Chappelle’s Show, as you surely know by now, has returned to Netflix.
Dave Chappelle made the announcement via a special stand-up clip on Thursday night, recalling the classic comedy’s brief appearance on the streaming platform before it was pulled at his request, which became a cause his fans rallied behind.
“A few weeks ago I put a special out,” Chappelle is seen telling an audience in the clip. “I called it Unforgiven. I told people what my beef was with Comedy Central. I had never talked about it. I demanded that the network pay me. Many of my peers laughed at me ‘cause that’s a ridiculous thing to demand. They said, well, you signed the contract so what are you even mad about? Here’s the thing, I’m very good at minding my own business and the trick to minding your own business is knowing what is your business.”
From there, Chappelle thanked fans for supporting him and later gave shoutouts to both Ted Sarandos of Netflix and Chris McCarthy of ViacomCBS.
“I wanna thank Ted Sarandos at Netflix, the CEO who had the courage to take my show off its platform at financial detriment to his company just because I asked him,” he said. “And I want to thank Chris McCarthy of CBS Viacom. This guy is younger than me—and like most people younger than me—he has an interest in making the past right and did something that was very courageous. And finally, after all these years, I can finally say to Comedy Central, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”
The clip closed out with a montage featuring a selection of widely referenced classic moments from the show, which first premiered on Comedy Central back in 2003 and ultimately ran for two full seasons of wall-to-wall greatness.
News of the return of Chappelle’s Show to Netflix, as well as the arrival of the comedian’s celebratory stand-up clip, was met with exactly what should be expected: stokedness.
