Historical Roasts
{{short description|Comedy television series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| presenter = Jeff Ross
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 6
| network = Netflix
| released = {{Start date|2019|5|27}}
| genre = {{Hlist|Comedy|history}}
| director = Joel Gallen
| language = English
| country = United States
| executive_producer = {{ubl|Michael D. Ratner|Eric D. Cohen|Scott H. Ratner|Jeff Ross|Amy Zvi}}
| related = Comedy Central Roast
| runtime = 28–30 minutes
| company = {{Plainlist|
- OBB Pictures
- Enough with the Bread Already Productions
- Thruline Entertainment
}}
}}
Historical Roasts is an American comedy television series on Netflix. Based on the Los Angeles live comedy show of the same name,{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2018/09/netflix-orders-historical-roasts-series-starring-jeff-ross.html|title=Netflix Orders Historical Roasts Series Starring Jeff Ross|website=www.vulture.com|date=24 September 2018 |access-date=2019-06-25}} the series "roasts" historical figures including Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cleopatra.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflixs-historical-roasts-jeff-ross-serves-up-a-history-lesson-millennials-1212929|title=Netflix's 'Historical Roasts' With Jeff Ross Serves Up "A History Lesson for Millennials"|last=Jarvey|first=Natalie|date=May 22, 2019|website=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=2019-06-05}} The 6-episode first season was released on Netflix on May 27, 2019. It is hosted by Jeff Ross, a "recurring roaster" who has appeared frequently in stand-up specials and series on Comedy Central.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cc.com/comedians/jeff-ross|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520073618/http://www.cc.com/comedians/jeff-ross|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 20, 2014|title=Jeff Ross {{!}} Stand-Up Comedian {{!}} Comedy Central Stand|website=Comedy Central|access-date=2019-06-25}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/05/234123/historical-roasts-cast-netflix|title=All The Hilarious Comedians In Netflix's New Show "Historical Roasts"|last=Lindsay|first=Kathryn|website=www.refinery29.com|language=en|access-date=2019-06-05}}{{Cite web|url=https://decider.com/2019/05/28/historical-roasts-on-netflix/|title=Jaleel White's Impersonations Steal The Show On 'Historical Roasts' On Netflix|date=2019-05-28|website=Decider|language=en|access-date=2019-06-05}}
Episodes
{{Episode table |background= #000000 |total_width=74 |overall= |title= |airdate= |episodes =
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 1
| Title = Abraham Lincoln
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|5|27}}
| ShortSummary = A roast of Abraham Lincoln (Bob Saget), the 16th President of the United States. Guests include Mary Todd Lincoln (Natasha Leggero), Harriet Tubman (Yamaneika Saunders), John Wilkes Booth (John Stamos), and Frederick Douglass (Jerron Horton).
| LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 2
| Title = Freddie Mercury
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|5|27}}
| ShortSummary = A roast of Freddie Mercury (James Adomian), the frontman of Queen. Guests include David Bowie (Seth Green), Kurt Cobain (Nikki Glaser), Princess Diana (Fortune Feimster), and Mercury's longtime girlfriend Mary Austin (Charlotte McKinney).
| LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 3
| Title = Anne Frank
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|5|27}}
| ShortSummary = A roast of Anne Frank (Rachel Feinstein), Jewish diarist and author of The Diary of a Young Girl. Guests include Franklin D. Roosevelt (Jon Lovitz), Adolf Hitler (Gilbert Gottfried), Don Rickles (Mindy Rickles), and God (Fred Willard).
Note: Gottfried reprises his role as Hitler from the 1992 American B horror comedy film Highway to Hell.
| LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 4
| Title = Martin Luther King Jr.
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|5|27}}
| ShortSummary = A roast of Martin Luther King Jr. (Jerry Minor), leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. Guests include Barack Obama (Brandon T. Jackson), Nelson Mandela (Jaleel White), Rosa Parks (Sasheer Zamata), and Robert F. Kennedy (Neal Brennan).
| LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 5
| Title = Cleopatra
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|5|27}}
| ShortSummary = A roast of Cleopatra (Ayden Mayeri), Pharaoh in Ancient Egypt. Guests include Julius Caesar (Ryan Phillippe), Mark Antony (Ken Marino), Isis (Bridget Everett), and William Shakespeare (Rory Scovel).
| LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 6
| Title = Muhammad Ali
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|5|27}}
| ShortSummary = A roast of Muhammad Ali (Jaleel White), heavyweight boxer. Guests include Babe Ruth (John Gemberling), Bruce Lee (Leonardo Nam), Elvis Presley (Josh Homme), Angelo Dundee (John DiMaggio), and Joe Frazier (Jamar Malachi Neighbors).
| LineColor = 000000
}}
}}
Production
On September 20, 2018, Deadline reported that Netflix had ordered six episodes of the series.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/09/historical-roasts-series-jeff-ross-netflix-1202467608/|title=Netflix Lands Jeff Ross-Starring 'Historical Roasts' From OBB Pictures As Original Series|last=Hipes|first=Patrick|date=September 20, 2018|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=2019-06-05}}
Reception
Reception from critics has been mixed. For Paste, John-Michael Bond wrote "if you don't mind your comedy black, you'll find a lot to like in Historical Roasts' silly look at the past."{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/06/historical-roasts-is-far-better-than-youd-expect-b.html|title=Historical Roasts Is Far Better Than You'd Expect, But Its Brightest Days Are in the Future|last=Bond|first=John-Michael|date=June 3, 2019|website=Paste|access-date=2019-06-05}} Others, including the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, have criticized the "Anne Frank" episode for jokes about concentration camps, and making light of Nazi-occupied Europe.{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uproar-over-netflix-show-in-which-hitler-roasts-anne-frank/|title=Uproar over Netflix show in which Hitler 'roasts' Anne Frank|last=Surkes|first=Sue|date=May 30, 2019|website=The Times of Israel|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-05}} Niv Hadas of Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, defended the show from critics, calling the episode "compassionate, funny and historically accurate".{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/life/television/.premium-demeaning-the-holocaust-roast-of-anne-frank-should-be-shown-in-schools-1.7329249|title=Demeaning the Memory of the Holocaust? 'The Roast of Anne Frank' Should Be Shown in Schools|last=Hadas|first=Niv|date=June 3, 2019|work=Haaretz|access-date=2019-06-05|language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Netflix title}}
- {{IMDb title}}
{{Netflix original ended series (2019–present)}}
{{authority control}}
Category:American English-language television shows