Hannah Gadsby is returning to the Netflix fold – nearly twelve months after slamming Co-CEO Ted Sarandos and calling the streamer an “amoral algorithm cult”.
The comedian has signed a multi-title deal with the company that includes a new hour-long special and a multi-comic special.
Netflix previously released Gadsby’s Nanette, which won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special in 2018 as well as the follow-up Douglas, which was also Emmy nominated.
The new special is being recorded on Australian leg of the Body of Work world tour, which focuses on romance and Gadsby’s recent marriage to producer Jenney Shamash. It will be recorded this week at the Sydney Opera House and premiere in 2023.
Gadsby will also produce and host multi-comic special featuring an international cast of comedians. Other comedians such as Pete Davidson have done similar deals with projects such as Pete Davidson Presents: The Best Friends.
The move is somewhat of a surprise given that Gadsby was drawn into the commotion surrounding Dave Chappelle’s controversial special The Closer last year.
Gadsby was name-checked in Sarandos’ internal memo defending Chappelle’s special, but soon responded.
“Hey Ted Sarandos! Just a quick note to let you know that I would prefer if you didn’t drag my name into your mess,” she wrote. “Now I have to deal with even more of the hate and anger that Dave Chappelle’s fans like to unleash on me every time Dave gets 20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial world view. You didn’t pay me nearly enough to deal with the real world consequences of the hate speech dog whistling you refuse to acknowledge, Ted. F**k you and your amoral algorithm cult… I do sh*ts with more back bone than you. That’s just a joke! I definitely didn’t cross a line because you just told the world there isn’t one.”
It seems Sarandos and Gadsby may have buried the incident, presumably with the former paying up.
Gadsby’s quote on the deal addresses the “notoriously transphobic industry” but says that the multi-comic special, which will be recorded in a single run in London next year, “will be a chance for the world to hear these voices for the first, but definitely not the last, time”.
Gadsby said, “In an effort to further open a door that I had to fight to get through myself, I will curate and host a line-up show on Netflix featuring six new, gender-diverse comedians. In a notoriously transphobic industry, I am looking to broaden the scope of opportunities for genderqueer performers from around the globe, as well as expand the diversity of offerings to audiences on one of comedy’s biggest platforms. Coupled with a mentorship initiative for these up-and-coming comics, the program aims to foster the professional development of a demographic that is still struggling to have their voices heard.”
