From Edi Patterson’s wild improv to the star-studded Roast of Kevin Hart, this is the best of Netflix Is A Joke Fest 2026.
Attending the Netflix Is A Joke Fest 2026 was a whirlwind of late-night laughs.
Netflix Is A Joke 2026 Exprience
Being provided tickets to a variety of shows throughout the week turned Los Angeles into a comedy playground, and I was lucky enough to witness everything from intimate storytelling to massive arena roasts.
Here is the breakdown of my jam-packed week with some of the best minds in the business.
Edi Patterson: Playgirl
As a massive fan of Edi’s work – especially her scene-stealing moments in The Righteous Gemstones – I was buzzing with anticipation for Playgirl. This show is a breath of fresh air in the comedy scene. It isn’t traditional stand-up or even typical improv. Edi takes a few random suggestions from the crowd and constructs a full-length play on the spot, portraying every single character herself.
For our night, the audience suggested a retirement home setting, a character named De’Jante, and a three-foot-tall statue of Charlie Chaplin. The result was a play titled Don’t Count Your Horses.
I went in expecting fun, but I got so much more than that. Edi is a comedy genius whose brain seems to operate on a higher frequency than the rest of us. It was fascinating to watch wild plot points physically manifest in her expressions before she even spoke them. She managed to maintain a straight face through the most absurd moments, even as the room was exploding in laughter.
Because the show is entirely improvised, no two nights are the same, making it the kind of performance you could see multiple times and never get bored. If you have the chance to see Playgirl, do not hesitate.
Kevin Smith
I have always had a soft spot for Kevin Smith, but seeing him live is a completely different experience than watching his films. He didn’t come out with a tight set of setup-punchline jokes. Instead, he basically just talked to us for nearly two hours. It felt less like a performance and more like hanging out with that one hilarious friend who has the most insane life updates. He focused on stories about things that have happened to him recently, and his self-deprecating, honest delivery had me laughing far more than I ever expected.
He has this way of making the mundane feel cinematic and the cinematic feel relatable. Even though he isn’t doing stand-up in the traditional sense, his timing is impeccable. I found myself completely leaned in, hanging on every word of his tangents. It was a relaxed, high-energy set that I will not soon forget.
Jimmy O. Yang & Friends
Jimmy O. Yang has been a favorite of mine since his Silicon Valley days, so I was thrilled to see him testing out new material. However, the night took a weird turn early on. Despite a clear 21+ notice on the website, a thirteen-year-old kid was sitting right in the front row with his dad. This kid was a total wildcard – he was messing with the opening comics, telling people the man with him was his uncle, and then claiming he didn’t know the guy at all. It was a bit distracting, and I found myself thinking, Hey kid, leave the comedy to the professionals.
While the openers seemed a bit rattled by the presence of a middle-schooler, Jimmy was a total pro. He didn’t let the awkward situation derail his set or soften his edge. He performed exactly the material he wanted to do.
I was pleasantly surprised that he gave us well over an hour of stand-up as he worked through bits for a potential new special. I haven’t laughed that consistently for that long in a very long time. It was the exact kind of night I needed, and seeing Jimmy’s process of refining new jokes was a true highlight of the festival.
The Roast of Kevin Hart
Closing out a week of comedy with The Roast of Kevin Hart at the Kia Forum was an unforgettable experience. Even though the event was streaming live on Netflix, being in that massive room changed the energy entirely. The dais was packed with heavy hitters, and while a few performances felt like they could have been trimmed, the heavyweights absolutely crushed.
Pete Davidson, Katt Williams, Jeff Ross, Chelsea Handler, and Tom Brady, were the standouts for me. Hearing them relentlessly tear into Kevin – and each other – was pure, unfiltered joy.
I’ve always liked Kevin Hart’s work, but there is something uniquely satisfying about watching a global superstar get taken down a few pegs by his peers. The show ran for about three and a half hours, and while there were some segments that dragged a bit, the high points were astronomical.
There were several unannounced surprises that sent the crowd into a frenzy. It was a marathon of insults and ego-bruising that served as the perfect finale to my festival experience. Now that it’s over, I’m honestly just glad I can go back and relive the best burns on Netflix whenever I want.
