August 14, 2025
Image Space/SOPA Images; Sipa USA
Kevin Hart, pictured at the 2025 BET Awards, will host a stand-up comedy competition for Netflix in 2026. The show is accepting applicants.
Kevin Hart is on the hunt for America's next superstar comedian, and he's asking hopeful comics to throw their hats into the ring.
Hart is leading a stand-up comedy competition for Netflix that will premiere in 2026. The show, which does not yet have a name, will follow contestants through a series of challenges that aim to mimic the ups and downs of a career as a comedian — everything from open mic challenges and bombed sets to big-stage performances.
Interested participants must be at least 21 years old and can apply to an open casting call.
Hart, who grew up in North Philly, also is among several "comic heavyweights" serving as executive producers on the eight-episode show, Netflix said.
The show is the latest in a steady stream of work Hart is doing for the streaming platform.
Last week, Netflix picked up "The Leading Man," an action-comedy film adaptation of the comic book series that will star Hart and John Cena. The movie follows a self-absorbed actor (Cena) who is forced to accept that he's not a real action hero while he attempts to save the world with the help of a secret agent (Hart).
Another of Hart's Netflix projects, "72 Hours," began filming in New Jersey this spring and sought luxury car owners and background actors for party scenes. Hart plays a 40-year-old executive who hopes to save his career by tagging along on a three-day bachelor party after being added to the wrong group text. The cast also includes "Saturday Night Live" star Marcello Hernández, "Severance" star Zach Cherry and singer and actor Teyana Taylor.
