The Best Comedy Specials to Stream This Month (Critic’s Picks)

The nights are getting longer, the days are getting colder, and the holidays draw near. Now, more than ever, you need the warming balm of laughter, and we’ve got you covered: two established voices this time out and two you may not know, presented in alphabetical order.

Leslie Jones and Michelle Wolf, of course, are famous for their funny. Both of them worked as writers on their way up (Jones at Saturday Night Live before stepping in front of the camera for five seasons and Wolf at Late Night With Seth Meyers and The Daily Show).

Both of their recent specials begin backstage by noting just how seriously they take their craft. We see Jones pregaming with some smoke before delivering a no-holds-barred set that she’s been working on for two years, while Wolfe is shown alone in her dressing room pen in hand, still fine tuning her material.

As for Adam Pally, you probably recognize him — he’s that guy! famous from his near-decade of network sitcom work (three seasons of Happy Endings and five of The Mindy Project) — but he’s not really a stand-up. That’s actually part of the point of An Intimate Evening With Adam Pally, which unfolds as a mockumentary of his attempt at mixing songs and jokes.

And while Frankie Quiñones’ Damn That’s Crazy isn’t exactly his debut special, it might as well be, since 2021’s HBO half-hour Superhomies had its flow broken up by sketches featuring the characters that brought him viral fame nearly a decade ago. Some of the material from Superhomies turns up in his new hour, but it’s related in a warmer, more inclusive, and more masterful way.

Read more below about Billboard‘s favorite comedy specials to stream from the month that was.