Netflix Toasts to 25 Years of 'Def Comedy Jam' with New Special ft. Dave Chappelle, Martin Lawrence and More

The quarter-century anniversary special arrives this fall

While its original series programming may be more miss than hit these days (every Marvel property except the first seasons of Daredevil and Jessica Jones) Netflix has taken a commanding stake in laughs this past year. In 2017 alone,

READ: Russell Simmons is Rebooting Def Comedy Jam for The Digital Age

In 2017 alone, Netflix has and is still slated to release new specials from Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld, Tracy Morgan, Amy Schumer, (who may or may not have muscled the streaming giant into giving her more money after learning what Chappelle and Rock were making in their respective deals) along with seemingly countless others. And it's not a commitment they're taking lightly. Today, they announce a special toasting to 25 years of Def Comedy Jam, the incubator/spotlight institution for young black comedians, created by Russell Simmons and originally premiering in 1992 on HBO. Many caught their first glimpses at era-defining talents like the aforementioned, as curated and emceed by Martin Lawrence. All of those legends (and quite a few more) will make an appearance in the special in some capacity, according to a new trailer (see above,) though the format is still unclear.

Simmons has also announced a reboot of the series for HBO, but details on that are even thinner at the moment.

SOURCE: Complex