
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
09/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Pam Oliver, Sideline Icon Who Redefined t...
09/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 2By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - 7:17 am
Print This Story | Subscr...
09/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Cloud Production Workshop Spotlights Live and Non-Live ...
09/12/2025
Next-generation content protection: Multi-technology security is integral to com...
09/12/2025
CBS Sports Provides One-of-a-Kind Production' for UEFA Champions League Cro...
09/12/2025
Spanish Professional Basketball League Relies on NETGEAR AV, MAM Tech for Seamle...
09/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: St. Thomas's Mike Gallagher and Casey Eakins on the Tommies...
09/12/2025
Free Registration for the 2025 SVG Summit Closes Today at 5 p.m. ET!After the deadline, tickets will cost $150 to attend the eventBy SVG Staff
Tuesday, Decemb...
09/12/2025
University of St. Thomas Ushers in Division I Era With New Arena and a Broadcast...
09/12/2025
For decades, customers have turned to L3Harris capabilities in electronic warfar...
09/12/2025
L3Harris propulsion systems enable agile maneuvering and resilience for U.S. spacecraft, supporting national security and mission success in the evolving space ...
09/12/2025
L3Harris Technologies' imaging and sounding instruments will play a critical...
09/12/2025
LOS ANGELES James Shears has joined ThinkAnalytics as senior vice president, advertising, tasked with leading global strategy and commercial expansion of the co...
09/12/2025
VIENNA, Va. The Media Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in communications policy and the First Amendment, has named Kathleen Kirby o...
09/12/2025
Throughout its century-plus existence, the motion picture industry has had to fight battles on multiple fronts to protect its content from piracy. From protecti...
09/12/2025
NEW YORK Fueled by football season, ad supported TV viewing in Q3 peaked in September, representing 74.7% of overall TV viewership in that month, per Nielsen...
09/12/2025
LYNDONVILLE, N.Y. Digital Alert Systems has introduced the DAS3-DC-PS, a new DC power supply option for its DASDEC-III emergency alert system. Designed to meet ...
09/12/2025
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, announced the appointment of Macky Beheshti as Dir...
09/12/2025
Triveni Digital and Device Solutions Inc today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted them a new patent for their novel ATSC 3.0 r...
09/12/2025
ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-powered data analytics for TV and streaming, today announced the appointment of James Shears as Senior Vice President of...
09/12/2025
European data management specialists appointed as SingleStore champion partner, bringing unified real-time transaction, vector and analytics capabilities to org...
09/12/2025
Broadcast Solutions, the leading systems integration group, has launched a new business, aimed at providing consultancy and design services across the media ind...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau has once again delayed implementation of sponsorship identification requirements for foreign...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON #GALSNGEAR has announced two major leadership retreats in early 2026 that the group said are designed to equip women in media, entertainment, and tec...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON With a Dec. 15 deadline looming for a new retransmission consent and carriage deal between Cox and Verizon, the two parties have started trading barb...
09/12/2025
SAN FRANCISCO Samba TV has announced that it has secured new financing from Horizon Technology Finance Corporation, an affiliate of Monroe Capital, with an init...
09/12/2025
Many cord-cutters looking to reduce their monthly cable or satellite bills are also cutting back on streaming costs, according to new research from All About Co...
09/12/2025
LAS VEGAS and NASHVILLE, Tenn. Shure technology played a critical role during the broadcast productions of the 59th Annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena i...
09/12/2025
Unveiling of new CV1, web-browser workflows and Milan roadmap for mission-critical AV environments
Nixer Pro Audio will return to Integrated Systems Europe (IS...
09/12/2025
Spring Forward Are you ready to spring forward? The following steps will automate your transition from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time.
Ensure all WO Aut...
09/12/2025
Verified: LinkedIn crosses 100M member milestone From LinkedIn Published on Dec 9, 2025 Categories: Company News, Featured News
LinkedIn Corporate Communi...
09/12/2025
Original article published in TV Tech: https://www.tvtechnology.com/equipment/bmg-redefines-remote-production-through-cloud-connected-workflows
When I started ...
09/12/2025
An easier approach to recreate the powerful nerve-blocking molecule found in shellfish A Scripps Research-led study resolves the challenge of synthesizing saxit...
08/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 1By SVG Staff
Monday, December 8, 2025 - 6:56 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2025...
08/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Bill Rasmussen, the Entrepreneur Who Drea...
08/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Live Production Innovation Workshop Goes Deep on ST 211...
08/12/2025
#GALSNGEAR Announces East, West Leadership Retreats for 2026By Ken Kerschbaumer
Monday, December 8, 2025 - 9:10 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story High...
08/12/2025
MediaKind Acquiring Harmonic's Video Business to Create New Streaming-Video ...
08/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Sony HDR/SDR Camera Shading Techniques for Live Production...
08/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: NESN's Kenny Elcock and Harmonic's Jean Macher Talk Next-G...
08/12/2025
Monsters Funday Football,' ESPN's Latest Live Animation Effort, Advances...
08/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ESPN Director Jeff Nelson on Calling the (Animated) Action on Mon...
08/12/2025
Monsters Funday Football': Louisiana Philharmonic Delivers Again With Orches...
08/12/2025
Nielsen's robust data offering enables marketers to connect with their target audience more effectively and drive better results throughout Amazon's adv...
08/12/2025
LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK Paramount has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery with an all-cash tender offer to acquire all of the outstandin...
08/12/2025
EMERYVILLE, Calif. Media and entertainment technology and services provider Advanced Systems Group has named Macky Beheshti as director, enterprise storage and ...
08/12/2025
DENVER MediaKind, a global provider of cloud-based video streaming technology announced today that it is acquiring the video business of Harmonic Inc. for appro...
08/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsen has announced that its Audience Segments from Nielsen Marketing Cloud (NMC) are now available across the Amazon Ads marketplace, including the ...
08/12/2025
Marshall Electronics showcases the CV355-27X-ND3 Optical Zoom NDI (NDI HX2, NDI HX3) Camera at ISE 2026 (Booth 4N900). Designed for users seeking high-quality ...
08/12/2025
Cinnafilm today announced the immediate availability of IPx LIVE and Tachyon LIVE, delivering broadcast-grade, real-time IP video transcoding and motion-compens...