Hannah Gadsby’s new special ‘Douglas’: Everything to know

Hannah Gadsby has been Australia’s best kept secret since the Hemsworth brothers after the release of her comedy special on Netflix launched her to international acclaim. Before then, only Australia got to know of Gadsby’s raw comedy chops.

But thankfully, Netflix gave Gadsby a platform with her 2018 special Nanette. 2019 brought a successful US and Canada tour for her newfound fans. Now, if you missed out on that tour, you’re in luck. 

A recorded performance of Douglas was announced by Gadsby at Netflix’s FYSEE event back in 2019, and now its release date has finally been revealed. If you’ve fallen love with Hannah Gadsby after her first special, here’s everything you need to know about her upcoming special.

A personal touch

Obviously, Douglas gets its name from the tour that the performance was recorded on. But at the FYSEE event, Gadsby shared that the tour was named after her dog Douglas. Considering Gadsby described the show as “a tour from the dog park to the renaissance and back guided by one of comedy’s most sparkling and surprising minds,” it’ll be a trip. 

For sure, we’re expecting more of the unconventional storytelling that Gadsby brought to her first special. Maybe even some exclusive dog-themed humor in honor of her senior-most dog?

Dismantling comedy again

Then again, Gadsby quit comedy halfway through her set of Nanette because of the way it made her feel. Reviews of Douglas on tour said that the show felt like part two of Nanette, where rather than quitting comedy all together, took apart the pieces that made her feel bad about it. 

Not everyone was a fan of Gadsby breaking what it meant to do stand up comedy. But those who loved it will really enjoy knowing she did it once again. That existentialism dry humor style is definitely perfect for the portrait Gadsby has been painting, and we can’t wait to see masterpiece number two. 

Quarantine date

Granted, life may have returned to some semblance of normal by May 26th. But we can’t imagine date night is going to be any easier by then. So preorder your favorite take out dinner, buy a nice tall bottle of wine, and book a date for May 26th to watch Douglas with your significant other. 

If you’d rather watch it with friends in a more casual way, we got instructions on how to use Netflix Party here so you can be prepared when Douglas hits Netflix. No matter how you choose to watch it, tune in on May 26th.