CHRIS ROCK HITS BACK
STAND-UP COMEDIAN TO ADDRESS OSCAR INCIDENT SATURDAY IN NETFLIX’S FIRST-EVER LIVESTREAMED SPECIAL
Chris Rock’s livestreamed performance Saturday from the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, “Selective Outrage,” will be the first of its kind on Netflix. Promising “an entire evening of live entertainment from some of the world’s funniest comedians,” Netflix this week announced that Rock’s comedy special will be bookended by pre- and post-show streams from The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
“March 4 will be a hilarious evening, with an incredible set from Chris Rock — one of the greatest stand-ups of all-time — and contributions from an amazing lineup of special guests,” said Robbie Praw, Netflix’s vice president of stand-up and comedy formats, in a statement.
Tickets to see the show in person went on sale in January and sold out the following day. Here’s how and when to watch the event from home.
Before the show
At 6:20 p.m. Saturday (Pacific time), Netflix members will see a red “Watch Live” button on the streaming service’s home screen. Users will be taken to a waiting room before the pre-show, titled “The Show Before the Show,” which starts at 6:30 p.m.
The preshow will be hosted by Ronnie Chieng and will star Amy Schumer, Cedric the Entertainer, Ice-T, Jerry Seinfeld, Paul McCartney, Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes. The half-hour block will include live commentary and messages from Rock’s friends and fellow comedians.
The pre- and post-show will air Saturday only and cannot be watched afterward, according to Netflix.
The main event
Rock’s special will stream live from the Hippodrome starting at 7 p.m. Those
who join late on Netflix can opt to play from the beginning or start watching from where the livestream currently is. They will also be able to rewind, pause and jump to the livestream.
“Selective Outrage” is Rock’s second comedy special on Netflix, but the performance is the first special to premiere live on the streaming service — where there will be no television-standard broadcast
delay to edit out profanity and mistakes.
Rock tested out his chops in Baltimore when he performed at the Hippodrome last week. During the set, part of the funnyman’s “Ego Death Tour,” Rock opened up about the infamous slap at the 94th Academy Awards, which he has remarked upon only briefly since the March 2022 encounter with Will Smith.
The “Selective Outrage”
special will be available for streaming after the initial livestream, according to Netflix.
The after-party
Rock’s special will be immediately followed by “The Show After the Show,” hosted by David Spade and Dana Carvey, who will be joined by their fellow “Saturday Night Live” alumnus J.B. Smoove and six-time NBA Most Valuable
Player Kareem AbdulJabbar as guest stars.
The post-show will also be streamed from The Comedy Store in Los Angeles and won’t be available after Saturday. Both the pre- and postshow will be produced by Den of Thieves, directed by Joe DeMaio, and executive-produced by Jill Leiderman and Den of Thieves’ Jared Morell.
“A Little White Lie”: Handyman Shriver (Michael Shannon) lives the life of a hermit: He shares his small New York apartment with a cat, is always depressed and doesn’t even own a credit card. He also happens to share the last name of a famously reclusive author, who left the spotlight 25 years ago after writing one acclaimed novel. (Conveniently, only one shadowy photo of him exists.) So when literature professor Simone Cleary (Kate Hudson) — who has been casting a wide net to find the author, writing to anyone with his name — gets a letter accepting her invitation to speak at her university, what an opportunity for a mix-up. Based on a 2013 novel by Chris Belden, the film appears to be a familiar tale of mistaken identity, but writer-director Michael Maren puts us inside Shriver’s head, as the supposed author struggles to separate reality from imagination.
R. Available on multiple streaming platforms. 1 hour, 41 minutes.
“The Donor Party”: Malin Akerman plays a single woman whose desire to become a mother leads her to resort to subterfuge in her search for a sperm donor in a comedy that also stars Jerry O’Connell and Rob Corddry. Not rated. Available on multiple streaming platforms. 1 hour, 33 minutes. “Daisy Jones & the Six”: Amazon has adapted the bestselling novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid into a limited series. Riley Keough and Sam Claflin star as the lead singers of a 1970s rock band who make beautiful music together but behind the scenes are either at each other’s throats or trying to fight their feelings. The story charts the band’s early days, fame and abrupt breakup with flashforwards to older versions of the characters looking back on the story. Reese Witherspoon’s media company, Hello Sunshine, executive produces. 16+. Available on Amazon Prime Video.