Chappelle's Show

Format

The show opened with Chappelle being introduced over the instrumental from the song "Hip-Hop", from the album Let's Get Free by Dead Prez. Chappelle would perform a short stand up in front of a live audience. The focus would then shift to a prerecorded sketch. The show was notorious for its handling of the topic of sexuality and Chappelle's casual usage of racial epithets. Chappelle performed sketches that premiered intricate cultural topics, such as prostitution, the entertainment industry, gun violence, numerous drug references (particularly marijuana, alcohol, PCP, crystal meth and crack cocaine) and music. The show often closed with a musical performance by a hip hop or soul artist.

Cast

Frequent or notable guest stars

Many guest stars appeared on the show, including Half Baked co-stars Guillermo Díaz, Jim Breuer and Snoop Dogg (who was also a musical guest); RZA, GZA and Method Man of the Wu-Tang Clan, Rick James, Damon Dash, Redman, Ice-T, Arsenio Hall, Wayne Brady (the only guest to appear on stage), Mos Def (who was also a musical guest), Eddie Griffin, Susan Sarandon, Q-Tip, Rashida Jones, Jamie Foxx, Carson Daly, Ron Jeremy, Bill Burr, Patrice O’Neal, Rich Vos, Spike Lee, Michael Rapaport and Joe Rogan.

Musical guests included De La Soul, Ludacris, Robert Petkoff, Talib Kweli, Fat Joe, Wyclef Jean, Killer Mike, Big Boi of OutKast, Anthony Hamilton, Kanye West, Common, DMX, Busta Rhymes, Slum Village, John Mayer, Questlove, Cee-Lo Green, Vida Guerra, Erykah Badu and Lil Jon.

Notable sketches

Rather than acting out sketches in front of a live studio audience, the sketches were prerecorded with the audience reaction usually used in lieu of a laugh track. According to Neal Brennan in the season-two DVD commentary, the production team never edited in prerecorded laughs, with the exception of the "Dude's Night Out" sketch due to the lack of reaction from the audience.

A Moment in the Life of Lil Jon – Chappelle plays rapper/producer Lil Jon doing normal, everyday tasks, with a vocabulary consisting of almost nothing but the words 'Yeah!', 'HWHAT?!', and 'O-kay!' The real Lil Jon appeared in one sketch opposite Chappelle's character, with Lil Jon speaking in an excessively dignified accent. The rapper credited the sketch with increasing his visibility. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "We could have filled this list with 100 reasons we miss Chappelle's Show, but the biggest one would have to be his riotous celebrity impressions."

Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories – Charlie Murphy (who also wrote the sketches) retells his encounters with 1980s celebrities, the most popular being the Rick James story. The sketch features Murphy as himself and Chappelle as James, including incidents such as James slapping Murphy and referring to him as "Darkness", interspersed with cuts from an interview with the actual present-day Rick James trying to minimize his past behavior, saying, "Cocaine's a hell of a drug." The sketch spawned one of the show's popular catchphrases, "I'm Rick James, bitch!", which Chappelle, as James, repeatedly declares. The sketch attained even greater public attention when, in 2005, a candidate for city council in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, also named Rick James but unrelated to the singer, had many of his "Vote Rick James" campaign signs defaced by writing "Vote Rick James bitch!" or stolen by fans of the sketch. The other "True Hollywood Story" depicted Murphy and his crew losing a pickup game of basketball against Prince. Both Rick James and Prince have confirmed the stories were true, with James's admission coming in unreleased interview footage produced for the skit. Prince's confirmation came in an interview with MTV, in which he stated "The whupping is true". Prince later used an image of Chappelle dressed as Prince as the cover of his single "Breakfast Can Wait".

Frontline – A spoof of the PBS series of the same name, it was hosted by Kent Wallace (played by William Bogert). The first Frontline sketch, "Blind Supremacy", featured the life of Clayton Bigsby (played by Chappelle), a blind white supremacist who is not aware that he is actually a black man. Grantland.com writer Rembert Browne deemed this sketch the winner of his "Best Chappelle Sketch Ever", beating out the Wayne Brady sketch in his 64-sketch, NCAA Tournament style bracket. This sketch was part of the first episode and garnered attention for its extensive use of the word "nigger" (mostly spoken by Chappelle's character). The sketch has been compared to the iconic "word association" Saturday Night Live sketch from 1975 featuring Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor which received similar reactions for its use of the word. Charlie Sheen has claimed that he was hospitalized in 2010 as a result of developing a hernia from laughing so hard upon viewing the sketch. Other Frontline sketches featured stories of racist animal actors and gay versions of everything from the DMV to the KKK.

Recurring characters

Tron Carter (played by Chappelle) – a cocaine dealer, he is originally shown in a sketch where he has received reparations for slavery and due to a "hot hand in a dice game" becomes the richest man in America. When asked about the infant he carts around in a stroller, Tron says, "I just bought this baby, cash." He is also one of the roommates in The Mad Real World. Later in a spoof of Law & Order, Tron gets the same lenient treatment as those involved in white-collar crime, invoking the "fif" in response to every question. Tron also appeared in the first episode of season three in a sketch in which he described an altercation with Method Man and was tortured by the methods described in the song "Method Man" from Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). In the reparations episode, he is shown gambling in Brooklyn and described as a Harlem resident, but in another episode, he is shown in his house on "Everglade Boulevard" bagging up cocaine and watching the fictitious R. Kelly music video "Piss on You", and he receives a phone call from the Dade County Police Department, suggesting he lives in Miami.

Negrodamus – Paul Mooney plays a black prophet and fortune teller (a satire of Nostradamus). In the sketch, people (mostly white) ask him various questions such as "Negrodamus, why do white people love Wayne Brady so much?" to which he replies "White people love Wayne Brady because he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X." (This clip was later shown as a drug hallucination in the Wayne Brady sketch.)

Tyrone Biggums – Chappelle plays a squeaky-voiced crack addict recognized by his white, blistered lips and constant scratching. His first appearance was in the second episode of season one. He is often heard saying, "I smoke rocks" and "SHAZAM!" Tyrone enjoys eating peanut butter and crack sandwiches, and was the spokesman for "Red Balls", an energy drink made from cocaine. He also made an appearance in a Fear Factor spoof sketch on the "Wayne Brady's Show" episode, wherein he was exceptionally willing to do gross challenges, and was nonreactive to the hot coals underneath his feet, which lit his big toenail on fire (the same fire from which he would later light a cigarette). Biggums was featured in "The World's Greatest Wars" segment where he was a cellmate of River Terrace Crew leader General Cornrow Wallace (Mos Def).

"Silky" Johnson (played by Chappelle) – A notorious player hater, he won the fictitious "Hater of the Year" award twice (one of which was for calling a bomb threat on the Special Olympics), and who later traveled back in time to "hate" in the past.

Episodes

In total, 28 episodes of Chappelle's Show produced between 2003 and 2006, in addition to a Music Jump-Off special and four compilation episodes.

Third season delays and The Lost Episodes

During a June 2004 stand-up performance in Sacramento, California, Chappelle left the stage due to audience members interrupting the show by shouting, "I'm Rick James, bitch!," a catchphrase from the popular "Rick James" sketch. After a few minutes, Chappelle returned and continued by saying, "The show is ruining my life." He stated that he disliked working "20 hours a day" and that the popularity of the show was making it difficult for him to continue his stand-up career which was "the most important thing" to him. He also told the audience:

You know why my show is good? Because the network officials say you're not smart enough to get what I'm doing, and every day I fight for you. I tell them how smart you are. Turns out, I was wrong. You people are stupid.

Initial delays

The third season of Chappelle's Show was scheduled to premiere in February 2005. This date was pushed back to May 31, 2005, when production fell behind schedule in December 2004 because, according to Comedy Central, Chappelle had fallen ill with the flu. He later revealed to Oprah Winfrey that this was untrue and that stress had caused him to leave. On May 4, 2005, just weeks before the anticipated premiere, Comedy Central announced that Chappelle's Show would not be ready by the announced date and that production had been suspended "until further notice". No reason for the delay or suspension was given and no response was given by Chappelle.

Chappelle retreats to South Africa

One week later, it was reported (most notably by The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly) that Chappelle had flown to South Africa on April 28 to stay in an undisclosed psychiatric facility. On May 14, Time announced that one of their reporters, Christopher John Farley, had interviewed Chappelle in South Africa, and that no psychiatric treatments were occurring or necessary. Chappelle returned shortly thereafter and quelled rumors of psychiatric or substance-abuse problems, and emphasized that his trip was a "spiritual retreat" intended to keep his sense of reality outside the bubble of intense pressure and fame and to keep his humor fresh. Chappelle would say that he was unhappy with the direction the show had taken, and expressed in an interview with Time magazine his need for reflection in the face of tremendous stress:

Coming here, I don't have the distractions of fame. It quiets the ego down. I'm interested in the kind of person I've got to become. I want to be well-rounded and the industry is a place of extremes. I want to be well-balanced. I've got to check my intentions, man.

Comedy Central responds

On July 14, Comedy Central president Doug Herzog announced that Chappelle was welcome back any time, but that the comedian had said he was still not ready to return. Herzog put a positive spin on negotiations, but conceded that he did not expect Chappelle's Show to return in 2005. The New York Times also reported that Chappelle explained to Herzog, over dinner, that his success was getting to him and that "he wanted to be wrong again sometimes, instead of always being right." In August, with Herzog and Chappelle having reportedly not spoken since their June 3 meeting, TV Guide featured an interview with Charlie Murphy, in which he stated, "Chappelle's Show is over, man. Done... It took me a long time to be able to say those words, but I can say it pretty easy now because it's the truth." Around the same time came confirmation from Comedy Central that co-creator Neal Brennan had left the show, and it was later revealed a rift had formed between him and Chappelle.

Nonetheless, on December 11, during Comedy Central's Last Laugh '05, a promotion for the third season of the show was aired.

Chappelle speaks

On February 3, 2006, Chappelle made his first television interview since production ceased on season three, on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He stated that burnout, losing his creative control, and a work environment that was uncomfortable, were some of the reasons he left the show. He also expressed his contempt for the entertainment industry's tone-deafness regarding black entertainers and audiences, "When I see that they put every black man in the movies in a dress at some point in their career, I start connecting the dots."

Chappelle said that he felt some of his sketches were "socially irresponsible". He singled out the "pixie sketch", in which pixies appear to people and encourage them to reinforce stereotypes of their races. In the sketch, Chappelle is wearing blackface and is dressed as a character in a minstrel show. According to Chappelle, a white crew member laughed during its filming in a way that made him uncomfortable, saying, "It was the first time I felt that someone was not laughing with me but laughing at me."

He also stated that he would be open to producing the remainder of season three (and perhaps a season four) only if his demands were met, one of which was to ensure that half of the proceeds of future Chappelle's Show DVD sales would go to charity. Chappelle expressed disdain at the possibility of his material from the unfinished third season being aired, saying that to do so would be "a bully move", and that he would not return to the show if Comedy Central were to air the unfinished material. After that announcement, Comedy Central stopped advertising the release of the third season for a period of time.

Chappelle was interviewed for Inside the Actors Studio on December 18, 2005, at Pace University's Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts. The show premiered on February 12, 2006. Chappelle said on the program that the death of his father seven years prior influenced his decision to go to South Africa. By throwing himself into his work, he had not taken a chance to mourn his father's death. He also said the rumors that he was in drug or psychiatric treatment only persuaded him to stay in South Africa. He said, "I would go to work on the show and I felt awful every day, that's not the way it was. ... I felt like some kind of prostitute or something. If I feel so bad, why keep on showing up to this place? I'm going to Africa. The hardest thing to do is to be true to yourself, especially when everybody is watching."

The Lost Episodes air

In April, the network wrapped up production of the third season, taping the live studio audience segments for three episodes. In place of Chappelle, the last episodes were cohosted by regular cast members Charlie Murphy and Donnell Rawlings. Advertised as "The Lost Episodes", they began airing on July 9, 2006. The third and final episode aired on July 23, 2006. The DVD collection of the lost episodes was released on July 25, 2006.

Chappelle's decision to quit the show meant walking away from a $50 million contract with Comedy Central. When asked if he felt guilty about carrying on with the lost episodes without Chappelle, Rawlings replied:

I'm a loyal person, but I know that as a professional, I've got to keep my career going, and I felt it was an opportunity for me, for people [to] see what I do as funny ... without knowing what Dave Chappelle's agenda is, the reasons why he left, with no communication saying, 'Hey guys, I feel this way. I would much rather you not be a part of this process.' Had I had a conversation with Dave like that then there's a possibility that I would reconsider me hosting it.

Release

Broadcast

Reruns have frequently aired on Comedy Central and VH1 in the US. The series also airs around the world, with episodes airing on MTV in Germany, Comedy Central in Brazil, The Comedy Network and MuchMusic in Canada, SBS, NITV (sister channel to SBS), The Comedy Channel and 7mate in Australia, and FX in the United Kingdom.

The series was also shown on WGN America and was syndicated to various television stations across the US, including MyNetworkTV.

Home media

The DVD sets for seasons one and two of Chappelle's Show have sold extremely well since their release. As of 2005, the first-season DVD was the best-selling TV series set of all time, beating out other popular shows such as The Simpsons (the first season of which held the record beforehand), American Dad!, Family Guy, Friends, and Seinfeld. According to an October 2010 USA Today article, Season 1 had sold over two million copies.

Although the DVDs are "uncensored", some of the music performances were removed due to licensing issues. Also the episode "Music Jump-Off" which featured Chappelle visiting his old high school, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, intercut with previously unaired sketches and musical performances, did not make either DVD set.

On October 11, 2005, the first half of the first season was released on UMD.

On May 23, 2006, the first uncensored season was made available for purchase on the iTunes Music Store, and on June 20, the second uncensored season was also made available on iTunes.

On June 5, 2007, Comedy Central released a compilation DVD titled The Best of Chappelle's Show which highlights 25 of the most popular sketches in all seasons.

On November 20, 2007, Comedy Central released a boxset with season one, season two, and "the Lost Episodes" titled Chappelle's Show – The Series Collection.

All box sets were released by Paramount Home Entertainment (under the Comedy Central banner).

Streaming

The series is available to be streamed on the Comedy Central app and website. The series is also available to stream on Paramount+, Netflix, and HBO Max. It is free to digitally rent with select public libraries in the United States through Hoopla.

On November 1, 2020, the series became available to stream on Netflix and HBO Max. However, less than two months later, the series was removed from both services following Chappelle's commentary concerning his lack of royalties from the show during his appearance on Saturday Night Live. On February 11, 2021, Chappelle announced that he had renegotiated his deal with ViacomCBS, and the show returned to the services the following day. Despite the renegotiated deal, Season 3 (the "lost episodes") were not reposted to Netflix, and has also been withdrawn from other platforms where it was available previously like Crave in Canada.