Netflix’s inaugural week-long comedy festival, entitled Netflix Is A Joke Fest, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Based on the latest CDC guidelines we’ve decided to postpone our Netflix Is A Joke Fest, which was scheduled to begin April 27. We’ve been blown away by the excitement from fans and we will work to reschedule it when we can. In the meantime please everyone take care, hold onto your tickets and we look forward to seeing you all soon. More information for ticket holders will be available on NetflixIsAJokeFest.com in the weeks ahead,” representatives for the streamer said in a statement.
The festival, produced in association with Live Nation, was supposed to take place across over 20 venues in Los Angeles, including the Hollywood Bowl, Greek Theatre, Hollywood Palladium and The Largo, between April 27 and May 3. Evenings of standup comedy with comedians Pete Davidson, Dave Chappelle, Ali Wong, Amy Schumer, Taylor Tomlinson, Iliza Shlesinger, Deon Cole, Marlon Wayans and Ken Jeong were among some of the scheduled events. The festival was also set to include a partnership with Comedy Gives Back, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create a safety net for comedians in need with mental health, medical and financial crisis support.
This news comes less than an hour after Cinemark became the third major movie theater chain to close its doors indefinitely to limit the risk of spreading this deadly virus. Apple also recently announced store closures for the same reason.
Such event cancelations are not new to Los Angeles, where Emmy FYC screenings and panels, Paley Fest and other festivals such as the Newport Beach Film Festival recently announced they were changing their plans out of concern for public health. Across the country and the world things are faring similarly, with the Rolling Stones postponing their North American tour, and BAFTA postponing its Television Awards and Television Craft Awards, for example.