Originally published at VideoInk.
As if the plan to release over 80 original projects this year wasn’t enough, Netflix is gearing up to debut 47 comedy specials—in one day.
The 30-minute specials will include content from comedians around the world and will tape at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal later this month, as well as São Paolo, Mexico City, Mumbai, Berlin, and Amsterdam. The specials will be filmed in several different languages including French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Dutch, German and English.
“Few things are better than discovering a new comedian you love,” said Lisa Nishimura, vice president of original documentary and comedy at Netflix. “With this event, we’re creating a true comedy festival experience for our members where they can scour the globe from home to find some of the freshest voices in comedy.”
Netflix has been going into overdrive with the production of original content. The Economist projected last month that the streaming giant will spend $12-13 billion on its programming this year—a considerably more than the $8 billion it planned to spend as of October 2017. It is also significantly greater than what other legacy studios are spending. For example, HBO spent $2.5 billion on content in 2017, and CBS spent $4 billion.
Netflix plans to use its budget to produce 87 original projects this year. While the streamer is known for its hits like Stranger Things, House of Cards and GLOW, there is concern that an overabundance of original content in such a short amount of time will devalue some of the films and TV series on the platform because they will get lost in the mix.
Click here to check out the list of comedians that will be featured on the streaming service’s stand-up comedy event series.
