AFFINITY COMEDY

The state of the Netflix standup special.

- VINSON CUNNINGHAM

Matt Rife, Joe Rogan, and Langston Kerman showcase vastly contrasting styles.

It can be hard to tell, these days, what some people mean by “comedy.” By the evidence of the work that comedians are doing, jokes may have dropped out of the definition. Like other performers in our Balkanized, make-your-own-prime-time entertainment landscape, many comedians act less like artists or court jesters than like notionally humorous leaders of affinity groups or of minor, mostly harmless cults. They tend to say just what their viewers want to hear, but with the rhythm, if not the cathartic finality, of a joke.

This rather new phenomenon has to do with the fact that comedians are springing up from more corners of our media purview than ever. Increasingly, you don’t first become aware of them as comedians. One might be a podcaster you like, or make Instagram posts that show up on your “explore” page. Maybe another is a scene-stealing guest star on one of your favorite shows. Only later do you realize that they also happen to have a special on the way. There’s no Johnny Carson to introduce us to comics qua comics. They’ve got to sneak into your field of attention, often by way of some algorithmic back door, in order to grasp your affection.