2025 Favorite Things: Stand-Up Comedy
Since I recommend all of them for different reasons, I’m not even going to BOLD the ones I repeat watch. Note: Just because I watched something in 2025 does not mean it came out this year. It was also exciting to get to see some more live even though I’m so tired!
| Ali Siddiq | My Two Sons | YouTube | Telling stories about the differences between his sons Trey and Hassan. |
| Alok | Biology | YouTube | I’m classifying as standup comedy because Alok is funny and witty; they’re known for fambloyant fashion and insights from the transgender perspective. |
| Anjelah Johnson-Reyes | LIVE | This was a miracle because the town had a power outage and we weren’t sure the show would happen. She’s a freaking delight and you should watch her standup. | |
| Ari Shaffir | America’s Sweetheart | Netflix | nearly the entire special was about how we should be using the R word again and he kept going not letting up. |
| Ben Brainard | Mature Child | YouTube | 1 hour about being a Florida born man who moved to CA. He opens up with a roller coaster of silliness and seriousness about what’s he’s learned because of therapy. |
| Chad Daniels | Empty Nester | Netflix | I think he handles raising teenagers well (if accurate); humorous and good at storytelling with more upfront humor than someone like Birbiglia; good for fans of Tom Papa |
| Charlie Berens | Neighborly | YouTube | Speaks extensively on dangers of AI during his ADD explanation. Great stuff about his dad. |
| Chinedu Unaka | LOL Live | Hulu | Produced by Kevin Hart. Chinedu starts off with blow job jokes but realizes it and turns the set into more personal family material about his Nigerian parents and his 6 years teaching Special Ed. |
| Cristela Alonzo | Upper Classy | Netflix | I recommend not missing out on this one. All of her specials are heartfelt. |
| Dan LaMorte | YouTube | A comedian from NJ and on the ASD spectrum; a good hour special. | |
| David Nihill | Shelf Help: Comedy & Reading Recommendations | Youtube | Irish man with lots of brains and humor, but fair warning, despite that intellect his choice of words is not always great. He didn’t know why he couldn’t read his entire life, but discovered audio books from US libraries! Quite an impressive method of working books into funny stories about Ireland, America, and other countries he’s lived. |
| Dusty Slay | LIVE | He’s laid back and chill with his comedy style. He stays out of politics and keeps his conversation to his own history and life. | |
| Emma Willman | YouTube | funny and honest, down to earth about her exploits legal and not; LGBTQIA | |
| Fern Brady | Autistic Bikini Queen | Netflix | consistently funny and drole with enough sarcasm to touch my heart. |
| Fortune Feimster | Crushing It | Netflix | Always amazing and funny. |
| Gina Brillon | Mind Your Business (800 lb Gorilla) | YouTube | I absolutely love and appreciate that new mom, Gina Brillon, found the energy to continue her standup comedy career. She’s incredibly authentic in her vulnerability in this special while still being hilarious. |
| Iliza Schlesinger | A new animal | Prime | Still strongly feminist, but still fatphobic. Fashion is Cher-esque. She ridicules fat people as always and apparently there are entire sub reddits dedicated to Iliza’s body and workouts. But she always includes bits on body positivity. |
| JB Ball | Jesus in the crack house | YouTube | I’ve enjoyed the different specials I’ve seen of his. |
| Jessica Kirson | I’m the Man | Hulu | I’ve seen plenty of lesbian comedians before and just like straight people, if it’s ONLY sex jokes, I’m bored. Bailed 15 min in. |
| Jesus Trejo | First Time Dad | YouTube | It’s great to see a new special from him with the added maturity of being a parent. |
| Jim Gaffigan | The Skinny | Hulu | Gaffigan felt like he was more on his game in this special than in Comedy Monster and Dark Pale |
| Kevin Hart | Acting My Age | Netflix | funny family stories and pains of aging including time in a wheelchair recovering from injuries. |
| Kyle Kinane | all of his specials | YouTube | One of the comedians I frequently rewatch. |
| Leanne Morgan | Unspeakable Things | Netflix | She drops a lot more Jesus in this one. |
| Matteo Lane | The Al Dente Special | Hulu | well-traveled and full of stories from it with the gay flair of hating white women. |
| Michael Palascak | He’s Friendly | YouTube | |
| Michelle Buteau | Buteau-ful | Netflix | The first comedian to call out Dave Chappelle by name for his transphobia. |
| Mike Birbliglia | The Good Life | Netflix | Better than his previous one, The Old Man and the Pool. Consistent with his work since Thank God for Jokes. He’s looking better in spirit and physically which he discussed in the last one – wanting to be alive for his daughter. Now he’s dealing with aging parents and the cold, not lovey style of parenting that he received from his father. |
| Mo Welch | Hollywood Forever | YouTube | getting pregnant, being a lesbian, draws comics about life and the mole she had removed |
| Nazeem Hussain | Totally Normal | YouTube | pushes racism limits with important education about colonizers |
| Ralph Barbosa | Planet Bosa | Hulu | He’s low key and consistent. If you need a little comic relief but not someone jumping around on stage, check him out. |
| Roy Wood Jr. | Lonely Flower | Hulu | |
| Russell Peters | Act Your Age | YouTube | Even after working how vernacular has changed and certain words aren’t acceptable, Peters still insists on using the R-word not to mean disabled, but to take a jab at someone he knows. He’s skilled at accents and a world traveller. He has diverse audiences everywhere. If you don’t like the kind of comedy where someone performs accents, he’s definitely not for you. |
| Sebastian Maniscalco | It Ain’t Right | Netflix | Better than his Vegas special; still not my favorite of his. At least this time, he has the urine jokes in the beginning rather than ending on that note. |
| Shayne Smith | Ghosts Are Real | YouTube | First released only on the Angel app, Smith’s 2025 special features some incredibly surreal stories about his mother |
| Suzi Ruffell | 800 lb Gorilla | YouTube | Be prepared for extremely high energy and fast talking |
| Tom Papa | Empty Nest | Netflix | Tom Papa’s special are usually going to be pleasant; he knows how to evolve with vernacular so if you listen to his old material, some language is outdated; in this special, he gives a non-controversial look at his life now in middle age with his daughters in college. |
| Trey Kennedy | Grow Up | YouTube | Newlywed and new dad white people comic, sings a fair portion which was unexpected. |
| Zoltan Kaszas | London Fog | YouTube | Hilarious as always (even though I do take exception & felt judgmental about his long bit on Yoga). |
Other 2025 Favorites
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.