After a decade of no stand-up competitions, Kevin Hart is bringing the laughs back to the screen with his untitled Netflix series. The newest show will find the next big name in stand-up comedy, and will strip back the layers of fame to show viewers what it really takes to survive in the comedy industry.
Keep reading to learn more about the show, and maybe even apply to be a part of it.
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What is the Show About?
The show is currently untitled, but will feature eight episodes executive-produced by Kevin Hart and partners from his Hartbeat production company and Alfred Street Industries.
The show is designed to put contestants through “brutal open mics,” bombed sets, rewrites, and the undeniable pressure of big-stage performances. The show will be unlike others in the fact that it is billed as “unfiltered, uncensored, and unapologetic.”
At the end, Hart will crown one stand-up comic who has prevailed in the various challenges set before them.
Hart and His Comedy World
Kevin Hart has his acting career, but he has also been busy in the world of comedy in recent years. Alongside his companies, Kevin Hart has spent years garnering comedy talent, producing global showcases such as Comedy in Color, working on Hulu’s LOL Live, reviving Comic View on BET, and producing stand-up specials for performers including London Hughes and the late David A. Arnold.
Hart’s company also launched the Women Write Now incubator to shed light on Black women in comedy, both in front and behind the camera.
This newest experiment with Netflix will continue Hart’s mission to spread comedy by highlighting new talent and the gritty comedic underworld at the same time.
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Reviving Competitive Comedy
Hart’s decision to create a Netflix comedy competition reflects a broader resurgence of unscripted content that will deliver discovery and drama to viewers.
Over the years, Netflix has invested heavily in stand-up specials and comedy-driven formats, and in this new show, the program will attempt to peel back the covers and show both “comedy’s darkest corners and brightest spotlights.”
It will be interesting to see how the production companies paint the contestants, as history has shown that reality television often paints a certain portrait of those who compete. This will also be a test to see how newer competitions launch comedic careers or limit them just to the eight-episode series.
While Last Comic Standing once offered one model for discovery in the entertainment world, Hart’s show looks to go a step further and embed the competition within the stand-up ecosystem so contestants can have a career outside the show. Whether this will work or not remains to be seen.
Netflix and Hartbeat want this show to be rigorous and authentic, but will have to balance narrative momentum with the slow nature of building a live comedy career. For some contestants, the show will be a godsend to transform their lives; for viewers, it will provide a behind-the-scenes view of being a comic in today’s world.
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Casting Open Now
Reportedly, applications are now open nationwide through Netflix’s casting process for Kevin Hart’s comedy competition. The eight-episode series is expected to run in 2026.
Hart’s involvement with the show will ensure a higher viewer count, from both performers hoping for a platform and from the industry looking to revamp talent pipelines.
Whether this series will lead to more seasons or other competition shows will depend on how faithfully the series can show the grind of stand-up comedy to the world in a way that both entertains viewers and respects the craft of the joke.