Comedian Mike Birbiglia announced via his Twitter account that his Thank God for Jokes will hit Netflix February 28.
Birbiglia workshopped the show in comedy clubs and small theatres before a four-month run at Off-Broadway’s Lynn Redgrave Theatre in 2016. The show was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show.
As Birbiglia said in the letter posted to Twitter, the “transfer” is “exciting, especially since Netflix is doing specials with Amy Schumer, Dave Chappelle, and Chris Rock. I’d like to think mine will fit in and not get pushed around by these big stars. My co-director Seth Barrish and I went to great lengths to create a cinematic concert film—we hired a film crew, shot in a gorgeous theater, and worked with our brilliant editor Geoffrey Richman, who did Sleepwalk With Me and Don’t Think Twice.”
Birbiglia previously brought his Sleepwalk With Me to Off-Broadway in 2008, produced by Nathan Lane. As Birbiglia mentioned, that show went on to be filmed and premiered as a feature at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the NEXT Audience Award. In 2011 Birbiglia returned to Off-Broadway with his solo show My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, which won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show.
