Matt Rife, a comedian who has recently become the talk of the town after going viral on TikTok and any other social media platform you can think of, is set to release his first Netflix comedy special titled ‘Natural Selection’ on November 15th, 2023.
A trailer for the special has been released, showcasing Rife’s unique take on a variety of topics, from new-age beliefs to the pitfalls of social media.
Matt Rife’s Natural Selection Teaser
Rife’s rise to fame has been nothing short of meteoric. Just last year, he was struggling to fill seats, but with the announcement of his ProbleMATTic World Tour earlier this year, he saw a staggering 600,000 tickets sold in just two days. This Netflix special follows two self-produced specials that Rife released on his own.
The special, ‘Matt Rife: Natural Selection,’ was recorded at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington DC. Netflix celebrated Rife’s upcoming special and his birthday by featuring him on a billboard outside The Laugh Factory in LA.
Irony Point produced the special, with Rife and his manager Christina Shams serving as executive producers. The special is a culmination of Rife’s 12 years of touring and his breakout during the pandemic with the semi-monthly, socially distanced comedy show “Lowkey Outside,” which he launched with comedian Paul Elia.
Rife has also made a name for himself on TikTok, where he boasts over 16.7 million followers and has amassed more than 5 billion views. His first one-hour comedy special, ‘Only Fans,’ released on YouTube, attracted 9.8 million views. He followed this with another special, ‘Matthew Steven Rife,’ also self-released on YouTube, and a crowd work-focused special released in June.
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In a conversation with Deadline, Rife discussed the changing landscape of comedy success, noting that the traditional path doesn’t really exist anymore. He emphasized the role of social media in providing opportunities for visibility and audience building.
“It’s so much fewer and far further between now. You’d get a late night show for five minutes, and then you’d do Montreal, and then you’d get a TV series, and then Netflix or Comedy Central picks you up for a full special. That really doesn’t happen now. The entertainment industry has gotten so lazy via social media, and social media does provide everybody kind of an opportunity to get seen and build an audience,” he said.
Rife, who first appeared on television on MTV’s “Wild ‘n Out,” described his new material as the most enjoyable hour of comedy he’s created, with the first half being particularly silly and fun, and the second half offering more thoughtful content. He aims to leave the audience with something to ponder, blending humor with meaningful stories.
Rife is represented by Christina Shams at Avesta Entertainment, CAA, and the law firm Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson McGinnis Ryan.
