WarnerMedia announced on Friday that all seasons of Comedy Central’s “Chappelle’s Show,” “Nathan For You,” “Key & Peele,” “Inside Amy Schumer,” and “Reno 911!” will be available on HBO Max at the start of the month. The impending availability of the shows marks a further bulking up of HBO Max’s comedy library; the streaming service already offers streaming for the complete libraries of popular shows such as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Rick and Morty,” and “Friends.” Acclaimed comedies are considered one of the most lucrative gets for streaming services. Netflix reportedly paid over $500 million to acquire the streaming rights to “Seinfeld” — the acclaimed show about nothing is headed to Netflix in 2021 — while HBO Max’s streaming pact for the wildly popular “The Big Bang Theory” was estimated to be worth as much as $1 billion, which would make it the priciest streaming deal in the industry’s history.
Dave Chappelle’s “Chappelle’s Show” aired three critically acclaimed seasons from 2003 to 2006 before the comedian decided to step away from the entertainment industry for several years. Chappelle has focused on stand-up comedy in recent years and has released five comedy specials on Netflix since 2017. Nathan Fielder’s “Nathan For You,” which IndieWire lauded as one of the best television shows of the 2010s, aired for four seasons and ended in 2017; Fielder signed an overall deal with HBO in 2019. Amy Schumer, whose sketch comedy “Inside Amy Schumer” aired four seasons and wrapped in 2017, headed one of HBO Max’s first originals in “Expecting Amy,” a documentary limited series that centered on the comedian’s pregnancy and career. “Key & Peele,” aired five seasons and wrapped in 2015. Since then, Keegan-Michael Key has appeared in a variety of film and television titles ranging from Disney’s “The Lion King” remake and “Toy Story 4” to “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.” Peele has since directed acclaimed films such as “Get Out” and “Us.” As for “Reno 911!,” the show had a short-lived revival on the ill-fated Quibi platform and though the show’s eighth season was in production, Quibi’s impending closure has thrown the show’s status into question. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
