Roseanne Barr will make her return to stand up comedy after nearly 20 years away from the microphone as part of a new special that will stream on Fox Nation, Fox News’s streaming service.
The hourlong special, titled “Cancel This!,” will be available to stream on Feb. 13, the Monday after the Super Bowl, after it was filmed in front of a live studio audience in Houston at the Cullen Theatre.
Barr, a controversial personality in comedy and noted supporter of former President Trump, had her popular sitcom “Roseanne” canceled and rebranded “The Conners” in 2018 after she tweeted racist comments about former Obama administration adviser Valerie Jarrett.
Fox announced it had struck a deal to host a special with Barr last fall, with the streaming service’s president, Jason Klarman, at the time praising Barr as “a comedy icon whose humor connects with the American audience like no other.”
The blending of comedy and news content is a theme Fox Corp. has implemented with some success on cable in recent years, with late-night host Greg Gutfeld’s Fox News program notching ratings wins over other late-night shows on competitor channels.
Other news networks are also reportedly flirting with the idea of exposing their audiences to comedians and entertainment personalities, with CNN’s new president, Chris Licht, recently floating the possibility of hiring a comedian or satirist to host a show on the network.