8. Trevor Noah, Afraid of the Dark
Released February 21, 2017; Out Now
Trevor Noah has come a long way from his first Netflix comedy specials: ever since he began hosting The Daily Show – taking over from the legendary Jon Stewart – and Trump became President, Noah found his voice and his purpose. Just compare the tone of his newest special, Afraid of the Dark (out now), with the tone of his previous specials like 2013’s African American. In any event, Noah’s Afraid of the Dark is one of the 15 Netflix comedy specials we recommend, and for good reason. Not only is it genuinely funny, but it’s incredibly progressive in the truest sense of the word “progressive.”
Whether he’s snarking on the lack of black people in Scotland, Barack Obama’s first meeting with South African president Nelson Mandela, or the trouble with being an African that doesn’t really “look” stereotypically African, nothing is safe from Noah’s watchful eye. Even his tendency to be soft in delivery doesn’t lessen the impact of the words he speaks. Best of all, he delivered this special at the Beacon Theater in New York City, before a tough New York crowd, and won everyone over almost instantly.