Netflix has announced a new comedy special, Natural Selection, from viral comedian Matt Rife, which will be debuting on November 15.
According to Deadline, Rife leaves no topic untouched in the upcoming special. Executively produced by Rife, alongside manager Christina Shams, everything from crystals to social media trolls and even audience members is fair game.
Deadline says that last summer, Rife struggled to sell 100 tickets a show, but his ProblMattic World Tour sold around 600,000 tickets in only 48 hours thanks to his astronomical rise to fame through TikTok, where he has over 16.7 million followers and 5 billion views.
Rife recently had two self-released specials through YouTube, Only Fans and Matthew Steven Rife.
The hour-long Matt Rife: Natural Selection, filmed at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington DC, will be his first Netflix special.
According to Deadline, Rife spent 12 years on the road and broke out during Covid with the launch of Lowkey Outside with comedian Paul Elia.
Lowkey was a socially distanced comedy show, with the pair performing in the bed of a pickup truck for small crowds outside of apartment complexes and event spaces across Los Angeles.
Rife told Deadline that the traditional route to comedy success no longer exists. He said that the entertainment industry has gotten lazy with social media, which gives everyone the opportunity to be seen and build an audience.
Rife told the online magazine that his new material is fun and thought-provoking. It gives viewers a look into something that he is passionate about and is able to make it funny with a story. He says that it’s his most fun hour yet.
