Music: {allcanada} Netflix Sets Up Russell Peters Special & Docu-Series To Kick Off Service's Expansion Into Stand-Up Specials & Documentaries

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

{allcanada} Netflix Sets Up Russell Peters Special & Docu-Series To Kick Off Service's Expansion Into Stand-Up Specials & Documentaries

Netflix is going global with its first major release under its initiative to add stand-up specials and documentaries to its original programming slate. The streaming service will be the exclusive home of comedy special Notorious and docu-series Russell Peters Vs. The World toplined by international stand-up star Peters. The 70-minute stand-up comedy performance and four-part docu-series following Peters on his global Notorious tour will premiere October 14 and be available to stream in all territories where Netflix is available — the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, Latin America, the Nordics and the Netherlands. A little over a month after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and CFO David Wells signaled in a letter to shareholders the company's plan to expand into original stand-up specials and documentaries, the company's efforts in the arena are in full swing. Just last week, Netflix announced special Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive, which will follow Notorious as the company's second original stand-up special on November 1. Peters was chosen to kick off Netflix's foray into the comedy specials area, dominated by HBO, Comedy Central and Showtime, because of his global appeal and the company plans to back up the release of Notorious and Russell Peters Vs. the World with a large-scale marketing campaign. "Russell Peters has achieved what few comedians ever manage in their careers," said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. "He transcends cultural, regional and even language borders." Netflix's library includes three previous Russell Peters specials, Russell Peters: Red, White And Brown, Russell Peters: The Green Card Tour, and Russell Peters: Outsourced. "Peters has proven popular with Netflix subscribers in every territory we operate in," Sarandos said.

Filmed live at the Allphones Arena in Sydney on March 15, 2013, Notorious and the behind-the-scenes docu-series are exec produced by Russell Peters and Clayton Peters. Russell Peters' Notorious World Tour has become the highest-attended comedy tour ever in a number of countries including Australia, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia and Peters' home country of Canada, selling more than 300,000 tickets globally. In 2009, Peters set a UK attendance record with more than 16,000 watching his show at the O2 Arena, and he is listed on this year's Forbes List as one of the five highest-earning comics in the U.S.