HBO Max Orders Michael Che Sketch Show From Lorne Michaels & Universal Television

Peter White
·2 min read

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Saturday Night Live star Michael Che is getting his own sketch show on HBO Max.

The streaming service has ordered a six-part untitled series from the comedian, Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video and Universal Television.

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Each episode of the show will follow a theme or incident, such as police brutality, unemployment and romance and use sketches and vignettes to illustrate what it feels like to experience this from a Black vantage point.

The streamer said the show was less about being “right” and more about being honest, even at the risk of being controversial.

Untitled Michael Che Project will be exec produced by Che, Lorne Michaels, and Erin Doyle.

Given it’s produced by SNL’s Michaels, there’s no suggestion that Che is leaving the NBC late-night comedy, but it is somewhat surprising that the show is being made for WarnerMedia’s HBO Max rather than NBCUniversal’s own streaming service Peacock, which debuts tomorrow.

Che has been in the news over the last few months after it was revealed that he covered the rent for all of the tenants living in the same public housing complex as his grandmother, who died in April of coronavirus.

His stand-up material from his 2016 Netflix special also resurfaced during the Black Lives Matters protests with Che telling Seth Meyers that he finds it bittersweet that his bit keeps popping back up.

“I’m really excited to be working on this show with HBO Max” said Che. “It’s a project I’ve been thinking about for a while and we have a lot of sketches we want to shoot so please wear your masks so that we can go into production.”

“Michael brings a distinct comedic perspective as he illustrates the uncomfortable truths across multiple topics” said Suzanna Makkos, Executive Vice President of Original Comedy and Animation for HBO Max. “We look forward to sharing his unique vision and necessary point of view with our audiences.”

Kevin Reilly, Chief Content Officer HBO Max and President TNT, TBS, and TruTV added, “Che is an amazing talent and comic voice and, of course, another opportunity to collaborate with Broadway Video and my friend Lorne is an added benefit.”

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