Back in November, Netflix announced it would be releasing three new stand-up specials from comedy legend Dave Chappelle. The streaming service just made good on part of that deal (valued at $60 million), debuting two of the three specials today, March 21. This double dose of pure comedy – Deep in the Heart of Texas and The Age of Spin – directed by Stan Lathan, offers Chappelle’s devout fan base over two hours of stand-up and the first produced specials from the comedian in over a decade.
The rawer of the two, Deep in the Heart of Texas, which clocks in at 66 minutes, was filmed at The Moody Theater for Austin City Limits Live in April 2015 and has a more stripped down look and overall feel. In it, Chappelle casually smokes cigarettes while musing on the topic of sex — masturbation, fellatio and fetishes — with his typical no-holds-barred approach. Throughout, he also finds the time to examine everything from hate crimes to gynaecology, bloggers to rappers.
While some of the material in Texas is a little dated, like the jokes about Paula Deen, Ray Rice and Donald Sterling, they still land on solid ground thanks to Chappelle’s strong comic sensibilities. Case in point, his bit on Ebola, which leads the comedian down a rabbit hole of digressions packed with laugh-inducing jokes centered on doctors, diseases and vaccinations.
As opposed to Deep in the Heart of Texas, which feels looser in its makeup, The Age of Spin — filmed in March of 2016 at the Hollywood Palladium — has a more structured approach. Helping construct the latter are a handful of chance meetings Chappelle had over the years with O.J. Simpson, which he peppers throughout to bring an element of suspense to this solid hour-long block of comedy. Needless to say, Simpson comes up quite a bit in Spin, probably most hilariously with Chappelle’s account of the time he was approached for a photo with the former running back.
Bill Cosby also has a strong showing in Spin, with Chappelle taking aim at the comedian and recently accused serial rapist. “Bill Cosby raped 54 people,” jokes the comedian. “Holy sh*t, that’s a lot of rapes, man. This guy’s putting up real numbers.” Along with the jokes, though, Chappelle expressed genuine sadness over the loss of his childhood hero. There were also admitted doubts, some still ongoing. “I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you that technically these are all still allegations,” pleads Chappelle with a sarcastic smile, “although I admit it looks very bad.”
Chappelle tackles a ton of material throughout his first two Netflix specials, dishing out a plethora of jokes and anecdotes as well as making some broader statements about race, gender, power dynamics and cultural bias.
Kevin Hart and Key & Peele make for good fodder while Bruce Jenner and Making a Murderer’s Steven Avery alternatively allow for some interesting segues. Like any good comedian, Chappelle also doesn’t shy away from pointing the finger back at himself like his telling of the botched Detroit gig or the story of his choosing to attend the Academy Awards as opposed to a Flint, MI benefit.
Whether telling surface-level punchlines, doing impressions, poking fun at celebrities or sharing deeper insights on society at large, Chappelle’s one-two stand-up punch brings the laughs. Be sure to check out both specials streaming now on Netflix and keep your eyes open for Chappelle’s third special, expected to debut later this year.