10 Best Netflix Comedy Specials Of 2020

Tamborine marked Chris Rock's first stand up special in a decade and good god did he deliver.

This wasn't quite the Chris Rock everyone was acquainted with. Even before Rock uttered a word things felt different to a usual Chris Rock show. He was dressed down in a t-shirt and jeans for one and, for someone of Rock's status, the venue was small, the stage humble. Then he went on to deliver what was possibly one of the best hours of comedy from anyone in years.

We got the same acerbic wit, political humour and observations on race relations that we'd come to associate with Rock's act, and he has a particularly ace riff on what it takes to make a relationship work...it's all about coming and going...ahem. But we also got poignant meditations on the double-edged sword that fame can often be and what it can rob you of. And in the final act we saw Rock more vulnerable, sensitive and honest than he's ever been in the past.

The impression that's left is that during the time Rock has been gone - and even during the time he was still on stage - that he's went through some phenomenally difficult experiences and had to learn some very tough lessons. What's refreshing though is that Rock is more than happy, maybe the wrong word, to take responsibility for the fact that his own stupid actions lent to him having to learn these lessons. More than can be said for some people, eh?