Where to Stream: The Standups

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Aparna Nancherla is everywhere these days; if you haven’t caught her on 2 Dope Queens, Corporate, or The Standups as of late, you’ve likely been made aware of her delightful existence thanks to appearances on High Maintenance, Crashing, Inside Amy Schumer, The Chris Gethard Show, and Master of None. If you haven’t experienced her comedy at all, well, it’s time to wake up and get on board. Nancherla has stealthily established herself as one of our most reliably hilarious comedians across a series of projects that utilize her brilliantly each and every time. So what is it about the funny lady that’s so resonant? We have a few thoughts.

While Nancherla can fill the shoes of any on-screen weirdo with what seems like total ease, the comedienne’s own material is truly something special. As far as getting her standup out into the world, it’s been a pretty banner year (and it’s only March!). With hilarious sets on both a major HBO special (2 Dope Queens) and a Netflix series (The Standups), Nancherla is deadpanning her way into the hearts of the people and making us crack up in the process – and that’s a rarer feat than it might seem.

It’s one thing to have an incredible Twitter account full of brilliant one-line jokes (she does). It’s another to get on stage and charm an entire room of people with astute observations about the world and a frank conversational style about all the anxieties that plague us on a daily basis. There’s something breathtakingly unique about the way Nancherla does her comedy; rather than strolling onto the stage with a grandiose, over-the-top persona, she instead presents herself as she is. Nancherla makes you feel as though you’re sitting down to listen to a particularly funny, smart friend tell a story, rather than watch a performer put on a over-rehearsed show, and that’s what makes her such a joy to watch.

The mundanity of the topics she tackles – she’s not trying to be controversial or make us clutch our pearls – allows Nancherla to maintain a sense of accessibility and humanity. We’re charmed by her perhaps because she talks about things we’ve all experienced or can relate to in one way or another, but also because she addresses them with her uproarious comedic sensibilities and what seems to be total comfort with her awkwardness. Who does a standup special armed with a PowerPoint presentation to enhance their arguments? Aparna Nancherla does. And we love her all the more for it.

In an arena as crowded as comedy is, it’s nearly impossible to stand out these days. Many try to with the help of wild bells and whistles and try-hard bits, but she hasn’t done this and doesn’t need to. By giving us a little bit of herself and making astute observations about the world we live in, Aparna Nancherla has become one of our most valuable, relatable voices – and she does it all with the most delightful deadpan the world’s seen in quite a while.

Stream The Standups on Netflix