Since the dawn of television, comedians have been around to bring the funny, but comedy greats don’t always have broad appeal. If you’re looking for some of the more divisive or perhaps cutting edge comedy programs out there, this isn’t the list for you. Instead I wanted to put together a list of programs both the critics and audiences can agree on, which means some names like Ricky Gervais – whom critics notably hate but audiences still love – did not make the final roundup.
Nor did some who received audience love but not much notice from critics on an aggregator, given critics roundups are still a relatively new concept. (My apologies to Patrice O'Neal and George Carlin!) I know it doesn’t happen totally often, but here’s a list of comedy specials in the modern era which both critics and audiences can agree are worth throwing on. There’s some greats that came around long before the Rotten Tomatoes era, and plenty more that comedy lovers enjoy but critics often ignore.
Regardless, when there’s overlap amidst both groups, you can find some names with broad appeal. Bo Burnham: Inside Bo Burnham’s 2021 musical comedy special was filmed and taped during the COVID pandemic, and as such it has a very different feel than most other comedy specials. That’s a good thing, as both audiences and critics are bullish on the Netflix original.
It also has one of the most similar audience and critics scores, with critics weighing in at 93% and 95% respectively. Ramy You.