Comedian Ralph Barbosa is the latest to ink a deal for a new special with Hulu. He joins Hacks scribe Joe Mande, whose new hour we were first to report on yesterday, amidst the streamer’s aggressive expansion into the stand-up space.
Barbosa’s currently untitled special will launch domestically on Hulu and Disney+ internationally at a date not yet disclosed. No other details were provided.
Barbosa is coming off of the Netflix special Ralph Barbosa: Cowabunga, which spent two weeks on the streamer’s Top 10 chart in the fall of 2023, debuting at #3. Previously teaming with Gwen La Roka on the Max comedy special, Entre Nos: The Winners 3, he’s also put out a set for the digital series Comedy Central Stand-Up Featuring, which has topped 5.7 million views on YouTube, and unveiled a Don’t Tell Comedy performance, which now has over 6.1 million views on the same platform.
Known for his disarming and laid-back style, Barbosa has been touring North American theaters this year with his Super Cool Ass Tour.
Hulu’s new stand-up brand, Hularious, launches on November 22 with The Skinny, the latest special from Jim Gaffigan, the trailer for which you can view at the link above. Other previously announced comedians bringing new specials to Hulu under the Hularious banner include Bill Burr, Chris Distefano, Ilana Glazer, Sebastian Maniscalco, Andrew Santino, and Roy Wood Jr., to name just a few.
As part of its new comedy initiative, Hulu is also launching a curated collection of licensed stand-up specials ranging from iconic comedy specials to recent releases from 800 Pound Gorilla and Comedy Dynamics, among others.
