Apparently, HBO had their sights set on Ali Wong, who shot to fame with two Netflix specials Baby Cobra and Hard Knock Wife, in the ongoing war for comedy prestige with Netflix.

Yet, Netflix prevailed, presumably as they were going to dole out more cash (and we wouldn’t be more surprised if they’ve got some other lovely things lined-up for Wong). 

In any case, this means that we all will be getting an Ali Wong special next year and another one in the perhaps not so distant future after that. 

What lies in the future between the big players in the comedy special space? It has yet to be seen, but bidding wars will probably get fiercer as networks and streaming services amasses war chests of exclusive comedy specials.