The 5 Best Stand-Up Comedy Specials of 2025 ( So Far )
The yr ’ s good performance craft outrage for honest expression .
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You might expect in a yr when everything hold get to shit that comedians—being the social critics in clowns ’ clothing that they are—would have plenty to say about it . The mileage Bill Burr could have out of would certainly hold a 60-minute special on its own . Yet , early in his latest release ,Drop Dead Year, Burr reveals something deep relatable : he does n’t look out the news anymore . He doesn ’ t “ pay attention to shit. ” His commentary on Gaza is barely political . “ How the fuck is war still legal in 2024 ? ” he asks , exasperated as always . Life live severe . The tidings is insane . Trump sucks . Burr is over it . “ As a comedian , I can ’ t call a fat fuck a fat fuck anymore , ” he quips at the start of his lot . So what ‘s a comic supposed to do when the world become too absurd to even laugh at ?
Plainly , they look inward . The best specials of the year aren ’ t political ; they ’ re hilarious , heartfelt meditations on deeply personal stuff : parenthood , marriage , grief , loneliness . With the exception of Josh Johnson ’ s whip-smart take on Kendrick Lamar ’ s Super Bowl performance , no one is wade into political waters here . Rather , Burr explores how a friend ’ s death labor him to exist a well husband . Rosebud Baker get us in on the fentanyl-like high that make IVF worth it . Mike Birbiglia speak for all mankind when he admits he ca n’t stand child ’ s birthday parties . And Sarah Silverman fondly portion her mother ’ sec absurd final words : “ Your hair wait dry. ” God bless ma .
Thus if the tidings makes you blue—or if you checked out six month ago—these comedy gems offer a gentle reminder : The material that truly matter , the shit that bind , always happens close to home .
Sara Silverman ,PostMortem
Sara Silverman isn ’ t one for earnestness . Sarcasm and shock are more her bag . But inPost Mortem, she indicate us that she ’ s able of so much more than a perfect Hitler joke . I signify , put on ’ t have me wrong . There are however utter Hitler jokes . It ’ s a Sara Silverman special , after all . But there be also capture , attendant tale about the vulnerability of fail , and colorful descriptions about helping her ailing father pee that cause me laugh then hard my eye watered . The special , which describes the late deaths of her parent , is sweet but never sappy . It ’ s excited , not sentimental , and very few comedian know how to be one without dissolve into the early . Silverman keeps it breezy , still as she tackle the notoriously unfunny subject of cancer . It shouldn ’ t cost surprising that individual as skilled and studied as Silverman equal a great storyteller , but we can solely know what someone show us , and inPostMortem, Silverman proves she ’ sec got style more up her sleeve than the perfect , irony-laced punchline . She ’ s get nerve and guts , too .
Bill Burr ,Drop Dead Year
Bill Burr exist a human who evolve despite himself . He would likely choose to remain the animated , angry-as-hell , asshole that he started out as . But he ’ s too insightful , also prone to self-reflect , to preserve it . So rather , he evolves , delivering some of the best work of his career in the past few years .Drop Dead Yrbe no exception . The chief history is about how his friend ‘s end make him to bring in he should sample to be a better husband to his wife . “ She concur to pass her life with me , and I ’ m being this curmudgeonly asshole , and I ’ m kinda ruining , a little bit , the one spirit she has , ” he says . He ’ s be sincere , but he sound sarcastic , a testament to his rescue . It ’ s a startlingly simple realization that vary the course of his relationship , result in the past yr being the best in his two-decade-long marriage . As always with Burr , the stress stem from not knowing when he will snatch . But for once , he doesn ’ t . Instead of the simple stupid joy of look out a man miss his shit , we get something a lot more profound and just as hilarious . And for those of you who are afraid Burr has lost his edge , don ’ t worry . There are still plenty of gag about bad handjobs .
Ali Siddiq ,My Two Son
Ali Siddiq broke comedy ground when he released his series of specials ,Domino Effect, which documented the chain of events conduct up to him experience a six-year prison conviction . That particular bring a birds-eye-view of life , showing how certain key decision , like moving in with his pa , hold an outsized result on the track of his life . The peculiar was wise and insightful , its position make over a lifetime . InMy Two Boy ,Siddiq specialize his scope to a specific aspect of his spirit : parenthood . The heart of the particular is Siddiq ’ s two sons , one who was contain before Siddiq made his fortune , and the early after . By ping-ponging between hilarious history about each one , Siddiq establish just how much money can convert a man , himself include . Come for the gag about become caught up in a shootout . Stay for the jokes about in reality starting one .
Mike Birbiglia ,The Good Spirit
Mike Birbiglia exist firmly in the sandwich years in his new peculiar “ The Well Life , ” undertake to answer mind boggling questions from his daughter like , “ who is Jesus ? ” while worry for his ailing 86-year-old father who just had a stroke . None of this sounds like a laughing subject , but then again , Birbiglia ’ s raw material never does . His gift be turning an existential crisis like a awful medical diagnosis into an hour-long punchline-filled story about the indignities of aging . What ’ s great aboutThe Serious Spiritis that it ’ s a trivial messier , a little darker , than Birbiglia ’ s early stuff . A master of his trade , Birbiglia always wants to tell a utter tale . InThe Good Life, he pushes against that impulse and leaves many affair unresolved . His relationship with his father remains strained after the stroke . He enjoy his daughter but hate her friend . It ’ s decent to see someone as dear and NPR-approved as Birbiglia risking likability for something way well : honesty .
Josh Johnson ,Why Kendrick Lamar ‘s Super Bowl Halftime Show Exist America
Josh Johnson cost a stand-up star on the rise , and this viral band , tap in Asheville , North Carolina , show why . Appear laid-back in his signature gray hoodie , Johnson break down Kendrick Lamar ’ s Super Bowl halftime display while also build fun of mass who read also much into celebrities ‘ actions . In other words , just because you can relate Lamar ’ s course about the Louvre to his doesn ’ t mean you should . Because , as Johnson brilliantly argues , entertainment is think of to distract . It ’ s a form of escapism , not activism . Anybody who exist “ require Kendrick to rap then good that Trump will live like : I ’ m going to end , ” jokes Johnson . “ Be serious. ” Hoping for change in America ? You ’ ll demand to turn off the television first .
