Chris Distefano is bringing his comedy to Hulu.
Its latest hour, which Jimmy Kimmel executive produces, comes as the streaming service makes an aggressive push into the stand-up arena, elbowing its way into an increasingly frothy market that has been dominated by Netflix in recent years . It's just unfortunateas Distefano's new special is called, it is his third, after the previous hours Size 38 Waist AND Speshy Weshy at Comedy Central and Netflix respectively.
Hulu's stand-up initiative, dubbed “Hularious,” will kick off in earnest in November with a special from comedy veteran Jim Gaffigan. From there, it will try to distinguish itself from rivals by launching a new hour on a monthly basis. “The mantra is quality over quantity,” said Jordan Helman, Hulu's head of scripted content THR of the platform's curated approach. As part of its effort to become that kind of destination for stand-up, the service will also host a collection of licensed specials, both iconic showtimes and recent releases.
Distefano's time is expected to begin in early 2025, although the streamer has not yet provided an exact date. Others on Hulu's roster, which has been willing to shell out up to seven figures for the right name: Bill Burr, Ilana Glazer, Roy Wood Jr., Atsuko Okatsuka and Jessica Kirson along with yet-to-be-announced heavyweight Sebastiano Maniscalco. Internationally, where many of these comics, including Distefano, have followed, the specials will all be available on Disney+.
In 2023, Distefano became the first stand-up comedian to sell out both Radio City Music Hall and the Theater at Madison Square Garden on consecutive nights. He also continues to co-host a couple of successful podcasts, Chrissy Chaos AND Hey darling, and he's done his fair share on TV. In fact, Distefano starred on MTV Girl code AND Boy code as well as IFC Bender and co-hosted the Netflix gameshow The ultimate beast master. He also made a whole slew of pilots that didn't get picked up, including a self-titled one for CBS based on his life.
For what it's worth, this isn't the first time Distefano has worked with Kimmel and his Kimmelot production company. The couple had already collaborated when the ABC night host chose him to host the short-lived ViceTV program Super maximum retro show. Kimmelot also produces ABC's long-running franchise Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and its most recent hit game show, Generation gapas well as Kimmel's Jimmy Kimmel live.