The 12 essential monologues of the season on the platforms

BarcelonaBeyond series and movies, platforms have also helped popularize monologues and comedy specials among viewers. These are some of the most highly rated, among various subgenres, that have been seen this season.

Sarah Silverman: 'Post mortem' (Netflix)

The death of her father serves as a springboard for Sarah Silverman to offer her most mature show, which buries – with forgiveness – that bold and graphic young style that has characterized her until now. In this piece that is more reflective than hilarious, the comedian continues to seek the audience's discomfort, as when she comments on the uncontrollability of her father's bodily functions just before dying, or the jokes she was able to make to her best friend seeing life slip away, demonstrating that texts are like pots. The special works more for those who already know Silverman and want to see a new profile of hers, rather than as an entry point for neophytes.

Trevor Noah: 'Joy in the trenches' (Netflix)

Trevor Noah, who hosted The daily show for seven years, offers one of the most openly anti-Trump pieces of this season. The comedian explains the mess he found himself in when – acting as host of the Grammy Awards – he made a joke implying that if the American president wants to keep Greenland, it's because he can no longer count on the island of the minor-sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This earned him a threat of a lawsuit (which has not materialized so far) and which Noah uses as the common thread of a highly politicized monologue, but which also delves into the difficulties in romantic relationships, as when an ex-partner asked him: “If you could change just one thing about me, what would it be?” Spoiler alert: it's a trick question.

Maria Rovira: 'The time of Oye Sherman' (3Cat)

The Catalan comedian plays two leagues at the same time: that of meticulous custom observation, with great acumen and culture, and the social commentary in which she denounces the manifestly improvable world that previous generations have bequeathed to millennials. This hour recorded within the framework of Cruïlla Comedy and purchased by 3Cat is also a journey through her biography, with a tender but also disenchanted look at her childhood. The humorist has always been one of the most polished and clean in the Catalan scene's writing, and in this show, she perfects the staging so that the jokes land at their precise rhythm.

Jerrod Carmichael: 'Don’t be gay' (HBO Max)

In 2022, Jerrod Carmichael took advantage of the comedy special Rothaniel, with an unusually intimate and delicate tone, to reveal to the world that he was gay. Four years later, he offers a new hour of comedy in which he explains the consequences of coming out as an African-American comedian. To complicate matters further, the fact that his partner was white also led to criticism from the black community. The new monologue is more conventional, with a cynical and uncomfortable tone, where he does not show himself as vulnerable and goes on the offensive to denounce homophobia, racism, the differences he detects between gay and heterosexual communities, and his complicated relationship with his mother, who is fervently religious.

'The roast of Kevin Hart' (Netflix)

It's not strictly a monologue, but it would be unfair to leave comedian Kevin Hart's roast off the list. Over almost three hours, and following a show structure with big guest stars, several comedians, both friends and enemies, review their careers with insults, reproaches, embarrassing anecdotes, and face-to-face contempt. It's a curious exercise to watch, because the roasts are the spaces where comedians let loose the most, as there's an unwritten rule that anything can be said there because it's among professionals, and therefore, no one will protest a cruel joke. And believe me, there are very cruel ones. Dwayne Johnson, Shane Gillis, Pete Davidson, Draymond Green, Tom Grady, or Regina Hall are just some of the celebrities who sign up to stir things up.

Patton Oswalt: 'Tea & Scotch' (YouTube)

An Emmy and Grammy Award-winning comedian and monologist, this is his tenth show, where he once again deploys a customary and everyday humor. Raising a child as they enter adolescence, cats that suddenly react as if there were a mysterious presence in the dining room, or letting yourself be swallowed by the junk content provided by the algorithm once it knows how to exploit your weaknesses are just some of the themes the comedian reviews. Tea & Scotch does not aim to be the avant-garde of anything, but Oswalt continues to show that, even in gags on popular topics, there are still classes depending on who executes the jokes.

Taylor Tomlinson: 'Prodigal Daughter'(Netflix)

Taylor Tomlinson's fourth special for Netflix maintains its autobiographical confession line. While previously this comedian and host of the late showAfter midnight had explained her mental health issues as a bipolar person or the discovery of her bisexuality, this time the starting point is her relationship with faith and religion, having been raised in a very devout family. In fact, the show was recorded in a church and there is a moment when she compares herself to the parish priest, because both of them make a living by keeping the audience captivated. The show, however, also deals with other topics, such as dating once you enter your thirties or the misadventures of trying to use a sleep assistant.

Josh Johnson: 'Symphony' (HBO Max)

One of the most prolific comedians on the American scene is Josh Johnson, who started uploading a video with new material to YouTube on a Tuesday in 2023 and has since been publishing a fresh sketch every week while doing collaborations or shows in comedy clubs. For HBO Max, he filmed this hour-long special in which different musical pieces serve as interludes. His humor is elegant, it seeks to make you think, and in this case, he faced the challenge of presenting a monologue that could last, he who is accustomed to the immediate response to current events (or, more specifically, to every Trump occurrence). Here there is a longer look and introspection – and a great narrative capacity – in exchange for sacrificing the political part.

Louis CK: 'Ridiculous' (Netflix)

Everyone greeted him as one of the most relevant and philosophical comedians of the moment until 2017, when he fell from grace when it became known that he had maintained inappropriate behavior, such as masturbating without consent in front of aspiring female comedians. During this decade he has survived off the platforms by doing shows and selling recordings of his performances on his website, but now Netflix has decided to rehabilitate him and has just added "Ridiculous", his latest show, to its catalog, which was seen in Barcelona last February at the Coliseum theater. Death, the most dire thoughts, physical decline – one of his recurring themes – and the admission of his elderly father into a nursing home are central to some of the most intense moments of this dark humor show in which he once again takes the viewer by the hand to lead them to uncomfortable territory and prove that he remains the most astute, brilliant, and hilarious.

Jordan Jensen: 'Take me with you' (Netflix)

One of the most celebrated emerging voices is Jordan Jensen, who in her first comedy special for Netflix reflects on the difficulty of meeting the standards that femininity demands, while also denouncing all the precautions that must be taken to avoid suffering sexual assault when one is open to dating strangers. If we add to this the reflection on neurodivergence, in this case from the perspective of ADHD, we have a fairly complete profile of a comedian whom many hail as a possible heir to Louis CK because her jokes, which are present and very funny, always have a background of nihilistic bitterness that elevates them above simple punchlines and gags.

Sarah Sherman: 'Live + In the flesh' (HBO Max)

One of the most powerful signings from the penultimate batch on Saturday Night Live is Sarah Sherman, who here offers a monologue with her alter ego of Sara Squirm. This secondary personality of hers is more confrontational, iconoclastic, grotesque, and scatological than the one that usually appears on the veteran television program. Bodily fluids, hemorrhoids, vaginal prostheses, and viscera are some of the ingredients of this lumpy gazpacho that Sherman prepares on stage. But beyond the provocative layer, her comedy includes an implicit critique of the oppression that women suffer in order to express themselves with the same rudeness as their male counterparts. That filmmaker John Waters – apostle of ugliness – makes a cameo there already indicates which comedy school this comedian belongs to: the most physical and direct.

Wanda Skyes: 'Legacy' (Netflix)

One of the comedy veterans reflects on aging and facing impending old age. Winner of an Emmy during her time as a writer for The Chris Rock Show, her show combines endearing personal anecdotes that reflect on mundane issues but which she is capable of elevating, as she does when talking about bathroom wipes, to political category and symptom of the cultural war that permeates everything. Skyes has acted in numerous films and series, and this is noticeable in the staging, as she knows how to make this hour of reflections and jokes flow with a great sense of tempo.