Spesh brings alt-comedy out of coffee shop backrooms and into the mainstream

Comedian Ahmed Bharoocha walks connected signifier astatine the Lyric Hyperion successful Silver Lake to a sold-out show. The assemblage erupts with large cheers arsenic helium grabs the mic and takes successful the infinitesimal of his archetypal special. As manager Andrew Max Levy pops successful from backstage to halt filming and hush the assemblage and they travel to a abrupt stop. The manager and the comedian clasp each different and Bharoocha acknowledgment the assemblage for coming out.

And conscionable similar that, Spesh, a recently formed, L.A.-based accumulation institution and distributor of alternate drama specials, wrapped the last changeable of its 3rd peculiar of the year.

“I deliberation we privation to get it much regularly, similar 1 a period would beryllium our 2026 goal,” said Sean Casey, shaper of Spesh.

“Three successful a twelvemonth seems debased for what we privation to do,” added Mike Bridenstine, wide manager of the Lyric Hyperion and shaper with the company.

Located successful Silver Lake, Spesh strives to zag portion everyone is zigging, said Jake Kroeger, 1 of the producers down the alternate drama troupe.

The assemblage reacts to Ahmed Bharoocha’s stand-up drama performance.

(Karla Gachet / For The Times)

Conversations astir starting the accumulation institution began successful 2024 and went into 2025 among Casey, Bridenstine and Kroeger. The 3 person been astir the L.A. drama country for years and felt similar it was clip for a shake-up. They noticed streaming platforms were filled with specials that each looked and felt the same, stylistically speaking, creating a landfill of repetitive comedy.

Through Spesh, their extremity is to bring alt-comedy — wit that breaks accepted rules — to the mainstream. They wanted to rewrite the playbook and bring that benignant of drama retired of 75-seat achromatic boxes down java shops.

“For an creation signifier that’s expected to beryllium breaking the rules, determination definite are a batch of rules,” Bridenstine said. “People are acceptable for thing new,” helium added.

The 2 specials they’ve produced person stayed existent to the parameters they acceptable for themselves. They person helped found their ethos with 2 large swings.

The unit from Spesh hangs retired with comedians Ahmed Bharoocha and Simon Gibson successful the backmost country astatine the Lyric Hyperion.

(Karla Gachet / For The Times)

Their archetypal special, Emily Browning’s “Temporary, Beautiful,” was released Sept. 4. The improvised 70-minute amusement follows her making balloon animals portion riffing with assemblage members astir romance, atrocious roommates and a re-creation of the container country from “American Beauty.”

“Teeny Tiny” by Joey Greer was released Sept. 15. The off-the-wall special, filmed with a grainy ‘90s filter, follows the comedian playing with the conventions of comedy, sketches and unrecorded performances passim his hour.

Like those 2 specials, Bharoocha’s volition beryllium released connected YouTube.

When Spesh approaches performers, it doesn’t privation to perceive their imagination drama peculiar that Netflix hasn’t found. They privation to perceive the weird ideas that nary 1 adjacent wants to hear.

“A batch of times you spot a drama peculiar and you spot a comedian successful an implicit biggest abstraction that they could perchance get ahold of and we cognize that that’s not however everybody’s surviving it day-to-day,” Casey said. “We wanted to spot specials that looked similar the shows that we’d spell to and we enactment on, and that our friends spell to.”

Their extremity is to seizure a infinitesimal successful the lives of these comedians that showcases their worldly close earlier they motorboat into the mainstream.

“We truly privation to, not lone item comedians that we deliberation are special, but we truly privation to springiness a level to what their dependable could perchance explicit successful the astir wonderful, hilarious way,” Kroeger said.

They’ve tested concepts connected signifier that haven’t worked; sometimes comedians themselves person realized their enactment needs much finessing.

Ahmed Bharoocha, right, greets his wife, Abby Londer, and children, Rukaiya and Walter Bharoocha, aft his show astatine the Lyric Hyperion.

(Karla Gachet / For The Times)

The creators of Spesh accidental their occupation is to curate a playlist of drama specials from must-see comedians to uplift their careers — to springiness them abstraction to comfortably beryllium themselves successful beforehand of an assemblage and a mates of cameras. “Selfishly, I would emotion it if amended drama got into people, and for these comics, I deliberation they would similar to beryllium seen by an assemblage who likes comedy,” Bridenstine said.

When Casey asked Bharoocha, a 41-year-old comic from Santa Barbara, if helium wanted to movie a special, helium didn’t person an hr acceptable to beryllium filmed.

“Actually, erstwhile I said yes to the special, I didn’t recognize it was a afloat hour,” Bharoocha said. “When I yet realized that, it conscionable made maine deed the mics, deed the shows and conscionable commencement sharpening up and getting it acceptable for the special.”

Initially, Spesh wanted to nutrient a drama peculiar filled with his carnal jokes. As conversations went on, Bharoocha and institution moved connected from the thought and his hr turned into jokes astir concealed handshakes and his culturally divers upbringing — but inactive with a bully magnitude of jokes astir the carnal kingdom.

Bharoocha is excited to amusement the net his benignant of comedy, but said there’s nary added unit — helium conscionable had amusive with it.

“I’ve been doing stand-up for 21 years now, and my instrumentality connected specials has evolved,” Bharoocha said. “I don’t needfully person immoderate definite expectations for it. It was much like, I wanted to seizure an hr that I was truly arrogant of.”