The very best in stand-up comedy to stream

Remember the days when if you wanted to watch some top-notch stand-up comedy, you had to get up off your sofa, walk over to the DVD cabinet, select a disc and pop it in the player? Dark, dark times. Now? It’s all laughs, no waiting. Just press a couple of buttons – or even use voice command if you’re feeling fancy – and a veritable battalion of comics will appear on your screen, ready to provide titters on tap.

And two huge names on the US comedy scene have new specials just waiting to entertain you right now. Marc Maron is probably best known for his hugely popular and influential podcast WTF, which he brought to an end recently, but as well as an actor (GLOW, The Order, the new Bruce Springsteen biopic) he’s also a successful and much-admired stand-up. You can watch his new special Panicked now in Sky Comedy on demand.

In Panicked, Maron – who’s recently been speaking out against “anti-woke” comedians who use freedom of speech as a pretext for being gratuitously offensive – offers thoughtful, nuanced and penetrating opinions on modern society. He also delves into his own recent experiences, including bereavement, ageing and having to leave his home in the California wildfires. It’s all about how we deal with life, and Maron’s compassion shines through alongside his razor wit.

Michelle Wolf similarly turns a sharp eye on the foibles of society, but her riffs often take a more surreal route, while being no less lacerating. Although she’d been a successful comedian for years, she hit the headlines for an uproarious speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner during the first Trump administration, and has been in demand ever since including a topical talk show on Netflix. And Apps > Netflix is where you will now find her second Netflix special, The Well.

Now based between Spain and the UK, Wolf performed at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe while heavily pregnant, and The Well has plenty to say about motherhood, misogyny and womanhood in general, as well as race, sexuality and self-image. Mischievous, pointed and never predictable, Wolf is a genuine one-off on the comedy scene.

Want more laughs? If ever you’re in need of a comedy hit, here’s a positive cornucopia of comic goodness on Virgin TV. We’ve picked some of our favourite recent specials available to stream now.

Stream it in On Demand > Sky Comedy

Following her rise to success and TV near-ubiquity, Appraisal is Adam’s attempt at taking stock of her life and career so far. Is she right not to have children? Would she be better off with a “grown-up job”? And the biggest question of all: is she justified in calling herself a comedian? It’s a homecoming for the Yorkshirewoman, filmed in her hometown of Harrogate, and a triumphant one.

Stream it in Apps > Netflix

Brady takes a meandering journey through her past, covering work, relationships, religion and neurodivergence, in a show that’s as revelatory as it is witty. Fans of her award-winning memoir Strong Female Character will find plenty to enjoy in this special filmed in Bristol.

Stream it in On Demand > Sky Comedy

Whether she’s detailing her unusual upbringing in Hull or getting into awkward situations like a Butler in the Buff booking gone wrong, Beaumont mines her unconventional life for laughs both bizarre and emotional. In a set delivered standing stock-still behind the microphone, not an ounce of energy is wasted on anything but jokes.

Stream it in On Demand > Sky Comedy

Lee has spent his career pulling apart the mechanics of stand-up comedy while always delivering plenty of laughs. In this brand new show, recorded at the Lowry in Salford, he outdoes himself by attempting to define by example just what stand-up comedy is, and concludes that what he does isn’t it.

Stream it in On Demand > Sky Comedy

In lockdown, stand-up comedian James Acaster discovered that he didn’t like doing stand-up comedy. So what to do next? The answer is this utterly original special in which Acaster, as the title suggests, invites the audience to shout at him in an attempt to overcome his fear of being heckled. This keeps Acaster on his toes, allowing him to demonstrate his agile comic mind, while still delivering an insightful message about self-knowledge. Unique and uproarious.

Stream it in Apps > ITVX

Alasdair Beckett-King is hard to miss: not just because of his long ginger hair and beard that make him look like a Viking painted by Titian, but because he’s all over social media – which has helped his career skyrocket. Nevermore contains multitudes, from puns and daft gags and to visual and musical jokes, establishing ABK as a multi-faceted comedian with a wide scope and a deft touch.

Stream it in Apps > Netflix

The former Daily Show host has been off travelling the world and he’s back in the US to tell a Detroit audience all about it, from derailing a German sightseeing tour to getting roasted in Paris, in this Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated special.

Stream it in On Demand > Sky Comedy

Widdicombe seals his position as one of the most appealing and reliably funny comics working today. Whether it’s advent calendars, weddings, pesto or the closing time of his local park, the Devonian comic finds something to complain about – hilariously – in this post-Covid show that was filmed at the legendary London Palladium.

Stream it in Apps > Netflix

Taskmaster champion, creator and star of the excellent TV series Feel Good, Martin takes to the stand-up stage and nails that too. These stories of growing up unconventional in suburban Canada alternate between sad, uplifting and raucously funny, and somehow there’s a mythical moose involved too.

Stream it in Apps > Netflix

Beef star Ali Wong was pregnant during one Netflix special and tackled the challenges of monogamy in another. Now her fourth show for the streamer deals with the fallout from her divorce, laying bare the highs, lows and surprises of her return to dating. Expect a no-holds-barred kiss and tell.

Stream it in On Demand > Sky Comedy

Another Taskmaster alumnus, John Kearns has a brand of surreal stand-up that may be a surprise to anyone who watched him on the Channel 4 show. He’s won countless awards for his craft and is the only comedian to have been awarded Best Newcomer and then Best Show in consecutive years at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, so you know you’re in for a good time.

Stream it in Apps > Netflix

Wang returns for his second Netflix special. While his material doesn’t verge on “edgy” exactly – here he riffs on reheated rice, octopus intelligence, the importance of fact-checking and his observations on British people saying “touch wood” – he remains hugely funny and a master of his craft.

Stream it in Apps > ITVX

He’s finally moved out of his parents’ house and it’s a whole new world for the spiffily dressed comic. From vegetable patches and department stores to the niceties of entertaining friends with children, the acerbic Allen is learning fast.

Stream it in Apps > ITVX

Musical comedy can be tricky but Rachel Parris absolutely nails it in her latest special, with precise and jaunty tunes the perfect delivery system for her acerbic observations on life as she approaches middle age. Polished and penetrating, the former The Mash Report host is equally at home when lacerating the incompetence of politicians and musing on her role as a stepmother.

Stream it in Apps > BBC iPlayer

The self-described “out-of-breath former PE teacher”  doesn’t pretend to offer cutting-edge, groundbreaking comedy. Instead, Throwback (as the name suggests) is part nostalgia, part an attempt to bring a certain form of traditional but non-toxic masculinity into the present day – much like Mammoth, the BBC sitcom Bubbins created and stars in. In front of a hometown crowd in Cardiff, he never suggests everything was perfect in the old days but has a genuine enthusiasm for blast from the past, including his wardrobe, and is such a likeable presence that it’s a pleasure to laugh along.

Stream it in On Demand > Sky Comedy

Gen Z comic Reich asks such searching questions as “Am I hot?”, “Is this helping?” and “No offence guys but literally what is going on?” in this special filmed in east London. Expect songs, anecdotes and bewildering non sequiturs as Reich takes pains to raise social awareness about… something.

Stream it in Apps > Channel 4

Between semi-slapsticky physical comedy and outrageous musical numbers, there’s something almost old-fashioned about Jordan Gray’s stage routine. But that doesn’t extend to the material, in which Gray skewers bigots, mocks the culture wars and talks about her experience as a transgender woman. A show that’s as funny as it is genuinely groundbreaking, this could change hearts and minds.

Stream it in Apps > BBC iPlayer

If you don’t mind a bit of reading while enjoying your comedy, you’ll love Elis James’s recent Welsh-language show, filmed in his hometown of Carmarthen and available on iPlayer with English subtitles. (Of course, don’t worry about those if you’re a Welsh speaker…) The easy-going James is one of the UK’s best observational comics and he delights his audience with material about growing up in Wales, although his flights of whimsy often take him down unexpected paths.

Best stand-up specials to stream on Sky Comedy
In Sky Comedy on Demand

• Alan Carr: Regional Trinket

• Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night Of Your Life

• Chris Ramsey: Live From London

• Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel

• Katherine Ryan: Missus

• Micky Flanagan: If We Ever Needed It

• Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die

• Nish Kumar: Your Power, Your Control

• Paul Chowdhry: Family-Friendly Comedian

• Rob Beckett: Wallop

• Rose Matafeo: On And On And On

• Tom Davis: Underdog

Best stand-up specials to stream on Netflix
In Apps > Netflix

• Bo Burnham: Inside

• Chelsea Handler: The Feeling

• Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval

• Hannah Gadsby: Something Special 

• James Acaster: Repertoire

• Jordan Jensen: Take Me With You

• Katherine Ryan: In Trouble

• Mo Amer: Wild World

• Mo Gilligan: There’s Mo To Life

• Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang

• Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Special

• Romesh Ranganathan: The Cynic

• Rosebud Baker: The Mother Lode

• Sarah Silverman: Postmortem

• Simon Amstell: Set Free

• Taylor Tomlinson: Have It All

Best stand-up specials to stream on ITVX
In Apps > ITVX

• Angela Barnes: Hot Mess

• Jason Byrne: The Ironic Bionic Man

• Jo Caulfield: Here Comes Trouble

• Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Hysterical Woman

• Lloyd Griffith: One Tonne Of Fun

• Marcus Brigstocke: Absolute Shower

• Milton Jones: Milton Impossible

• Paul Sinha: Shout Out To My Ex

• Rajiv Karia: Gallivant

• Tommy Tiernan: Under The Influence

• Zoe Lyons: Entry Level Human

Best stand-up specials to stream on BBC iPlayer
In Apps > BBC iPlayer

• Dawn French: Dawn French Is A Huge Tw*t

• Janey Godley: Still Got It

• Kevin Bridges: The Overdue Catch-up

• Live At The Apollo

• Paul Black: Nostalgia

• Scotland Stands Up

• Stand-Up From The Sunflower 

• Susie McCabe: Femme Fatality

Best stand-up specials to stream on Prime Video
In Apps > Prime Video

• Aaron Chen: If Weren't Filmed, Nobody Would Believe

• Ahmed Ahmed: It Only Takes One Of Us

• Helen Hong: Well Hong

• Jenny Slate: Seasoned Professional

• Jimmy O Yang: Guess How Much?

• Maria Bamford: Local Act

• Rhys Darby: Mystic Time Bird

• Rob Delaney: Jackie 

• Stewart Lee: Snowflake/Tornado

• Tommy Tiernan: Tomfoolery

• Looking for more from ITVX? Here’s our pick of the best shows on the streamer and how to watch ITVX on Virgin TV

• Looking for something on Netflix? Try our monthly guide to new releases, plus how to watch Netflix on Virgin TV, here

• Looking for more to stream? We’ve got a monthly guide to the best on Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Channel 4 and more