10 Best Netflix Comedy Specials Of 2020

Pete Davidson needs a hug, that's what seems apparent when watching his debut stand up special. Davidson is something of an oddity. First off there's the fact that Davidson doesn't really do segues. By his own admission, he just jumps from one story to the next, no transition. Second, Davidson's performance is something of a weird contradiction in and of itself: somehow both braggadocious and swaggering whilst also riddled with anxiety and uncertainty, but this works in his favour because his whole show centres around being unsure of who the hell he is - professionally or otherwise.

In possibly the best opening bit of any comedy special in recent memory, Davidson recounts a tale about a time at SNL when the guest host, one of his idols, tried to get him fired. Which he obviously found devastating. That guest host was Louis C.K. We won't go any further because Davidson's delivery is pitch perfect.

He also addresses his break up with Ariana Grande and the way he reports the situation is not only hilarious, but insightful and somewhat saddening. Davidson notes her behaviour and that had the shoe been on the other foot he probably would've gotten in a fair bit of trouble. He also paints Grande as something of a Machiavellian figure who attempted to destroy him after their break up. Alive From New York feels like a young man's plea to be defined by his own life, rather than as an extension of someone else's, and it feels like a good step in that direction.