Dave Chappelle is back on Netflix with a brand new stand-up special premiering today, Tuesday, October 5.
A trailer for "The Closer," the five-time Emmy Award-winning comedian's special, dropped on Monday promoting the work with an all-new trailer featuring the great Morgan Freeman.
In the clip, Chappelle drives in a pick-up truck down some rural country roads while soft piano music plays in the background and Freeman narrates the moment in his signature larger-than-life voiceover voice.
"Five specials in as many years. How do you close a body of work that profound?" Freeman's voice asks during a wide shot of Dave driving.
Chappelle's face slowly transforms from quietly reflective to increasingly irritated before he slams on the brakes and asks Morgan Freeman to be quiet.
The camera then zooms out to hilariously reveal Freeman sitting in the car next to Chappelle.
The new special is directed by Stan Lathan, who has directed all of Chapelle’s past five Netflix specials, including “The Age Of Spin,” “Deep In The Heart Of Texas,” “Equanimity,” “The Bird Revelation,” “And Sticks & Stones,” Deadline reports.
Chappelle received three Emmy Awards for “Sticks & Stones” and “Equanimity” and “The Bird Revelation” along with two Emmy Awards for hosting “Saturday Night Live.”
Last month, Chappelle released the first promotional video for the new stand-up. The dramatic clip compiles footage of Chappelle from his other specials, with his voiceover stating: "Comedians have a responsibility to speak recklessly."
"Sometimes the funniest thing to say is mean," Chappelle's voice continues. "Remember, I'm not saying it to be mean. I'm saying it because it's funny."
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In November 2020, Netflix agreed to take "Chappelle's Show" off of its streaming service platform after Chappelle claimed that he was never paid for the licensing deal.
Chappelle posted an 18-minute video to Instagram, titled “Unforgiven,” where he explained that the show was licensed without his approval.
“People think I made a lot of money from ‘Chappelle’s Show.' When I left that show, I never got paid. They didn’t have to pay me because I signed the contract. But is that right? I found out that these people were streaming my work and they never had to ask me or they never have to tell me. Perfectly legal because I signed the contract. But is that right? I didn’t think so either," he said.
Chappelle’s dispute with the owners of the show, ViacomCBS-owned Comedy Central, began after the comedian abruptly left after the third season in 2006. Since then, the comedian forfeited all legal rights to the show, which is still being aired on CBS All Access and HBO Max, Variety notes.
"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."
The comedian, who has made multiple stand-up specials for the streaming-service giant, previously called out Netflix and HBO Max for streaming the show during an "SNL" monologue earlier that month.
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