Distributors Should Be Amplifiers, Not Just Gatekeepers
How Netflix’s "Kill Tony" deal proves I'm not completely full of shit over here.
Hello and welcome to the 6 new subscribers since my last few emails, where I commented on the proliferation of longer Instagram Reels, and clownsplained why Shane Gillis’s SNL monologue felt so weird.
Five months ago, I wrote a piece1 on the heels of Netflix announcing a new, weekly, live talk show hosted by John Mulaney. In it, I basically accused Netflix’s live comedy greenlighting process of being completely backwards.
Here’s the case I made in October:
Instead of creating a talk show from scratch and hoping the public finds it funny, what’s smart about gambling on existing, live formats that already sell out in multiple major markets with repeat customers is you have evidence of it working in a live format.
And just like a TikTok video with only 1,000 views but 200 likes and 100 shares, all you need to do is increase the reach. The Like and Share percentages should hold constant.
If Netflix is actually looking to disrupt the *live* comedy space, then their role as curator should be to identify live shows with highly mobilized fanbases, and leverage its marketing budget, SOV, and international distribution to catapult their reach.
To act as the #fyp or #comedy that sends it out to their millions of paying subscribers.
And then to clean the f**k up on the ticketing front when it becomes the next Kill Tony, doing nationwide tours, and sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden.
I mentioned Kill Tony a few times throughout that article, including comparing it to Netflix’s previous Mulaney-led live show, Everybody’s in LA.
Contrast Everybody’s in LA with Kill Tony, the self-proclaimed #1 Live Podcast in the World™, which is currently eating everyone else in comedy’s lunch in terms of digital reach, brand awareness, advertising revenue, ticketing upside, and social currency.
I’m not exaggerating.
I was in Iowa City last week for a slate of four Stamptown shows and overheard a shy, CompSci major on a “get coffee and see where it goes” first date meekly explain the concept of Kill Tony to a completely disinterested Chi Omega Swiftie at a local café.
*Bill Simmons voice* That wasn’t happening with Everybody’s in LA, it just wasn’t!!!
Well.
This morning, during the same week their new Mulaney talk show premieres (Weds. Mar 12th), Netflix announced they’ll release three Kill Tony specials, starting in April.
Here’s a Variety article on the subject:
Three exclusive specials from Tony Hinchcliffe‘s live comedy show will launch on the streamer, with the first one, filmed at the Comedy Mothership in Austin, debuting April 7.
The specials will feature a mix of established comics and aspiring comedians, as Hinchcliffe and his panel of funnymen provide brutal and unfiltered feedback. There will also be surprise celebrity guests.
In addition to the “Kill Tony” specials, Hinchcliffe will also perform a one-hour stand-up special for Netflix, as part of the deal. Premiere dates and talent lineups will be announced at a later date.
The average Netflix subscriber has zero connection to any specific comedians.
They are a comedy “casual”.
If they’re in the mood to see a comedy show this weekend, they’re likely not buying tickets based on the name recognition of the headliners.
At best, the casual knows the name of a local venue or two. Maybe if they’re visiting New York, Chicago, or LA, they’ll know to head to the Cellar, Second City, or UCB.
But the venues function closer to on-prem TV channels for the target audience (“ESPN”), rather than programs with appointment viewing (“Monday Night Football”).
It’s far closer to the way I’m “in the mood for Indian food” tonight, rather than deliberately seeking out the best lamb vindaloo in New York City.
Netflix didn’t greenlight Kill Tony because Tony Hinchcliffe is a household name2.
But because they read this mailing list the concept already works on a massive scale.
I’m reminded of Don’t Tell Comedy, which has grown into one of the biggest independent comedy brands by running secret, pop-up comedy shows in 200+ cities around the world, where they literally don’t tell the audience who’s on the lineup.
They sell an experience, not individual names.
Contrast this with Hulu, who has gone the safer, “big names” route in their ongoing “Hularious” campaign, where they’ve given known entities like Bill Burr and Jim Gaffigan yet another standup special.
Maybe that college kid in Iowa City would have gotten to second base had he pitched watching Ilana Glazer’s Hulu special over “Kill Tony and chill” to his first date, but ironically, the actual, “safest” thing a distributor can do is bet less on known individuals with “big followings”, and more on “unknowns” who receive big laughter.
KT already has a mobilized fanbase, a compelling, unpredictable format, and a clear, replicable event that sells out every Monday night at the Mothership in Austin.
Meanwhile, Netflix’s biggest hits from comedians that have crossed over into the mainstream are Richard Gadd’s Baby Reindeer and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson.
Neither had a social media following of any kind, unless you count Gadd’s stalker.
But the people who did know them, loved them.
All they needed was more people to know them.
That’s why Netflix got this one right.
Because the winner will be whoever bets on the biggest laughs, not the biggest names.
column? email? article? still haven’t really determined.
In fact, Netflix already gave Hinchcliffe a special in 2016 (One Shot), a one-camera stand-up special that is no longer available on their platform.