Hartbeat's LOL Live Sets 12 Hulu Stand-Up Specials
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Hartbeat is bringing 12 new half-hour stand-up specials to Hulu as part of LOL Live's second slate, with the first debuting June 19 from Chaunté Wayans and the lineup rolling out once a month through May 2027.
- Eric Weil, Hartbeat's VP of Comedy, framed the series as a deliberate effort to champion emerging talent and reintroduce the half-hour special — a format he described as a useful stepping stone that has become less common.
- The 12-comic lineup pairs rising names like Alfred Robles, Just Nesh, Sydney Castillo and Paris Sashay with more established performers including Dulcé Sloan and Bresha Webb.
- The new specials were taped at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, California, produced by Jeff Clanagan and executive produced by Kevin Hart, Luke Kelly-Clyne, Eric Weil and Valarie Benning Thompson, with Marcus Russell Price directing.
- Clanagan and Weil both positioned LOL Live as a discovery platform, with Clanagan calling it 'an important platform for identifying and amplifying exceptional talent' amid a broader comedy landscape.
Why it matters: A 12-special commitment running through May 2027 is a significant, multi-year bet by Hartbeat on a half-hour format that major streamers have largely abandoned in favor of hour-long sets — giving 12 mid-career comics guaranteed visibility on Hulu that is increasingly hard to come by. With Kevin Hart executive producing, the slate doubles as a Hart-affiliated talent funnel at a moment when traditional stand-up discovery pipelines have thinned out.
