With more time at home than ever and a neverending watchlist, sometimes what you need is a guaranteed joyride. The world of standup comedy offers shorter specials, incisive satire on whichever mind-boggling moment of history we're living through.
To distract from the daily news or just let yourself chuckle a bit, here's the best comedy specials to seek out on Netflix – from Bo Burnham to James Acaster and Amy Schumer.
You might remember Ali Wong from last year's romcom hit Always Be My Maybe, but her second stand-up special offers a stunning look at her comedy talent.
After Baby Cobra, which Wong also performed while pregnant, Hard Knock Wife picks up two years later with another child on the way. The comedian has been praised as "a comic genius" and "a new gold standard" of standup. You'd be a fool to miss it.
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Not so dissimilar to Wong's sensibilities while coming from an entirely different set of circumstances, Amy Schumer's Growing gives an incisive and personal special on marriage and motherhood.
And if you like the sound of this – catch up with Schumer's film debut as writer and star in Trainwreck, directed by Judd Apatow. It's also available to stream on Netflix now.
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Bo Burnham made a name for himself making YouTube videos in his bedroom as a teenager before vlogging really took off.
With Make Happy, his third comedy special, Burnham fully embraces the scope of the stage with a cinematic light and sound show, as well as all of his trademark musical neuroses.
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Perhaps you know him better as Childish Gambino, or maybe as the main character in Atlanta – Donald Glover is a man of many talents.
In his 2012 comedy special Weirdo, the polymath offers a joyride of an hour with eccentric stories of youth, before he became the superstar we know today.
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It took the world by storm and reshaped the possibilities of standup comedy in 2018: Hannah Gadsby's latest special, Nanette, is as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.
Aiming to explain why Gadsby no longer wishes to do stand-up, the show dismantles prejudice and opens up with confessions about breaking down, and building herself back up even better.
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Perhaps one of our most awkward national treasures, James Acaster has been a household name on the Fringe circuit for years. You might have caught him on Celebrity Bake Off last March – now's the time to see where all that humour came from.
Repertoire sees Acaster reflect on the mundane and the mad in a four-part series: Recognise, Represent, Reset and Recap. The primary colours suit Acaster's deadpan tone, full of cut-glass observations about daily life.
John Mulaney never fails to impress with his solo standup specials (our pick would be The Comeback Kid), but with John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch, the comedian made a family-friendly variety show.
The sketches feature special guests including Richard Kind, David Byrne and Jake Gyllenhaal, as well as a crop of supremely talented kids, with the show being masterfully orchestrated by Mulaney himself. Perfect cheerful viewing for the whole family.
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Late-night regular and GLOW actor Marc Maron has been in the business since the 1990s, and his sense of humour keeps growing sharper. In End Times Fun, the comedian aptly reflects on apocalyptic matters with an acerbic eye.
Poking fun at Marvel fans as much as US politicians, Maron's wry brand of comedy is infectious, his storytelling whip-smart and entirely absorbing – a million miles away from today's news reports.
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Buzzcocks veteran Simon Amstell has been edging back into the limelight in the last couple of years, first with his humbly gorgeous debut feature Benjamin, then with an equally sensitive standup special, Set Free.
Amstell has always been one for introspection, beyond his mandatory jabs at fellow comedians and guest stars. But Set Free goes further and lets the comedian feel his way through buried insecurities with an open heart to his audience.
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There's never any chance of missing Tiffany Haddish – the actor and comedian is one of the boisterous and charismatic screen presences around.
In Black Mitzvah, Haddish explores her Jewish roots, tracing back to her father's history. The special first premiered on her 40th birthday, and coincided with her very first bat mitzvah.
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