Top 16 British stand-up comedy specials on Netflix ranked: Mo Gilligan and Ellie Taylor to Greg Davies and Michael McIntyre

Netflix has a library of more than 50,000 titles, including many Netflix Original TV shows and movies - but did you know it has a whole treasure trove of stand-up comedy specials, too?

We’ve done some digging to discover the best stand-up comedy specials on Netflix and narrowed it down to the top 16 British comedians available on the streamer - including household names such as Ricky Gervais, Romesh Ranganathan, and Michael McIntrye. 

Some comedians, like Russell Howard and Mo Gilligan, have a single stand-up comedy special on Netflix, while other funnymen, like Jack Whitehall and Jimmy Carr, have double episodes on there - so you can binge-watch them back-to-back.

So what are you waiting for? Find the funny with our list of the best British stand-up comedy specials on Netflix, ranked according to IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes scores.

What to watch on Netflix this month >

1. James Acaster: Repertoire (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 100%

IMDB score: 8.4/10

James Acaster (Mock The Week, Hypothetical) presents four interwoven stand-up comedy specials - adapted from his Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows - titled Recognise, Represent, Reset, and Recap, where he talks about the strange, the mundane and everything in between.

2. Daniel Sloss: Live Shows (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93%

IMDB score: 8.5/10

Scottish comedian Daniel Sloss (Conan, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) releases two critically-acclaimed hour-long comedy specials called Dark and Jigsaw, in which he finds the funny in some very taboo topics from the deeply personal to the highly irreverent.

3. Ricky Gervais: SuperNature (2022), Humanity (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (SuperNature), 89% (Humanity)

IMDB score: 7.6/10 (SuperNature), 7.9/10 (Humanity)

Ricky Gervais (The Office, After Life) gives us his take on the rules of comedy, spoiling his cats and more is in his second Netflix stand-up special, SuperNature. In his first Netflix Original stand-up, Humanity (2018), Gervais delivers a scathing special that touches on aging, becoming spoiled and his perspective on having kids.

4. Greg Davies: You Magnificent Beast (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71%

IMDB score: 7.1/10

BAFTA-nominated Greg Davies - star of The Inbetweeners and Taskmaster, and "one of the kingpins of British comedy", according to the Evening Standard - revisits terrifying dates, manscaping disasters, his father's pranks and more in this savagely funny stand-up special.

5. Michael McIntyre: Showman (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 67%

IMDB score: 7.1/10

Hugely successful comedian Michael McIntyre (The Wheel) recalls international encounters such as avoiding shark attacks in Australia, New Zealanders' strange relationship with vowels, and the difference between performing for a US audience vs a British audience, as well as his trademark tales of family life.

6. Russell Howard: Lubricant (2021), Recalibrate (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: N/A (not enough ratings) (Lubricant), 62% (Recalibrate)

IMDB score: 7.1/10 (Lubricant), 7.4/10 (Recalibrate)

Russell Howard (Russell Howard’s Good News, or The Russell Howard Hour) fronts a two-part special for Netflix, titled Lubricant, in which he tries to make sense of a world that is spinning out of control. In Recalibrate, his first special for Netflix, he tackles politics, social media, and why he's a jerk.

7. Mo Gilligan: There’s Mo To Life (2022), Momentum (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: N/A (not enough ratings for either special)

IMDB score: 6.0/10 (There’s Mo To Life), 6.4/10 (Momentum)

In Mo Gilligan’s comedy special There’s Mo To Life, the triple-BAFTA winner and panelist on The Masked Singer breaks down his days as a broke teenager, working in retail, relationship dynamics, annoying talk show producers and more. In his first stand-up for Netflix, titled Momentum, he riffs on humble beginnings, family dynamics and the complex art of dancing in the club.

8. Jimmy Carr: His Dark Material (2021), Funny Business (2016)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50% (His Dark Material), N/A (Funny Business)

IMDB score: 7.1/10 (His Dark Material), 7.2/10 (Funny Business)

Comedian and panelist (8 Out Of 10 Cats, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year) Jimmy Carr finds humour in the darkest of places in his 2021 stand-up special His Dark Material that features his dry, sardonic wit as well as some jokes he calls "career enders". In 2016, Carr became the first British comedian to produce an original stand-up special for Netflix with his show Funny Business, which he performed to a sold-out audience at London’s Hammersmith Apollo.

9. Katherine Ryan: Glitter Room (2019), In Trouble (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: N/A (Glitter Room), 67% (In Trouble)

IMDB score: 6.8/10 (Glitter Room), 7.0/10 (In Trouble)

An honorary Brit on the list, Canadian-born adopted Londoner Katherine Ryan (The Duchess) performs a stand-up special packed with anecdotes, jokes, and a pertinent take on society in 2019’s Glitter Room. In her first special, In Trouble, Ryan talks dating younger men, unusual relationships, and how she once enraged an entire nation.

10. Romesh Ranganathan - The Cynic

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78%

IMDB score: 6.7/10

Romesh Ranganathan: The Cynic was recorded at his hometown gig at the Hawth Theatre in Crawley and compiled from the three final performances of his The Cynic's Mixtape tour. Focusing once again on his irritations, including his three children and Piers Morgan, the special also explores racism in football and his wife spurning his requests for sex.

11. Jack Whitehall: I’m Only Joking (2020), At Large (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 32% (I’m Only Joking), 88% (At Large)

IMDB score: 6.6/10 (I’m Only Joking), 6.9/10 (At Large)

Comedian, actor (Bad Education, Fresh Meat), and A League of Their Own pundit Jack Whitehall hits the stage with hilarious tales about happy couples, life in hotels, human stupidity and his well-travelled father in his Netflix special, I’m Only Joking. His previous special on Netflix, At Large, sees Whitehall return to his dynamic best on stage in his biggest-ever UK arena tour.

12. Russell Brand: Re:Birth (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: N/A (not enough ratings)

IMDB score: 6.5/10

English comedian and actor Russell Brand gets loquacious in London as he ruminates on the state of the world and marvels over how his life changed the moment he became a father in this Netflix special.

13. Simon Amstell: Set Free (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: N/A (not enough ratings)

IMDB score: 6.5/10

Former Popworld and Never Mind the Buzzcocks host Simon Amstell digs deep and delivers a uniquely vulnerable stand-up set on love, ego and intimacy.

14. Comedians of the World: Joel Dommett, Mae Martin, Nish Kumar, Ellie Taylor (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: N/A (not enough ratings)

IMDB score: 6.5/10

Comedians of the World brings together 47 comedians from 13 regions around the world, with each comedian performing a half-hour stand-up set. The UK arm of the series sees Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Taylor talk about the pros of pregnancy, as well as stand-up routines from Joel Dommett, Mae Martin and Nish Kumar.

15. Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50%

IMDB score: 6.1/10

Multi-award winning stand-up comedian Phil Wang explores race, romance, politics and his mixed British-Malaysian heritage in this Netflix stand-up special filmed at the London Palladium.

16. London Hughes: To Catch A D*ck (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 40%

IMDB score: 4.7/10

Bawdy comedian and television presenter London Hughes revisits her past in this acclaimed breakout special filled with unfiltered tales and wild stories.