Following the premiere of Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration, the largest-ever gathering of LGBTQ+ comics in one stand-up special, Netflix today announced the greenlight of Stand Out: The Documentary. The feature-length documentary examines the history of LGBTQ stand-up comedy and will debut in 2022, complementing the variety special, Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration, with many of the same comedians participating in both projects.
Stand Out: The Documentary will combine original performances, poignant and funny interviews, archival materials, and backstage vérité footage to explore salient themes like comedy as activism, diversity in stand-up, new queer culture, and mainstreaming the alternative. The groundbreaking film considers the importance of LGBTQ stand-up as an instrument for social progress over the past five decades, changing the world one joke at a time.
The film is being written and directed by Page Hurwitz. Executive producers of Stand Out: The Documentary are Hurwitz and Wanda Sykes for Push It Productions; and Brian Graden, Dave Mace, and LB Horschler for Brian Graden Media.
