4 Grammy Comedy Album Hopefuls to Hear Before Nov. 16, From Trevor Noah to Wanda Sykes
The Recording Academy names its Best Comedy Album nominees Monday. Here are four submitted hours already streaming, so you can be smug either way.
By the Heckle Desk · · 1 min read
The Grammy nominations arrive Monday, Nov. 16, and somewhere in the middle of the list, after the categories people watch and before the ones about polka, sits Best Comedy Album. Nate Bargatze won it last time, which tells you the Academy likes a comic who won't upset anybody's mother. The trade press has been tracking who submitted what, and four of the hopefuls are already on Netflix, where you can hear them tonight without buying a vinyl record you'll use as a coaster.
A submission isn't a nomination, the way an application isn't a job. But it's a fine excuse to get ahead of the argument at Thanksgiving, and it's cheaper than the argument you'd otherwise have.
- 01
Ricky Gervais: Mortality (Netflix, Dec. 30, 2025)
His fourth Netflix hour, taped at the London Palladium on the tour of the same name, and it runs about 59 minutes. Gervais has spent a career telling audiences they're going to die, and he's finally titled one honestly. The Academy has rewarded him before, so this is the one to beat.
- 02
Trevor Noah: Joy in the Trenches (Netflix, April 14, 2026)
Noah's fifth Netflix special opens on the fallout from hosting the Grammys, which makes submitting it to the Grammys either brave or a hostage note. Reviews were mixed. It runs 69 minutes, which is long for a man who used to do it in 22 a night.
- 03
Leanne Morgan: Unspeakable Things (Netflix, Nov. 4, 2025)
Morgan's second Netflix hour, directed by Manny Rodriguez, covers late-arriving fame and family life, plus one experiment with CBD she doesn't plan to repeat. She's the clean comic in the field, which, given who won last year, may be the shrewdest strategy in show business.
- 04
Wanda Sykes: Legacy (Netflix, May 19, 2026)
Her third Netflix special, directed by Julie Dash and filmed at Hampton University, her alma mater. It already collected three Emmy nominations, and reviewers split over how much politics is in it. Going home to tape a special is a nice gesture; going home to tape one that wins things is a nicer one.