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| Photo credit: Screenshot Netflix "Sticks and Stones." |
The relationship between comedian Dave Chappelle and Netflix has proved to be resilient as it has been fruitful since it began when the comedian reportedly signed a $60 million deal for delivering the first of three specials to the company starting in 2017.
Of the five specials he has released since on the network, three have won Grammys in the Best Comedy Album category: "The Age of Spin, Deep in the Heart of Texas," "Equanimity & The Bird Revelation", and "Sticks & Stones."
He also received five Emmy awards for "Sticks & Stones" and "Equanimity & The Bird Revelation," pushing his career total to five — the other two coming from hosting appearances on "Saturday Night Live."
Wednesday the streaming giant announced Chappelle's return to the network for the sixth, and perhaps final chapter of his run of Netflix specials, "The Closer." Premiering globally October 5, a press release from Netflix said, "This stand-up special completes a body of work which includes: 'The Age Of Spin,' 'Deep In The Heart Of Texas,' 'Equanimity & The Bird Revelation,' 'And Sticks & Stones.'"
"Comedians have a responsibility to speak recklessly," Chappelle says in a teaser trailer accompanying the release.
"Sometimes the funniest thing to say is mean. Remember, I'm not saying it to be mean. I'm saying it because it's funny," he continues while performing in front of a live audience.
If it is the final chapter in this particular Chappelle Epoch, it appears the 48-year-old is going out with guns blazing. Emmy-winning director Stan Lathan returns to direct, having helmed all five of Chappelle's previous Netflix specials.
Considering his respect for the network, however, it seems likely that Chappelle will be teaming up with Netflix again in the future.
The network gained his respect and favor after it pulled episodes of his iconic sketch comedy hit "Chappelle's Show" off the air at his request after ViacomCBS had licensed it to Netflix and HBO Max without providing additional compensation for him in the deal, prompting him to say at the time:
I like working for Netflix because when all those bad things happened to me, that company didn’t even exist. And when I found out they were streaming ‘Chappelle’s Show,’ I was furious. How could they not– how could they not know? So you know what I did? I called them and I told them that this makes me feel bad. And you want to know what they did? They agreed that they would take it off their platform just so I could feel better.
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