No joke, for 12 days Netflix is turning Los Angeles into the comedy capital of the world

ANAHEIM, Calif. — For 12 days Los Angeles may be the funniest place in the world as more than 300 comedians jump on various stages across the city and bring the laughs during the Netflix is a Joke Fest.

“It’s one of the biggest festivals ever put together celebrating comedy,” said Robbie Praw, Netflix’s vice president of stand-up and comedy.

The festival takes place from May 1-12 at more than 35 venues across the city. Performers range from comedy legends like Jerry Seinfeld, Ali Wong, Kevin Hart, Wanda Sykes, David Letterman and Chelsea Handler to established as well as up-and-coming stand-up comedians.

They’ll be performing about 500 shows at places like the Hollywood Bowl, the Greek, the Dolby, the Kia Forum, and the Palladium plus historic comedy venues including the Hollywood Improv, the Laugh Factory, and the Comedy Store. The festival launches with a May 1 show at the Hollywood Bowl featuring Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, Nate Bargatze and Sebastian Maniscalco.

One of the biggest shows on a packed day two will feature well-known comic Nick Kroll and the Emmy Award-winning cast of the animated coming-of-age adult-oriented sitcom “Big Mouth.” The May 2 show is happening at the Greek Theatre and will include cast members Kroll, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney, Jason Mantzoukas and others.

With eight seasons of shows, “Big Mouth” is Netflix’s longest running original series that’s not part of kids and family programming. The festival performance will be a celebration of the show with cast members who have voiced the characters since the beginning.

“We’ll be showing never before seen clips, things that got cut from the show, some of the biggest songs that have been part of the show. It’ll be kind of an intimate feel of what it’s like to be a part of making the show,” said Kroll, who is one of the show’s creators.

“It’s going to be a real spectacle, it’s not just going to be a stand-up show because there’s going to be all these surprise elements that we are going to bring into it,” he said.

He’s also pretty excited that Netflix will be bringing so many comics to L.A.

“They’ve really put the flag down as the place to put up your specials and do all types of comedy,” he said. “I think this festival is a statement for Netflix that they are the place to be if you want to watch stand-up and other comedies,” he added.

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