Phat Tuesdays review: Amazon Prime Video docu-series gives an insightful look at the history of stand-up comedy

In the mid-90s, a comedian called Guy Torry started curating a show in the smallest room of The Comedy Store, The Belly Room. The room fit about 90 people (officially). This show was a curated line-up of African-American comics, who didn’t usually get to perform at The Comedy Store, considered the Mecca of stand-up comedy. They performed these shows on Tuesdays (not a day conducive for great business), and Torry named the show Phat Tuesdays. These shows changed the history of The Comedy Store and the comics who performed there. Phat Tuesdays: The Era of Hip-Hop Comedy, on Amazon Prime, is a three-episode docu-series about Phat Tuesdays’ history and impact. With insights from leading comedians- Guy and Joe Torry, Dave Chappelle, Tiffany Haddish, Steve Harvey all make appearances- the series attempts to trace the history of a niche yet relevant movement in the history of stand-up comedy. The series starts by placing the show in the context of what was happening with African-American comedians in the 80s and 90s. It moves to how they began performing at The Comedy Store, the development of “hip-hop comedy”, the sexism faced by comedians on stage and while getting spots, and finally, the impact of social media on comedy and how that’s changed the game entirely in recent times. In the 80s, The Comedy Store was primarily for white comics and white audiences. African-American comedians got such few spots that they were forced to set up and perform in their own space: The Comedy Act Theatre. Here, they were heard and seen but not by mainstream audiences or agents or casting directors, who still frequented more popular and known venues (that is, The Comedy Store). In the mid-90s, Guy Torry was allowed to showcase a line-up every Tuesday at The Comedy Store. No one expected it to do brilliantly. Certainly, no one expected it to become popular. Yet, in just a few months, they moved the show from the smallest to the largest room in the venue, the queues were so long that they could be seen blocks away, and Phat Tuesdays significantly changed the cultural landscape of the city and of stand-up comedy.

While the docu-series has got leading comics to speak (Guy Torrey is an executive producer on the show), it does get self-indulgent at times- especially with the many stage and screen clips. If the viewer is extremely interested in the history of stand-up comedy, they might be interested, but overall, it drags a bit. The final episode, focusing on sexism and social media, seems out of place in the docu-series since it’s not related to Phat Tuesdays or The Comedy Store (to understand sexism in comedy better, you might want to watch the Fx documentary, Hysterical). The focus on what makes stand-up similar to hip-hop is also well-explored, and the insights are fascinating. Through the docu-series, comedians talk of the necessity of grabbing the platform to reach a mainstream audience. They want to be discovered, talked about, and successful. They want to drive the narrative and the industry. And they struggle to be recognised even years after _Phat Tuesday_s is a massive success and literally the reason the club is able to survive. Despite their breakthrough, they are not recognized for their efforts- it’s shown through the comedians’ disillusionment that their names are not on the wall of The Comedy Store like their contemporaries.

What’s interesting about the docu-series is the similarities that can be seen with the Indian stand-up comedy scene. The first comedy club in India was literally called Comedy Store (which later became Canvas Laugh Club). It too had elitist rules: strict curation, extremely difficult and prestigious to get spots. In India, the scene has still not sorted out a space for more diverse voices.

However, what is fascinating is how, in both countries, comedians themselves start smaller rooms to give stage time to beginners and the marginalised. Before the pandemic, Mumbai had over 20 venues with weekly stand-up shows; each weekend, there were over 40 shows taking place. It gave hope that there was still space to go out and do your own thing, get better at the art form, and if you’re good, find an audience. You didn’t need big talent agencies or backing from senior comics, though, of course, that helped. The section on social media, too, is interesting and relevant here since the pandemic has changed the game for comedians on social media. For social media sensations, there’s no need to follow the traditional route of stand-up: short spots at open mics, then 10 minutes, then 20, 30, finally an hour. Regular one-hour shows, maybe a few Youtube videos, and finally a special on an OTT platform. Now, if you’re famous enough on social media, you can directly do a 30-minute spot or even a one-hour show since enough people will buy tickets to watch you. Traditional stand-up purists might balk at this method, but there’s no denying that it’s a reality now, as the series itself addresses. What might make the docu-series work is that it is, in a sense, an underdog story- the story of how a marginalised community makes its mark. For fans of the art form, it’s an interesting watch. Shreemayee Das is a writer and a stand-up comedian. She writes mostly on cinema and culture. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @weepli.