Chris Rock Announces New Comedy Special, The First Netflix Will Ever Stream Live

Virginia KrutaDecember 25, 2022

Comedian Chris Rock unveiled plans on Christmas Day for his upcoming stand-up special — set to be Netflix’s first foray into live-streaming — which will premiere on the platform on March 4, 2023.

Rock will be performing the show — which he has titled “Selective Outrage” — in Baltimore, Maryland, and Netflix will stream the performance live in hundreds of countries around the globe at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

“Netflix’s First Live Global Event,” the streaming service shared the announcement in a tweet on Christmas Day. “Chris Rock, Selective Outrage. March 4, 10pm/7pm PT.”

Netflix’s First Live Global Event
Chris Rock: Selective Outrage
March 4, 10pm ET/7pm PT pic.twitter.com/G0M0MFIo5n

— Netflix (@netflix) December 25, 2022

“No pre-records, no edits … wait a minute … 190 countries, all at once,” Rock said in the promotional video.

“Selective Outrage” will be Rock’s second Netflix stand-up special — he had previously partnered with the streaming platform for 2018’s “Tamborine” — and follows his 2022 appearance at the Netflix is a Joke: The Festival alongside fellow comedian Dave Chappelle.

The announcement also capped off a banner year for Rock, who graced front pages worldwide after taking a (literal) hit from actor Will Smith during the 2022 Academy Awards — over a joke Rock made at the expense of Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head.

Smith apologized, eventually — but the Academy slapped back with a 10-year ban for the “Emancipated” actor. Rock spent much of the rest of 2022 traveling with his Ego Death Tour.

Entertainment site Deadline first reported that Netflix planned to move into live-streaming back in mid-May, predicting that the still-developing capabilities would likely be used to stream comedy specials and other unscripted programming.

“It would mean that Netflix would be able to use it for live voting for competition series and talent contests such as its upcoming dance competition series ‘Dance 100’ from ‘The Circle’ producer Studio Lambert,” the outlet noted.

Netflix could also decide to bring back Netflix is a Joke: The Festival and add a few of those performances to the live-streaming offerings as well. The festival, which launched in the spring of 2022, included “more than 330 comedians performing 295 shows across more than 35 venues in Los Angeles” according to Deadline. It also featured the first-ever stand-up comedy performance to be held at Dodger Stadium and sold more than 260,000 tickets in total.