With comedians pitching obscure movie ideas

Jimmy Carr has launched a new comedy podcast with Netflix.

In each episode of The Big Pitch a fellow comedian will suggest a movie idea that might fit one of the 27,000 sub-categories on the streaming platform. 

The first series of ten episodes, which launches today, features guests Nick Mohammed, Phil Wang, Romesh Ranganathan, Ahir Shah, Kerry Godliman, Michelle Wolf, London Hughes, Chris McCausland, Jamali Maddix and Asim Chaudhry.

They describe the lot and cast of their idea, and at the end Carr decides whether to greenlight the movie or condemn it to development hell.

Carr joked: ‘By night I’m a stand-up comedian but by day I have a proper job in real show business. I commission movies for Netflix. So, if you’ve ever seen a movie you liked on Netflix - you’re welcome. 

‘This podcast gives a glimpse behind the scenes of the rigorous pitching process and it’s also a good excuse to mess around with some very funny friends.’

With so many sub-categories, the divisions on Netflix get pretty niche, such as ‘steamy crime movies from the 1970s’ to ‘Australian dysfunctional family comedies starring a strong female lead’.

The programme is made by BBC Studios Audio, and is its first global podcast commission from Netflix.

As well as being an audio podcast, each episode will be released on the Netflix Is A Joke You Tube page.

Here’s episode one with Phil Wang pitching a psychological thriller set in a TV news studio in which every story reported comes true. 

Carr recently fronted Last One Laughing UK for Netflix’s rival, Amazon-owned, streamer Prime Video.

 Made by: BBC Studios Audio.
Executive producers: Pete Strauss from BBC Studios and Kathryn Huyghue, Erica Brady, and David Markowitz for Netflix
Production executive: Ian Heydon
Production manager: Mabel Finnegan-Wright
Production coordinator: Becky Carewe-Jeffries

Published: 28 May 2025