The new year has not really been what we expected it to be. We thought we will enter a new and happy life this year; sadly COVID-19 has been the same old bump that hinders every path we set our eyes on. Luckily, we still got that never-give-up spirit driving us, thanks to the thousands of splendid efforts from millions of people around us. One of them is comedian Aziz Ansari, arriving with his Netflix Special ‘Nightclub Comedian‘.

Laughter has indeed been one of the things that have kept us going in these hard times. Aziz is here with the very first Netflix Special of the year, though it definitely will not be the last. Neither from Netflix nor from the Emmy Award-winning actor Aziz Ansari.

Aziz Ansari and his new Netflix Special

In his new 25 minute set called Nightclub Comedian Aziz radiates certain scornful energy. He has put up a rather brilliant piece; cracking jokes about some rather relevant topics like the pandemic, anti-vaxxers, and elections. The Parks and Recreation actor also landed a few punches on Aaron Rodgers and Nicki Minaj.

Aziz Ansari in this Netflix Special has presented a very concerning view of the current state of society. He particularly draws attention to the obsession people have with celebrities and their lives. How everyone is so into gossip and social media, he even pulls out his flip phone to put stress on the fact that he is truly done with social media and gossip.

https://twitter.com/NetflixIsAJoke/status/1486096919709507600?s=20

The special shares a lot of aesthetic elements with Aziz’s other work, the Netflix series Master of None. Both the shows have this authentic and casual vibe. Making you feel as if you are sitting right there in front of the performer looking at them.

Nightclub Comedian Reviews

Aziz Ansari and his Netflix Special have found themselves on the receiving end of rather mixed reviews. Here are a few of them:

Brian Logan of The Guardian writes, “Nightclub Comedian’s 29 minutes have more considered social commentary than many acts manage in twice the duration. In a section on misinformation, which both mocks and deplores the mocking of vaccine skeptics, there’s a wicked routine envisaging the rapper Ice Cube having a colonoscopy. A strong closer – responding to anti-vaxxers’ fears of coming under microchip control – notes how robotically enslaved we already are to our smartphones.”

“The half-hour passes quickly because Ansari is still affable as a comedian, but the humor is bland and empty. He wants to connect with viewers on a more emotional level, but the transparent attempt to rebuild his image feels too measured and staged, taking precedence over the performance itself.” writes Saloni Gajjar of The AV Club.

Vulture‘s Kathryn VanArendonk wrote, “Except if you look closely, all the faces around him change. The crowd is different from one shot to the next. It’s not one authentic performance; it’s many of them stitched together. If it were a special built on a strong material, or if its central idea were more about Ansari’s performance and less about his disdain for the appearance of performing, that kind of continuity error would be an unfortunate but insignificant fact. But the look of this special — its claim of being real — is all that it’s about. When that part of it crumbles, what’s left?”

Other Aziz Ansari works to checkout

If you liked Aziz’s jokes in Nightclub Comedian, here are a few other of his works that you can check out:

• Master of None
• Aziz Ansari: Right Now

You can also catch Aziz Ansari and a plethora of different comedians at Netflix is a Joke: The Festival from April 28, 2022, to May 8, 2022, in Los Angeles.