HBO Max, per chief content officer Casey Bloys, will honor a request from Dave Chappelle regarding the streaming availability of Chappelle's Show.
This decision was announced at Variety's Virtual FYCFest on Tuesday. According to Bloys, he and Chappelle had talked, with Bloys ultimately coming to the realization that the celebrated comedian's situation regarding the classic series was due to a "very unique and specific and emotional" issue.
"So at the end of the year, at the end of this year, December 31st, we'll also, you know, we're going to honor his request and take the show down," Bloys said, noting that he didn't want to go too deep regarding the nature of their discussions.
Prior to the HBO Max decision, it was reported that Netflix was taking the series down. According to Chappelle, he doesn't get compensated when ViacomCBS licenses Chappelle's Show to Netflix, HBO Max, or other streaming platforms.
"I found out that these people were streaming my work and they never had to ask me or they never have to tell me," Chappelle said during a recent stand-up performance. "Perfectly legal 'cause I signed the contract. But is that right?" He also addressed his frustrations with the streaming deals during his post-election Saturday Night Live monologue.
For more on Chappelle's falling-out with ViacomCBS, revisit this William Goodman piece from last month.
