Hannah Gadsby will debut her new Netflix comedy special “Douglas” globally in 2020, the comedian announced Monday night. Gadsby appeared at Netflix’s FYSEE event to discuss her special “Nanette,” which was released on the streaming platform in 2018.
“I’m so excited to announce today that Douglas will be released on Netflix in 2020,” Gadsby said. “I’m really enjoying touring with the live performance, but there will be places in the world that I won’t be able to visit, so it’s wonderful that Netflix will bring the show to every corner of the globe.”
On April 30, Gadsby began her U.S. tour of “Douglas,” named after her beloved dog. She spoke to Variety ahead of the FYSEE event to talk about what audiences can anticipate — or not — from the special.
“I think you can’t expect. That’s a clue. It talks about expectations and how labels can set them up to fail,” Gadsby said.
Gadsby’s previous special, “Nanette” was released to critical acclaim for her handling of tough topics like homophobia, misogyny, and for her unconventional storytelling style. In her own words, Gadsby “broke comedy” and put it back together by manipulating traditional comedy elements like tension and punchlines in performance.
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Despite such attention on “Nanette,” Gadsby says she didn’t worry about topping it with her upcoming special.
“‘Nanette’s’ her own beast. I’ve pretty much just set up camp in ‘Nanette’s’ shadow and this is where I live now,” she also told Variety. “The thing about ‘Nanette’ is, I’ve said what I had to say in that moment, so that’s what I’ve done with ‘Douglas’ and I’m just speaking to where I am in the moment, and a lot of where I’m at, at the moment is in the wake of ‘Nanette.’”