Comedy fans must have been on the bad list this year, because Netflix just delivered them a steaming lump of coal for the holiday season. Comedian Matt Rife, who coughed up a crowd work special for the streamer in August 2024, will be dropping a Christmas-themed … crowd work special on December 2. Apparently, just like Santa, a Matt Rife crowd work special comes once a year.
Matt Rife: Unwrapped — A Christmas Crowd Work Special promises to explore “gifts, traditions and who’s made it on the naughty or nice list this year,” according to a Netflix press release per Hollywood Reporter. The humbug of a special was filmed in snow-free Phoenix in October, which must have been weird for the crowd. “Hey gang, only three weeks until Halloween — want anything special under the tree this year?”
“Fans” over on r/mattrifegossip sound like they’d rather get stale fruitcake instead of more Matt Rife making up insults on the fly. What was up with that publicity picture in Hollywood Reporter’s story, featuring a heavily made-up Rife sitting in front of a fireplace decorated with stockings? “It makes him look more plastic,” wrote one fan. “Just powder him or something so he can still look natural.”
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“He looked like that for his first crowd work special,” said another. “It makes him look like a little itty bitty boy and its wierd (sic). They should have done that make up and put him in the Barbie movie as a Ken doll.”
Speaking of crowd work specials … do fans really want another? “His first special, he ends it by calling out everyone who said he was just a crowd work comedian…. Goes on to make nothing but crowd work specials lol,” wrote one Redditor.
The criticism raises a good question: Why is Rife going back to crowd work so soon? His last Netflix special, Lucid, didn’t do nearly as well as his straight stand-up show, the ultra-popular (and ultra-controversial) Natural Selection.
Lucid has nothing but negative reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while fan reactions are littered with single and half-star ratings. Lucid only stayed in Netflix’s global top ten for two weeks, while Natural Selection was one of the streamer’s most-watched shows for half a year.
It’s not hard to figure out the real reason we’re getting more crowd work. Rife is delivering on his two-special Netflix deal, and like a desperate dad rushing to an almost-closed Target on Christmas Eve, you grab the first gift you can find. Don’t have an hour of new jokes? Give ‘em sixty minutes of “Where are you from?” and “How long have you guys been dating?” instead.
