Film

Bob The Drag Queen and Suzy Eddie Izzard star in new Netflix comedy documentary

Apr 19
Written by Marcus Wratten

Bob The Drag Queen and Suzy Eddie Izzard will feature in Netflix’s new comedian documentary, Outsanding. (Getty)

Drag Race winners Bob The Drag Queen and Trixie Mattel will feature alongside Suzy Eddie Izzard in Outstanding, a new Netflix documentary about stand-up comedy.

Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution will “examine the history of queer stand-up comedy”, using archival footage and interviews with some of the world’s top LGBTQ+ comedians, including Rosie O’Donnell, Margaret Cho, Lily Tomlin and Hannah Gadsby.

According to the official synopsis, Oustanding will explore how queer artists have used comedy as “an instrument for social change over the past five decades, actively reflecting and challenging cultural norms and values”.

A new trailer for the feature-length documentary shows a number of queer comedy superstars discussing the “adversities” they have had to face in their careers.

“If you see a queer stand-up comedian, I don’t think you understand the adversities they’ve overcome,” says Bob The Drag Queen.

Lesbian comic O’Donnell, who began her career in the 1980s, points out that when she started out, “there weren’t really very many queer comics”, adding: “It’s been such a journey that we’ve taken. Queer comics, queer history, that all deserves to be talked about. Now is the time where people can.”

The trailer also features Oscar nominee Tomlin, who says that when she started out even earlier, people in the audience “would be shaking their heads” at the discussion of anything gay.

“It was scary for people,” adds lesbian comic Fortune Feimster. “They had to be in the closet to protect their career.”

Sandra Bernhard, Wanda Sykes, Billy Eichner, Suzy Eddie Izzard, Joel Kim Boster, Mae Martin and Todd Glass also appear in the documentary.

Mae Martin and Wanda Sykes. — Mae Martin (L) and Wanda Sykes are among a host of comedians appearing in Outstanding. (Netflix)

Outstanding, directed by Page Hurwitz, who started her own stand-up career in San Francisco’s Castro district, is set to be available for streaming on Netflix during Pride month, on 18 June.

While Netflix is known for celebrating queer comedians, with acts including Martin and Gadsby having their own specials, it has also been criticised for giving a platform to comedians who target trans people with their jokes, most notably Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais.