Exactly 10 years ago, sandwiched between the first season of House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, and Hemlock Grove (remember that one??), Aziz Ansari’s Buried Alive appeared on Netflix queues around the world. Wearing a boutonniere and joking about video cameras on phones (remember: this was 2013), Ansari’s special was the first original streaming stand-up from Netflix’s then six-year-old streaming service. In the decade that followed, over 200 comedians have appeared in more than 350 specials, including “rising” talent — now bonafide all-stars — like Ali Wong, Hannah Gadsby, and Bo Burnham, as well as comic legends including Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Wanda Sykes, and Kevin Hart.

Outside of Netflix, comedy tours themselves have seen a +127% increase in 2022 vs. 2019. (And, according to Pollstar, all of the Top 10 touring comics are comedians with Netflix specials.) As for those watching at home, more than 60% of you saw at least one stand-up title in 2022, and every 1 in 20 Netflix subscribers watched at least 20 stand-up titles in 2022. So, in honor of this 10-year anniversary, we’re going to be doing the thing every comedian hopes is done with their jokes one day: explaining it with numbers!

350+: Number of specials launched on Netflix in the last 10 years, the first being Aziz Ansari’s Buried Alive, and the latest being Chappelle’s Home Team - Luenell: Town Business

200+: Comedians with their own Netflix special

5: Number of specials from Iliza Shlesinger, Jim Jefferies, and Vir Das — the most prolific comedians on Netflix.

Most watched stand-up special: Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones

First joke told: Aziz has a gripe about turning 30.

50,000: Largest audience attending a Netflix special, for Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias’ sold-out Dodger Stadium special Stadium Fluffy

0: Smallest audience attending a Netflix special (Bo Burnham’s Inside)

Speaking of 6,000: The number of people who Googled “Is Bo Burnham OK?” in the month after Inside launched

12: Number of comedians first featured in a short Netflix special (as part of series like The Comedy Lineup and The Standups), who then got hour-long specials, including Michelle Buteau, Taylor Tomlinson, and Fortune Feimster

Least f**ks given: Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, Tom Papa, Nate Bargatze, Brian Regan, Jeff Foxworthy, and Mike Birbiglia all have kept the profanity to a minimum in their Netflix specials.

7: Months pregnant that Ali Wong was when she filmed Baby Cobra, marking the first time a comedian filmed a special while pregnant. Since 2016, there have been several more, including Amy Schumer in Growing and Wong, again, with Hard Knock Wife.

The most-streamed comedy special in a measurement week, according to Nielsen: Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, Netflix’s first ever live event

2 hours, 52 minutes: The longest special on Netflix, which comes from Thailand: DEAW#13 Udom Taephanich Stand Up Comedy Show

52 nominations, 9 wins: Number of Primetime Emmy Awards that Netflix specials have received

260,000: Number of tickets sold for Netflix Is a Joke Fest, the largest stand-up event of its kind, which hosted 336 comedians doing 295 shows at 35+ venues across Los Angeles. The event is returning in 2024 from May 2 through May 12. 

15: Number of former Saturday Night Live cast members with Netflix stand-up specials, including Dana Carvey, Pete Davidson, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, and Norm Macdonald.