25 shows not to miss at Netflix Is a Joke Fest

L.A. COMEDY FANS ARE ABOUT TO GET HIT WITH A WEALTH OF CHOICES. FROM ALI WONG TO KATT WILLIAMS TO DAVID LETTERMAN AND PUDDLES PITY PARTY, HERE ARE THE COMICS WE’LL DEFINITELY BOOK TIME FOR.

LET ’ S G E T something straight right now — the idea that you could see all the shows you want to catch during Netflix Is a Joke Fest is, frankly, laughable. There’s too much of everything happening at once, and our brains, wallets and gas tanks can only take so much. Choices will have to be made. But one thing’s for sure during the return of the streamer’s two-week explosion of dream lineups of the best comics in the world: There will be plenty to choose from. Whether you’re seeing a show at one of L.A.’s biggest venues, our beloved local comedy clubs or catching something at the fest’s new al-fresco hub Outside Is a Joke on the grounds of the Palladium, L.A. comedy fans are about to be blessed. To hopefully make things a little easier to navigate, here’s our list of the 25 shows we plan to check out starting this week.

MAY 1-2 JERRY SEINFELD, JIM GAFFIGAN, NATE BARGATZE, SEBASTIAN MANISCALCO Hollywood Bowl

Stand-up has always been regarded as an individual sport, but sometimes there are dream teams. With the combined caliber of comedic genius to fill four Hollywood Bowls, Netflix Is a Joke kicks things off right by bringing in heavy hitters Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, Nate Bargatze and Sebastian Maniscalco to bring their spotlights together on L.A’.s most prestigious stage. If you couldn’t score a ticket to any of the shows these guys have done separately or in tandem at the Forum or the Greek in the last year, now’s your chance to get them all at once for two back-to-back Rat Pack-style shows. Whether it’s fart jokes, observational humor or masterfully dry punchlines about family and relationships, this is a level of comedy that’s worth battling the hellish parking and putting on some nice clothes for. — Nate Jackson

MAY 1 RALPH BARBOSA The Vermont Hollywood (special taping)

Few comics are hitting Netflix Is a Joke Fest as hard as Ralph Barbosa. With four shows, including two at the Vermont Hollywood to be taped for an upcoming special, the Dallasbred comic is on the hunt to capitalize on his rocketing stardom. Before his debut special “Cowabunga” hit the streamer last year, he was in a suit telling jokes on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy

Fallon, and late last year he made his HBO comedy debut in the third installment of Latin stand-up series “Entre Nos.” Before that, his “Don’t Tell Comedy” set garnered millions of views on YouTube. We’re excited to see where his unique brand of dry, secretly wise stoner comedy will take him next. And there’s no better way to know than to show up at his special taping to see it first.

— N.J.

MAY 3 BILL BURR Hollywood Bowl

Bill Burr’s many accomplishments both within and beyond the scope of his work as a comedian have earned him legendary status. That includes being the first comedian to perform at the ancient Greek amphitheater the Odeon of Herodes Atticus as well as the first to perform at Fenway Park, along with his various Emmy and Grammy nods. By those standards, headlining a show at the Hollywood Bowl should simply be another feather in his cap, but we know his performance at L.A.’s most beloved outdoor venue will be one for the books as his 30something years of dishing out his no-holds-barred brand of gritty, everyman snarkiness continue to make him a national treasure. — Scott Feinblatt

MAY 4 ROY WOOD JR. The Belasco

There was a collective sigh when Roy Wood Jr. announced last year that he would leave “The Daily Show.” Wood was in the running to become the host after Trevor Noah left, but the “correspondent” walked through a magic hallway that just led back to longtime host Jon Stewart. Wood shrugged. His laid-back, irreverent humor is just as evident on his X (formerly known as Twitter) feed as anywhere else. He uses observational humor about real-world situations — racism, sexism, all the isms — as a scalpel to carve up the ills that plague us and show us their insides. Wood will perform on May 4 at the Belasco Theater, 1050 S. Hill St. Tickets start at $39. FWIW, that’s a small price to pay to do a temperature check on your emotional intelligence. — Dawn M. Burkes

MAY 5 TOM BRADY ROAST Kia Forum

Who comes out on top when football’s seven-time world champion faces the best roasters in the universe? On May 5, the G.R.O.A.T. Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady dais tackles everything from the exexex-quarterback’s pro career records, personal lows, retirement teases, deflation, crazy diets, hydration, hair choices and chin clefts to this fall’s upcoming NFL broadcast gig with Fox Sports. The San Mateo native may have braved some bantering and even dropped an F-bomb in “80 for Brady,” but the Kia Forum playing field promises a whole new game bringing even harder hits. — J.S.

PRINCESS

Hollywood Palladium

If you like funny and you love Prince (RIP), you have to check out Princess. It’s about to be a rockin’ Cinco-de-Princess on May 5 at the Hollywood Palladium, where you can sing and dance along with the comedy stylings of SNL alum Maya Rudolph and L.A. singer-songwriter Gretchen Lieberum. The pipes on this pair, singing together since 2012, deliver a flawless tribute, and purple isn’t required — unless of course you’re a real fan. —

MAY 6-8 GODS OF COMEDY WITH DAVID LETTERMAN The Montalban Theatre

During the inaugural Netflix Is a Joke festival in 2022, the titular host of “That’s My Time With David Letterman” led a “conversation and comedy” evening series at the Fonda with rising names Sam Morril, Naomi Ekperigin, Rosebud Baker, Brian Simpson, Robin Tran and Phil Wang. This year, the latenight titan returns May 6 through 8 with David Letterman’s Gods of Comedy at the Montalban Theatre. Rising talent is out, classic Letterman conversation takes center stage, and an unannounced lineup of colossal names is set to delve deep and blow the minds of the audience in the process. —

MAY 6 SINBAD TRIBUTE SHOW YouTube Theater

For almost 20 years, Sinbad was inescapable: TV, movies, commercials, books, you name it. So when he retreated from public appearances after a stroke in October 2020, there was a Sinbad-sized hole that seemingly no one could fill. Who could be that affable? That funny? That warm? And all the time? It’s only right that a festival of this magnitude salute him for leaving such an indelible impression on pop culture. Hip-hop luminary Doug E. Fresh will host the Sinbad Tribute Show, with scheduled appearances by Deon Cole, D.L. Hughley, Byron Allen, Mark Curry and others. — D.M.B.

MAY 7 SETH ROGEN SMOKES THE BOWL Hollywood Bowl

The title alone is worth the price of admission for May 7’s Seth Rogen Smokes the Bowl variety benefit show at the open-air Hollywood Bowl. Huge bonuses: The host, Houseplant cannabis co-founder and co-head of the Hilarity for Charity nonprofit with wife Lauren Miller Rogen, also promises performances from 2022 Netflix fest veteran Snoop Dogg, Lil Dicky, Ronny Chieng, Janelle James and Ramy Youssef, plus crazy-big surprise guests, some sweet fireworks and all proceeds battling Alzheimer’s disease. “And you can smoke weed inside,” Rogen has explicitly clarified on social media. “They won’t kick you out!” — J.S.

85 SOUTH’S “FIVE ON IT”

YouTube Theater

Despite its roots in Atlanta, “85 South Show’s” trio of diabolically funny comedians — DC Young Fly, Karlous Miller and Chico Bean — are making L.A. a home away from home. The dynamic trio has garnered over 2 million organic subscribers on YouTube, more than half a billion independent views and over 150,000 live show tickets sold. Having recently slayed the crowds at Kia Forum, their next trip to Inglewood is sure to have fans at the YouTube Theater rolling in the aisles. Stepping on stage with a live band, DJ, couches and red cups full of booze, this blizzard of foolishly X-rated bits, dance moves and tipsy R&B crooning turns every show into one big house party. — N.J.

WOULD YOU BANG HIM? HOSTED BY RICH VOS & BONNIE McFARLANE

The Kookaburra Lounge Comedians, partners in marriage and co-hosts on the podcast “My Wife Hates Me” — Bonnie McFarlane and Rich Vos make a superb combination. They’re teaming up again on May 7 to play hosts on Would You Bang Him? This “Slut Shaming Comedy Game Show” is part stand-up, part roast and all good, harmless, sexist fun. Here’s how it works: male comedians perform stand-up for a panel of female comedians. After each set, the women decide (sometimes in graphic detail) if they would, in fact,

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