Chappelle Show returned to Netflix after being pulled out last year at Dave Chappelle’s request, as The Hollywood Reporter grades. Shortly before his removal, Chappelle posted a long video in which he stated that he “was never paid” after leaving the Comedy Central program, saying he was “furious” about the program’s arrival on Netflix. Yesterday (February 11), Chappelle and Netflix posted a new video announcing the program’s return to service. Chappelle says Comedy Central has agreed to return his license and pay him “millions of dollars”. Watch the 10-minute clip, filmed during a recent stand-up show, below.
Chappelle tells the crowd: “I asked you to stop watching the show and I thank God Almighty for you, they did. You did that worthless show, because without your eyes it’s nothing. And when you stopped watching, they called me. And I got my name back, and my license back, and my program back, and they paid me millions of dollars. Thank you very much.”
He thanks the owners of Netflix and Comedy Central, ViacomCBS, before concluding: “After all these years, I can finally say to Comedy Central: ‘It was a pleasure to do business with you.’” He also discusses his diagnosis of coronavirus and the Capitol disturbances in the clip.
Chappelle originally left the program in 2005 and, disenchanted with the TV industry, withdrew from public life. The video marks the resolution of a 15-year dispute. Chris McCarthy, president of the MTV Entertainment Group at ViacomCBS, owner of Comedy Central, wrote in a statement: “Dave Chappelle is one of the greatest comedians of our time and a defining voice for the Comedy Central brand. After talking to Dave, I’m glad we were able to fix things. “
After Netflix removed the show in November, HBO did the same. Casey Bloys, the director of content for HBO and HBO Max, said Variety at the time, “We had a conversation with Dave. I’m not going to go into that, but it is very clear that he has a very unique, specific and emotional problem ”. A source close to the situation told Pitchfork that Chappelle Show will be returning to HBO Max.