Ricky Gervais’ stand-up comedy show Armageddon premiered on Netflix on May 24, 2022. The show runs for approximately 1 hour and 14 minutes, or 74 minutes total. This makes Armageddon one of Gervais’ longer stand-up specials to date.
Ricky Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, producer, and writer. He is best known for creating, writing and starring in the original British version of The Office. In recent years, Gervais has focused more on stand-up comedy, releasing several successful Netflix specials.
Armageddon is Gervais’ sixth stand-up special overall and his third to premiere on Netflix. His previous Netflix specials include Humanity (2018) which runs 68 minutes, and SuperNature (2022) which runs 60 minutes. So at 74 minutes, Armageddon is Gervais’ longest Netflix special yet.
Armageddon Show Length
Most sources list Armageddon’s runtime as approximately 74 minutes:
- Netflix: 1h 14m
- IMDb: 1h 14min
- TV Guide: 1 hr 14 min
The special was filmed at the London Palladium in front of a live audience. Gervais performs the stand-up routine solo, with no opening act.
How Armageddon Compares to Other Ricky Gervais Stand-up Specials
The 74 minute runtime makes Armageddon significantly longer than most of Gervais’ previous stand-up specials. Here’s a comparison of lengths:
Special | Year | Length |
---|---|---|
Animals | 2003 | 45 minutes |
Politics | 2004 | 60 minutes |
Fame | 2007 | 80 minutes |
Science | 2010 | 78 minutes |
Humanity | 2018 | 68 minutes |
SuperNature | 2022 | 60 minutes |
Armageddon | 2022 | 74 minutes |
As the table shows, most of Gervais’ previous specials ranged from 45 minutes to 80 minutes. At 74 minutes, Armageddon is on the longer end of that spectrum. The only show longer was Fame at 80 minutes.
How Armageddon’s Runtime Compares to Other Popular Stand-up Specials
Many stand-up specials on streaming services like Netflix tend to run between 60-75 minutes. This includes specials from comedians like Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Aziz Ansari, Amy Schumer, and more. A few examples:
- Dave Chappelle: The Closer (Netflix) – 71 minutes
- Chris Rock: Tamborine (Netflix) – 64 minutes
- Aziz Ansari: Nightclub Comedian (Netflix) – 63 minutes
- Amy Schumer: Growing (Netflix) – 61 minutes
So at 74 minutes, Armageddon falls firmly within the typical range for a modern stand-up special. While not excessively long, Gervais does use the extra runtime compared to his previous specials to dive deeper into his material and experiment more with longer form storytelling.
Why Armageddon Runs Longer than Gervais’ Recent Specials
In interviews, Gervais has offered some insights into why Armageddon ends up being one of his longer shows:
- He simply had more material he wanted to include this time around.
- His recent specials like Humanity and SuperNature were filmed back-to-back, limiting how much he could include in each.
- For Armageddon he took a break between specials, giving him more time to develop new material.
- His stories and tangents go deeper in Armageddon compared to previous specials.
- He was not concerned about keeping Armageddon to a strict 60 minute runtime like with TV.
Gervais also joked that his advancing age meant he had to take greater breaks between jokes during the show, which added a bit to the runtime compared to when he was younger.
Gervais’ Goal with the Extended Runtime
In an interview on the SmartLess podcast, Gervais noted that his goal with the longer runtime was to create a more immersive experience akin to going to see a movie:
“I wanted to do a show that was more like a movie, that took you on a journey with me, with the highs and lows. I wanted people to come away having laughed continuously for 75 minutes, but gone through all sorts of emotions.”
He achieved this through extended stories, audio clips, and visuals intermixed with the stand-up material. Reviewers largely felt Gervais succeeded – the extended runtime allows him to fully develop his bits and takes the audience on an unpredictable journey.
Structure of Armageddon
Even at 74 minutes, Armageddon follows the basic structural conventions of a stand-up comedy special:
- Gervais opens with some topical, timely jokes and banter with the audience.
- He transitions into different sections focused on relationships, social issues, existential themes, outrage culture etc.
- Each section contains a mix of shorter one-liners and longer-form stories and observations.
- The show builds steadily to a big closing bit and finale.
The longer runtime simply allows Gervais to expand on each section and get more creative with how the show is put together. But the bones of Armageddon remain similar to any solid stand-up show.
Conclusion
Ricky Gervais’ 2022 Netflix comedy special Armageddon runs 1 hour and 14 minutes, or approximately 74 minutes. This makes it Gervais’ longest stand-up show released on Netflix so far. The extended runtime compared to his other specials allows Gervais to explore more ambitious material and create a true cinematic experience.
At 74 minutes, Armageddon is firmly in line with most popular stand-up specials today. The length gives Gervais enough time to fully develop his bits without becoming excessive. Fans and critics responded positively to Armageddon’s runtime, feeling it allowed Gervais to deliver one of his most compelling and hilarious stand-up shows to date.