Amazon launching four new comedy specials the week after its first Amazon Originals special in August

A year after Amazon Prime Video announced its intentions to compete for stand-up comedy by filming New Faces at Montreal’s Just For Laughs, the plan is starting to become clearer.

The first Amazon Originals stand-up special, Jim Gaffigan; Quality Time, will premiere Aug. 16, 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic6-e_WquCs

The following Friday, Aug. 23, Amazon Originals will throw down four more new stand-up specials: Alonzo Bodden, #IMomSoHard, Alice Wetterlund, and Mike E. Winfield.

In Alonzo Bodden: Heavy Lightweight, Bodden isn’t afraid to talk about everything: from topics like slavery to cell phones, the #MeToo Movement to millennials, Kanye to Taco Bell and a little bit about Israel too. A regular panel member on NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, Bodden has been making audiences around the country laugh for more than 20 years. Since his win on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, he has starred in two comedy specials for Showtime: Historically Incorrect and Who’s Paying Attention, and has made appearances on series including ABC’s Dr. Ken and Fresh Off the Boat, Dr. Phil, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.Last year, he released his fifth comedy CD titled Man Overboard, and currently hosts the podcast Who’s Paying Attention? Produced by Comedy Dynamics and directed by Devon Shepard. Executive Producers include Cisco Henson, Ian Arougheti and Brian Volk-Weiss.

#IMomSoHardLIVE will feature Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley of the viral web series #IMOMSOHARD, filmed live at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, WI. The two share their honest and self-effacing humor on topics ranging from friendship, periods, sex after marriage, body image and their failures at parenting. Combining stand-up, improvisation, the audience’s own purses, and wine, the high-energy show unites their almost entirely female audience in a collective sigh of relief and uproarious laughter, because, hey: You’re not in this alone, ladies. Jen and Kristin will be your best friends, because you need friends to survive motherhood. #IMOMSOHARD has 2 million followers and over 200 million views across all platforms. Hensley and Smedley’s book, #IMomSoHard (HarperCollins) was released in April 2019 and has hit The New York Times’ Best Sellers List. They have recently embarked on their third nationwide stand-up tour. Produced by Comedy Dynamics, directed by Brian Volk-Weiss, and executive produced by Cisco Henson.

Alice Wetterlund: My Mama Is A Human and So Am I is Wetterlund’s first stand-up special. Follow the comedian/actor as she recounts her struggles with peeping toms, cat-rearing, alcoholism and the secret alien conspiracy behind New Country music in her breakout comedy special. Best known for her scene-stealing roles in HBO’s Silicon Valley and the comedy ensemble film Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Wetterlund shines in this tour de force hour-long special taped at the Gothic Theater in Denver, CO. Produced by Comedy Dynamics and directed by Brian Volk-Weiss. Cisco Henson, Olivia Gerke, and Michael Rotenberg serve as Executive Producers.

Mike E. Winfield: StepMan is the newest special from the stand-up comedian, actor, creator and rising star. He can be seen in the Netflix comedy special Brad Paisley’s Comedy Rodeo and the feature film Pimp alongside Keke Palmer. It announced earlier this year that Winfield beat out over 1,600 comedians to win the NBC Annual Stand-Up Comedy Competition. Produced by Comedy Dynamics and directed by Brian Volk-Weiss. Executive Producers are Cisco Henson and TJ Markwalter.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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