On December 29th, Netflix is bringing back their stand-up half hour series The Standups back for a third season. And they’ve got a brand new talent roster for the third go around.
This season, they’re featuring half hours from the following comedians:
Brian Simpson: A stand-up comedian based in Los Angeles, CA. His background as a foster child and Marine Corps veteran has led to a rare combination of life experiences that he manages to channel into a refreshingly unique point of view. Brian is a paid regular at the World-Famous Comedy Store, has been named a New Face 2021 at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, and recently made his TV debut on Comedy Central’s Lights Out with David Spade.
Naomi Ekperigin: An actor, stand-up comedian and writer who has appeared on TruTV, VH1, MTV, FX, and HBO. Her Comedy Central Half Hour special premiered October 2016 and you can watch it now on cc.com. Naomi has written for Comedy Central’s Broad City, Hulu’s Difficult People and NBC’s Great News. In 2017, she was listed as one of “10 Comedians You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone. A regular on the hit podcast 2 Dope Queens, you can watch her on episode four of the 2 Dope Queens HBO special on HBOGO and HBONow.
Mark Normand: Mark has done a One-Hour Comedy Central special “Don’t Be Yourself”, a Comedy Central HALF HOUR special, has appeared on TBS’s CONAN 6 times, Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Showtime’s “Live at SXSW”, INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, TruTv, Best Week Ever, MTv, Last Comic Standing, @Midnight and released an album with Comedy Central records titled Still Got It.
Janelle James: Janelle is a New York based comedian that can be seen on The Comedy Lineup on Netflix, Night Train with Wyatt Cenac (NBC/Seeso), @midnight (Comedy Central), Uproarious (Fuse) and Crashing (HBO). She was included in the Just For Laughs Montreal’s New Faces category for 2016, named one of The 50 Most Funny People in Brooklyn 2016 and has been featured for her outstanding performance ability in The New York Times, Portland Tribune and Time Out Magazine. Janelle’s debut comedy album, Black and Mild was released on September 29th, 2017 on Audible, iTunes, SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify and anywhere else the finest comedy is sold and streamed. Janelle recently wrapped as a staff writer on The Rundown (BET) after touring with Chris Rock on his Total Blackout tour.
Dusty Slay: Slay has become the youngest comedian to ever perform at the legendary Grand Ole Opry Stage in his adopted hometown of Nashville. The breakout comedian’s Comedy Central Stand-Up Featuring premiered on May 16, and he is also set for a second appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this summer. He’s also primed to appear live at Comedy Central’s Clusterfest 2019 in San Francisco, all continuing the momentum from previous sets on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Comic Standing, andLaughs on Fox; regular stints on The Bob & Tom Radio Show; and a host of live appearances across the country.
Melissa Villaseñor: Melissa Villaseñor is a stand-up comedian, actress, and impressionist who broke barriers by becoming the first-ever Latina cast member of Saturday Night Live. Melissa has voiced characters for Toy Story 4, Wreck It Ralph 2, Cartoon Network’s OK K.O.!, Fox’s American Dad and Family Guy. She has also filmed episodes for Comedy Central’s Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, HBO’s Crashing and Barry, Freeform’s Alone Together, and of course Saturday Night Live. Most recently, you can catch her as herself on Netflix’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and cat owner Karen in Netflix’s Hubie Halloween.
Melissa made her start as a semifinalist on “America’s Got Talent”, and has continued to tour internationally – headlining stand-up comedy clubs and theaters for the past 10 years.
Melissa has been named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 and Rolling Stone’s 50 Funniest People Right Now.
Each comic filmed a half hour set at Edison Ballroom in New York. And as these half hours (and even 15 minute specials) have been in the past sort of a trial run for other comics to get full hours on the streamer, hopefully we see some more of that happening here, too!
Season three The Standups debuts on December 29th.
