Comedian Chris Rock will tape two comedy specials for Netflix for a reported $40 million:
After an eight-year absence, the multiple Emmy-winning comedian has signed a massive pact with Netflix for two stand-up specials, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Sources say Rock has secured a whopping $40 million for the specials, which sets a new high mark for a stand-up comic. The $20 million per special is believed to be more than such A-list comedians as Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld and Amy Schumer have commanded. The first Rock show will tape in 2017 and follow a new world tour that is currently being planned. It's unclear when either that first show will air or when the second will tape and be rolled out.
Given Rock's recent Emmy nomination for directing HBO's Schumer special, the deal at Netflix should be considered a big win for the streaming giant, which landed the in-demand comedian's specials following a multiple-network bidding war. The move also is a blow to HBO, where in addition to the Schumer special, Rock has had a 20-year history with the premium cable network that previously aired specials including Bigger & Blacker and Never Scared as well as his talk show The Chris Rock Show.
Chris Rock will join others who have migrated onto the Netflix platform:
Amazon, Hulu and HBO were also bidding for the specials, according to Variety.
Rock joins a string of high-profile comedians who have signed deals for standup specials on Netflix, including Chelsea Handler, Aziz Ansari and Patton Oswalt, whose special, Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping, won an Emmy for Netflix. In addition to Rock's two specials, the streaming service is also teaming with comedians Joe Rogan, Dana Carvey, Michael Che, Gabriel Iglesias, Reggie Watts, and Colin Quinn (with the latter directed by Jerry Seinfeld). In August, Netflix announced the imminent release of eight new specials, bringing the platform's total to over two dozen for 2016.
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Netflix's foray into original content is paying off:
[Rather] than pay money out to studios for the right to show existing content, it instead ploughed its cash into shows such as Stranger Things, The Crown, Luke Cage and the remake of Gilmore Girls. In 2016, those "Netflix Originals" - already a term you could argue has become synonymous with quality - came thick and fast. The firm said it produced 600 hours of original programming last year - and intends to raise that to about 1,000 hours in 2017. Its budget to achieve that is $6bn - a billion more than last year.
On Wednesday we learned the company has been rewarded handsomely for putting its eggs in the original content basket. After hours trading on Wednesday saw the company's stock rise by as much as 9% on the news it had added 7.05 million new subscribers in the last three months of 2016. That's far greater than the 5.2 million they had anticipated, and left them ending the year with 93.8 million subscribers in total - and an expectation of breaking the symbolic 100 million mark by the end of March. In all, 2016 saw Netflix take in $8.83bn in revenue - with a profit of $186.7m.
Also at USA Today, TechCrunch, and Reuters.
Previously: Chris Rock Reportedly Signs $40 Million Deal With Netflix for Two Comedy Specials
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(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday October 16 2016, @02:44PM
getting old:
comedians Joe Rogan, Dana Carvey, Michael Che, Gabriel Iglesias, Reggie Watts, and Colin Quinn ( Jerry Seinfeld).
Know about Jerry Seinfeld and Dana Carvey.
The others? who the frack knows. Not me.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1) by Rickter on Sunday October 16 2016, @04:05PM
Iglesias was on the first or second NBC summer show Last Comic Standing more than a decade ago, and was hilarious (he's overweight, and did a lot of fat and food jokes), but was disqualified for texting somebody even though it was prohibited.
Carvey was on SNL in the 90s, and is known for his Church Lady routine, and as Garth from Wayne's World, Hans from Hans and Frans, and was the impersonator of George Bush Sr.
(Score: 2, Informative) by slap on Sunday October 16 2016, @04:24PM
This high priced original content means that there will be even fewer movies and tv series on netflix.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 16 2016, @10:28PM
> This high priced original content means that there will be even fewer movies and tv series on netflix.
Oh please. If you don't think a metrics driven company like netflix hasn't analysed the shit out of how much revenue these productions will bring in, then you are too dumb to post. Netflix expects these shows to bring in new customers and retain current customers that were tempted to jump ship to amazon prime or hulu.
Chances are these will end up subsidizing the production of movies and tv shows which have far higher production costs than filming a stand-up act in a theater that is already packed full of paying customers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 16 2016, @05:44PM
Yeah, I'm betting that's not the ONLY pact he's made.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 17 2016, @01:00AM
Of all the famous people I would not have pucked Chris Rick as the mouthpiece of evil. Care to elaborate??
(Score: 2) by Techwolf on Sunday October 16 2016, @10:35PM
Ok, I must have been living under a rock. Can someone point out a stream of a show that showcases this guy talent?
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday October 16 2016, @11:47PM
It's harder than it looks - don't confuse him for Chris Tucker. They both have fetal alcohol syndrome and near-identical facial structure.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 17 2016, @12:37AM
www.youtube.com
find the search box, type in "Chris Rock standup"
click videos till you see a skinny black guy that makes you chuckle. If you don't at least chuckle at one of the jokes then you're too far gone or way too old to get the humor. Or pretend he's white, then the black jokes might seem more racist and to you're liking (that is more for EF's response).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 17 2016, @12:47AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-opn0LzBR8 [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 16 2016, @11:46PM
I've never found Chris Rock to be 40 million dollars funny...
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 17 2016, @02:44AM