Netflix has partnered with popular Indian comedians, including Vir Das, Kenny Sebastian, Kanan Gill and Kaneez Surka, to expand comedy content on its platform.
The announcement was made separately on Instagram by all the comics, alongside a post by Netflix featuring the entire lineup.
The slate also includes Amit Tandon, Niveditha Prakasam, Prashasti Singh and Supriya Joshi.
Notably, Singh and Joshi rose to fame through the Netflix rival Amazon Prime Video’s stand-up comedy hunt Comicstaan. While Singh was a part of season 1, Joshi competed in the recently concluded second season.
Interestingly, Sebastian, Gill and Surka served as judges on the Prime Video hunt. Their fellow judge and eminent comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath also recently announced his own special with Amazon.
Robbie Praw, Director, Original Standup Comedy Programming at Netflix said in a statement: “Comedy has always been a big part of Indian storytelling, integral to its films, TV shows, and live theatre.
“As we continue to invest in Indian stories and storytellers, we are thrilled to work with an immensely talented group of comics and create a wide range of entertaining content that is reflective of both the situations that surround us and the exciting comedy landscape in the country.”
This move largely expands Netflix’s current Indian comedy content. Only Vir Das and Aditi Mittal have managed to get specials on the platform till now.
Other than that, Netflix’s ‘Comedians of the World’ included Atul Khatri, Tandon and Mittal.
The platform is increasingly creating indigenous content to cater to its growing audience in India. The eight comedians will create diverse content in multiple formats to maximise appeal for comedy lovers in the country.
Apart from its comedy slate, Netflix has announced a plethora of original Indian content. This includes ten movies and five shows with popular Bollywood actors and filmmakers.