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Rosalie Checca
When it was first announced Tom Brady was getting roasted on Netflix, I went into it with a sense of dread. The first reason is semi-personal. Because I was there in the theater at the Waldorf-Astoria when the Super Bowl was in New York and someone thought it would be a good idea to do a roast of Boomer Esiason. Which meant the NFL - the most uptight, ultracautious, prudish megacorporation on the planet - was joining forces with The Friar's Club, which exists for one purpose, which is to make sure nothing is off limits and the most sacred cows are made into comedy hamburger.
I was one of a group of comics hired to write jokes for this thing. And the friend who hired me later called it the John Carter of roasts. The comics treated it like a roast. The football people treated it like a testimonial dinner at some booster club. As host Jeff Garlin put it, "Bill Cowher is to comedy what ... Bill Cowher is to comedy." And when, for instance, Gilbert Gottfried (RIP) launched into a joke that spent 12 minutes describing the things an old Jewish guy did to get an erection, the crowd of billionaires and corporate partners sat there with their jaws on the laps like the audience during the "Springtime for Hitler" number. While I and the other writers up in the balcony came close to needing CPR, we were laughing so hard. So it's only natural I'd assume this Brady roast would be just as much of a disaster.
Second, doing a proper roast isn't for everyone. It's a unique art form all to itself. It's not even for every professional comic. Norm MacDonald (RIP) hated them. So when he was hired to do Bob Saget's, he famously took a dive. Rather than spend 10 minutes shitting on his friend, he lifted lines straight from a 1930s book of jokes his dad once gave him, producing one of the most surreal, awkward routines any comic has ever done. So the odds they were going to pull this one off felt astronomical.
It turns out there was nothing to worry about. This one spared no expense. It was the roast equivalent of surrounding Brady with the 2007 Patriots offense. Beginning with the best to ever do it, the Roastmaster Jeff Ross. Who did what had to be done and established right from the jump that everything was on the table and no one's feelings would be spared:
And therein lies the problem with this format. How does anyone follow pros like this when they're at the height of their game? Especially when the task falls to someone who's spent their whole life preparing for, coaching, and playing football games? It's the reverse of what would happen if you took everyone out to the local park set up a game of touch football. You're in their dojo and can't possibly be asked to compete with this:
And yet, somehow they did. With varying degrees of success. Drew Bledsoe was solid. Gronk did about as you'd expect, which was to do what most Open Mic-ers do, go with a steady stream of dick jokes, 92% of which ended with him making motions like he's got one in his mouth. To the surprise of no one who's seen him do the talk show circuit and present at awards shows. Julian Edelman was the most cut out for this:
But am I on an island here if I say the best non-comic of the night was Bill Belichick? I mean, I admit my own biases here. But holy moly, he positively crushed. This was the Belichick as the people around him get to see him. When he's not trying to stay on message in order to keep the focus on beating Miami on Sunday. Relaxed. Funny. Butally savage. And saying what Pats fans have needed to hear:
Belichick got to take the ball-busting skills he's carefully honed over a long career and spin them into comedy gold. He was like Don Rickles in his prime. And this forum gave him the chance to settle some scores. It was a thing of beauty.
And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, Brady himself came up and got into character. Specifically, this exaggerated character of the arrogant son of a bitch who's sick of acting like he's humble and wants to remind everyone how great he is. It was the perfect pivot. Like a wrestler turning heel. Sort of a version of that guy Stephen Colbert used to play before he sold his soul to a broadcast network. And no - and I cannot stress this enough - no takedown of the night was as merciless as this one from Brady:
In the span of three hours, 25 years of controversy, conflict, animosity, interpersonal conflicts, egos colliding, power struggles and hyper-focus on the relationships between these guys were gone. Washed away in a tsunami of laughs. Reminding us once again what a heater this franchise was on for all those years. Wildly talented individuals. Huge personalities. Supremely confident. Often arrogant. Butting heads, stepping on toes, and hurting feelings. But nevertheless joining forces to achieve great things. And there's no one among them - or us - who'd have it any other way.
The best part to me is that you know at lot of this vicious insult comedy was authentic. That there's some real bad blood at play here. But it all goes away the second you're able to laugh about it. Show me guys who can break each other's balls, even over the most sensitive, embarrassing shit in their lives, and I'll show you people who genuinely like and respect each other.
We need more of this in our lives. We need more of this in our country. We all need to get back to a time when we could rip each other mercilessly, laugh at ourselves and each other, and that's how we got along. I don't know if there's another group that can get together and do it the way the Dynasty Era Patriots just did. But whoever steps up to do it, America will be grateful. Thanks to Brady for giving us the GOAT of celebrity roasts. Cheers.
For that last part, every month we comb through the list of what's new on Netflix to see what's coming and going. With this research, we've kept an up-to-date list of the shows, movies and specials that will put a smile on your face and possibly have you laughing so hard you get tears in your eyes, all from the comfort of your own couch.
Our list of best comedy shows and movies on Netflix contains plenty of different styles, so whether you prefer dark comedy, satire or downright silliness, you're sure to find something you'll really love. Maybe you can even revisit some of your old favorites, as there's a wide enough selection to ensure that Netflix is one of the best streaming services.
Some of the best Netflix comedies included sitcoms that found a larger audience thanks to Netflix, such as "Seinfeld" (also on our best Netflix shows list) as well as stand-up specials from the likes of "Bo Burnham" and "Hannah Gadsby", just to name a few. We bet you'll discover something new and hilarious to keep you cracking up for years to come. And when you want something a bit more real, check out our best Netflix documentaries list.
On loan from HBO, Issa Rae's Insecure arrived with a ton of meta questions about Max sharing custody. Push those aside for a moment and realize that we should also be happy that Rae's show is getting a larger platform. Insecure explains the modern Black experience through the lens of Rae's own sense of humor, following long-time friends Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji) in their late 20's.
Dark comedy BEEF, which comes from A24 and creator Lee Sung Jin, finds laughter inside of rage. And it all starts when a contractor named Danny (Steven Yeun) is on the wrong side of a parking lot where houseplant business owner Amy (Ali Wong) is trying to get out. Both are having very bad days, and they're both the kind of petty that creates a situation they should have been able to avoid.
The first three seasons of the amazing Comedy Central sketch-comedy show Key & Peele are now on Netflix, and you don't need to stand in line for a hug with the president to get them. This series gave us our introduction to its titular comedy geniuses well before we knew that one of them was a modern horror god. So, watch all of Key and Peele's first three seasons chronologically before you start taking notes on your favorite episodes, and treasure each of their weird characters. From Key's Mr. Garvey and his inability to pronounce white names to Peele's lonely Wendell Sanders, Key and Peele is amazingly rewatchable.
Freeridge focuses on sisters Gloria (Mejia) and Ines (Salaz) who bring their own extra drama to their South Central Los Angeles. And if Mejia isn't a familiar name to you yet, she should be. Recently caught stealing scenes on Abbott Elementary and Curb Your Enthusiasm, Keyla Monterroso Mejia is a rising comedic force to be reckoned with. Gloria's the Type A-sister while Ines is used to leaning on her.
And in Freeridge, a series that spins out of Netflix Original On My Block, we track Gloria and Ines through a mystery involving a box that their they and their friends Demi (Wilson) and Cam (Trainor) believe is cursed.
Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) is a foolish detective who is really full of himself. So, it makes sense that he's about to get a series of even more clueless partners. And they're all celebrities, from Conan O'Brien to Kumail Nanjiani. Heck Marshawn Lynch and Sharon Stone show up. And while Arnett's clued in on the "story" of the cases of the week (so to speak), his celebrity partners (who must solve the crime) don't have a clue. So they'll have to work together to find said clues.
If Netflix has been losing all of your favorite shows? Well, the good news is that it houses arguably the greatest sitcom of all time. So hit play on Seinfeld (turn on the subtitles if you want to see what they're yadda-yadda-yadda'ing about) and enjoy the antics of four of the most selfish New Yorkers this side of Newman. Trying to figure out where to start? Check out our guide to the 11 best Seinfeld episodes to watch on Netflix, which has excellent episodes to watch during your own personal "summer of George."
I didn't expect to love Wednesday, a series where a teenage Wednesday Addams is dealing with burgeoning powers and trouble at school. First, she's expelled from Nancy Reagan High for simply defending her brother (with a completely malicious act of vengeance). Then, she's enrolled at Nevermore Academy, where her parents met. Here, she has to deal with a complicated social structure and a principal who is seemingly always out to thwart her.
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