Netflix announces new comedy releases
Video streaming service Netflix has announced further plans to create and air exclusive comedy content.
A new animation by Simpsons creator Matt Groening, and a new series of Charlie Brooker’s black comedy Black Mirror are in the pipelines, with release dates for several other comedies and stand-up specials also being revealed this week.
Variety magazine reported that Groening is in talks to create a new animated comedy for the streaming service, with Netflix considering two 10 episode series off the bat to help spread the initial costs of creating an animated series.
A new series from Groening, who remains an executive producer on The Simpsons which is now in its 27th series, would be the third original animation produced by Netflix, following BoJack Horseman and F Is for Family.
Also announced this week is the cast for the first episode of Black Mirror’s new series.
Following its shift from Channel 4, Black Mirror’s third series will feature Doctor Who’s Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis in one of twelve episodes produced for Netflix.
As of yet, plans to air the series in the UK and Ireland are still being confirmed, as the programme was originally created for Channel 4.
Brooker said of the move: “Netflix connects us with a global audience so that we can create bigger, stranger, more international and diverse stories than before, while maintaining that Black Mirror feel. I just hope none of these new story ideas come true.”
Several other Netflix originals are also set to return this year, with the second series of Tina Fey’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to air globally on 15 April.
Grace and Frankie, starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin will also return for a second series on 6 May.
The service has also revealed air dates for several stand-up specials, including the new show from Jimmy Carr.
Carr will be the first British comic to release an original show for Netflix when Funny Business airs on 18 March. Carr opted not to release the show, filmed at Hammersmith Apollo last November, on DVD last year for the first time, instead selling the rights to the streaming giant.
Carr joins several US comics who have recorded shows exclusively for Netflix, with Hannibal Buress’s Comedy Camisado being released on 5 February, followed by Theo Von’s No Offense on 26 February, and Patton Oswalt’s Talking for Clapping on 22 April.
