Historical Roasts

Historical Roasts is an American comedy television series on Netflix. Based on the Los Angeles live comedy show of the same name,^[1] the series "roasts" historical figures including Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cleopatra.^[2] 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.^[3][4][5]

Historical Roasts
Genre	Comedy history
Directed by	Joel Gallen
Presented by	Jeff Ross
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producers	Michael D. Ratner Eric D. Cohen Scott H. Ratner Jeff Ross Amy Zvi
Running time	28–30 minutes
Production companies	OBB Pictures Enough with the Bread Already Productions Thruline Entertainment
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	May 27, 2019 (2019-05-27)
Related
Comedy Central Roast

Episodes

No.	Title	Original release date
1	"Abraham Lincoln"	May 27, 2019 (2019-05-27)
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).
2	"Freddie Mercury"	May 27, 2019 (2019-05-27)
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).
3	"Anne Frank"	May 27, 2019 (2019-05-27)
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.
4	"Martin Luther King Jr."	May 27, 2019 (2019-05-27)
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).
5	"Cleopatra"	May 27, 2019 (2019-05-27)
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).
6	"Muhammad Ali"	May 27, 2019 (2019-05-27)
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).

Production

On September 20, 2018, Deadline reported that Netflix had ordered six episodes of the series.^[6]

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."^[7] 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.^[8] Niv Hadas of Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, defended the show from critics, calling the episode "compassionate, funny and historically accurate".^[9]