBUT HOUR SPECIAL Leslie Liao (Andrew Max Levy) DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE:  Rising L.A. comic Leslie Liao has announced that her debut hour special, Silky Smooth, is out now for exclusive early access via 800 Pound Gorilla, with a YouTube release slated for Tuesday, April 28 at 5 p.m. PST. In Silky Smooth, Liao explores the chaotic stages of adulthood, scheduling fun plans with tired friends, the unfair treatment of single people, being attracted to silly men, and the fear of being a role model to her pretend children. We previously profiled Liao a few years ago when she went from working in HR at Netflix to her own short set as part of their stand-up series Verified Stand-Up.   >>> More THE DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE - #2 HEATHER SHAW'S FIRST SPECIAL SETS LAUNCH Heather Shaw (Nicole Sepulveda) DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE: Comedian Heather Shaw has announced that her debut special, Alright, See Ya!, in which she tackles everything from gay bars and Caitlyn Jenner to pop culture more broadly, will be released on YouTube on Thursday, May 14. Performed, written, and produced by Shaw, the special was filmed before a sold-out crowd at Comedy Cabin in Janesville, Wisconsin in January. Tom Feeney directed and served as executive producer. >>> More COMEDY ROUND-UP: 4/7 - 4/20 Acquisitions ABC Buys Pitch From Fox; Workaholic Mom Comedy ‘The Dogwood’ Comes From ‘Mom’ Co-Creator Gemma Baker Chris Bremner Sells Action-Comedy Spec ‘Ram’ To Netflix Casting FILM Chris O’Dowd Joins Bill Burr In Coming-Of-Age Comedy ‘Bender’ TV Kevin Hart’s Netflix Comedy Competition Series ‘Funny AF’ Names Contestants, Unveils Trailer Digital A Comedy Thing YouTube Channel Renewed At Channel 4 With Returning Formats Like ‘The Lying Game’ Development ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ Star Maya Erskine To Direct Teen Comedy From A24 And Fruit Tree ‘Weapons’ Duo Zach Cregger & Roy Lee Reteaming To Produce Dark Comedy ‘Little One’ From Director Alex Kavutskiy; Hammerstone Studios Financing Amazon MGM Developing Animated Clown Comedy ‘Funny Business’ From Aaron & Will Eisenberg Matt LeBlanc Cop Drama ‘Flint’ Gets Development Room, Drama ‘I Know Who You Are’ & Comedy ‘Hilda! In Lights’ Also In Works At CBS CBS Picks Up ‘Eternally Yours’ Comedy Pilot From ‘Ghosts’ Showrunners To Series; ‘The Tillbrooks’ Not Moving Forward Executive Moves GSN President John Zaccario & Sony TV Head Of Comedy Colin Davis Leaving Amid SPE Layoffs; Studio Shuts Down Wardrobe Rental Business   Radio Sebastian Maniscalco Getting His Own New Channel & Show On SiriusXM Specials Graham Kay Sets Fourth Comedy Special ‘Pete & Me’ With Nate Bargatze’s Nateland Entertainment Lisa Ann Walter Sets Title, Premiere Date For Hulu Stand-Up Special – Update Touring Nurse Blake Expands But Did You Die? Tour With 35+ New Dates Gary Owen Extends Debut Theater Tour With 30+ U.S. Shows              Our companion Comedy Means Business podcast runs bimonthly on Mondays. Sign up to receive that in your inbox here.  Got a tip, pitch, comment, feature idea, or Special of the Month? Reach out at mattgrobar@deadline.com. This email was sent to punjabsvera@gmail.com by Deadline. 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