Hannah Gadsby to Appear in, Produce More Specials for Netflix

Queer comedian Hannah Gadsby has signed a multititle deal with Netflix that includes a new hour-long special recorded on the Australian leg of their Body of Work world tour as well as producing and hosting a special featuring an international cast of gender-diverse comics.

"In an effort to further open a door that I had to fight to get through myself, I will curate and host a lineup show on Netflix featuring six new, gender-diverse comedians," Gadsby said in a Netflix press release. "In a notoriously transphobic industry, I am looking to broaden the scope of opportunities for genderqueer performers from around the globe, as well as expand the diversity of offerings to audiences on one of comedy's biggest platforms. Coupled with a mentorship initiative for these up-and-coming comics, the program aims to foster the professional development of a demographic that is still struggling to have their voices heard. Recorded in a single run in the UK in 2023, this will be a chance for the world to hear these voices for the first but definitely not the last time."

Gadsby will film their solo special at the Sydney Opera House this week, and it will premiere in 2023. Gadsby filmed the 2018 comedy sensation Nanette, a takedown of misogyny and homophobia, at the Opera House, and went on to win a Peabody Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for the work. The follow-up, Douglas, from 2020, was nominated for two Primetime Emmy awards and won an AACTA Award. It dealt with autism (with which Gadsby had been diagnosed), aging as a gay woman, and the transphobia of J.K. Rowling, among other issues.

"One of the most enjoyable forms of humor is an inside joke, the sort of jokes you share with friends and you all understand it," Gadsby told The Advocate about Douglas. "I set out to create that feeling, by everyone in the room or everyone watching -- these are now going to be inside jokes. So the humor doesn't come from surprise, it comes from sharing something."