
HBO Max Announces Four New One-Hour Comedy Specials with Tracy Morgan, John Early, Rose Matafeo, and Ahir Shah
HBO Max
Streamer Continues to Build Eclectic Slate of Stand-Up Comedy
LOS ANGELES - December 3, 2019 - HBO Max has greenlit four new stand-up comedy specials. Tapping into existing talent across the WarnerMedia portfolio, the streamer is teaming up with Tracy Morgan (The Last O.G.), John Early (Search Party), and rising stars Rose Matafeo, Edinburgh Comedy Award winner, and Ahir Shah, double Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee.
We are incredibly proud to showcase this expansive range of comedic talent on HBO MAX, said Suzanna Makkos, executive vice president of original programming, comedy and animation, HBO Max. From legends to newcomers, this impressive slate of specials will complement the library of premium stand-up specials that HBO has become known for.
Tracy Morgan returned to television in 2018 with The Last O.G. on TBS, which debuted as cable's #1 new comedy. The series' sophomore season ranks among the top 10 cable comedies of 2019 and a third season is due to premiere on TBS in 2020. Comedy superstar, multiple Emmy nominee, and a true O.G. of comedy himself, Morgan is no stranger to stand-up specials. His most recent special, Staying Alive, explores his new take on life, his career, and mortality. Morgan recently announced his 2020 comedy tour, No Disrespect, and will executive produce this special for HBO Max.
John Early is best known for his role as Elliot in the critically acclaimed TBS series Search Party. Following sold out runs of his live show, John Early: Now More Than Ever, in New York and Los Angeles, this will be Early's first one-hour television special showcasing his talent in stand-up, characters, and cover song performances. The special is executive produced by Early and A24.
Rose Matafeo is a comedian and actress whose celebrated show Horndog won Best Show at the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2018. A whirlwind of stand-up, sketch and mid 20s angst, Horndog has enjoyed sell-out performances around the world. Her first-ever comedy special is a continuation of her partnership with HBO Max following the recently announced Starstruck, a brand new comedy series written, created by and starring Matafeo. Starstruck and the stand-up special are produced by Avalon Television and executive produced by Matafeo, Rob Aslett, Jon Thoday and Richard Allen-Turner.
Ahir Shah is a double Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee for Best Comedy Show in 2017 and 2018. He has had sold-out runs in London's West End, as well as successful UK and international tours, including runs at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He is currently on tour with his critically acclaimed new stand-up show Dots, which made best of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe lists including The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Scotsman. Produced by Avalon Television, Shah will executive produce his first stand-up comedy special alongside Rob Aslett, Jon Thoday, and Richard Allen-Turner.
HBO Max recently announced a partnership with Conan O'Brien and Team Coco to bring stand-up specials to the streamer. O'Brien will host two specials that feature short sets from multiple up-and-coming comics while also curating hour-long sets from three comedians. In addition to those five specials, HBO Max has purchased the rights to a one-hour special from comedian James Veitch, also produced by Team Coco.
About HBO Max
HBO Max is WarnerMedia's direct-to-consumer offering debuting in spring 2020. With 10,000 hours of curated premium content anticipated at launch, HBO Max will offer powerhouse programming for everyone in the home, bringing together HBO, a robust slate of new original series, key third-party licensed programs and movies, and fan favorites from WarnerMedia's rich library including Warner Bros., New Line, DC, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, Looney Tunes and more. Sign up for updates at HBOMax.com.
About WarnerMedia
WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands including: HBO, HBO Now, HBO Max, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and others. WarnerMedia is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T).
HBO MAX PUBLICITY CONTACTS
Kevin Brockman
818-559-7946
kevin.brockman@warnermediagroup.com
Raina Falcon
818-559-7920
raina.falcon@turner.com
North America Stories
29/04/2026
It was a delicate job in a 150-year-old venue laden with traditions. Begun at th...
29/04/2026
In annual event, the league gives startup companies the opportunity to prove the...
29/04/2026
Panel discussions, networking, and a facility tour will take place in the renova...
29/04/2026
(L-R) Derek Drescher, Coss Marte, and Syretta Wright have each other's backs. (Micheal Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Veronika Lee Cla...
29/04/2026
Some people stumble into their passion. Julissa Padilla walked straight into a film vault. For her, entertainment was never just about the movies themselves. It...
29/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/04/2026
Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live, expanding their ...
29/04/2026
nxtedition is bringing its range of consolidated production tools to MPTS 2026, with new developments spanning transcription, editing, graphics and AI-assisted ...
29/04/2026
Quortex Switch to boost the streaming experience for Telxius customers, reaching millions of viewers worldwide
Synamedia and Telxius, the leading global connec...
29/04/2026
freispace, the leading ERP-as-a-Service platform for media and entertainment production, and Projective, a leading provider of post-production collaboration tec...
29/04/2026
DHD reports strong interest in its broadcast audio product range, exhibited at the April 19th-22nd NAB Show in Las Vegas. The event attracted a claimed 58,000 a...
29/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Alan Catz The Argentine film and game composer talks about working on League of Legends, receiving Berklee's BMI Award, and the lifelon...
29/04/2026
Jay Jennings Builds the Worlds You Hear on Screen The supervising sound designer behind A Minecraft Movie, The Meg, Letters from Iwo Jima, and dozens of other...
29/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/04/2026
Back to All News
SUPERNOVA: GENESIS Reached a Peak Audience of More Than 6.5 Mi...
29/04/2026
Jin-Quan Yu elected to the National Academy of Sciences Yu is recognized for his pioneering work in synthetic organic chemistry.
April 28, 2026
LA JOLLA, CA S...
28/04/2026
The audio team for the entertainment event must blend speech intelligibility with full-range music reproduction while considering the broadcast
Last week's...
28/04/2026
The Pac-12 Conference has released an updated primary mark and logo as the starting point of the new league's brand identity. The mark was soft-launched acr...
28/04/2026
The DP World Tour and Amazon Leo have signed an agreement making Amazon's lo...
28/04/2026
Pixellot and HELIOS have announced an integration that automatically converts full-game hockey video into individualized shift videos for each athlete, without ...
28/04/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the Asheville Tourists to manufacture and install a new LED video display. The installation was completed in late 2025 and is now ...
28/04/2026
Eutelsat has announced the renewal of its partnership with PCTV, a content aggregation and distribution company in Mexico and part of Megacable Holdings, for co...
28/04/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the Gary SouthShore RailCats to install a new LED video display at U.S. Steel Yard, replacing the previous Daktronics display inst...
28/04/2026
Telos Alliance and the College Radio Foundation have announced that WWSU-FM of W...
28/04/2026
Golf viewership is growing. The 2025 Ryder Cup drew five million viewers in the UK, a 45% increase over the 2023 event. The US Open was the most streamed golf e...
28/04/2026
The CW Network and WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), have announced t...
28/04/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced that the Internet Protocol Media Experience (IPMX) suite of standards and specifications has been named...
28/04/2026
The 2026 NAB Show is in the books and the show once again served up a cavalcade ...
28/04/2026
Gray Media and RAJ Sports have announced Rose City SportsNet (RCSN), a new netwo...
28/04/2026
Triton Digital's Podcast Metrics Demos+ Data Integration Enables Comprehensi...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
TAG Video Systems, the leading IP-native Realtime Media Platform, today announced that Lens, its visual service health interface for broadcast operations, recei...
28/04/2026
Open AV-over-IP Standard Recognized in IT Networking/Infrastructure and Security Category
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced that the ...
28/04/2026
VFX History: Slit Scan
Graham Quince April 28, 2026
0 Comments
How did 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation...
28/04/2026
These DaVinci Resolve Effects Will Make You a More Creative Colorist
Kasia Jarco April 28, 2026
0 Comments
Creativity in color grading is not about ha...
28/04/2026
A Simple Introduction to Cavalry: Indexed Circle
Simon Ubsdell April 28, 2026
0 Comments
In this new introductory tutorial for Cavalry we're going...
28/04/2026
Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast and media technology sector, is pleased to announce a new global training programme...
28/04/2026
Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live, expanding their ...
28/04/2026
LiveU is inviting MPTS visitors to step into the companys new Q Era on Stand D32, at The Grand Hall, Olympia, London (May 13-14). The company will showcase its ...
28/04/2026
IBC today announces the launch of the IBC2026 Innovation Awards, with nominations now open for projects, programmes and initiatives that exemplify breakthrough ...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...