With Netflix’s ability to bring new and niche content to its audience, the streaming service has taken some bold but rewarding risks in its stand-up comedy section.

Early on, Netflix has made a commitment to stand-up comedy acts, sponsoring a variety of fresh specials from new talent to veteran comedians. This comedic adventure began in 2012 with Bill Burr’s “You People Are All the Same” as the first Netflix Original Stand- Up. Dave Chapelle’s much awaited return to comedy also took place on Netflix with two exclusive specials. While giving a platform to some of the greats, Netflix has also searched far and wide for upcoming talent and given them a platform. If new voices and diversity is what you want, you don’t need to look far. The Comedy Lineup is a two part series featuring exclusively new talent, giving them each 15 minute sets, the length of which is more typical of the sets comics perform in clubs. Stand-up as an artform has been occasionally criticized for its Eurocentrism with most comedy legends coming from the U.S. or the UK. Comedians of the World changes the game with 47 comedians from 13 countries, telling you what's funny in the eyes of the rest of the world. It’s not just diversity that Netflix is playing with, it's unconventional content — giving the stage to some edgier comics such as Jimmy Carr, Dave Chappelle and Sarah Silverman. If you're looking for some of Netflix’s more controversial material, these are your best bets. Carr has publicly thanked Netflix, claiming that the platform is a driving force in what he calls a “stand-up renaissance.” I agree; but it isn’t just the more diverse or raunchy comedy that is the most intriguing. This renaissance has given a platform to some sheer genre defying comedians such as Daniel Sloss and Hannah Gadsby.

In this cringeworthy two-part special there isn’t anything the quicky Scotsman won’t talk about. From Beyonce, to existential dread, to disability ─ Sloss has it all. It’s not your typical controversial one liner comedy either. Sloss has the unique ability to literally make you physically uncomfortable even as you watch it from your dorm room. He ropes you into his audience and makes you accountable for the tension. Who says comedy is all about fun? “Now there's still a bit of tension in this room… I'll only bask in it for a few more seconds”, he says as he sips a glass of water.

Sloss starts out as your typical risque comic but slowly divulges some of the dark stories from his past, delivering his own quirky twist on the narrative. Sloss was once consoling his friend after her father passed away and an accidental Domino’s order left him and his friend with a bottle of Coke that read “Have a Coke with Dad.”

In the second special of the series, Jigsaw, Sloss recounts the beautiful yet somewhat dark story of the joke that ended 3500 relationships.

"All I'm asking is have you ever accidentally caught yourself thinking how much easier life would be if [your significant other] were to just die?" he casually weaves into his set.

This isn't just speculation. Sloss has asked his audience to tweet him about whether his set has impacted their lives in anyways, or caused a horrible breakup. He keeps count too. “#Jigsaw has now officially ended 3500 relationships, 4 cancelled engagements and caused 7 divorces. Keep spreading the love, guys. I appreciate it so much,” he tweeted on Sept. 18 2018.

This Australian comic changes everything. Live at the Sydney Opera House, Gadsby interweaves comic irony with a tragic past leaving you walking away from the screen in thought rather than with a feeling comic relief. It's not that Nanette isn’t funny, it is. Gadsby has the ability to control the punchline and story to an unbelievable level. “I don't feel comfortable in a small town. I get a bit tense, mainly because I am this situation,” she says referencing her non-heteronormative appearance. “And in a small town that's alright, from a distance. People like, ‘Ah good bloke’... I wouldn't wanna be a straight white man, even if you paid me. Although the pay would be substantially better.”

It is this control that slowly transforms the set into a beautiful contemplation on sexuality, the way women are treated in society and rising from hardship. Gadsby isn’t afraid to roll the punches either, calling out some of the horrible abuses against women and the queer community that, while it makes you uncomfortable, keeps you thinking. Gadsby has had its divisive reception, but it has also shown the world that we are ready for more. Comedy is a powerful platform, one that we need to start taking more seriously.

For those of us who aren’t part of the queer community, it's a difficult story to hear. Still, it is a story that needs to be told nonetheless. Towards the end of her set, Gadsby leaves us with this crucial line, “I want my story heard, because what I would’ve done to have heard a story like mine.”