Even though there has been a rising tide of women in stand-up comedy over the last several years, the prospect of taking on a still male-dominated field while patriarchal norms keep that all in place is still very daunting. That being said, it’s very clear that some of the funniest people in comedy do identify as women: Ali Wong, Nikki Glaser, Jen Kirkman, Tiffany Haddish, Maria Bamford, Tig Notaro, etc. etc.
Thus, FX has a comedy documentary called Hysterical honing on the trial and tribulations of doing stand-up as a woman through the lens of some of the funniest women on the mic, both famous and up and coming, including Glaser, Jessica Kirson, Marina Franklin, Rachel Feinstein, Iliza Shlesinger, and Kelly Bachman (the comedian who lambasted Harvey Weinstein to his face at a private NYC show).
Get a sneak peek of Hysterical with this trailer here, then look for it on FX on Fri. Apr. 2nd and on Hulu the next day.