About Standing Up / Drole
Standing Up, released in France under the original title Drole, is a 2022 Netflix dramedy set in the Parisian stand-up comedy scene. Created by Fanny Herrero, the writer behind the first three seasons of the international hit Call My Agent (Dix pour cent), the series follows four aspiring comics as they chase laughs, recognition, and a steady paycheck on the open-mic circuit of the city's eleventh arrondissement.
The ensemble centers on Aissatou, a rising star whose growing fame collides with her private life; Nezir, a gifted young performer juggling stage time with a job delivering food to make ends meet; Apolline, a sheltered young woman from a wealthy family who turns to comedy to break free of the future her mother has planned; and Bling, a former headliner trying to mentor the next generation while wrestling with his own faded spotlight. Their paths cross at a comedy club that gives the original French title its name.
Across six episodes, the show balances the adrenaline of live performance with the offstage grind of self-doubt, rivalry, and reinvention. Warm and observational rather than cynical, Drole treats comedy as a demanding craft and a kind of social glue, showing that the biggest laughs are often built on persistence, vulnerability, and a fair amount of luck.
