Reggie Watts on his new Facebook Live comedy special, ‘Selfie Stand Up’

Reggie Watts, the musician, comedian, and band leader for the Late Late Show with James Corden, has always pushed the boundaries as a performer. Watts has taken his routine everywhere from the TED stage to VR, and now, in partnership with XFINTIY Mobile, Watts will be sharing his comedy directly with fans via Facebook Live.

Watts will perform his set, “Selfie Stand-Up,” live from STUDIO XFINITY in Chicago this Saturday at 5pm EST.

“As a performer, I like to push myself,” Watts tells Found Remote. “No two shows are ever the same. People ask me why that is. I tell them what I’ll tell you – I like the challenge. Why use the same joke in 10 different cities when I can give each audience a unique performance that no one else will see? Keeping my material fresh has never been an issue. My brain is good at giving my mouth clever things to say. One thing I’ve found, though, is that I’m always performing in a lot of the same places. In clubs, on stages, on TV. I wanted to change that up. Add some variety to give my fans something new to experience. I’ve done some shows in Virtual Reality and had a great time doing them. That’s led me to livestream – a new comedy frontier I’ve yet to explore. My fans, no matter where they are, will be able to watch me perform. They’ll even be able to give me feedback in real time and help guide the direction of the show. It’s something I’ve never done before, and I’m real excited to team up with Xfinity Mobile to see how it all plays out.”

Even more traditional stand ups like Louis C.K. (digital releases on his site), Jerry Seinfeld (Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee launching on Crackle, Sony’s VOD service), and Kevin Hart (his own new comedy streaming service, Laugh Out Loud), are using social and digital channels to reach existing audiences and discover new ones. But social has also been a point of contention for some comedians who have a hard time refining new material when they know what they perform may be captured and shared on phones.

For Watts, though, Facebook Live, and social in general, has been a major plus:

“Social has really put me in touch with my audience,” Watts says. “They have a direct line to me and aren’t shy about sharing what’s working and what’s not working for them. Let me tell you, there are a lot of opinions out there! More than that, it’s given us performers a chance to really shine. I owe a lot of my success to the “Share” button. You make one person laugh, and they’re going to put you in front of their friends so you can make them laugh, too. I can’t speak for anyone else, but it’s really given me the freedom to be myself. Thanks, internet! I’m so psyched to be teaming up with Xfinity Mobile to hang out in Chicago. This is the perfect opportunity to try something new — their service allows me do things I couldn’t do before.”