Entertainment
Comedy fans will start their New Year off right with Netflix's Comedians of the World. Featuring 47 half-hour sets of comedy, the cast of Comedians of the World will provide you with nearly 24 hours of stand-up to watch when it drops on Jan. 1. As the name suggests, the comedians featured are diverse since they represent 13 different regions of the world. And Netflix strove to make this historical program even more inclusive by representing at least one female comedian from each of those regions.
This global streaming event features comedians from Australia and New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, the Middle East, the Netherlands, Québec, South Africa, the U.K., and the good old U.S. of A. American audiences may already be familiar with the four comedians from the U.S. — Neal Brennan, Nicole Byer, Chris D'Elia, and Nick Swardson. But many of the other comedians will be new to viewers, which is the whole point. Helping to expand your comedic horizons, the show will be in eight different languages, so you'll get to see how comedy literally translates depending on the language and culture. Not a bad way to spend the first day of the New Year.
The whole endeavor is pretty impressive and one of the reasons is because of Netflix's focus on featuring female comics. As any person who watches The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel knows, the stand-up comedy world has traditionally been dominated by men. But the women in Comedians of the World are proof that comedy knows no gender. Here are just some of the female comedians you'll get to see perform for this global event.
Australia & New Zealand: Cal Wilson
Cal Wilson represents both nations in Oceania since her bio for The Sit Down Comedy Club notes that she was born in New Zealand and started her comedy career there in 1990 before moving to Australia, which is where she calls homes now. She'll be joined by fellow female comic Urzila Carlson of New Zealand and also Joel Creasey and Nazeem Hussain of Australia.
Brazil: Mhel Marrer
Brush up on your Portuguese since South America is being represented by three comics from Brazil, including Mhel Marrer. According to her website, Marrer is an actor and screenwriter in addition to being a stand-up comedian. The other Brazilian comics are Afonso Padilha and Thiago Ventura.
Canada: DeAnne Smith
America's neighbor to the north is getting plenty of airtime with both English and French-speaking comics from Canada. DeAnne Smith is from the English-speaking set (more on the French-speaking comics in a bit) and she's been on American TV before on Last Comic Standing and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. The other English-speaking Canadian comics are Ivan Decker, Dave Merheje, and K. Trevor Wilson.
France: Shirley Souagnon
Shirley Souagnon is one of the two female comedians representing France. She has appeared on French TV, including in the legal drama Spiral, and she will be touring her new show, Monsieur Shirley, in 2019. The other French comedians are Jason Brokerss, Tania Dutel, and Donel Jack'sman
Germany: Ilka Bessin
In her native Germany, Ilka Bessin is best known for her character Cindy from Marzahn. And she's certainly worth knowing in the U.S. too since a New York Times profile about Bessin noted how she was named Germany's female comedian of the year multiple times. As for the other two German comedians joining her — Enissa Amani and Kaya Yanar — they both have done Netflix specials before Comedians of the World. (To keep the female comedian party going, only Amani's special is available to watch in the U.S.)
India: Aditi Mittal
If you like Aditi Mittal's set in Comedians of the World, you can also check out her full-length Netflix special, Things They Wouldn't Let Me Say. As Huffington Post in India noted at the time of her Netflix special's release, she is one of the few women to really gain fame as a comic in the country. Plus, Barack Obama follows her on Twitter, so she's no joke. The other Indian comics joining Mittal are Atul Khatri and Amit Tandon.
Mexico: Gaby Llanas
The one female comic representing Mexico, Gaby Llanas, proudly calls herself a feminist on her social media. Llanas is also a member of the #DiabloSquad formed by fellow Comedians of the World comic Franco Escamilla and they'll be joined by Hugo El Cojo Feliz.
Middle East: Rawsan Hallak
Four comics will represent that countries of the Middle East, including Rawsan Hallak of Jordan. "It's not easy to be an Arab female comedian, but it sends a strong message because generally speaking, we don't have the confidence to put ourselves out there and share our thoughts and opinions, but so far the response from my audiences has been good," Hallak told Arab News. Hallack will be joined by other Middle Eastern comics Ibraheem Alkhairallah (Saudi Arabia), Moayad Alnefaie (Saudi Arabia), and Adi Khalefa (Palestine).
Netherlands: Soundos El Ahmadi
Soundos El Ahmadi is an actor, TV personality, writer, and comedian. She was on the Dutch version of the reality show The Mole, and even gave a TEDtalk on the subject of feedback on the internet. The other Dutch comics joining her are Martijn Koning and Rayen Panday.
Québec: Katherine Levac
Although Québec is a part of Canada, there are so many comedians representing this French-speaking province that Netflix gave these comedians their own acknowledgement. The sole female from this group is Katherine Levac, who was a cast member of the short-lived Québec version of Saturday Night Live and will be spending most of 2019 touring. The other Québécois comics are Adib Alkhalidey, François Bellefeuille, and Louis-José Houde.
South Africa: Tumi Morake
One of the only South African comics that Americans may be familiar with is Trevor Noah. But Comedians of the World will change that by featuring Tumi Morake. Morake spoke about the South African comedy scene to TimesLIVE ahead of the special. "We have so much amazing comedians. The thing is we need to value ourselves and believe in our talent," she told the website. "We are bloody awesome and we need to stop putting other people before us." She'll be joined by other South African comics Loyiso Gola, Loyiso Madinga, and Riaad Moosa.
United Kingdom: Ellie Taylor
Ellie Taylor is no stranger to television or radio in the U.K. and American viewers may even recognize her as a news reader on the British satire show The Mash Report since clips have gone viral on social media. The other U.K. comedians are Joel Dommett, Nish Kumar, and fellow female comedian Mae Martin.
United States: Nicole Byer
Whether you've seen her on Loosely Exactly Nicole, Nailed It!, or Girl Code, you probably know Byer, who has the distinction of being the only female comic to represent the U.S. for Comedians of the World.
Start 2019 off hilariously by letting these female comics in Comedians of the World broaden your stand-up comedy horizons.
