Aziz Ansari’s New Stand-Up Special Hits Netflix Next Week, Directed by Spike Jonze

Aziz Ansari is coming back to TV screens. And soon.

In a surprise announcement, Netflix revealed on Monday that the latest stand-up special from the “Master of None” co-creator will be dropping Tuesday, July 9. “Aziz Ansari Right Now,” his fifth comedy special, was filmed as part of the Brooklyn performances of his ongoing international tour, “Road to Nowhere.”

It’s Ansari’s first project available to the public since the release of “Master of None” Season 2. Shortly after the awards circuit tour ended in early 2018, a controversial article detailing sexual misconduct put the show and Ansari’s career on hiatus. According to reports from those same Brooklyn shows back in May, Ansari addresses those allegations as part of his hour-long set. Earlier shows in the tour, even when not referring to the incident directly, did seem to showcase a contrite Ansari, even when couched in a comedy context.

Spike Jonze directed “Aziz Ansari Right Now,” marking a return to Ansari collaborating with an outside filmmaker for his specials. Before directing “Aziz Ansari: Live at Madison Square Garden” himself, Ansari previously worked with fellow former “Human Giant” member Jason Woliner and “Shut Up and Play the Hits” duo Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern. After a prolific music video career, this will be Jonze’s first foray into the full-length stand-up comedy world.

With Ansari still on tour through the time when the special premieres next week, word is still unclear about the possibility of a “Master of None” Season 3. As of last summer, Netflix Originals VP Cindy Holland told press that the platform was still very much open to Ansari returning to make another season of the Emmy-winning show.

This will mark the third of Ansari’s specials that will debut directly on Netflix. 2015’s “Aziz Ansari: Live at Madison Square Garden” and 2013’s “Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive” were both Netflix exclusives. Ansari joins a 2019 Netflix stand-up roster that also includes Sebastian Maniscalco, Amy Schumer, Kevin Hart, Anthony Jeselnik, Ray Romano, Wanda Sykes, and will add Whitney Cummings later this month as well.

Watch a teaser for the upcoming special below:

“Aziz Ansari Right Now” premieres July 9 on Netflix.